Biography.

Originally from Scotland, Daniel Peter Silcock is a pianist particularly distinguished as a song accompanist. Currently based in London, Daniel is a scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music, specializing in ensemble piano with Joseph Middleton.

Daniel is delighted to be a collaborating with Edmond Rodriguez as part of Renée Fleming's SongStudio in January 2024 at Carnegie Hall. He has won major prizes at the Royal Academy of Music, including the Marjorie Thomas Art of Song Prize, and the Major Van Someren-Godfrey Prize also for song accompaniment. Daniel is also greatly looking forward to attending the Samling Institute programme for young artists in February 2024.

He accompanied Annabel Kennedy (Mezzo-Soprano) at the Royal Over-Seas League Gold Medal Final (June 2023) held at London’s Wigmore Hall, after winning the vocal section of the competition in February 2023. Together with Charles Cunliffe (Bass-Baritone), Daniel was awarded the Franz Schubert Institute UK prize as a Leeds Lieder Young Artist in 2023, leading to recitals and masterclasses on Winterreise with Roger Vignoles at Conway Hall. 

Prior to his time in London, Daniel studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Aaron Shorr and James Willshire, where he was awarded MMus (with distinction), and BMus (with Honours of the First-class) degreees in piano performance. While at the Conservatoire, Daniel found particular affinity with the French piano repertoire - being awarded the Conservatoire’s A Ramsay Calder Debussy Prize as well as second prize in the Governors’ Recital Prize for Keyboard. Around this time, Daniel won second prize in the Roma International Piano Competition, in December 2019. Daniel continued his solo studies with Mei-Ting Sun at the Royal Academy of Music, specializing in the music of Chopin. Daniel made his concerto debut at the age of 15 whilst at the RCS Junior Conservatoire, performing Mendelssohn’s first piano concerto under the baton of David Danzmayr. 

Recent seasons have seen Daniel performing around the country’s top music centres: at Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, and Caird Hall in Dundee; as well as part of international music festivals: Music at Paxton, the Petworth Festival, and the Zeist International Lied Festival in the Netherlands. Daniel accompanied the first recital given by the prestigious Academy Song Circle at the Institut Français UK in Chelsea, as well as concerts at venues including the Salvation Army’s Regent Hall, the Italian Cultural Forum, St. James’s Church, Piccadilly.

In January 2024, Daniel is looking forward to returning to Wigmore Hall with the Royal Academy of Music Song Circle, performing Liszt’s 3 Sonetti del Petrarca, S.270 with tenor, Samuel Stopford. Other recent projects include a recital of his own arrangements of sea-inspired works for voice and piano quintet at the Academy, and masterclasses with Felicity Lott and Sebastian Wybrew through the Ashburnham English Song Awards.

Daniel‘s studies have been generously supported by Dewar Arts Awards and Help Musicians UK; he was also delighted to be awarded the Philip Ledger award by the Caird Trust for 2023-24.