Jamie Walton
Jamie Walton was born in Germany before moving back to the UK at an early age. Noted for his rich, powerful sound with purity of tone and emotionally engaging performances he was one of the great teacher William Pleeth's last students, who said of him: "He is a cellist of outstanding performance ability. Combining warmth of tone with a technical command that reaches dazzling proportions, he leaves little doubt as to the success that lies ahead of him – he is a musician of great integrity whose performance gives great pleasure." He has subsequently been compared by some reviewers to the great cellists of the past with his distinctive sound and clean interpretations marking him out as a true individualist. Jamie plays on a Guarneri instrument dated 1712 and has already appeared throughout much of Europe, the USA, New Zealand, Australia and the UK playing concertos, recitals and giving broadcasts in some of the world's most eminent venues.
He is as passionate about chamber music as he is with his concerto and solo work: Founder and Artistic Director of the North York Moors Chamber Music Festival, which Jamie set up in 2009 to immediate acclaim, this festival has exceeded all expectations in selling out every year since and establishing itself as an annual event during the last two weeks of August. Its artistic excellence was reflected in summer 2011 when shortlisted by the Royal Philharmonic Society for its 'Concert Series and Festivals' award.
He has recorded much of the cello/piano repertoire with pianist Daniel Grimwood to international acclaim and their dynamic interpretations have led to many festival appearances including a personal invitation from Maestro Lorin Maazel to perform at his Chateauville Foundation in Virginia. Jamie's chamber repertoire with many of his contemporaries is vast and his passion for bringing musicians together is a testament to the success of the festival and the subsequent groups formed as a result of these experiences.
As a recording artist with Signum Records he has already recorded ten concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and having now committed the complete works for cello by Benjamin Britten to disc, Jamie is collaborating on a project with film director Paul Joyce to create a film about Britten's Solo Cello Suites at Blythburgh Church, Suffolk to be part of a box set, released in 2013 as part of the Britten centenary.
Jamie Walton won a scholarship to Wells Cathedral School in a period which he says remains at the soul of his music making and where his first inspirational cello teacher was Margaret Moncrieff, before continuing his studies with William Pleeth and, with another scholarship, at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where he won the prestigious Pierre Fournier Prize. He is a member of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and was elected to the Freedom of the City of London when he performed for HRH The Prince of Wales. He has also recently been awarded a Foundation Fellowship by Wells Cathedral School for his outstanding contribution to music and is the main Patron for Cedars Hall, a new £9.4 million recital hall currently being built there and opening in 2014.
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