I began playing the Tuba aged 13 at Beanfield Comprehensive School in Corby, Northamptonshire.  Like millions before, I practised, I got better and I joined other ensembles..... I've been lucky enough to play at all the major brass band contests but at 17 I discovered that I had an ability to write music.  This new found form of self expression was instantly appealing and I happily fell head first into writing; if for no other reason, it meant I could ditch Tuba scales and flexibility studies and go out and look at the world!!

After only two years of writing I was lucky to get into the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.  My composition tutor, Andrew Wilson-Dickson, was a massive influence on me as both a composer and a person.  I have to admit that I'm no academic and found the conforming aspects of institutional life rather hard!!  But having four years to write music is an experience I wouldn't swap for anything else in the world.

Music in general is not an easy profession to make a living but you can never grumble, getting by in life by conjuring sounds which have only ever occurred in your head is a great feeling..........

Rob Stew is following