My former teacher and mentor David Staff, who has died aged 68 of a heart condition, was a cornetto player and period trumpeter, but also well known as a maker of natural trumpets – valveless brass instruments which, in the hands of a good player, produce a distinctive and rich sound.
The natural trumpet was the type of trumpet which, for many centuries, accompanied men and horses on the battlefield, but it was also admired by composers such as Bach and Handel, who both wrote music for it.
David got into making his instruments after meeting the natural trumpet maker Frank Tomes in the late 1980s. He learned a lot from Frank, and eventually became his apprentice in 2009, establishing his own workshop at his home near Coddenham in Suffolk. There he would make trumpets from flat sheets of brass: he shaped and soldered his tubes and drew them by hand, and created flared bell sections by hammering and swaging them into shape.
After Frank’s death David took over the business, with valuable input from his friend and fellow instrument maker, Graham Nicholson. Having served as David’s apprentice and hand engraver for 11 years, I will continue the workshop.
Aside from his trumpet-making, David was a founder member in 1982 of the musical group His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, and was a long-serving principal trumpet in Frans Brüggen’s Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, as well as a much in demand freelance who worked at the forefront of the early music revival of the late 20th century.
He performed and recorded Johann Sebastian Bach’s Second Brandenburg Concerto (BWV 1047) on numerous occasions; his high-register playing was sublime, and his interpretation, vocal approach to playing, and understanding of period style and symbolism were exceptionally refined.
Born in Ipswich, David was the son of John, a paint factory worker, and Ivy (nee Moss), a clerk at Barclays Bank.
David attended Stowmarket school in Suffolk, took his A-levels at Colchester Institute in Essex, and went on to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studied under the trumpeter Bernard Brown. For most of his subsequent career he taught at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, from the early 80s until 2010, before spending around five years tutoring at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In addition, from 1993 to 2012, David led the annual early brass course alongside Sue Addison at Dartington International Summer School in Devon.
In his later life outside music, David was a volunteer guide at the RSPB’s Minsmere nature reserve on the Suffolk coast, where he was known for his style, charisma and exceptional knowledge of the natural world.
He was a vibrant character and his energetic personality embraced many other hobbies, including mushrooming, fishing and storytelling, as well as interests in real ale and wildlife photography.
David is survived by his daughter, Rebecca, from a marriage which ended in divorce, and by his sister, Mary.
