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Heather Corbett concert percussionist
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Heather Corbett concert percussionist
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| BIOGRAPHY | |
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Heather Corbett is one of Britain's leading percussionists. Her solo performances throughout the country have attracted outstanding critical acclaim. |
| Her versatility enables her to play all styles of music from light to very difficult contemporary music and world premieres of concertos. | |
| Heather was born into a musical family, later studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where she was awarded numerous prizes and scholarships during her joint study of percussion and piano. She also helped develop the Percussion Department of the Junior School at the Guildhall. | |
| Heather freelanced with the BBC Symphony Orchestra where she played Percussion and Cimbalom under the direction of Pierre Boulez, as well as with other notable orchestras and ensembles in London before moving to Scotland as Section Principal Percussion with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She is percussionist and cimbalom player with the Marianne Olyver Orchestra and is also one of their principal soloists, appearing regularly as a soloist on BBC Radio 2. | |
| Heather has been playing with the Paragon Ensemble for over 20 years. Heather gave the world premiere of a new percussion concerto by composer Martin Butler as part of Paragon's 20th Birthday Concert in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. | |
| She has played numerous Percussion Concertos with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, including those by Milhaud, Creston, Hovhaness, Ortiz and Howard Blake. These were all broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and/or BBC Radio Scotland. Heather has a personal letter from Darius Milhaud, thanking her for playing his Concerto for Marimba and Vibraphone. | |
| Heather's talents are in great demand in the world of education for master-classes, seminars and workshops as well as individual tuition and examining. She is currently Professor of Percussion at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and at the University of St Andrews. | |
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As an experienced recording artist, Heather regularly makes CDs, BBC broadcasts and television appearances. |
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| Heather receives sponsorship from instrument-makers, Yamaha, Sabian and Adams. | |
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| REVIEWS | |
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| BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - THOROUGHLY MODERN MUSIC, CITY HALL, GLASGOW 15/5/06 | |
| " . . the superb, responsive musicality of percussionist, Heather Corbett . ." Keith Bruce | |
| CHILDREN'S CLASSIC CONCERTS - DRUMMED UP, ROYAL CONCERT HALL, GLASGOW 7/2/05 | |
| " . . the fantastic Heather Corbett on cimbalom - a truly spectacular occasion . ." Miranda Heggie | |
| BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, GREYFRIARS KIRK, EDINBURGH 26/1/04 | |
| " . . the keen Dutilleux ear for timbre reacting to the sonic possibilities of a Hungarian cimbalom. With Heather Corbett as exponent, its brittle twang was an exotic contribution to the music." Conrad Wilson, The Herald | |
| BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CHRISTMAS CLASSICS, ABERDEEN 20/12/03 | |
| "I wanted to send you thanks and congratulations on your performance. It was fantastic playing, and you made a major contribution to the success of the evening." Hugh MacDonald, Director BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra | |
| " . . star of the show, percussionist Heather Corbett, made xylophone playing, even in a supersonic Flight of the Bumblebee, look as easy as chopping vegetables." Kenneth Walton, The Scotsman | |
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| RECORDINGS | |
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Heather's CD with pianists Murray McLachlan and Kathryn Page was released in 2006 on the Dunelm Records label. The repertoire for the CD includes the famous Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion and a newly-commissioned piece by Charles Camilleri for the same instrumentation. Reviews for this CD have all been enthusiastic and highly complimentary. |
| Heather has recorded solo CDs of Stravinsky's Ragtime with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Naeme Jarvi; Jennifer Barker's Blue Waters for vibraphone; and Dark Eyes and Serenade with the Marianne Olyver Orchestra. | |
| Her orchestral CDs are numerous and include Nielsen's Symphony 5 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Osmo Vanska, Jerry Goldsmith Film Music on which Heather plays cimbalom and the Rachmaninov Series with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Owain Arwel Hughes. | |
| Film theme music which features Heather playing Cimbalom has been recorded in the scores for Ryan's Daughter, Plunkett and McLean, and The Quiet American. | |
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| PERFORMANCES | |
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Heather specialises as an exponent
of the She is also busy as a recitalist in chamber groups and as a soloist. |
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| LINKS | |
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Click on the names below to follow links to other pages connected to Heather's work |
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| CONTACT | |
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Heather
Corbett can be contacted by email on: |
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