Ben Hulme

Ben Hulme is currently Joint Principal Horn of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, having previously been Section Principal Horn with the BBC Philharmonic.

Ben began horn lessons at the age of seven, before being accepted into Chetham’s School of Music, where he studied with Lizzie Davis and Julian Plummer.

During his eight years at Chetham’s, he enjoyed the abundance of wide-ranging opportunities provided by the school and was also fortunate to be a member of the National Children’s Orchestras and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Hulme was then awarded the Sir Elton John scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Music. While at the Academy, he studied with Michael Thompson, Richard Watkins, Martin Owen, Katy Woolley and Roger Montgomery, as well as having regular masterclasses with Radovan Vlatković. He also studied the organ with Gerard Brooks.

During his time at the Academy, Hulme had the opportunity to work with conductors Robin Ticciati, Semyon Bychkov, Sir Mark Elder, James Newton Howard, Oliver Knussen, Edward Gardner and John Wilson in the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and Manson Ensemble. He also particularly enjoyed the vast array of chamber music opportunities offered by the brass department under the direction of Mark David and Bob Hughes.

Hulme is a founding member of London Metropolitan Brass, which won the Academy’s Worshipful Company of Musicians Brass Ensemble Prize in 2017 and claimed third prize at the inaugural Philip Jones Brass International Brass Ensemble Competition in July 2019. The ensemble members were also Academy Chamber Fellows for the 2018-19 academic year.

After graduating from the Academy with a first-class honours degree in July 2019, Hulme embarked on a freelance career, including trials for Principal Horn with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic. Alongside this, he has played Guest Principal with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Ben joined the BBC Philharmonic as Section Principal Horn in June 2020 and is now Joint Principal Horn for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.