James Fountain

James Fountain is Principal Trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra, a post he took up in 2021. He grew up in a family of Salvation Army brass band players and began on the cornet at the age of three. He was principal cornet of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and the GUS Band, and at seventeen became principal cornet of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. He studied the trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and, while still a student there, was appointed Principal Trumpet of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2015. After five years he moved to the same position with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and from there to the LSO. He is Professor of Trumpet at the Royal College of Music and a member of the brass ensemble Septura and of the Neoteric Ensemble, and he plays on film, television and video game soundtracks.