Colin Currie percussion

Award Winner 2005

Colin Currie has established a unique reputation for his charismatic and virtuosic performances of works by today's leading composers, and appears with many of the world's most important orchestras. Regularly commissioning and recording new works, he has made an inspirational and innovative contribution to the percussion repertoire. At the age of fifteen Colin Currie won the Shell/LSO prize and subsequently was the first percussion finalist in the BBC Young Musician competition. He was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist award in 2002 for his outstanding role in contemporary music-making and was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2003-2005 appearing as soloist with the BBC orchestras and exploring new repertoire in recitals and studio recordings. During the 2007/8 season Currie gives the world premiere of Simon Holt's Table of Noises, European premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Percussion Concerto, US premiere of Steven Mackey's Time Release and the UK premiere of Nyman's gdm with the City of Birmingham Symphony, London Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Elsewhere and further ahead Currie also performs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Berlin Festspiele, Gürzenich-Orchester, Seoul Philharmonic and St Louis Symphony at Carnegie Hall. He continues his duo recital project with trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger and embarks on a new recital duo with pianist Nic Hodges performing Birtwistle's The Axe Manual in Italy and at the Wigmore Hall. Colin Currie has recently released a recital disc of music by British composer Dave Maric on Onyx and has also recorded MacMillan's Veni, Veni Emmanuel and Michael Torke's Rapture for Naxos, as well as a previous solo recital disc for EMI. Colin Currie plays Zildjan cymbals and is a MarimbaOne Artist.

Photograph taken by Chris Dawes