Tim Wright swapped the city for the desert

Tim Wright, from Gelli, Rhondda, south Wales, is marking seven years since he swapped life in the UK to teach drums in the Middle East.

He drives to work every day past palm tree-lined roads, through what used to be a desert, to a purpose-built complex housing the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra (ROSO).

Mr Wright, 32, is a percussion tutor at ROSO, which was set up two decades ago because of the Sultan of Oman's love of classical music.

His job which carries the title of civilian officer in the Sultan's Royal Guard sees him teaching students and organising his section for concerts.

The orchestra was set up in 1985

"The orchestra was conceived in 1985, when Sultan Qaboos bin Said decided he wanted an orchestra of Omani nationals," he said.

"Young Omanis from all over the country applied, sat musical aptitude tests and the successful applicants gained places in the initial orchestra.

"Being an Arab country, there was no tradition of western classical music, and the students had to start from the very beginning - they were initially schooled in English, maths, science and music theory.

"Professional players/tutors were recruited as trainers for each section of the orchestra - my job is to teach the percussion section, the tutor for trumpet is Andrew Cuff who is from Pontypridd."

Sultan Qaboos bin Said takes a very personal interest in the running of the orchestra.

"The first orchestras in Europe began from royal or wealthy families who paid for them - here it is a similar situation," said Mr Wright.

"We perform both private and public concerts in Oman and abroad."

Mr Wright said education was a very big part of his day-to-day work in the orchestra.

The Wrights have been in Oman for seven years

"It is a varied job, you can teach, perform, and take players through individual development like a music college," he said.

"Alongside the orchestra, there is a school - an ongoing recruitment process sees young Omanis being trained to eventually perform in the orchestra."

His wife Rachel, 30, is director of music at the British school in Oman.

The couple, who have a two-year-old son Jacob Osian, decided to move after becoming fed up with barely seeing each other as they lived and worked in London. They saw their chance to escape in a newspaper advert.

"I had been freelancing in London as a player, working for varied organisations such as the Royal National Theatre and the English National Ballet, and basically saw the job advertised and applied," he said.

"We hadn't been to the Middle East before - it was something that interested us.

"Oman is a wonderful place to live and work - the Omanis are a very friendly people and it is a beautiful country.

"We thought we would do it for a couple of years, but we are still here seven years later."

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