Paul Watkins and The Nash Ensemble
Biography Paul Watkins and The Nash Ensemble
Paul Watkins
Acclaimed for his inspirational performances and eloquent musicianship, Paul Watkins enjoys a distinguished career both as concerto soloist and chamber musician. Born in 1970, he studied with William Pleeth, Melissa Phelps and Johannes Goritzki, and at the age of 20 was appointed Principal Cellist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. During his solo career he has collaborated with world renowned conductors including Paavo Berglund, Leonard Slatkin, David Robertson, Sakari Oramo, Andrew Litton, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Mark Elder, Vernon Handley, Richard Hickox, Sir Andrew Davis and Sir Charles Mackerras. He performs regularly with all the major British orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia and City of Birmingham Symphony. He has made six concerto appearances at the BBC Proms, most recently in a televised performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto at the First Night of the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek and recorded live by Deutsche Grammophon.
He made his concerto debut at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of chief conductor Yakov Kreizberg, and has performed with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, Queensland Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and the RAI National Symphony Orchestra of Turin. He has toured to Italy and Prague with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and to China and the Far East with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Forthcoming highlights in 2010/11 include his debut at Carnegie Hall performing Brahms’ Double Concerto with Daniel Hope, as well as concerto appearances with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In 2012/13 he will premiere a concerto written for him by Mark-Anthony Turnage with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Tampere Philharmonic, Royal Flemish Philharmonic and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
A dedicated chamber musician, Watkins has been a member of the Nash Ensemble since 1997. He regularly performs with the world’s finest musicians, including Menahem Pressler, Jaime Laredo, Lars Vogt, Christian Tetzlaff and Vadim Repin. He has given recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, De Doelen in Rotterdam, the Wigmore Hall, South Bank Centre, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and Queens Hall, Edinburgh. In the 2010/11 season he will appear at the Wigmore Hall with Leila Josefowicz, Steven Osborne and Michael Collins.
Huw Watkins
Highly regarded as a performer of contemporary and twentieth-century music, Huw Watkins studied piano at Chetham’s School of Music and composition at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music. He has premièred works by Alexander Goehr, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Michael Zev Gordon, and John Woolrich. Working regularly with Britten Sinfonia, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and BBC Symphony Orchestra, he also performs as a duo partner with many fine musicians. His discography includes recordings of Alexander Goehr’s Symmetry Disorders Reach, a cycle of fifteen solo piano pieces, and Thomas Adès’s song cycle The Lover in Winter with the counter-tenor Robin Blaze. His compositions have been commissioned, performed, and recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, English Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Nash Ensemble, Music Theatre Wales, and the Belcea and Petersen string quartets. Huw Watkins is Professor of Composition at the Royal College of Music and Jerwood Associate Composer with Music Theatre Wales.
