WREXHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

 

Laurence Perkins - conductor

 

With a special enthusiasm for working with amateur musicians, Laurence Perkins has become a very popular orchestral and ensemble conductor, regularly giving concerts with many different musical groups around the UK.

 

Born near Liverpool in 1954, Laurence studied the bassoon at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He has been principal bassoonist in Manchester Camerata since 1974, and his wide experience as an orchestral player includes concerts with some of the world’s top conductors and soloists in the UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.

 

His work as a bassoon soloist includes performances and recordings that have gained him an international reputation. His CDs for the Hyperion label have received outstanding acclaim in the national and international press, a five-star rating in the BBC Music Magazine, and are regularly broadcast by radio stations worldwide. Laurence’s recording of the Mozart Bassoon Concerto was recently voted one of the top performances of all available versions on BBC Radio 3’s ‘CD Review’ programme.

 

Laurence’s conducting has covered a wide range of music, including much of the standard classical and romantic repertoire, numerous 20th century works including music by Copland, Stravinsky, Martinu, John McCabe and William Alwyn, and many works in the wind chamber music repertoire in which he specialises. Laurence is Director of Wind Chamber Music at the Dartington International Summer School in Devon where this summer he will be conducting Mozart’s ‘Gran Partita’ Serenade in the final concert of their Mozart celebration week, with members of the Dartington Festival Orchestra. He also runs his own series of ‘Wind Serenades’ chamber music courses for amateur players around the UK (www.windserenades.co.uk). His other activities include musical relaxation sessions with cancer patients, hill-walking in remote areas and landscape photography.

 

June 2006

 

Click here to buy Laurence Perkins's Classical Bassoon Concertos

 

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