OCS Pianists
Helping our students achieve their very best performances in masterclasses, concerts & ABRSM exams!
Robert Hunter
Robert Hunter has performed across the UK and Ireland including in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Nottingham, Bristol and Dublin. Major London concert venues have included St. Johns Smith Square, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Blackheath Concert Halls and St. Martin-In-The-Fields. Concerto performances have included Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto no.2 with London's Aurelian Ensemble, Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, Mozart's Piano Concerto No.21 in C major and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. He also appears frequently as a guest pianist aboard many P&O and Cunard cruise ships giving series of solo recitals. In April 2010 he was invited to perform on the maiden voyage of P&O's newest superliner Azura.0. In 2002 Robert performed with Opera Etcetera as a part of the Opera Holland Park festival in London exploring rare instrumental music by operatic composers. His performance of Donizetti's first sonata at this concert was released on CD and later broadcast on Classic FM. In 2006 Robert embarked on a tour of the UK and Ireland performing solo and chamber music with the Botton Eurhythmy Ensemble. During this tour he gave over 30 performances in 16 different venues. Robert Hunter grew up in Taunton, Somerset, where he started to play the piano at the age of ten. He graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2000 and has since been in demand as a solo pianist, accompanist and chamber musician. He currently holds the posts of Head of Piano at Forest School, East London, and teacher of piano and chamber music at Junior Trinity College of Music, London.
Philip Sharp
Described by Michael Tumelty in the Scottish Herald as ‘blindingly virtuosic’, Philip Sharp is a pianist and current Junior Fellow at the Royal Northern College Music. As a soloist, Philip has performed at venues including Wigmore Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, and St John's, Smith Square, at international festivals including the 'Festival Pianistico Bartolomeo Cristifori' in Italy, and has given several live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. In 2017, he was selected to be a Park Lane Group Artist, leading to several high-profile London recitals. A keen advocate of new music, Philip has given several world premieres of works by some of the rising stars of British contemporary music and has performed, and committed to memory, many seminal piano works of the past 30 years. In April 2019, Philip performed George Benjamin's 'Shadowlines' at Wigmore Hall with the composer in attendance. As part of his solo work, Philip enjoys making virtuoso transcriptions of classical works. In 2018, his virtuoso trancription of 'Nessun Dorma' was featured by Classic FM and has since been taken up by other pianists across the world. Philip also enjoys a busy career as accompanist and chamber musician. In July 2018, alongside acclaimed saxophonist, Emma McPhilemy, he was awarded a place on the Countess of Munster Recital Scheme and, consequently, will be giving recitals at many prestigious UK venues during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Recent highlights also include recitals with violinist, Callum Smart and a performance with Ian Bousfield, previously Principal Trombone of both the London Symphony and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, as part of the RNCM Brass Festival. In 2016, Philip graduated from both Manchester University and the RNCM with a First Class Honours degree on the prestigious ‘Joint Course’. From 2009 – 2016, Philip studied with Dr Murray McLachlan at Chetham’s School of music and the RNCM respectively. Following his undergraduate studies, he achieved a Masters with distinction from the college, studying under Prof. Frank Wibaut. During his time at the RNCM, Philip was generously supported by The Scottish International Education Trust, The Cross Trust, The Caird Trust and Dewar Arts Awards. For the 2016 – 17 academic year, he was the recipient of the Draper's Company Scholarship.