Mike Hardy began playing the trumpet at the age of 7, having already begun playing the piano and recorder aged 6 at Lowerplace Primary School in his home town of Rochdale. Showing a considerable flair for the trumpet, he went on to the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester at the age of 13 to continue his musical studies. Mike went on to Cambridge University where, in amongst his studies for his engineering degree and subsequent PhD in engineering, he played with the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra and Cambridge Light Orchestra along with the Cambridge Musical Society and was lead trumpet in the Cambridge Big Band and Brass Quintet.

Moving to the Scottish Borders, Mike went on to lecture in Engineering at Edinburgh University and became very engaged with music in the area. He is currently the Musical Director of Berwick Male Voice Choir, Berwick Musical & Theatre Society and Kelso Amateur Operatic Society, and has composed and arranged music for the Edinburgh Light Orchestra as well as his own Big Band and Brass Quintet in Edinburgh. Mike is currently the Director of Music at Longridge Towers School where he also teaches A Level physics and maths. He lives in Allanton with his wife and five children.