Date: Friday 21st April 2023 

Time: 13:10 hrs - 13:50 hrs

Venue: The Concert Hall, East Quad TU Dublin Grangegorman, D07 XFF2

Performers:

David Palmer - Piano I

Aoife Moran - Piano II

Tom Hodgson - Percussion I

John Rousseau - Percussion II

Programme:

• Béla Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion,
• Arrangement of Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Márque

 David Palmer - Piano I 

David Palmer (b. 1997) is a London-based composer and pianist specialising in 20th- and 21st-century repertoire.  He is in demand as a soloist and collaborative pianist, and has a particular interest in song.  David studies piano with Ronan O’Hora and Rolf Hind at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and composition with Richard Barrett.  David read music at the University of Oxford, graduating with a first-class BA in 2019.

David was President of the Music and Chamber Music Societies and held multiple scholarships.  Before Oxford, David was a composer for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and attended the Junior Royal Northern College of Music.   David teaches undergraduate modules at Lady Margaret Hall, Jesus College and Lincoln College of the University of Oxford.

David is a 2022-23 Britten Pears Young Artist.  He is generously supported by the Noswad Charity.

Aoife Moran - Piano II

Aoife is an Irish collaborative pianist and répétiteur based in London.  She is currently undergoing a Junior Répétiteur Fellowship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  She holds a Master’s degree in piano accompaniment from Guildhall studying with Carole Presland and Pamela Lidiard.   Following this, she also studied on the Opera course, kindly supported by a full scholarship.

Aoife graduated from the TU Dublin Conservatoire in 2019 with a Bachelor of Music degree, where she studied with Catherina Lemoni-O’Doherty.  Aoife is a versatile pianist, working as a soloist, accompanist, and chamber musician, having performed in venues such as the John Field Room and the main auditorium, National Concert Hall,Carole Nash Hall, Manchester, and Volkhaus Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.

High in demand at home, Aoife has performed for RDS Rising Stars, Contemporary Music Centre’s ‘Musical Tales’ concertseries, Boyne Music Festival, and Music for Galway as part of the Galway Music ResidencyApprentice Ensemble.  Aoife has been awarded many prizes both as a solo pianist and accompanist, in music festivals in Ireland including Feis Ceoil and Sligo Feis Ceoil, amongst others.  As a répétiteur, Aoife has worked on operas including Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Kurt Weill’sDer Zar lässt sich photographieren, Judith Weir’s Miss Fortune, and Menotti’s The Telephone withGuildhall, and Sir John in Love with British Youth Opera. 

Conductors and music coaches she has workedwith include Dominic Wheeler, Chris Hopkins, Marit Strindlund, Liz Rowe, Susanna Stranders, andMairéad Hurley.  Future engagements include assistant conductor and chorus master for Holst’s Sāvitriwith Guildhall, and Wexford Festival Opera’s Young Artist Programme in Autumn 2023.

Aoife is grateful to the Guildhall School for their financial support towards her studies.

Tom Hodgson - Percussion I

Tom is Principal Timpanist of the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, having previously held the position of Principal Percussionist.  He is currently studying for his Masters degree on the "Orchestral Artistry" course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with funding as the School's Nick Jack Award holder for 2022-23, and is particularly enjoying tuition from the LSO's timpanist, Nigel Thomas. 

The highlights of his time at Guildhall as both an under and postgraduate student have been concerts at the Barbican Centre, including Messiaen's Turangalîla (as principal), Mahler's Second and Seventh Symphonies, and, most recently, Mahler's First Symphony (as timpanist).

As a chamber musician, recent projects have included Persephassa by Iannis Xenakis and Steve Reich's Sextet but working on this performance of Bartók's Sonata has been especially exciting.

Tom also enjoys drum kit and musical theatre playing, with West Side Story, In The Heights, and Legally Blonde all examples of memorable experiences working as a freelancer with youth and amateur societies.  Passionate about encouraging young musicians, he teaches percussion and drum kit, and has been West Sussex Youth Orchestra's section tutor since 2019.

When he's not hitting things, Tom is a keen follower of football and cricket, and loves to spend time with his partner playing the guitar, cooking, and doing pub quizzes.

 John Rousseau - Percussion II

“John Rousseau… had, in fact, given a terrific display of explosive drumming.” – Business Post (2018)

George Moore Scholar and recipient of the Jones Engineering Exceptional Graduating Student Scholarship, John is an ambitious young percussionist.   As a solo performer, John achieved success in 2018 in the Freemasons Young Musician of The Year, being awarded the third-place prize.   More recently John was also named as one of the University Concert Hall’s Rising Stars and granted an opportunity to perform a solo recital in April 2021.

John has often featured on RTÉ television and radio broadcast both in solo and ensemble performances.

A regular on the professional freelance circuit, John often performs with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Dublin Concert Orchestra, Orchestra of Ireland, the National Symphony Orchestra, Irish National Opera Orchestra, Bangers, Bangers and Crash Percussion Group, and the Gaiety Theatre Live Orchestra.   John also performs with the Wexford Festival Opera orchestra, one of Europe's most prestigious opera festivals.  Notable conductors John has worked under include Michael Giacchino, Eimear Noone, David Brophy, Gavin Maloney, Timothy Myers, Kenneth Montgomery, and Stephen Bell.

In 2021 John was offered the Nick Jack award scholarship by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study an ‘Orchestral Artistry’ Masters.   

John is very grateful to the Guildhall School, Jones Engineering, Mme Marine Martine and the George Moore Foundation for their contributions towards funding his studies.  This funding will allow John to continue his postgraduate studies in the Guildhall School.  John holds a Bachelor and Masters from TU Dublin in Percussion Performance.

Admission:  Free  -  Booking is essential -

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