As the new academic year kicked into gear, we caught up with old and new members of the percussion department ahead of a lunchtime performance and masterclass with visiting ensemble O Duo!
Owen Gunnell – one half of O Duo! – was performing at the College for the first time since joining the staff as a percussion tutor:
“Percussionists have to be extremely versatile these days and, having had experience across many different genres, I’m looking forward to working regularly with the students, sharing what I’ve learned and finding out what makes them tick.” said Owen.
“I was pretty blown away by the building and the facilities,” he added, “the concert hall in particular has a brilliant acoustic for chamber music and is a pleasure to play in.”
Among the three new full time percussion students is postgraduate Diogo Gomes, who arrived from Portugal at the start of term. “I was so happy to discover that Owen would be my teacher. His approach seems very similar to mine. He likes to have fun with the music and take some risks in his performance.”
Erasmus students Mattia Basi from the Conservatorio di Musica in Verona and Agnieszka Nowicka from the Academy of Music in Lodz, Poland also join the department this term.
The special appointment of Kevin Hathway (Philharmonia Orchestra and Purcell School) as Ev-entz Chair in Percussion was also announced in September.
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