ABOUT HARRY BASSETT
A Musical Journey (Updated 2026)
Harry Bassett is a Dorset-based trumpet player, musical director, composer and facilitator. His work spans live music, theatre, circus and inclusive music-making, with credits including Extraordinary Bodies, Paraorchestra, Frozen Light and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
Equally at home playing Dixieland jazz, ska, reggae, pop and soul, Harry has performed across the UK and internationally, sharing stages with artists including The Skatalites and Robbie McIntosh. His performances have taken him to Glastonbury, Brighton Fringe, the Royal Albert Hall and Westminster Abbey.
Since joining Diverse City in 2019, Harry has developed his work from understudy performer to musical direction and composition. His theatre practice encompasses performing, leading ensembles and helping shape new productions through research and development, with further credits including Diverse City, Shouting Mute and Glow Festival. As Paraorchestra’s Musician in Residence for 2026/27, he is continuing to develop his creative practice as a performer and composer.
Alongside his performance and theatre work, Harry is Musical Director of St Swithun’s Band, Bridport. The role brings together his roots in brass playing and his commitment to community music, nurturing the ensemble and supporting opportunities for new players through its training band.
As a wheelchair user, Harry brings his own experience of access and inclusion to his creative work. He is passionate about creating opportunities for people to explore music in ways that work for them. Through his facilitation and community work, including projects with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, he supports participants from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities.
His experience includes working at Victoria Education Centre as a music technician and resonance board leader, supporting young people aged 3–19. Using instruments and assistive technologies such as iPads, Soundbeam and EyeGaze, he helped pupils make music, express themselves and take part in sensory drama.
Harry’s love of music began at three, when he first encountered the Bournemouth Carnival Band—famously dressed as Spider-Man. After a year of enthusiastically following the band, he became an honorary member, eventually taking up the bugle at seven before moving on to cornet.
At thirteen, he joined Dorset Youth Jazz Orchestra, leading to a performance of the Rocky theme, “Gonna Fly Now”, as a featured soloist at the Royal Albert Hall alongside around 500 young musicians. By sixteen, he had secured his first paid playing role with James Emmett’s Ragtime Revellers and begun working as a deputy trumpet player with the Decatonics, developing the musical versatility that continues to shape his career.
Harry holds a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Popular Music and was awarded a scholarship to study at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in 2021.