Adjudicator & AoBBA Member

Originally from Wigan, Dr David Lancaster began his musical career on cornet with Pemberton Old Band. He won the Alexander Owen Memorial Scholarship which led to trumpet lessons with Michael Antrobus. David studied music at York and Cambridge universities where his attention shifted to composition, and he subsequently worked as composer and freelance trumpeter in the UK and around Europe.

David’s music is regularly performed in concerts and festivals by some of the leading performers of new music all around the world; he has written for theatre, television and contemporary dance. David has won many awards for his work, including the Michael Tippett Prize and the LCM Centenary Award. In 2013 David’s orchestral piece ‘Strata’ was performed by the orchestra of Opera North and subsequently recorded for CD release by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2014 ‘Swan’ was included on a national tour by the Delta Saxophone Quartet and the string quartet ‘Vertigo’ was performed in Hong Kong and the USA. David’s major choral piece ‘Apocalypse’ received its world premiere as part of York’s Festival of Ideas in 2013 and was programmed and broadcast by the Danish National Vocal Ensemble in 2016.

David has conducted brass bands at all levels and has adjudicated local contests, regional championships and National Finals. David Lancaster lives in York and works as Director of Music at York St John University, teaching composition and managing the university’s music programmes.