Biography
Stockholm Chamber Brass was founded in 1988 by five young Swedish musicians to play chamber music together. In 1988, with funding from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, SCB decided to travel to Narbonne, France, to perform at the International Competition for Brass Quintets. The group won 1st Prize and began its over 35 year career as one of the world’s leading Brass Ensembles.
SCB are committed to developing new and original repertoire for brass quintet and have commissioned over 50 compositions, many of which have gone on to become the most frequently performed original works for brass quintet around the world.
To date, SCB has recorded 6 critically acclaimed CDs including the classics of the quintet genre, a selection of their commissions and their most recent album THEN, a collection of renaissance songs and dances. The American Record Guide wrote of the album CLOCKWORKS, “I cannot imagine that a better brass quintet has ever existed.”
SCB regularly perform around the world, playing in major festivals such as the Bad Kissingen Sommer and Schleswig-Holstein Festival. They are passionate educators and regularly give masterclasses at leading music conservatoires as well as running their own Stockholm Chamber Brass Academy.
Urban Agnas
Urban Agnas studied at the Ingesund College of Music before becoming principal trumpet of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in 1987 and then the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in 1989. He won prizes at the ARD-Wettbewerb in Munich and the Radio France International Trumpet Competition in Toulon and has performed with orchestras around the world including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the London Mozart Players.
Since 2001 Urban is professor of trumpet at the Academy of Music in Cologne, Germany, having previously taught at the Music Academies in Stockholm and Gothenburg. He also brings his expertise to larger ensembles, conducting and coaching orchestras across Scandinavia. Urban has also worked as a studio trumpeter, performing with the legendary Singer/Songwriter Burt Bacharach and with the Swedish singer Tommy Körberg live at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Tom Poulson
Tom Poulson has performed across Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, having studied in Scotland, Denmark and Germany. Alongside SCB he is a member of WorldBrass and KammarensembleN and a prize winner at various international competitions, including the Aeolus International Music Competition for Wind Instruments in Düsseldorf and Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe. As a soloist he has appeared with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Royal Flemish Philharmonic and Nürnberger Symphoniker.
Tom holds the position Co-Principal Trumpet of the Västerås Sinfonietta and appears as a regular guest principal with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Die Deutsch Kammerphilharmonie. Having taught since he was 16 Tom is currently the Head of Brass and Trumpet Teacher of the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden.
Annamia Larsson
Annamia Larsson is the principal Horn of the Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Sweden. She studied at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm, and the Universität für Darstellende Kunst und Musik, Vienna, starting her orchestral career in the Verbier Festival Orchestra before becoming Co-principal horn of the Royal Opera in Stockholm at the age of 21.
Annamia frequently performs as a soloist with orchestras in Scandinavia including the Swedish Radio Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Reykjavik Chamber Orchestras and has performed at festivals around the world including the Vinterfest and Stavanger International Chamber Music Festivals and the Isla Verde International Brass Festival in Argentina.
From 2008 to 2019 Annamia was the horn teacher at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and she continues to give masterclasses around the world. In 2022 Annamia was made a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
Jonas Bylund
After completing his studies at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm, in 1987, Jonas Bylund was principal trombone of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1988 he won 1st prize at the international soloist competition CIEM and in 1989 the ARD-Wettbewerb in Munich. Jonas was later principal trombone of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Bamberger Symphoniker.
Jonas has appeared as a soloist with a number of Europe’s leading orchestras, including the Philharmonia Orchestra London, Orchestre de Suisse Romande and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He is active as a conductor and has worked with the brass ensembles of the HR Frankfurt, DSO Berlin, Sinfonieorchester Aachen, Gävle Symphony Orchestra and Rice University Houston, USA.
Since 1995 he has been the Trombone Professor at the Hochschule für Musik Theater und Medien in Hannover and from 2016 also the Trombone Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. In 2022 Jonas received the International Trombone Association Neill Humfeld Award for Excellence in Trombone Teaching.
Dirk Hirthe
Dirk Hirthe was born in Germany and after his studies in Freiburg and Hannover became the been the tuba player of the Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe in 2008. Dirk regularly performs as a guest with the main orchestras in Germany along with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Lucerne Festival Brass Ensemble. As a soloist he has appeared with the Museums Orchester Frankfurt, the Bochumer Sinfoniker, the Badische Staatskapelle among others.
Since 2014 Dirk is professor for Tuba at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe and has given masterclasses in almost every country in Europe with many of his students receiving international prizes and positions in various European orchestras.
At the same time he started developing tubas with the instrument maker Miraphone, with whom he is a performing artist, helping to design the Elektra and Hagen models.
