Born in 1983, British pianist Simon Callaghan is in much demand internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. He continues to captivate audiences with his intelligent and compelling performances and his wide-ranging musical interests are earning him a reputation as a versatile and exciting young artist.

Following his studies at Chetham’s School of Music with Bernard Roberts Simon became a Scholar at the Royal College of Music under Yonty Solomon, where he won many prizes and graduated with first class honours. He has also taken prizes in the 8ème Concours International Jean Françaix in Paris, the Bromsgrove International Young Musician’s Platform and the Liverpool Young Musician of the Year competition among others. He now studies privately with Frank Wibaut.

Recent performances include: a tour of South Korea, a recital at the Royal Opera House, a gala concert with ENO principals and a début with the RLPO under Gerard Schwarz. In addition Callaghan has given solo and chamber music recitals throughout the UK, in Austria, Belgium, France, Japan, Sri Lanka and on many worldwide tours. His performances have been featured on both BBC Television and Radio.

Simon Callaghan’s keen interest in the promotion of lesser-known music has led to performances of works by Kapustin, Sterndale Bennett, Parry, W.T.Best and Françaix. This interest led to an invitation from the Belgian De Rode Pomp label to record a disc of English solo piano music, which was released in 2008 and features several world premiere recordings. He was also invited by the British Library to record Mozart’s Thematic Index, which was made available to the public in 2007.

In 2008 Simon attended the Internationale Mozarteum Sommerakademie in Salzburg and the Kirishima International Music Festival in Japan, supported by generous scholarships. Simon would like to express his most sincere gratitude to several benefactors whose generous assistance has been invaluable.

Caroline Lester

Sara Trickey

Alexandra Wood

Martin Leigh

"What a wonderful pianist, who combines complete understanding of the style of music he is playing with a rare subtlety and brilliance of execution." (Sir Roger Norrington)

"I was very impressed by his fluent, skilful pianism and his innate musicality. He plays with intelligence and conviction and I wish him much success in his musical career." (Stephen Hough)