Chris Bradley

Percussion Tutor

 

 

Chris Bradley is a member of the Orchestra of Opera North which has enabled him to perform a large amount of the operatic repertoire including many world premieres as well as performances with the Royal Opera House (Die Fledermaus, Gawain & the Green Knight, The Minotaur), Glyndebourne Opera (The Second Mrs Kong), Hackney Music Development Trust (Confusious Says), Opera Group/London Sinfonietta (Into the Little Hill) and for ENO (The Gospel according to the Other Mary).

 

Since 2000, Chris has been involved with the World Orchestra for Peace under the direction of Valery Gergiev performing at the BBC Proms and festivals in Edinburgh, Beijing, Moscow, Berlin, Rotterdam, Budapest, Brussels, Krakov, Jerusalem and Salzburg.

 

Chris also plays the cimbalom and has been involved with most of the British orchestras and ensembles recently with the London Symphony Orchestra in the Stravinsky Festival/Gergiev (2012) and the Turnage Festival/Harding (2013) and with the Philharmonia (2014 Gladiator Live) as well as international ensembles such as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (2014 - live stream from World Concert Hall, Helsinki), Finnish Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the Salzburg festival and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In 2012 he was involved with the Royal Academy of Dance recording the music for their examinations.

 

His discography includes for Sony (Renard/LS/Salonen); EMI (Rhapsody/LSO/Tilson-Thomas;Ragtime/LS/Chailly) ; Collins

(Gawain/ROH/Howarth; Baa Baa Black Sheep/Opera North/Daniel); NMC (Boots of Lead, Eco-Pavane/BCMG/Rattle & Spine/Azalea);Opus Arte (The Minotaur/ROH/Pappano) and LSO Live (Sparenza/LSO/Harding)

 

Chris has been tutor in percussion at the University of Huddersfield for over 20 years and was involved with the National Children's Orchestra for 25 years and conducted the NCO Northerlies from 2010-2014. He has adjudicated for the BBC Young Musician competition most recently in 2011 and was percussion advisor to the East Riding of Yorkshire music services for 12 years and is currently a board member of Yorkshire Young Musicians.

 

His percussion trio Bradley’s Hitmen celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2008 and his KS 1 & 2 educational show Rhythms my Mother Taught Me has been performed many times. Chris Bradley's Orchestral Adventures was originally created for family concerts for Leeds Leisure Services and he was involved in Foaie Verde (Transylvanian music); Nothing like the Sun (Gavin Bryars/RSC/Opera North): The Sound of Science (Aimhigher), Powerplus (a GCSE composition project) and recently led training workshops for teachers for Sheffield Music Services First Access scheme.

 

In March 2011 he appeared on ITV's "Push the Button" alongside Ant & Dec coaching 2 members of the public to play the xylophone part in Saint-Saens "Fossils" from Carnival of the Animals with the CBSO at Symphony Hall,

Birmingham.

 

In 2013 he performed at the Beijing Music Festival and the Messiaen Festival, Briancon (Into the Little Hill) and the Festival of Britten (Peter Grimes, Midsummer Night's Dream, Death in Venice). He conducted the Under 12 National Children's Orchestra in Birmingham and in June 2014 he created and organised the Tour de Northerlies bicycle concert, captured in pictures by Classic FM, in celebration of the Grand Depart in Yorkshire.

 

In August 2014 he tutored the percussion section of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and conducted Yorchestra2 and is looking forward to returning to Yorchestra2 in 2015 as well as being a guest tutor for the Ulster Youth Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of GB (Grainger-The Warriors), Yorkshire Young Sinfonia and taking part in the BBC Ten Pieces project with Bents Green Special School, Sheffield. April 2015