About
About Jordan
Jordan is an 19 year old percussionist from Milton, near Cambridge. He has just started his studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under Toby Kearney, with a scholarship award, and has become more well known having been recently crowned the BBC Young Musician 2022.
Jordan began playing drum kit aged 7 at school tutored by Ian Pickering. He soon showed an interest in wider percussion so Jordan and his Dad made a xylophone for him to practise on. He then went from strength to strength gaining a distinction at grade 8 aged 13, which was followed by a distinction in his Associate Diploma in drum kit aged 15.
In 2016 he started to attend the Junior Royal Academy of Music where he studied under Markus Gruett. Subsequently in 2019 he joined the Junior Royal College of Music, studying under Cameron Sinclair (percussion) and Matt French (drum kit). Whilst at the Junior RCM, he was runner up in the Gordon Turner competition and under 18s solo competition (aged 16).
During this time Jordan also won the “most promising” player award in the Southern Percussion international tuned competition, the solo percussion prize in Foden’s Band online competition and the Davison Young Musician’s Patron’s Award. At the beginning of 2022 he won the British Open Brass Band Championship under 18s solo competition and was runner up in the adult category. He was also a part of a percussion trio who won the Junior RCM Chamber Music competition this year resulting in a Young Artists’ performance at the Wigmore Hall, London.
Jordan became interested in playing in brass bands from an early age and joined the City of Cambridge Brass Band aged 10. An invitation to play with the GUS Band followed and he made his debut appearance with them aged 13. He continues to play with GUS when he can and has just been signed by Tredegar Town Band (currently ranked fourth in the world). Jordan was also a member of Youth Brass 2000 - the current National Champions - and is currently principal percussionist with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain where he has been awarded the percussion prize for the last 3 years. In 2022, he was thrilled to win their prestigious Harry Mortimer Award, the prize for which was an invitation to play as guest soloist with the Band of the Royal Marines Collingwood in Regent Hall, London.
Jordan is also a keen orchestral player, being a member of the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain from 2014 – 2018, and then playing with the National Youth Orchestra in 2019 and 2020. Additionally, he enjoys playing and listening to jazz and has played at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, The 606 Club and at The Elgar Room in the Royal Albert Hall.