Who We Are

Devon Youth Jazz Orchestra is the place to learn jazz in Devon!

DYJO teaches young people from across the whole of Devon including Exeter, North Devon, South Devon, Torbay and Dartmoor to play and perform a wide variety of Jazz.

DYJO has won many national awards over its history for its performances and educational programme, and continues to play to enthusiastic audiences in Devon and beyond. Our main educational programme includes intensive monthly rehearsals from September to April, as well as a three-day residential in October half-term.

The Tutors

Brian Moore manages the whole of DYJO (in partnership with the DYJO’s Association), and conducts DYJO2, the junior of the two big bands. Brian is extremely busy with big bands in Devon, both conducting and playing. As well as conducting DYJO2, he also plays lead trumpet in the Dave Hankin Big Band, and plays in the sections of the Mike Westbrook Big Band and AJ’s Big Band. He also teaches brass as well as having been principal trumpet in EMG Symphony Orchestra for 16 years. 2010 saw the debut of Brian Moore’s Wind Machine, a big band specialising in the music of Count Basie.

Brian was nominated for the Jazz Education Award at the Parliamentary Jazz awards in 2013.

Graham Hutton, who conducts DYJO1 is based in Exeter and is highly regarded as a jazz trumpeter and band leader. Although specialising in the Jazz and Big Band idioms he also performs in a diverse range of other settings from performing with the Ray McVay Glenn Miller Orchestra to session work on House records. Locally he is a jazz soloist with AJ’s Big Band and the Dave Hankin Big Band.

As a member of DYJO in his youth, Graham also performed with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) and took over leadership of DYJO1 in 2005. Since then he has employed his immense experience and enthusiasm to the DYJO programme challenging the students with fully professional big band charts. He has a love for the widest range of big band repertoire which is reflected in DYJO1 performances. Having been a member of the band, he is passionate about DYJO and the quality of jazz education it provides, always working with our other leaders to ensure the DYJO programme is of the highest standard.