I am Nathanael Horton and 21 years of age. I am currently a 4th year scholarship student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. I study with Tim Lowe and I previously studied with Sue Lowe in secondary school.
I am very passionate about teaching and find it exciting that I can share what I have learned from my teachers with my own students. I ensure all my students are treated as individuals and thus the lessons are catered to the personal needs of the student. Additionally I always remember that music should always be fun and enjoyable, and that an enjoyable lesson will always motivate the student, therefore I steer away from the old-fashioned, institutionalised methods of teaching.
Below is my biography:
During my time at Guildhall, I have taken part in a stylistically wide-ranging number of performance projects. These include Ubu ensemble (an ensemble conducted and lead by Simon Wills that is dedicated to performing contemporary works) which we performed in the Frank Zapper Full Emersion Day in March 2022, this concert was broadcast on the BBC; baroque chamber orchestra where we played side by side with members from AAM, the pieces where Handel’s Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks; Opera orchestra conducted by Dominic Wheeler (the operas I have been part of include Bizet’s Doctor Miracle and a triple bill with works by Massenet, Smyth and Rota). In the Symphony Orchestra I have performed in Rachmaninoff The Bells, Elgar’s Symphony No.1 and Brahms Symphony No.3 (conducted by Vassily Sinaisky). Additionally, I have played in the orchestra for the 2022 Guildhall Gold Medal conducted by Adrian Leaper where we played: Brahms Piano Concerto No.1, Berg Violin Concerto and, Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4. I have also played under the baton of Lionel Bringuier – Debussy’s La Mer, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe and Boulanger’s Psalm 130. I have been involved in the Chamber Ensemble lead by violinist Jonathan Morton (leader of the London Sinfonietta). I have recently worked with Roberto Gonzales-Monjas in which we performed Mahler’s Symphony No.1 and Hansel and Gretel suite by Humperdink.
I regularly play in numerous chamber groups which included a string quartet, string trio and three piano trios. In these groups I have had the opportunity to have coachings with many chamber musicians such as Ralph Gothoni, Ralph de Souza, Sarah-Jane Bradley, Richard Lester, Andrew Watkinson, Simon Rowland-Jones, Ursula Smith, Caroline Palmer and Carole Presland.
I organize a yearly concert series in my hometown called ‘An Evening of Music’. Last year my string quartet performed Mendelsohn Quartet No.4 and I performed some Boccherini sonatas with fellow cellist Kosta Popovic.
I have attended masterclasses with cellists such as Louise Hopkins, Jonathan Aasgaard, Tim Hugh, Adian Brendel and Rebecca Gilliver.
Over the 4 years at Guildhall, I have worked on a fair amount of solo works including most of the standard concertos. Last year I spent much of my time working on Walton concerto.
I also study historically informed performance with Professor Joe Crouch where I work intensely on ornamentation, embellishment and diminution.
Before Guildhall, I studied part-time piano, singing and composition at Junior RNCM. Here I was also principal of the symphony orchestra. I also composed for and played in the New Music Ensemble, sparking an interest in contemporary classical music.
In 2019 I won the Jill Copping Cup for Best Performance in the Alderley Edge Festival concert and went on to win the northern festivals finale concert later that year.