Duet Recital

One of the evenings offering a special atmosphere in St Peter's Church at Ruthin Festival 2006, will be a Duet Recital with two young artists performing. Deian Rowlands and Nicola Phillips will perform a harp and flute duet on Thursday,
29 June at 7:30pm, as part of the Live Music Now! initiative, aimed at supporting young musicians develop in a professional environment at the beginning of their careers.

Formed in 2001, this instrumental duet has travelled the length and breadth of England and Wales, enchanting their audiences. They are keen exponents of new repertoire and have, in the past, commissioned new work to perform as a duet. Some of their performances have been at events such as the launch of John Major's Autobiography at the Hilton, Park Lane, and at the Houses of Parliament.

Deian Rowlands was born in Caerphilly, South Wales and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His expertise on the harp means he has performed as a soloist and in chamber ensembles throughout the UK and Europe. One of his many accolades includes winning the 2002 open instrumental Blue Ribbon at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. He has toured Asia as principal harpist with the London Festival Orchestra and has performed in France, Austria, Italy, Germany and Spain. In the last few years, Deian has performed on S4C and BBC programmes such as Noson Lawen, Heno and Songs of Praise.

Nicola Phillips originates from Nantwich and also studied at London's Guildhall. She has performed as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician throughout the UK, as well as touring France and Italy. She holds the posts of Flute Professor at the Sutton High School for Girls, Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College and at the Yehudi Menuhin School of Music.

Nicola recently performed as a soloist under the direction of Christopher Warren-Green and has appeared at most of the London concert halls including the Barbican, the Royal Albert Hall, St John's, Smith Square and the Wigmore Hall.

Nicola explains what it means to perform before audiences young and old: "Seeing the reaction on people's faces is just great; it's such rewarding work. In terms of job satisfaction, it's the best!"

Mike Baines, Ruthin Festival Chairman said: "We're really looking forward to welcoming this young duet to St Peter's Church, Ruthin. The Church offers a fantastic atmosphere for musicians, and this young vibrant couple is sure to wow the crowd!"