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Barely five minutes in, we’re already onto political correctness in Thomas the Tank Engine. ‘In the American version, you can’t have the ‘Fat Controller’ – he’s called Sir Topham Hatt over there,’ says composer Robert Hartshorne. ‘I think it’s the reference to the fatness that they don’t like. In Britain we’re a little less sensitive than that. We can take it.’

I feel thoroughly privileged to have been part of this highly successful project with RPO resound in Lowestoft. The week quickly evolved into an exploration of local history and nautical adventures which provided the foundation for our musical voyage. We soon found ourselves immersed in sessions of boat-related brainstorming, fishermen’s tales and instrumental challenges!

This September, fans of brass music are in for a very special treat when members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s percussion and brass sections, including its recently appointed Principal Trumpet James Fountain, are joined in concert by a true legend of the genre: Allen Vizzutti.

This is the trumpeter’s second appearance with the RPO in as many years, and in Top Brass 2015, he and the Orchestra will be performing two of his own compositions: Rising Sun, and a work composed especially for the occasion, called Quarks. In addition, they’ll be playing works by Watson, Bernstein and Bach, plus many more.