Adrian Sutcliffe studied piano originally under John Gough in Chester and violin under Nicholas Wood in Liverpool. He then studied at the Royal Academy of Music, where he was a prizewinner in many solo competitions and was awarded the Frances Earle Scholarship for piano playing. As a member of the Manson Ensemble he became involved also in contemporary music and was subsequently manager and pianist for the contemporary music ensemble ‘Terra Nova’, who performed at St John’s Smith Square, the Purcell Room, Almeida Festival and the Huddersfield Festival as well as twice staging a National Young Composers’ Competition.
He has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician, including concerts in Eastern Europe, France and New Zealand. Within the UK he has appeared at hundreds of concert halls, festivals, theatres, music societies and other arts venues. These have included most of the major UK venues, such as St. John’s Smith Square, the South Bank, the Royal Albert Hall, St. David’s Hall in Cardiff, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and Birmingham Hippodrome.
He has worked with Endymion Ensemble, appearing in the BBC Proms at the Albert Hall in 2014, as well as in a duo recital at St. John’s Smith Square. He frequently undertakes orchestral piano parts, playing in “The Firebird’ and ‘Carnival of the Animals’ at the Royal Opera House, ‘Carmina Burana’ at Dorking Halls and elsewhere and in many other oratorios around the country, as well as occasional concerto work.
As pianist and arranger for the unique flute, percussion and piano trio, ‘Classic Rhythm’, he has performed in all corners of the UK and Ireland, as well as live on National Radio. The trio has released three commercial CDs and has recently toured in the South of France. They have received tremendous acclaim for their ‘lighter’ concerts, touring extensively in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and were three times engaged in a series of thirty concerts for elderly people in the West Midlands. Their children’s productions (for which he composed the music) have also been staged in dozens of schools around the country with the aid of National Lottery funding.
His recent accompanying work includes recording the piano parts for the official CD of the new ABRSM violin syllabus. He has given masterclasses and judged competitions widely (from Romford to Brussels to Bangkok!) and has played the piano and keyboard parts in many operas, shows and ballets, such as ‘The Lion King’ at the Lyceum, ‘The Wind in the Willows’ at the Royal Opera House and ‘The Turn of the Screw’ at Bloomsbury Theatre, London.