Chief Technician Simon Carter LLCM

Chief Technician Simon Carter was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire in November 1972. Introduced to music at an early age, Simon had gained a place at the renowned Chethams School of Music in Manchester by the age of 10, studying trumpet with John Durrant, Brian Tuffery and John Dickinson. At 18, he was offered places at the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama but, not wishing to put financial pressure on his parents, opted to join the Royal Air Force instead.

Following basic training at RAF Swinderby and a brief spell in the RAF School of Music, Simon began his career as a cornet / trumpet player with the Central Band of the RAF. In 1994, upon the closure of RAF Catterick, he was posted to the Band of the RAF Regiment on its relocation to RAF Uxbridge. In 1999, he applied for a posting to the Band of the RAF College and commenced duties at RAF Cranwell in June of that year. On promotion to Sergeant in October 2005, he was once again posted to the Central Band which, as it happened, became an 18 month unaccompanied tour performing with both the Military Band and the Royal Air Force Squadronaires. Although thoroughly enjoying this experience, Simon was always eager to rejoin his family and in February 2007, made the difficult decision to change instrument and retrain on the French horn. As a result of this change, Simon was posted back to the Band of the RAF College in April 2007.

Career highlights have included performing the ‘Last Post and Reveille’ for the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London, as well as at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle for a BBC documentary and at Ely Cathedral for BBC ‘Songs of Praise’. On tour, he has performed in many countries including Australia, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Saudi Arabia, Sardinia, Switzerland, Hungary, Germany and the Falkland Islands.

In September 2010, Simon became principal horn of the Band of the RAF College and in July 2011 was appointed Drum Major.