Bel Comeau

Bel Comeau is increasingly well-known in both the classical and jazz scenes in London, after graduating top of his year from Cambridge University with a starred first in music in 2014. They are active as an organist, pianist, accordionist and composer. At the age of 18 they won the inaugural Northern Ireland International Organ Competition, playing part of their own transcription of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. They have performed organ at the Royal Albert Hall with Wolf Alice and opening for Basement Jaxx. They gained an FRCO organ diploma with all the available prizes, and they were the organ scholar at Girton College, Cambridge for three years. As a composer they have written and performed two piano concertos, performing the second in venues including Birmingham Symphony Hall and St. Martin's in the Fields. They have been asked to compose for the Britten Sinfonia (who performed the resulting work at the Wigmore Hall), the choirs of St. John's College Cambridge and Truro Cathedral, the King's Lynn Festival, Choir and Organ Magazine and many more. As a pianist, they have been featured on BBC Radio 3's 'In Tune' programme, where they performed improvisations around material by Bach and Piazzolla. They have performed concertos by Mozart and Gershwin, as well as Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time; highlights of their solo repertoire include much of J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, and numerous contemporary works by composers including György Ligeti, Kaija Saariaho, Robin Holloway and Thomas Adès. As an accompanist they have worked with internationally renowned soloists including Sir John Tomlinson, Andrew Kennedy and Nicholas Mulroy. They have an LRSM diploma on piano with high distinction. They have improvised soundtracks on the organ and piano to silent films including Phantom of the Opera, Nosferatu and Battleship Potemkin. They are active on the London jazz scene, having been in the house band for Orii and and Spit nights, and performing with various acts at Ronnie Scotts. As a teacher they have been employed by Cambridge University to teach harmony, counterpoint, pastiche composition, keyboard skills and aural skills, and they have also taught at Middlesex University.