My musical journey started in primary school where I had a strong curiosity for music and learning to play an instrument. I experimented with several different instruments, but none of them felt right for me. Around the age of ten, I joined my local brass band, inspired by my sister who had been a member for several years. They initially gave me a cornet, but I (apparently) had trouble focusing and sitting still, so they switched me to percussion instead. I had a blast running around the section and playing everything I could lay my hands on. It seemed like I had finally found my calling!
My musical journey started in primary school where I had a strong curiosity for music and learning to play an instrument. I experimented with several different instruments, but none of them felt right for me. Around the age of ten, I joined my local brass band, inspired by my sister who had been a member for several years. They initially gave me a cornet, but I (apparently) had trouble focusing and sitting still, so they switched me to percussion instead. I had a blast running around the section and playing everything I could lay my hands on. It seemed like I had finally found my calling!
I spent the next few years learning to be a percussionist, mainly by watching other members of the section and asking a lot of questions. In 2010 I was given the wonderful opportunity to play at the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra, performing a new composition by Graham Fitkin. This experience cemented my love of music and gave me the motivation to pursue percussion as a career. Reflecting on this project since has opened my eyes to the importance of outreach and educational projects and how transformative they can be for young musicians.
In 2017 I moved to London to study orchestral percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where I spent five years completing first my undergraduate and then postgraduate degrees under the tutelage of David Corkhill, Kevin Hathway, Julian Warburton, Rachel Gledhill, and Richard Benjafield. During this time, I had far too many fantastic opportunities and experiences to list. A few of my personal highlights include a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in the Barbican under Takuo Yuasa, performing as a timpanist alongside the Academy of Ancient Music, and the final project I organised as a student; a performance of Iannis Xenakis’s
Persephassa for percussion sextet.
Alongside my passion for orchestral music, I’m a huge fan of contemporary music, especially the works of John Cage, Steve Reich, and Iannis Xenakis. I recently formed a percussion ensemble (the Om Ensemble) with the goal of turning this passion into a more active part of my career.
EDUCATION
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
London, UK
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS
What is your favourite piece of music and why do you love it?
A difficult one because it seems to change every week! At the moment it would have to be Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony. It's such a powerful and meaningful symphony with great percussion parts, and Shostakovich does a fantastic job drawing a vivid picture of the Russian Revolution of 1905.
What’s your most memorable moment as a musician?
Performing Mahler’s 2nd Symphony at the Barbican in September 2021. The last eighteen months had been completely disrupted by the pandemic with most projects being cancelled and those that went ahead being dramatically reduced in scale. Thankfully by the start of my master's degree, most of the restrictions had been lifted and Guildhall’s induction concert, led by Takuo Yuasa, went ahead as planned. Performing a powerful work such as Mahler 2 is always exhilarating, but given the context of the last year and a half, it was by far the most moving musical experience of my career so far.
OTHER PROJECTS
Om Ensemble
