Roger Argente (born 1962

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

, Wales) was Principal Bass Trombone for the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

and teaches at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff, Wales.

Career

A graduate of the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

, Manchester, Roger studied with Professors Terry Nagle and

Neville Roberts Neville P. Roberts (born 6 March 1955) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and Victorian Football League (VFL). He played with West Torrens, Richmond and Norwood. His in ...

and was a joint recipient of the concerto prize. Upon graduating in September 1986, Roger joined the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra before moving to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in April 1992. He has appeared as a guest performer with a wide variety of orchestras and ensembles, including the London Symphony Orchestra,

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London Sinfonietta,

London Brass The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, founded in 1951 by trumpeter Philip Jones (musician), Philip Jones, was one of the first modern classical brass ensembles to be formed. The group played either as a quintet or as a ten-piece, for larger halls. It ...

, Symphonic Brass of London and the Super World Orchestra at the Tokyo International Music Festival. In great demand as a session musician, Roger has recorded film scores with top studio composers Jerry Goldsmith,

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

, James Horner, Michael Kamen,

Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer and conductor noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' film trilogies. ...

, David Arnold, Hans Zimmer, John Barry,

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...

, Maurice Jarre,

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

and

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elemen ...

working on such recent films as ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

'', ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'', '' The Lord of the Rings'' and '' James Bond''. Along with planning, conducting, coaching and performing all brass chamber projects at Trinity College of Music, Roger has given masterclasses and recitals abroad. He gave the European premiere of the

Chris Brubeck Christopher Brubeck is an American musician and composer, both in jazz and classical music. As a musician, he mainly plays electric bass, bass trombone, and piano. The son of noted jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, in 1972 he joined his fath ...

Bass Trombone Concerto with the RPO at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

and has been invited to perform as a soloist at the International Trombone Festival 2003 in Helsinki. In March 2001, Roger started "BONELAB", a trombone-based music education project. This was as a direct response to the declining number of school children learning to play the instrument in the UK. Still in its infancy, BONELAB has put together numerous initiatives designed to focus on the trombone. Festivals, concert halls, conservatoires, education agencies and leading orchestras have adopted BONELAB projects. His students regard him as a hero.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argente, Roger 1962 births Welsh classical trombonists Living people People from Neath Port Talbot Male trombonists 20th-century classical trombonists 21st-century classical trombonists Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Academics of Trinity College of Music 20th-century Welsh male musicians 21st-century Welsh male musicians