David Hubbard

RSNO Principal Bassoon

David Hubbard was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, in 1968.  He started the bassoon at the age of fourteen and two years later went on to study at the Royal College of Music Junior Department.  Between the years of 1986-1990 David was an Exhibitioner at the RCM studying the bassoon with Geoffrey Gambold, Kerry Camden and John Burness.  During his time at the RCM he won, or was highly commended in, all the bassoon prizes and was also awarded the opportunity to perform the Duet Concertino for clarinet and bassoon by Richard Strauss.

In January 1992 David moved to Spain to work with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga. In November of the same year he moved once again to join the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla where he stayed for nearly twelve years, firstly as their contrabassoon, and later as principal bassoon.

Since joining the RSNO as its principal bassoon in May 2004, David has performed Vivaldi's Concerto in E minor F. VIII No6 in the Summer Proms as well as Michael Daugherty's Dead Elvis as part of last year's Season. 

Other recent solo work includes three performances of Philip Neil Martin's Old Night for bassoon and piano at the Tron, Glasgow in April 2006, and a performance of both Andante and Hungarian Rondo for bassoon and orchestra by Weber, and the Ciranda das Sete Notas for bassoon and strings by Villa Lobos with the Glasgow Sinfonia in May 2007.

David teaches bassoon at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and can also be found coaching the bassoons of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, the chamber music course Double Reeds Forward, or at Wells Cathedral School where he was their invited guest this year at their Woodwind Festival.

David met his wife Magdalena in Spain.  They have three children: Magdalena who is five years old; William, three years old; and Laura, aged two.  What little time left in the day has been spent converting what was a Post Office in Chryston, near Glasgow, into their family home.

Katherine Wren RSNO Viola 

I was brought up in Yorkshire and started playing the violin at the age of five, before rapidly seeing the light and switching to the viola at the age of eight. I went on to study music at Manchester University, specialising in performance and composition before doing a postgraduate course at the Royal Northern College of Music. I joined the RSNO over eight years ago, following time freelancing in both Scotland and Manchester.

I enjoy playing most things apart from Beethoven but especially like Wagner, Strauss and most 20th Century music.

Outside the Orchestra I do a lot of teaching and it's been great to see some of my pupils enter the profession themselves, as performers, teachers and researchers. My real passion is cycle racing and I try to ride anything up to 100 miles a day, depending on my schedule. This fits in nicely with Orchestra tours, Austria giving me the opportunity to knock off the highest pass there, the 8000ft Grossglockner Pass - Mmmm... more Austrian cakes for me!