Gwilym Simcock
| Gwilym Simcock | |
|---|---|
| Born |
24 February 1981 Bangor, Gwynedd, U.K. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | Early 2000s–present |
| Website | gwilymsimcock.com |
Gwilym Simcock (born 24 February 1981) is a British pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music, and often blurring the boundaries of the two.
Simcock was chosen as one of the 1000 Most Influential People in London by the Evening Standard. He was featured on the front cover of the August 2007 issue of the UK's leading Jazz journal Jazzwise Magazine.
Simcock was born in Bangor, Gwynedd. At the age of eleven he attained the highest marks in the country for his Associated Board Grade 8 exams – on both piano and French horn. He went on to study classical piano, French horn and composition at Chetham's School, Manchester, where he was introduced to jazz by pianist and teacher Les Chisnall and bassist and teacher Steve Berry. He went on to study jazz piano at The Royal Academy of Music, London with John Taylor, Nikki Iles, Nick Weldon and Geoff Keezer.
He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a first-class honours degree and the "Principal's Prize' for outstanding achievement.
In 2008 he was commissioned to perform at The Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He composed a Piano Concerto "Progressions" which he performed with his trio and the BBC Concert Orchestra on 9 August 2008, broadcast live on BBC2 TV.
On 5 October 2008 he was featured in an evening at the King's Place Opening Festival in which he performed four concerts leading four different groups including a duo with John Taylor.
In 2006 he was the first jazz musician to be selected for the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme, and this was extended to 2008. It involved numerous recordings that were broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as solo performances, and his trio appearance at the Wigmore Hall during the London Jazz Festival 2006 (broadcast 7 July 2007).
...
Wikipedia