Old boy and former Chorister Adam Heron came back to King's to inspire our young musicians with a masterclass in the Ivor Gurney Hall. He was a chorister and pupil at The King's School and has achieved an extraordinary level of musicianship and skill for a 20 year old.

Over forty piano pupils went to the class and watched Adam give a wonderful performance, before listening to a few pupils perform their piece to everyone. Adam gave useful tips on how to perform and the six pianists had a chance to try this with him. Adam was so encouraging to the pupils and focused on bringing out a lovely colour from the instrument, perhaps even treating it like an orchestra. 

Since having won The Irish Heritage Music Award, following a lauded performance at London’s Wigmore Hall, Adam Heron has established himself as one of today’s leading young pianists. He appeared on BBC Four Television as a Keyboard Category Finalist in BBC Young Musician 2018, which was recorded in The Bradshaw Hall, at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Subsequently he was invited to return to the BBC for a live performance on Radio 3 In Tune, in addition to receiving a recording contract from the celebrated Spanish record label, KNS Classical. 

Born in Hong Kong in 1999 of Nigerian-Filipino descent, Adam was a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral Choir​, under the directorship of the English conductor Adrian Partington. Later he was awarded a full scholarship, courtesy of the UK Government’s Music and Dance Scheme, to study with Hilary Coates at Wells​ ​Cathedral​ ​School, a specialist music school.​ Whilst a student at Wells ​he unanimously won First​ ​Prize​ ​at​ ​the​ ​Beethoven Piano Society of Europe’s prestigious Junior​ ​Intercollegiate​ ​Beethoven Competition, and gained the titles of Gloucestershire​ ​Young​ ​Musician​ ​2016​ ​and Taunton​ ​Young​ ​Musician​ ​2016. He is a laureate of The Young​ ​Pianist​ ​of​ ​the​ ​North​ ​International​ ​Piano Competition​ ​in​ ​Newcastle, and most recently he won First Prize, First Nominated at The International Piano Competition HRH Princess Lalla Meryem, which was held in Rabat, Morocco. Owing to his recent success in Morocco, Adam received a special prize from the the Embassy of France in Rabat, which was specifically awarded for the performance of French music.

Adam Heron frequently performs as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician both in the UK and abroad, and he has recently given masterclasses in England and in The Caribbean. Overseas engagements include an exclusive appearance at the Residence of the ​British​ ​Ambassador​ ​in​ ​Kiev,​ ​Ukraine,​ ​a recital tour of his native Hong​ ​Kong​ ​with​ ​the​ ​acclaimed​ cellist​ ​Jamie Walton, and further concerts in Ireland, France, Spain, Morocco, and The Cayman Islands. Within the UK, he has performed​ ​at​ ​venues including Hampton Court Palace and The Royal Albert Hall, and he has been invited to play solo recitals at many high-profile music festivals, such as The Ryedale Festival, The Cheltenham Music Festival, and The Carducci Festival. Moreover, he was invited to return to The Cheltenham Music Festival in 2017 for a special concerto performance with the renowned Chineke! Orchestra, which was founded by Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE. Further recent concerto collaborations include performances alongside David Curtis, Glyn Oxley, and the American conductor Jonathon Heyward. 

In addition to classical music, Adam has a career which has lead him to perform for popular contemporary figures such as Bryan Adams and Stormzy. He is an active composer and conductor in his own right, and during 2019 he will lead his own ensemble, The Boyce Camerata, in a series of concerts which will survey the complete symphonies by the English composer William Boyce, in addition several piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 

Adam has received​ ​masterclasses​ ​from​ many ​eminent​ pianists,​ ​including ​Stephen​ ​Hough,​ Paul Lewis, Anne Queffélec, ​John​ ​Lill,​ ​and Imogen​ ​Cooper. ​ Currently, he studies with Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where is the holder of the full-fees Hargreaves and Ball Scholarship. 

The School is always delighted to welcome back former pupils  - do you have a skill or career that might be interesting to King's pupils? We could love to hear from you.

See Adam compete at the Young Musician Keyboard Final

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p065zhbl