A change of cadence is in store for the penultimate series of concerts in the 2015/16 Absolute Classics season.
Young and “highly talented” Welsh percussionist Rhys Matthews will perform an “amazing musical experience” to audiences in Langholm, Annan, Gatehouse and Thornhill this month.
Supported by celebrated Welsh pianist Michael Davies, Rhys will showcase a “dazzling display of musicality and virtuosity”, proving that there is a lot more to the art of percussion than simply banging on a drum.
An alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, this multi award-winning musician is a member of the Kudos Percussion Duo and a percussion quartet Strike4, giving workshops to schools and performing concerts as part of the Spotlight concert series held within the RNCM.
Rhys has performed with a variety of orchestras and music societies, including the BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Northern Sinfonia and the Hallé Orchestra and performed as principal timpanist for Sinfonia Cymru.
He has given performances at many festivals, toured Italy, Australia, New Zealand and the USA and performed in many prestigious concert venues, including the Royal Albert Hall (London), Symphony Hall (Birmingham) and London’s Royal Festival Hall.
He is a member of The National Youth Wind Orchestra, Brass Band and Symphonic Brass of Wales.
Awards during his solo career include Gwent Young Musician of the Year 2005, Welsh Rotary Young Musician of the Year 2005 and he received the Ken Lloyd Percussion Prize as part of The National Youth Brass Band of Wales. He won the Gilbert & Webster Prize in 2008 for Percussion Performance , from the RNCM and achieved his Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (LRSM) qualification.
Award-winning musician Michael Davies studied with leading pianist Norma Fisher and has received a number of awards from the Fenton Arts, John Fussell and Ian Fleming Charitable trusts.
In 2006 he won the prestigious Blue Riband, the highest prize for solo performance in the National Eisteddfod of Wales with a performance broadcast on S4C and ITV Wales.
As a soloist, Michael has given concerts and recitals across the UK, the Isle of Man and in Germany and has performed at venues including St James’s Piccadilly in London, the Wales Millennium Centre and the House of Commons.
The concerts take place on Thursday, 18 February, at the Buccleuch Centre, Langholm at 7.30pm. Friday, 19 February at Annan Academy Performing Arts at 7.30pm; Saturday, 20 February, at the Cally Palace, Gatehouse of Fleet, at 7.30pm; and Sunday 21 February, at the Buccleuch and Queensberry Arms Hotel, Thornhill, at 3.30pm.
For tickets and full programme details, visit www.absoluteclassics.co.uk
“We would like to say a big thank you to our dedicated audiences, patrons and trustees as well as the support of the Holywood Trust, Creative Scotland, Robertson Trust, Crichton Development Company, McMillan Hotel Group, DG Link, Thrive for Business, DGUnlimited, Dumfries and Galloway Council, the Hugh Fraser Foundation and The Buccleuch and Queensberry Arms Hotel. This programme is part-financed by the Scottish Government and the European Union – LEADER 2014-2020 programme.”
