The Seckerson Tapes: Colin Currie | reviews, news & interviews
The Seckerson Tapes: Colin Currie
The Seckerson Tapes: Colin Currie
The Scottish musician on the logistics of being a percussionist
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/mast_image_landscape/public/mastimages/Currie.jpg?itok=CY3wW-SM)
The evolution of the solo percussionist has advanced dramatically over the last couple of decades and among the superstars of the hardware that can be struck and pounded or caressed and stroked is the flying Scotsman Colin Currie, whose profile has steadily grown since becoming the first percussionist ever to reach the finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1994.
In 2005 he received a coveted Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award enabling him to both to extend his commissioning activities and to raise awareness of the percussive revolution in which he plays such a major role. Currie talks here about the far-reaching benefits of that award, about the way in which both the instruments and the means of their deployment has evolved. He talks about the collaborative nature of his commissions, the plusses and minuses of a field in which any and every object is a potential instrument; he talks about the logistics of being a percussionist - the kit, the travel, the intensive practice, the neighbours!
Currie will be contributing a masterclass to the three days of concerts and talks celebrating 10 years of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust at Queen Elizabeth Hall on 17-19 May 2013. On 18 May he will be one of the panellists in a provocative debate Is Talent Enough? at the Southbank Centre.
If you would prefer to download and listen offline, please download
Explore topics
Share this article
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Classical music
![Flair and intellectual rigour: cellist Laura van der Heijden](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Prom%2010_Credit%20BBC%20Andy%20Paradise_%286%29.jpg?itok=lMdvMzIT)
![Latonia Moore, Karen Cargill, Ryan Bancroft, SeokJong Baek, Soloman Howard and the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Prom%20Verdi%202.jpg?itok=YZoGmn17)
![Prosperous voyages: Ryan Bancroft and the BBC NOW](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/NOW%20RB3.jpg?itok=3jYyK3BQ)
![Bruce Brubaker plays Brian Eno](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Bruce_Brubaker_6311_Devin_Doyle_web_4f07902055.jpeg?itok=EwxJV_bg)
![Sheku Kanneh-Mason with Marin Alsop and the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the 2023 Last Night of the Proms. Kanneh-Mason appears this year with brother Braimah and the Fantasia Orchestra in Proms 20 and 22](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/QkBq2pA4.jpeg?itok=LpEyuXkA)
![Paavo Järvi and players of the Estonian Festival Orchestra turn to greet the balcony audience, including members of the 100-plus Järvi Academy Youth Symphony Orchestra](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Parnu%201.jpeg?itok=nNWJ15Lo)
![Pianist Lucas Debargue plays Fauré](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/debargue-lucas.jpg?itok=DTlf-PkB)
![Cellist Zoë Martlew plays her own G-lude](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/July%2003%2C%202024_SM_NMCBirthdayConcert_Samples%20ZM.jpg?itok=jvirArQw)
![Pekka Kuusisto and members of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra in 'Concert Theatre DSCH'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/pekka%205.jpeg?itok=QZGBpU_9)
![Fiery intensity: Katrine Sonstadt (on bass) with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Pekka%20Kuusisto%20%26%20Norwegian%20Chamber%20Orchestra-%20DSCH%20Southbank%20Centre%2029-06-24%20Credit-Pete%20Woodhead-13_0.jpg?itok=7SvcYD1F)
![Nardus Williams and Elizabeth Kenny in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, visible to a fortunate few](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/tj6WvCZ7.jpeg?itok=eZE5y4Ln)
Add comment