I first started playing the drums around the age of 10 when my dad bought a drum set as a gift for my mum. This drum set very quickly became mine when I began having lessons at Dudley Performing Arts, my local music service. After a couple of years of lessons, I began playing in the percussion ensemble on Saturday mornings, where we would play lots of original compositions by our ensemble leader. I also joined the wind band at the same time, and my first performance with them was at Symphony Hall for the Music for Youth Festival, which was subsequently followed by a performance at the Royal Albert Hall.
I first started playing the drums around the age of 10 when my dad bought a drum set as a gift for my mum. This drum set very quickly became mine when I began having lessons at Dudley Performing Arts, my local music service. After a couple of years of lessons, I began playing in the percussion ensemble on Saturday mornings, where we would play lots of original compositions by our ensemble leader. I also joined the wind band at the same time, and my first performance with them was at Symphony Hall for the Music for Youth Festival, which was subsequently followed by a performance at the Royal Albert Hall.
In 2016, I was fortunate enough to begin my studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama under the tutelage of Patrick King, Owen Gunnell, Henry Baldwin, and Matthew French. I have fond memories of my time in Cardiff as I was given many fantastic opportunities, including: placements with BBC NOW and WNO, and premiering a new work,
Mentacide by New Zealand based composer, John Psathas.
After finishing my undergraduate in July 2020, (it was a very crazy finish… I did my recital virtually from my home in Dudley due to the pandemic), I continued onto my Masters studies as a scholar at the Royal College of Music in London. Here I had a blast! Not only was I pushed to better myself as a musician, but also how best to present myself as a professional. A highlight would be getting to work with Sir Antonio Pappano and performing Mahler’s 6th Symphony with Rafael Payare. For my postgraduate studies, I was extremely lucky to receive financial awards from the Headley Trust, the Countess of Munster, Clive and Sylvia Richards Trust and Help Musicians UK. Outside of college, I have had the opportunity to work with the Welsh National Opera and in 2017, took part in the LSO Percussion and Timpani Academy.
EDUCATION
Royal College of Music
London, UK
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Cardiff, UK
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS
What is your favourite piece of music and why do you love it?
There’s nothing quite like the opening of ‘Star Wars’ really is there? One of the best triangle rolls in the repertoire!
What’s your most memorable moment as a musician?
Getting to play the Hammer in Mahler’s 6th Symphony, it was an incredibly exhilarating experience.
