Dame Evelyn Glennie is the world’s premier solo percussionist, performing worldwide with the greatest orchestras, conductors and artists. Her solo recordings exceed 40 CDs and are as diverse as her career onstage. A double GRAMMY Award winner and BAFTA nominee, Evelyn is also a composer for film, theatre and television. Evelyn was awarded an OBE in 1993 and has over 100 international awards to date, including the Polar Music Prize and the Companion of Honour. Evelyn is currently forming The Evelyn Glennie Collection with a vision to open a centre that embodies her mission to Teach the World to Listen. 

“I am honoured to lend my support towards the Pete Handley Percussion Award. Pete’s vision was to build bridges through his passion and artistry as a percussionist and musician. He knew that a shared experience could lead to powerful change and thus a better world. Nurturing the next generation was such a crucial part to Pete’s work. The dedication and determination from Pete’s family, friends and many colleagues to keep his vision shining brightly is to make sure as many of our young people are given the opportunity to explore the wonders of sharing music together.” 

www.evelyn.co.uk

David studied at the Royal College of Music with Janos Keszei and Michael Skinner. Even before leaving College, he performed regularly with the London Sinfonietta, and eventually became its Principal Percussionist in 1995, surely one of the most demanding positions for a percussionist anywhere in the world. With the London Sinfonietta he has given numerous world premieres by composers including George Benjamin, Oliver Knussen, Elliott Carter, Tom Adès, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Jonathan Harvey, Tōru Takemitsu, Sir Michael Tippett, Steve Reich and many more.  Having also worked regularly for more than ten years with all of the major London orchestras, he joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1991, becoming its Principal Percussionist in 1994. He has worked with all of the leading conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Sir Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Bernard Haitink and Claudio Abbado. As well as extensive orchestral and chamber recordings, David has also been heavily involved throughout his career with education work which has taken him to many communities, including prisons and schools for the severely disabled, at home and as far afield as Japan, South America and the United States.

In January 2008 David was appointed Head of Percussion at the Royal College of Music, a role for which he considers himself privileged to have been considered.

When not involved in music making, David enjoys participating in many sports, particularly skiing, and he also likes to cook when time allows.

Owen graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2003 with First Class Honours, subsequently completing a Junior Fellowship at the same institution with his ensemble O Duo in 2006. Since then he has had a busy and varied career. He has made solo appearances with the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, the Philharmonia, the Macedonian Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Sinfonia Viva, Orchestre de Picardie (France) and the De Doelen Ensemble (Holland) among others. He has performed and been broadcast on TV and radio across Europe, the USA, Mexico, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Japan, Russia, Australia and the UK. Owen has worked closely and played/recorded new commissions by many composers including Steve Reich, George Benjamin, Brett Dean, Thomas Adès, Unsuk Chin, Aphex Twin, David Lang, Nico Muhly, Michael Nyman, Oliver Knussen, Donnacha Dennehy, Benjamin Wallfisch and Alexandre Desplat. He has also been involved in numerous studio recordings in London, New York and Dublin.

Owen’s percussion duo, O Duo, have released two albums, and performed worldwide to critical acclaim. They are past prizewinners of Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT), Tunnell Trust, Making Music, Royal Over Seas League (ROSL) and were awarded Best Music Act at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

As a chamber and orchestral musician, Owen is a member of the Colin Currie Quartet, the Colin Currie Group and Crash Ensemble (Dublin). He has also worked  with the London Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, The Sinfonia of London, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, the John Wilson Orchestra and the Royal Northern Sinfonia among others.

He is also on the teaching staff at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal College of Music. As well as being the Artistic Director of Children's Classic Concerts, and a tutor for National Youth Percussion Orchestra.

Ralph’s signature groove and ability to cross musical boundaries has made him the studio and live drummer of choice for artists, producers, composers and orchestras worldwide. He is regularly ranked top ten in Rhythm Magazine Readers Polls, has won the Studio Drummer Category at mikedolbear.com and Best Drummer category at the British Jazz Awards.

A first-call studio musician all his life, Ralph has played on countless albums, TV shows and on the soundtracks to over 180 movies, including titles from the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Mission Impossible and James Bond film series. He can often be found in the studio with composers Alexandre Desplat, Hans Zimmer, Anne Dudley and Lorne Balfe amongst others.

Ralph has performed or recorded with Paul McCartney, Björk , George Martin, Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Dionne Warwick, Tori Amos, Burt Bacharach,Tom Jones, Elvis Costello, Diana Ross and Keith Emerson. Orchestrally, he has recorded with Bryn Terfel, Renée  Fleming, John Williams, James Galway, Robert Kraft and Kiri Te Kanawa. Ralph toured the world in Van Morrison’s band from 1995-99 and 2005-06, recording four albums with him. In 2011 he joined celtic rockers The Waterboys and remains a member, recording and touring with the band.

 Ralph’s love of jazz has led to work with some of the legends of the art form including the Count Basie Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Art Farmer, Jon Hendricks, John Lewis of The Modern Jazz Quartet, Joe Lovano, James Moody, Annie Ross, Kurt Elling, Jimmy Witherspoon, John Dankworth, Cleo Laine and Joe Williams.

In 2012 Ralph acted as consultant for Danny Boyle’s London Olympic Opening Ceremony, coordinating, auditioning and training the 1,000 Pandemonium Drummers with whom he performed to an audience of over a billion. He has a lifelong passion for recording and is recognised for his expertise in recording drums in particular. Ralph shares his studio, The Bunker, with ex-Abbey Road chief engineer Haydn Bendall where they work together on various projects.

Ralph is delighted to be involved with the Pete Handley Percussion Award and is proud to have been Pete’s drum kit teacher at the Royal College of Music.

Very few teachers nationwide can equal Jayne’s breadth of teaching experience and success. For consecutive years her pupils have reached the Percussion Final of BBC Young Musician and many of her pupils have gone on to achieve West End and orchestral appointments in both the UK and international orchestras.

Education and outreach work during the last 20 years includes Principal Examiner for The Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Lecturer in Teaching Skills at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. In 2019, alongside City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra timpanist Matthew Hardy, “Concert and Audition pieces for the Young Percussionist” was published and has been included in the new ABRSM percussion syllabus.

The desire to teach employable musicians, and extensive contacts in music education, has given her pupils the opportunity to perform and teach to the highest level. Her sixth form pupils at Wells Cathedral School have achieved major scholarships to the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

As an orchestral coach, Jayne has worked for the National Youth Wind Orchestra of Great Britain, National Youth Orchestra of Wales, National Youth Wind Ensemble, National Children’s Orchestra, IAPS Orchestra and over ten county youth orchestras. 

Vicky O'Neon is an award-winning drummer who graduated from the prestigious BIMM Institute in West London. 

She has taken her drumming skills all across the globe and has toured extensively with different artists both internationally and in the UK. Performance credits to date include – Clean Bandit on Michael McIntyre's Big Show and the MTV music awards with Zara Larsson and Anne-Marie, Hans Zimmer (with Pharrell Williams and Johnny Marr at the Hammersmith Apollo), Jazz Cafe (Rachel K Collier), Dr. Dre’s  Live Orchestra, Arcadia Spectacular (Glastonbury Festival), Fifi Rong (China tour), 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Milton Keynes Stadium, Madejski Stadium and the ELLE Style Awards. 

She recently worked with the rock legend Brian May releasing two songs with the band Kings Daughters. 

She is also co-founder of the non-profit music organisations Girls Rock London and Rock Donna and has developed numerous workshop programmes and worked as a moderator and industry expert to share her insights. She has initiated cultural exchange programmes in Trinidad, Jamaica, Sierra Leone, Mexico and the USA. 

Genevieve is an Australian multi-percussionist, who has recently returned to Australia after 15 years of being based in London. She has recently been appointed to staff as a percussion and academic lecturer at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and was formally a teaching professor at the Royal College of Music. Whilst in London she was a member of “Ensemblebash” and the “Galvanize Project”, as well as a founding member of The G Project, an exciting contemporary collaboration with cellist Gabriella Swallow. Genevieve has performed with and/or recorded with The Nash Ensemble of London, Melanie Pappenheim, CHROMA Ensemble, Gavin Bryars,  Joanna MacGregor, Colin Riley, Kate Halsall, Steven Schick, Lionel Richie, Josh Groban, Akon, John Crawford Quintet, and was a founding member of Flamenco/Indian/Arabic fusion group, Alcazaba. Genevieve also regularly performs in theatre productions as a Musical Director/and or Percussionist/Keys player. Credits include American Psycho: The Musical (MD, Keys 1), Shakespeare's Globe (various productions: MD and Principal Percussion), Thriller (West End and Touring - Perc/Keys 3 ) and Never Forget (Perc -  West End).

Genevieve proudly endorses Vic Firth sticks and cajon’s by Popercussion.

www.genevievewilkins.com

Since joining the Royal College of Music in 2004, Diana Roberts has specialised in the development of the College's careers services for both its students and graduates. She currently manages the flagship Creative Careers Centre, and delivers a range of entrepreneurial courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students. In 2014, Diana was awarded an HonRCM for her services to music. 

Through her work, Diana has created a range of professional portfolio development schemes - wherein musicians gain first-hand experience of working in the industry, a plethora of high-profile concert series at prestigious venues across the UK, and multi-discipline artistic collaborations with the likes of The National Gallery, V&A Museum, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, and the Royal Academy of Arts. 

Outside of her RCM role, Diana is a proud trustee of Street Orchestra Live, and The F-List - an organisation that specialises in supporting women in music. Diana is delighted to become an Artist Supporter of the Pete Handley Percussion Award. 

Box 9 Drumline is the UK’s pioneering percussion and brass collective which stems from the American style of marching band. They offer visually immersive and high energy shows which have captivated audiences across the UK and Europe. As well as acoustic performances, Box 9 offers ground breaking LED light shows with fully integrated choreography. 

Box 9’s players are classically trained and highly skilled professional musicians who work regularly in the UK’s top orchestras, theatres and recording sessions as well as regularly on television and radio. Box 9’s most recent clients have included: Diana Ross, Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor, New Balance, the London Marathon, The National Lottery, The Vamps (BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards), Glastonbury Festival, Jean Paul Gaultier, Universal Music, NFL, Vans and BST Hyde Park festival. 

Emma Arden  ;  Sam Hoile  ;   Alun McNeil-Watson

After two years of training at the prestigious Purcell School of Music, Joe was awarded a scholarship at the Royal College of Music. Having graduated with First Class Honours, he continued his studies for a Masters in Performance, receiving a Distinction as an Ian Evans Lombe and Mary Dobson Scholar.

Joe has performed all over the UK and abroad in a huge array of musical contexts, ranging from work as a contemporary solo artist, to that of an orchestral, chamber, West End and session musician. He has appeared with numerous ensembles including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, frequently featuring on national radio and television. More recently he has also featured as Guest Principal Percussionist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

Other collaborations include work with internationally renowned musicians such as Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Stewart Copeland (The Police), Mark Ford, Daniella Ganeva, We Spoke ensemble, Plus-Minus Ensemble, Kuljit Bhamra and Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic amongst many others.

Catherine graduated with a BA (Hons) degree in music from the University of Southampton and commenced a career as a percussion teacher. She has always been a passionate educator and has held teaching positions in music services, private schools, such as the prestigious Downe House School, state schools and privately. 

Catherine is a dedicated teacher who delivers good quality teaching and embraces a wide range of styles of music to enthuse students to embrace music. Some of Catherine's students have gone on to further study music and now have successful careers as performers and teachers. Catherine enjoys being co-director of Surrey's county percussion ensembles (SCPE and SPARC). She is also Percussion lead for Surrey Arts.

The Pete Handley Percussion Award is a fantastic legacy of Pete's work and passion. It has helped support many Surrey students with instrumental purchases, workshop fees and exam help as well as supporting Surrey Arts with workshop costs to offer students an opportunity to be enthused by percussion. The award has made such a difference to those who have benefitted from it and enabled them to pursue percussion further.

Lucy Landymore is an award-winning multi-percussionist, drummer and composer. As the drummer with The World of Hans Zimmer, she frequently performs to sold out arenas across Europe. She is also the guest lead percussionist and drummer with world renowned duo Igudesman & Joo and has toured with the world famous tenor, Andrea Bocelli. In addition, Lucy has been featured on Sky TV with Michael Parkinson, Deutsche Welle, BBC 2, BBC Radio 1 -Radio 1's Live Lounge, BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 3 among many others. Many international publications have featured Lucy’s work, including the German Drums & Percussion magazine and the French Batterie magazine, where Lucy was listed as one of the Top 10 New Drummers of 2019. Recognised as one of today’s most talented and versatile drummer/percussionists, Lucy's fascination with drums was obvious from the age of 2, when she began watching performances by her father's big band, 78RPM. When she was 17, Lucy won the percussion category of the 2010 BBC Young Musician. She then went on to study classical percussion at the Royal College of Music with David Hockings and Ralph Salmins. Lucy has travelled to Rio de Janeiro to study Samba, and Havana to study Cuban music, including lessons with the legendary Changuito. As a result of being exposed to many musical genres through her life, Lucy is able to incorporate these diverse influences into her performances and compositions. Her piece Vibr-ant for solo vibraphone is published on Universal Edition, along with a music video featuring Lucy performing her own work. 2018 saw the premiere of Landymore's ensemble music, held in concert at the Tonhalle Maag, Zurich. In this extraordinary project titled Football in Concert, she fused together her music with sport to enhance the experience of the FIFA World Cup football match, as well as adding visual excitement to the music itself. The project was commissioned by More than Classic. Lucy has also toured her composition Roo for solo vibraphone, violin and orchestra in multiple venues across Europe with Lucy as vibraphone soloist. In 2019, Lucy was commissioned to write Fantaisie Festive for orchestra and 13 soloists for the 10 Year Gala of the Puplinge Classique Festival in Geneva, Switzerland. Lucy and her brother, Ben Landymore, composed the film score for SHIELD, directed by Yijie Mei. Presently, Lucy is working on a project with film director Zu Quirke, involving her own composition Romance XL for solo multi-percussion. Lucy proudly endorses Meinl Percussion, Meinl Cymbals and Protection Racket. 

Rebecca received her early musical education through the Doncaster Music Service, graduating with a 1st class BMus(HONS) from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (2005-2009), moving onto achieve a Masters in Performance with distinction from the Royal College of Music (2009-11)

Rebecca has spent 10 years as a freelancer in London and the UK, working with ensembles ranging from the BBC Symphony, London Concert Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia and the Orchestra for the Age of Enlightenment, to The Swinging Magpies, Flautotonic early music ensemble, Parallel Motion percussion duo and Desford Colliery Band.

Rebecca is passionate about the transformative power of music education, has been School Director of Young Music Makers Saturday school in North London since 2016, Head of Percussion at Dame Alice Owens school since 2018 and works regularly leading ensembles at Camden and Haringey Music services.

Patrick King is Principal Timpanist with Welsh National Opera and Head of Percussion Performance at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.  

Patrick studied at the Royal College of Music (RCM) and on graduating received the Directors Prize for musical contribution. While at the RCM he was a Timpanist and Percussionist with the European Union Youth Orchestra, and then went on to a freelance career which involved playing with every major orchestra in the UK including the LSO, BBC Symphony Orchestra, LPO, RPO, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and The Royal Opera House.

Patrick was percussion finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2001, and winner of the LSO St Lukes Academy, which led to freelance work with the LSO.

As an educator Patrick is extremely honoured to head up an wonderfully talented and diverse team of tutors at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.  He has overseen many exciting projects including residencies with Colin Currie, ODuo and The Big Bash annual percussion day.  Patrick has tutored the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the National Youth Wind Orchestra Wales examined and given masterclasses at the Birmingham Conservatoire of Music, Royal College of Music and The Purcell School. Equally passionate about outreach work, Patrick has led workshops throughout the country and enjoys taking the joy of music to as many people as possible with his Outreach company Children’s Musical Adventures. .

Matt Hardy is a Timpanist, Percussionist and dedicated teacher who performs with a great variety of ensembles across the UK and internationally.

Matt is the Principal Timpanist of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, having previously held the position of Principal Timpani and Percussion with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Originally from Bath, Matt started playing a variety of instruments before studying under Chris Stock, Steve Barnard and Phil Girling at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Matt has continued to maintain a busy freelance career working all over the world with many of the UK’s finest ensembles including the LSO, RPO, Philharmonia, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the Aurora Orchestra amongst many others.

Aside from performing Matt is a busy educator working at Wells Cathedral School, Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He has tutored for a variety of ensembles in England, Scotland and Wales including NYO GB and has devised and led workshops with both adults and young people of all ages and abilities. 

Co-Founders

Will Edwards & Kizzy Brooks

With over 20 years performing and teaching experience between them, Will and Kizzy have collaborated to create PercWorks in 2020. Between them, they are both graduates of the Royal College of Music, professional performers, teachers and composers. They share a wealth of knowledge and expertise when it comes to percussion and hold an eclectic portfolio. ​

Teaching

National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain | National Youth Percussion Orchestra | Guildhall School of Music and Drama | Royal College of Music | Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama | BBC Family Orchestra | OAE Education | LSO Discovery | LPO Junior Artists | LPO Funharmonics | Spitalfields Music | RAH Alberts Band | Westminster School | St Paul's School | Benenden School | Chigwell School | Dulwich College | Purcell School | Eveline Day School | Haileybury College | Ark Schools | Croydon Music and Arts | Surrey Arts | Music House for Children

Performing

BBC Symphony Orchestra | The 'Phantom of the Opera' | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | BBC National Orchestra of Wales | BBC Concert Orchestra | Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment | Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra | English National Ballet | Opera North | London Contemporary Orchestra | RTE Symphony Orchestra | Sadler's Wells | Box9 Drumline | Musica Poetica | London Sinfonietta | London Concert Orchestra | British Sinfonietta | Sounds Positive | National Eisteddfod of Wales | The Burning Glass | Matchstick Duo 

Composing

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music | National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain | National Youth Percussion Orchestra | Royal College of Music | Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama | Trinity Laban | Guildhall School of Music and Drama | Purcell School | Wells Cathedral School | Surrey Arts | Croydon Music and Arts