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Wing Commander Duncan Stubbs
Wing Commander Duncan Stubbs MMus BA FRSM ARCM LGSM RAF was appointed as the Principal Director of Music for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 2009. He continues to relish the challenge of maintaining the musical reputation enjoyed by Royal Air Force Music Services throughout the world. Born in Stoke-on-Trent, he began his musical career playing bassoon in local orchestras and shows. By the age of fourteen he was arranging music and organising local concerts for his friends. On graduating from the University of York with a BMus (hons) degree in music performance, he successfully completed his postgraduate study in music education at Birmingham. He studied bassoon and instrumental performance with John Orford and Allan Hacker. Additional studies in conducting with Colin Metters and Baldur Brönnimann led to his becoming the first musician to achieve the Fellowship of the Royal Schools of Music (Directing – Wind Band). He now regularly conducts a variety of wind ensembles: community bands, school and youth bands, and ensembles at leading UK conservatories. He completed a MMus degree in composition in 2005, studying with Joseph Horovitz, Francis Pott, and Nigel Clarke, during which time he received three awards for Composition.
Duncan Stubbs joined the RAF in 1983 as a member of the Central Band and was commissioned as a Director of Music (DOM) in 1990, one of the youngest-ever commissioned DOMs in all three Services. He has served as DOM to all the RAF bands and completed two tours as staff officer in the Headquarters Music Services. In 1991 he served in the Gulf War in support of the medical evacuation teams. Throughout his career he has initiated several new musical opportunities by establishing and directing new RAF ensembles, thereby generating new challenges for the ever-rising standard of musicians recruited into the RAF. His music commissioning programme and proactive concert generation have led to close collaborations with leading UK musicians, including Nigel Hess, George Fenton, and the leading West End Theatre Music Directors Stuart Morley and Mike Dixon. Away from the RAF, he enjoys spending time in the countryside, preferably on top of a mountain in the Lake District. Wing Commander Duncan Stubbs retired from the RAF before the release of this album in September 2017 and in May of the same year handed over the baton to the new Principal Director of Music, Wing Commander Piers Morrell MSc FRSM LTCL FInstLM CMgr MCMI GCGI RAF.
Duncan Stubbs joined the RAF in 1983 as a member of the Central Band and was commissioned as a Director of Music (DOM) in 1990, one of the youngest-ever commissioned DOMs in all three Services. He has served as DOM to all the RAF bands and completed two tours as staff officer in the Headquarters Music Services. In 1991 he served in the Gulf War in support of the medical evacuation teams. Throughout his career he has initiated several new musical opportunities by establishing and directing new RAF ensembles, thereby generating new challenges for the ever-rising standard of musicians recruited into the RAF. His music commissioning programme and proactive concert generation have led to close collaborations with leading UK musicians, including Nigel Hess, George Fenton, and the leading West End Theatre Music Directors Stuart Morley and Mike Dixon. Away from the RAF, he enjoys spending time in the countryside, preferably on top of a mountain in the Lake District. Wing Commander Duncan Stubbs retired from the RAF before the release of this album in September 2017 and in May of the same year handed over the baton to the new Principal Director of Music, Wing Commander Piers Morrell MSc FRSM LTCL FInstLM CMgr MCMI GCGI RAF.