Oliver Fitzgerald-Lombard interviews Robert Samuel - former Cory Band player - to find out about his globe-trotting life as Second Trumpet with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

What led you to playing a brass instrument and when did you decide you wanted to make it your profession?

I started playing the cornet aged eight, purely by chance. I was out playing with a friend and the time came for him to go to his local junior band for his cornet lesson. Instead of going home, I asked my parents if I could join him and that was it! I was hooked from the very beginning.

I don't remember a specific time when I decided to try and make music my profession, but as anything with children, if you find that you are good at something then you tend to stick at it. A huge influence for me was moving to Cory Band when I was 14 years old. Suddenly my playing really went up a gear, and playing next to a wonderful principal cornet like Ian Williams brought me on in leaps and bounds. I think that this must have been the moment that I decided playing would be my future.

Who were the biggest influences on you as a brass player and who are your musical heroes?

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Photo: Brass section of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (Rob Samuel - 2nd from left)