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CAREER PROFILE:
ADRIAN SPILLETT
Percussionist and BBC Young Musician of the Year.
www.aidys.co.uk
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Where and when did your musical interests begin? |
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Playing the drums at playschool, I think. I always used to watch the
drummers in the pop bands and I wanted to be like them! |
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Which instruments did you first learn, at what age did you start, and
how did you choose which instruments to play? |
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I started piano at the age of six, and then drum kit at around nine. As
my teacher introduced me to the other instruments, the drum kit slowly
developed into percussion. |
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Did you take to them immediately? |
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Yes, but in a very young way: by the time I'd reached fourteen, I was
getting many local gigs in Shropshire, but had all but stopped practising since
it felt like I had nothing to aim for. By seventeen, however, I had to start
working properly to gain a place at a music college. I managed this by the skin
of my teeth, I was only awarded a reserve place at the RNCM. It was only then
that I realised how far I still had to go! |
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I'm not sure. At a young age, a man called Chris Hogarth (who played
drums in the local wind orchestra) got me started. I think Evelyn Glennie was
also influential, even though I only saw her twice before I went to college,
once on the television and once live. |
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What do you think shaped your musical tastes? |
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I was into funk and acid jazz when I arrived at the RNCM, but soon
began to hear new music for the first time, specially solo percussion music. My
tastes vary now from minimalism to kodo drumming. |
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Had you always planned a career in music? |
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Not really, my principal objective was to become as good a musician as
I could, but then probably fall back on maths for which I had an aptitude - I
knew I could always use it if a career in music didn't work. As it happens, I
am doing quite well, but my time as BBC Young Musician is now over, so who
knows what future holds. |
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What do you feel is the most exciting aspect of your professional
life? |
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Performing and the buzz I get both during and after concerts.
Travelling is also quite exciting as is seeing good articles and reviews of a
concert I might have recently done. I quite like the cheques as well! But above
all, it is difficult to beat a performance when you know you've played well and
communicated with the audience. |
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What are the major challenges facing you now as a music
professional? |
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Surviving! There is only a small market for solo percussion and
although this is getting bigger, there are also an increasing number of good
percussionists leaving the conservatories. |
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What advice would you have for young musicians hoping to follow a
similar career? |
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Practise hard and remember that you have an audience to perform for.
Always play as well as you can but remember: it's what is in between the notes
that counts and how you express yourself. Be warned, however, that even the
best players don't get all the work and it's often a matter of who you are,
your personality and who you know which counts! |
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