Adam Walker & Huw Watkins
Biography Adam Walker & Huw Watkins
Adam Walker
At the forefront of a new generation of wind soloists, Adam Walker was appointed principal flute of the London Symphony Orchestra at the age of 21. In 2009 he received the Outstanding Young Artist Award at MIDEM Classique and the following year won a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and was shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award.
Adam’s repertoire interests range from exploring Baroque repertoire through to newly commissioned works. He has given world premieres of Brett Dean’s The Siduri Dances with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (2011), Kevin Puts’ Flute Concerto at the invitation of Marin Alsop at the Cabrillo Festival (2013) and Huw Watkins’ Flute Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Harding, commissioned jointly by the LSO and BBT (2014).
As a soloist Adam regularly performs with the major UK orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, London Symphony, Hallé, Ulster, Scottish Chamber and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Further afield he has performed with the Baltimore Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Grant Park Festival, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico, Seoul Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, Malaysian Philharmonic, Malmö Symphony, Tampere Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber, Solistes Européens, Luxembourg and the RTE National Symphony Orchestras.
A committed chamber musician with a curious and creative approach to repertoire and programming, 2018 saw the launch of Adam’s wind group, the Orsino Ensemble, at the Aldeburgh Festival. The ensemble focuses on five outstanding wind players including Nicholas Daniel, Amy Harman, Matthew Hunt and Alec Frank – Gemmill, with a mission to showcase the depth and versatility of the wind chamber repertoire. Recital highlights over recent seasons have included LSO St Luke’s, De Singel Antwerp, Musée du Louvre, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Frankfurt Alte Oper and the Utrecht, West Cork, Delft and Moritzburg Chamber Music Festivals. Adam appears regularly at the Wigmore Hall where he has recently collaborated with Brett Dean, Tabea Zimmermann, Cédric Tiberghien, Angela Hewitt, Mahan Esfahani, Ailish Tynan and Sean Shibe. 2018 saw Adam take up his place on the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s prestigious Bowers Program, which involves performing and touring with the ensemble both at Lincoln Center and across the United States for three seasons.
Current engagements include performances with the Bergen Philharmonic under Edward Gardner, Gävle Symphony Orchestra / Jessica Cottis and Tampere Philharmonic / Carlos Kalmar. Recital and chamber music projects see Adam return to the Frankfurt Alte Oper and Wigmore Hall as well as the Weesp Chamber Music Festival and the Australian Chamber Music Festival, collaborating with artists including Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Sean Shibe, Tom Poster and the Navarra Quartet.
Adam Walker’s first recital disc with Chandos will be released in spring 2021, featuring the Franck Sonata alongside works by Saint-Saëns, Duruflé and Widor with pianist James Baillieu and violist Timothy Ridout whilst Orsino releases its first CD centred around music of the French Belle Époque (Roussel, Debussy, Chaminade, Caplet, Saint Saens). Earlier recordings include “Vocalise” taking inspiration from song in works by Poulenc, Messiaen, Bartók and Schubert (Opus Arte), the Kevin Puts Flute Concerto with Marin Alsop and the Peabody Institute (Naxos) and the Huw Watkins Concerto with the Hallé and Ryan Wigglesworth (NMC).
A passionate and devoted teacher, Adam is professor of flute at the Royal College of Music, London, and Talent Music Masters, Brescia. He gives masterclasses regularly throughout the world.
Born in 1987, Adam Walker studied at Chetham’s School of Music with Gitte Sorensen and at the Royal Academy of Music with Michael Cox graduating with distinction in 2009 and winning the HRH Princess Alice Prize for exemplary studentship. He was appointed professor at the Royal College of Music in 2017.
