Max Fagandini began to learn the trumpet in 1998 and over the following years received the tutelage of a number of professional musicians, including Ian Stott and Andy Bush. Over the course of 7 years at Tiffin School, a performing arts college in Kingston-upon-Thames, he sought out a wide musical education, holding the posts of lead trumpet in the Tiffin Swing Band and principal trumpet in the Thames Youth Orchestra for several years.

The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas – UCLU Jazz Society, October 2011. Photo: Chris McGuigan

At university in London he soon got involved with the UCLU Jazz Society and UCLU Musical Theatre Society, and was elected President for the Jazz Society for the years 2010-11, sandwiched between a stint as Social Secretary and a year as Student MD. It was here that he also began to broaden his network of fellow musicians, fostering relationships that provided gigs and contacts for the future, along with some lifelong friendships. In the years following his graduation, he’s enjoyed a close relationship with the Jazz Society, arranging music and occasionally playing in shows, and in June 2014 he MDed their Big Band and Jazz Vocals group on tour in Berlin.

Since leaving university, Max has thrown himself into the life of the freelance musician with aplomb, playing regularly with London-based function band Down for the Count and running several personal projects on the side, including the Happy Hour Collective and the Two Rules Big Band.

As a musician Max enjoys a broad repertoire, featuring classical, jazz, soul and musical theatre among other genres, and as an experienced trumpeter he offers excellent sight-reading and transposition skills too.

In 2012, Max set down the trumpet and leapt onstage as Reverend Shaw Moore for UCLU Musical Theatre Society’s production of Footloose in the Garage Theatre Workshop, and since then he has been establishing a reputation as a vocalist as well as an instrumentalist, singing with Down for the Count, the ULU Big Band and at various jams in London.

Updated 10/10/2014