Joan Thorp is a Sydney-based musician, teacher, conductor and arranger with 10 years professional experience. To her performing credits she has an ATCL French Horn Diploma plus state and national championship titles from the National Band Association. Joan is an accredited member of the Australian Music Teachers’ Association, the Australian Band and Orchestra Directors’ Association and the Music Arrangers’ Guild of Australia and has an AMUSA Theory of Music Diploma. Joan conducts several primary & high school bands plus the professional corporate function bands, Abracadabra and Alakazam. Thorp music arrangements, written by music educators for music educators, have utilised progressive musical concepts without compromising entertainment value.   Greg Butcher is a Represented Australian Composer of the Australian Music Centre, Sydney. As a composer, arranger, teacher and conductor, he has written on commission for solo instrumental to full symphonic wind band & orchestral settings at State & National A-grade Contest levels. He is a Fellow of Trinity College London (UK) in composition, holds a Licentiate Diploma from the Australian Society of Musicology & Composition and is a Member of the Fellowship of Australian Composers. With over 20 years experience as a musician with the Australian Defence Forces, he was regularly utilised for his skills, writing for a variety of ensemble groups. These were often customized for international artists, televised or performed overseas. . A graduate of the University of New England, he completed a Bachelor of Arts (Music) Degree. He has over 25 years of professional experience as a session player performing with jazz, wind and orchestral ensembles. Martin Anderson is a Sydney-based musician, bandleader, teacher and arranger with 30 years professional experience. Martin has been contracted to arrange for a diverse cross section of musical genres, including big band, concert band, jazz combo, service bands, choir, cabaret, TV & recording artists. Martin has received jazz diplomas from Leeds Music College, England, and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He is also an accredited member of the Music Arrangers’ Guild of Australia. Martin is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist who has performed with many notable bands such as the Warren Daly Big Band (lead tenor for 10 years). With a unique combination of performance, arranging and music educational expertise, Martin writes arrangements that will be enjoyed by both school and professional bands alike.   Mike Butcher OAM. Renowned and respected for his compositions and arrangements, Mike began his long musical career 52 years ago as a boy musician in the Royal Marines. After emigrating to Australia in 1954 he continued his career in military music, graduating from the Royal Military School of Music (Kneller Hall) as Bandmaster and culminating as Director of Music of the Royal Australian Air Force. Upon retirement from the services in 1989, he started many successful school and community bands and lectured in instrumental pedagogy at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Mike has played trombone professionally for most of his career and worked with many overseas artists. For his work with school children, Mike was named a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. He was also awarded the Order Of Australia Medal in 2001 for his services to music.   Glenn Armitage is currently the director of program at Burwood Girls High School, Croydon Park Public School, Enfield Public School and Wilkins Public School in Sydney. His extensive teaching experience includes classroom music teaching in state and private schools as well as lecturing at the University of Western Sydney. His school bands are well-known for their excellent performances at community, state and national level competitions. A prolific composer, Glenn’s compositions have been performed, published and recorded in Australia as well as in the U.S.A. Thorp music is delighted to publish Glenn’s music which is fun to play, well-written and educationally sound.   Frank Holdforth began his career playing guitar and banjo in the interval band at a local jazz club in Oxford, England and as a guitarist for a dance band playing for weekend dances in the local Oxforshire villages. Returning to Australia in the late sixties, Frank played for ex patriot Australian Diana Trask and in the show ‘What a Thing to Say’. He later joined the MO award winning band ‘The Federation Orchestra’ as bass player/arranger, where he stayed for eight years. An increasing interest in arranging and composition led frank to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where he graduated with a Diploma in Jazz Studies. Australian piano great, Ray Alldridge, then conductor of the TCN9 Midday Show Band, invited Frank to be one of the arrangers leading to writing assignments for the ‘Mike Walsh Show’ and David Atkins production of ‘Dancin’ Man’. Frank lives in Sydney, dividing his time between playing, arranging and teaching.   Wei Cai Zhang is a renowned Chinese conductor and cellist. A graduate of the Shanghai Conservatorium Of Music in 1950, he started his professional career as the Principal Cellist and Conductor of the Shanghai Opera Orchestra and later became the Principal Cellist of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. In the late 1980’s he was promoted to the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. During his conducting career, he founded the first and only chamber orchestra in China. Due to his contribution to promoting chamber music in China, he has been acknowledged by the American Biographical Institute. Mr Zhang is well known for his arrangements of vocal and instrumental works, including large orchestral works and chamber ensemble orchestrations. These works have been recorded by major record companies and were widely acclaimed and hugely popular across China.   Adrian Hallam has performed professionally in orchestras, bands and chamber groups for the past 15 years and has toured extensively overseas. In 1993, he was awarded a Big Brother Scholarship to study music for three months in England. During this time he attended the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. In 1994, Adrian completed a Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, majoring in performance on French Horn. Adrian is currently the Principal French Horn player of the NSW Police Band. He enjoys writing for many and varied ensembles including Orchestra, Concert Band, Stage Band, Rock Band, Wind and Brass Quintets. He is an inspirational teacher, arranger and composer, and teaches at some of Sydney’s top private schools. Thorp Music is pleased to present the exciting works of Adrian Hallam.