Erdem Misirlioğlu to perform at coffee concert in Bridport

Three years on from his last tour for Concerts in the West with Trio Isimsiz, Erdem returns with a riveting programme comprising pieces by Schumann, Beethoven and Schubert, which he will perform as a soloist at four West Country venues, as well as giving a masterclass in collaboration with the Centre for Young Musicians Taunton at Richard Huish College in Taunton.

Erdem began his musical training at the age of six and started having piano lessons from the age of nine. When he was 13 years old he began studying at the Junior Guildhall and has completed his undergraduate studies and master’s course in performance - both with first class honours - at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD), where he has just finished his artist’s diploma.

A keen chamber musician, Erdem plays with Trio Isimsiz, a piano trio formed with friends at the GSMD. He also performs with the Arnold Camerata, a larger ensemble of string and wind players from GSMD and RAM, with whom he recently performed Schubert’s Trout Quintet and Poulenc’s Wind Sextet among other works. He enjoys working with other musicians and always wants chamber music to be a part of his musical life.

He is also an active recitalist and concerto soloist - past performances have taken him to France, Poland and Russia and he has played in venues such as St Martin in the Fields, Snape Maltings, Cardiff Millennium Centre and the Wigmore Hall. Next season’s concerto performances are to include Liszt’s 1st Piano Concerto, Rachmaninov’s 3rd Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano concerto.

In 2006, Erdem was a prizewinner in the International Rachmaninov Competition for Young Pianists and was also awarded the Keyboard Instrument Prize at GSMD. In 2008 he won the Principal’s prize at GSMD and won the piano section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year. Subsequently, he performed Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In 2011, he was awarded first prize in the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe's intercollegiate piano competition.

Catherine Maddocks, director and founder of Concerts in the West, said: “We are delighted to welcome back Erdem Misirlioğlu who performed for us so brilliantly in 2015 with Trio Isimsiz. The Trio was selected by Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in 2013 and won first prize and the Audience Prize at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition. Erdem is a wonderful utterly dedicated musician and in great demand both in the UK and abroad, so we are lucky to have secured him for the July concert tour.”

The Bridport Arts Centre programme will feature Schumann Arabeske in C major, Op 18, Schubert Piano Sonata No 18 in G major, D 894.

*Erdem Misirlioğlu, Concerts in the West coffee concert, Bridport Arts Centre, Friday, July 20, 11am to 12pm. Call the box office for tickets and more information.