Thomas Adès (Piano, Opera and Percussion)

Biography

Thomas studied piano, composition and percussion at Junior Guildhall from 1983-88. Between 1993 and 1995, he was Composer in Association with the Hallé Orchestra. 

His first opera, Powder Her Face (1995), has been performed all round the world. His second opera, The Tempest, was commissioned by the Royal Opera House, London, and premiered there to great acclaim in February 2004. 

In 2007 his work was showcased in a Radio France festival which was then followed by a two-month festival in the Barbican entitled Traced Overhead which included the British premiere of Tevot, commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic, which won the Classical Music Award in the 2008 South Bank Show Awards. 

Other prizes have included: the 2000 Grawemeyer Award for Asyla, the Hindemith Prize (2001), and the 2005 RPS Prize for The Tempest.

In 2011 he premiered his second string quartet, The Four Quarters, and his second work with visuals, Polaris.