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Gwilym Simcock
Gwilym Simcock
Background information
Born	24 February 1981 (age 43); Bangor, Gwynedd, U.K.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instrument	Piano
Years active	2000s–present
Website	gwilymsimcock.com

Gwilym Simcock (born 24 February 1981) is a Welsh pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music. He 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 Jazzwise magazine.

Early life

Simcock was born in Bangor, Gwynedd. At the age of eleven he attained the highest marks in the country for his Associated Board on both piano and French horn. He studied 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 studied 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 and won the "Principal's Prize" for outstanding achievement. At the Royal Academy of Music he studied with Milton Mermikides.

Career

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 broadcasts 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).

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 the television channel BBC Two.

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.

His trio, which has performed at festivals and venues worldwide such as the North Sea Jazz Festival 2007, features James Maddren (drums) and Yuri Goloubev (bass), while his debut album featured Stan Sulzmann, John Parricelli, Phil Donkin, Martin France, and Ben Bryant.

He was chosen by Chick Corea for a solo concert performance and live recording at Klavier Festival Ruhr 2007. This concert was broadcast on WDR radio and 20,000 copies were given away as a cover mount CD in Germany's leading music magazine Fonoforum.^[1]

He was a member of Tim Garland's Lighthouse Trio, but he left in 2013 and was replaced by John Turville. He was a member of Malcolm Creese's Acoustic Triangle, Stan Sulzmann's Neon, and Bill Bruford's Earthworks. He has also played with Dave Holland, Lee Konitz, Bob Mintzer, Bobby McFerrin, Kenny Wheeler, Iain Ballamy, Julian Argüelles, Pete King, Don Weller, Steve Waterman, and Torsten de Winkel / New York Jazz Guerrilla. He is a founding member of The Impossible Gentlemen.

He also plays French horn^[2] and has played with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO), the BBC Big Band, and with Kenny Wheeler on his 2003/2005 tour.

He has toured with jazz guitarist Pat Metheny in a quartet with Linda Oh and Antonio Sanchez.

In 2011 his album Good Days At Schloss Elmau was one of the twelve nominees for the Mercury Music Prize, losing to PJ Harvey's Let England Shake.^[3]

Commissions/collaborations

A commission to compose and perform a piano concerto with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Proms 2008 at the Royal Albert Hall in London (Progressions)
A commission for a new work for the Aronowitz Ensemble at the City of London Festival, July 2008
A commission and recording for a piano concerto with big band with the NDR Big Band in Germany (Hamburg Suite)
A Big Band project at Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2007, broadcast on BBC Radio on 1 June 2007 (The Lichfield Suite)
A 2007 commission and tour with The Scottish Ensemble (Chamber Orchestra), broadcast on 1 July 2007 on BBC Radio Scotland and again on BBC Radio 3 on 12 October
Guest soloist on Mark Antony Turnage's commission with London Sinfonietta for the re-opening of the Southbank Centre at Queen Elizabeth Hall, June 2007
A commission for the Britten Sinfonia, premiered at the London Jazz Festival 2007 (Jackie's Dance)
New Horn Sonata performed at the Wigmore Hall with French horn player Chris Parkes
Performed the première of Tim Garland's piano concerto with the Northern Sinfonia, May 2005
A commission and major Arts Council-funded tour of cathedrals with Acoustic Triangle and Sacconi Strings, 2008
Performing with his trio at the BBC Young Musician of the Year Jazz Award 2014 and 2016 with the finalists of the competition