Richard Bissill

Who is Richard Bissill?

Richard Bissill is a French horn player, composer and arranger, and Professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Born in Leicestershire, he was a member of the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra and he then studied horn and piano at the Royal Academy of Music before joining the London Symphony Orchestra in 1981. In 1984 he was appointed Principal Horn of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since 1990 he has been Solo Horn with London Brass, with whom he has played many new pieces commissioned by the group, including several of his own compositions and arrangements. The ensemble’s work has also included projects with popular music and jazz artists and Bissill has been featured in an improvisatory role many times.

Bissill is known for his involvement in jazz performance. Whilst still a teenager, he played with the BBC Radio Leicester Big Band and later the National Youth Jazz Orchestra with which he made several recordings. His improvisatory abilities and skill in jazz styles are well known throughout the world and he is often selected for sessions or by visiting bands from abroad requiring a horn player who can swing and/or improvise. In this capacity he has worked with Quincy Jones, Lalo Schifrin, Wynton Marsalis, Michel Legrand and many others.