Course and Competition Accompanists
Benjamin Powell
“Pianist Benjamin Powell demonstrated an immense range of tone and sound in his programme: granitic and stern for Stockhausen, brilliantly light-fingered in Elliott Carter, fiery and moody for Anthony Gilbert, volcanically sensuous in Skryabin.” Ivan Hewett – Daily Telegraph
Since winning the British Contemporary Piano Competition in 2010 Benjamin Powell has gained a reputation for intelligent and expressive performances with a strong commitment to contemporary music. He has performed across the UK and Europe as a soloist, chamber musician, and song accompanist in venues including Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Snape Maltings, Bridgewater Hall, IRCAM (Paris), and Harpa (Reykjavik). In 2014 he was appointed pianist for Manchester’s leading contemporary music group, Psappha, and in 2022 he became the group’s new artistic director.
He has taken part in a performance of the complete solo piano music of Helmut Lachenmann at the Aldeburgh Festival and a performance of Marco Stroppa’s Traiettoria in IRCAM, Paris. Benjamin’s recording of selections from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier was used in the National Theatre production of Sir Tom Stoppard’s ‘the Hard Problem’.
Benjamin is much in demand as a chamber musician and has collaborated with many distinguished musicians including Stefano Canuti, Leland Chen, Levon Chilingirian, Toby Hughes, Craig Ogden, Miklós Perényi, Thomas Riebl, Sophie Rosa, Abel Selacoe, and Eva Thorarinsdottir.
He studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Carole Presland and later with Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Alexander Melnikov at the Hochschule für Musik Cologne and RNCM respectively. Benjamin also attended the International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove studying in the class of Thomas Adès.
Since 2007 Benjamin has been a staff pianist at the RNCM. He is also a tutor in piano at both Chetham’s School of Music and Manchester University. His students have gone on to win prizes in major competitions, including BBC Young Musician of the Year, James Mottram International Competiton, Manchester International Piano Concerto Competition and the British Contemporary Piano Competition.
Benjamin was born and raised in West Sussex and currently lives in Glossop with his wife and three children.
Simon Passmore
Simon Passmore was born in Hexham, Northumberland in 1990 and began piano lessons at the age of seven, studying with Hexham Abbey’s then directors of music John Green and Michael Haynes and later with Newcastle University’s head of keyboard David Murray. He has given solo piano recitals at numerous festivals across the UK and has featured as a concerto soloist both in the UK and abroad.
Simon is currently the Director of Music at St Ann’s Church, Manchester, following in the footsteps of his mentor, Ronald Frost, who held the post for over 38 years and performed over 1000 free recitals.
After finishing a BMus at the RNCM, studying with Murray McLachlan, Simon completed the repetiteur course supported by a full scholarship, studying with Kevin Thraves. His awards whilst an undergraduate included the Alfred Clay Prize for the highest final recital mark, the Christopher Duke prize, 1stprize in both EPTA UK and EPTA Belgium competitions, and several prizes for accompaniment.
Aside from music, Simon is a keen football fan and hopes to see Plymouth Argyle succeed beyond anybody’s reasonable expectation
