Piers Adams

Piers Adams (born 21 December 1963) is a British recorder player and member of baroque group Red Priest. After attending Reading Blue Coat School Adams trained as an astrophysicist, but turned professionally to the recorder at age 21. Known as the "modern day pied piper" his performing career has taken him all over the world to places such as South America, Australia, Japan, Russia and Europe. Adams has received numerous awards for his recorder playing, including first prize in the inaugural Moeck International Recorder Competition (1985) which led to debuts in the premier London venues such as the Wigmore Hall and Royal Albert Hall As a concert soloist, Adams performs with orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestras, the Philharmonia, the Academy of Ancient Music, Guildhall Strings, the English Sinfonia, the City of London Sinfonia, London Musici and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. CD recordings range from his award-winning debut of Vivaldi Concertos (Cala) to David Bedford’s heroic Recorder Concerto (NMC) – one of many major works written for him. CDs available include Recorder Bravura (romantic showpieces), Shine and Shade (20th century sonatas) and five Red Priest CDs: Priest on the Run, Nightmare in Venice, The Four Seasons, Pirates of the Baroque and Johann, I'm Only Dancing. Piers Adams has been actively involved in education over the years and has held professorships at a number of UK music colleges. Alongside fellow Red Priest member Howard Beach on harpsichord, Adams regularly gives "Recorder Roadshows" which include master classes and workshops for children combined with a concert performance of specially written works.