Gareth Twigg

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The Orchestra

Gareth Twigg

Contrabassoon

Adopted by Susie and Roger Greenwood

Gareth is Principal Contrabassoon of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since 2009.

Career highlights include recording the complete Shostakovich Symphonies for Naxos, and playing the solo Contrabassoon part to ‘Never Smile at a Crocodile’. He is a member of the chamber group Liverpool Wind Collective and is also involved in the Tuning into Children project through Everton Nursery.

Gareth has a busy freelance career, performing with the UK’s leading orchestras and ensembles. He is visiting tutor in Bassoon and Contrabassoon at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Gareth, who has also been known to play the heckelphone, graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2001 with First Class Honours and two Professional Performance Diplomas (PPRNCM). He studied as a Postgraduate with Andrea de Flammeneis at the Royal College of Music, achieving Distinction in solo and orchestral performance.

Fun Fact:
Gareth is based on the Wirral and when he’s not making reeds can be found hitting the trails or searching out an exquisite craft beer.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Probably teaching myself the recorder when I was about 6 or listening to my parents choice of music - Neil Diamond!

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be?

I'd like to be a millionaire property developer.

What is on your CD/MP3 Player/Spotify playlist right now?

OMD Greatest Hits.

What is your favourite Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra recording?

My favourite recording is the first one I did with the orchestra: Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony conducted by Vasily Petrenko.

What is your most memorable moment with the Orchestra so far?

There have already been quite a few! I think Playing Prokofiev's 5th Symphony on tour in Prague.

Outside of music what are your passions and interests?

Music takes up a lot of my time, but I play a bit of squash. I like discovering all the quirky pubs and sampling the different ales in Liverpool and I have formed a pub quiz team!