Information About Daniel - Highgate teacher

Personal Description:

I am a well-trained professional musician, percussionist and timpanist, as well as a composer and teacher graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, the Paris Conservatoire and the Paris University.

I have been working with leading orchestras in the UK and Spain, composed several pieces, and I have taught in several musical institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music Junior Academy, the Wandsworth Music Academy and the Philharmonia Orchestra Education department.

As a performer, I have played as Guest principal timpanist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Galicia Symphony Orchestra in Spain. I have also performed as Principal timpanist on trial with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
I currently hold the position of Principal timpanist with the Arch Sinfonia in London, and I am offered to play as Principal timpanist on trial with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in the near future.

In my career, I have had the enormous privilege to perform with greatly inspiring conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Sakari Oramo, Susanna Mälkki, Marin Alsop and Edward Gardner, to name a few, and I had the chance to play as principal timpanist in critically acclaimed recordings with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Hyperion Records), the Galicia Symphony Orchestra (Live concert recordings) and the Britten-Pears Orchestra (Naxos).

Aside with my orchestral career, I have also played in various chamber music groups and for various projects, performing pieces by Steve Reich, Takemitsu, Dave Maric, John Cage, as well as the UK Premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Metal Work, and my own adaptation for piano and percussion of Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, with the collaboration of the pianist Hao Zi Yoh.

Tutoring Experience:

- Royal Academy of Music Junior Academy
- Wandsworth Music Academy
- Philharmonia Orchestra Education Department
- Private teaching with 100% success rate at auditions and ABRSM exams

I have held a significant role within the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Education department since I became an Emerging Artist fellow with the orchestra in 2018. It gave me the opportunity to take on several educational missions, which have led me to teach the young percussionists of the Wandsworth Music Academy and the Sutton Music Service on a regular basis – individual lessons, small group classes, ensemble conducting, orchestral coaching and performances alongside the students. In September 2021, I became the permanent Orchestral Percussion teacher with the Wandsworth Music Academy. I have also had the privilege to teach at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Academy as a deputy Percussion Teacher this year.

Tutoring Approach:

As a tutor I aim to teach with simple, clear and consistent principles and effective methods, while always helping my students to reach the highest possible artistic commitment and passion. I also aim for the high development of my students’ musical mind, constantly encouraging them to aspire for quality, taste and finesse. It is also crucial to work in a friendly atmosphere to allow the students to feel relaxed, comfortable and confident in their learning.