Brian Hughes

Brian was the first musician to receive the special Accompanist’s Award at the Irish Heritage bursary auditions in 2018 which provided him with a performance opportunity at the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival in 2019.

Brian successfully completed his Master of Performance in Piano Accompaniment at the Royal College of Music in 2020 where he studied under the tutelage of Simon Lepper and Danny Driver, as a Kenneth and Violet Scott scholar.

Prior to moving to London he studied with Eleanor Malone in the CIT Cork School of Music where he graduated with a first class honours degree in 2015.

Brian who comes from Dungarvan, County Waterford has performed as an orchestral keyboard player with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra. He has accompanied nationally renowned soprano, the late Cara O’Sullivan and in 2018 played for the Northern Ireland Opera young artists in masterclasses with Sir Thomas Allen and Iain Burnside.

He was musical director for North Dublin Opera’s production of Orfeo ed Euridice, which was performed in three venues across Dublin. Brian was highly commended for his performances in the Royal College of Music Lieder Competition, which took place in the Britten Theatre in January 2019.