François van Cauwenbergh

Manager

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Jamie Carrick (he/him)

Conductor

Jamie is a second year International History and Politics student from St Albans, near London.

He has been actively involved in LUUMs throughout his time in Leeds, joining Sinfonia, which gave him an opportunity to play percussion and generally cause hearing damage to the rest of the orchestra   (especially on the timpani which he will not stop going on about). His favourite LUUMS experience so far has been going on tour at the last minute to Scotland with the Symphony Orchestra when they needed an extra player.

He has never conducted an ensemble of this size of sinfonia before, but he is absolutely buzzing nonetheless!

When he’s not taking part in LUUMs, Jamie will often be found in the library reading or having a mild to moderate  crisis. He may also be found in the pub, or playing guitar and writing songs.

Most importantly, he can’t wait to meet all of the new LUUMs members and make sure that they are given the warm welcome and the amazing opportunities that the society can offer!

Matthew Boucher (he/him)

Conductor

Matt is a third year MEng Medical Engineering student from an ancient medieval town in East Kent, which some of you might recognise as the spiritual home of the Sandwich! From his first tentative steps on the piano and recorder at primary school, Year 4 Matt thrived attempting to play whatever instrument he could get his hands on! After settling on the clarinet, allegedly due to a few ‘teething problems’ postponing his trumpet debut, he enjoyed contributing his woody, occasionally squeaky, sound for many years in concerts and on tour to France, Italy, Spain and Portugal with his school orchestra. Somewhere along the way he finally gained a full set of adult teeth and started tooting new and exciting instruments from the brass section including trumpet in secondary school plus french and tenor horn whilst at uni! He’s had a blast ever since playing in a variety of LUUMS ensembles including Sinfonia, Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Brass Band and Concert Band, alongside performing with the National Universities Brass Band, depping for York RI Golden Rail Brass Band, playing in the pit band for Devonshire Hall’s High School Musical, and regularly gigging/jamming with the Arrythmics Big Band and Jazz and Blues Society!

Matt first rocked up in Leeds back in when the world was in the firm grip of the virus which shalt not be named, and the epicness of online Sinfonia every Monday night in the depths of winter lockdown inspired him to take up the baton! Before he could stop himself, he’d logged on and auditioned as a duo! After learning all the ‘hand-waving stuff’ from a good mate whilst riding a bike one-handed along a canal, he’s loved every minute of conducting the orchestra this past year, with particular highlights being Pirates of the Caribbean, Dambusters, Swan Lake, Radetzky March, and not forgetting How to Train Your Dragon! He’s now looking forward to working with Jamie this year to achieve that rich orchestral ‘Sinfonia’ sound we all know and love, and can’t wait to continue conducting the unofficial best orchestra in LUUMS!!!

Outside of his musical engagements, you might just find Matt attempting to run a ‘casual’ marathon, ‘inter-city’ cycling across the north, or down one of Leeds’ many drinking establishments after rehearsals! If you happen to live near York, you might also spot him playing at your local bandstand once in a while or busking jazz standards down Briggate or St Helen's Square!

Ben Mitchell

Manager

Ben is a 4th Year Computer Science student from Manchester. He started playing the violin in the early years of primary school and only gave up once! His love for the violin was rekindled as he joined more ensembles throughout secondary and sixth form. He has enjoyed being in LUUMS Sinfonia since first year, and particularly loved playing musical theatre, especially West Side Story and Wicked. His favourite part of LUUMS is socialising in Old Bar after rehearsals and getting to know new people. This year, he’s excited to put his contributions towards piece choices - watch this space for more Studio Ghibli music! When he’s not playing, he likes exploring the Yorkshire Dales and drinking from his excessively large tea collection. He’s ready for another great year of playing and welcoming all the new and old faces to this friendly ensemble.