Percussionist Dave Danford is preparing for a major solo recital tour which launches this autumn.
The tour will be Dave’s biggest since his Rhythmic Renaissance Tour in 2007 which was to promote his solo album of the same name and included solo recital dates alongside guest soloist appearances with brass bands and wind orchestras.
Solo recital
However this latest tour is entirely devoted to solo recital dates which Dave sees as a real chance to get back to what being a percussion soloist is all about. Dave told 4BR 'Rather than concentrating on one particular style as a percussionist I’ve always endeavoured to perform in as wide a range of genres as possible. However, there’s no better showcase for solo repertoire than solo recitals'.
New music
Rather than concentrating on one particular style as a percussionist I’ve always endeavoured to perform in as wide a range of genres as possible. However, there’s no better showcase for solo repertoire than solo recitalsDave Danford
The chance to showcase new music for solo percussion was a major factor in the decision to do a purely recital-based tour as Dave explains: 'Since the last tour I’ve been busy commissioning new works from a number of contemporary composers. The first of these was Nightlife, a three-movement sonata for marimba and piano from Gareth Wood, a composer who will be familiar to many brass band and wind orchestra players. It’s probably the finest piece I’ve ever had written and we had a great crowd reaction to the premiere at the Royal Northern College of Music in February'.
Teaming up
Dave will be joined for the tour by his accompanist Nicola Rose as well as regular collaborator Joel Garthwaite on saxophone, a point on which Dave expanded upon: 'Joel and I will be performing a recent commission from Andrew Keeling as well as something brand new from jazz artist Dave Stapleton. Saxophone and percussion seems to work very well as a combination and it’s a popular choice with the composers we’re working with. It’ll also be a good opportunity to perform some of the items we’ll be recording later in the year for our duo album'.
As well as a number of new commissions there are also some solo percussion classics included in the repertoire for the tour including works by Keiko Abe, Ney Rosauro and Matthias Schmitt.
Tour launch
The tour will launch with a full length evening concert at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama on Friday 24th October 2008 and continues the following day at Wales Millennium Centre. Other dates on the tour are further afield spanning the whole length of the UK from Trinity College, Carmarthen in West Wales to Durham University in the North East of England. However, a highlight of the tour is likely to be Dave’s South Bank debut, performing a lunchtime recital at the South Bank Centre in London on Friday 31st October 2008.
Full tour details
Full tour dates and further details are available from Dave’s website: www.davedanford.co.uk
