‘Mozart’ of Merrow in concert
At the age of six, Damian Kok started composing his own music, and by the age of 11 he had composed his first symphony. His incredible musical talent was first recognised by his parents when he was only 7 months old. They said: “we noticed he was singing and precisely mimicking different soundtracks from a very early age. He started learning percussion, when he was two, followed by the violin at 5, the piano at 9; and the organ and viola aged 10. He loves to play violin duets with his younger sister Dorcas.”
As a point of comparison, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his first piece of music aged five and also had a precise memory of pitch!
Damian’s extraordinary gift was nurtured by his family and teachers, leading to performances in venues like Guildford Cathedral, Menuhin Hall, the Royal College of Music and Cadogan Hall. Last year he was a finalist in the BBC Young Composer of the Year awards, which aims to discover, nurture and showcase composers of the future.
Damian, who lives with his family in Merrow hopes to “compose and play music that will be enjoyed by people across the world, now and in years to come.” He’d also like to learn to play the trombone!
To help support St John’s Church, Merrow, where he was given regular access to practice on the church organ, Damian will be putting on a very special concert at St John’s Centre. It’s taking place on Saturday 20th July, starting at 7pm (doors open at 6.15 pm for pre-concert refreshments). This will include three beautiful sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven and Grieg guaranteed to “thrill the heart and soothe the soul”. Damian will be joined by professional pianist Alan Brown.
Alan Brown studied piano and cello at the Royal Academy of Music and has performed frequently across the UK and Europe, as well as Australia, South Korea and Japan.
Alan has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Mozart Players and other orchestras. He is in great demand as duo partner to wind and string players, performing for recitals, concerts and competitions.
Everyone is welcome to attend this unique concert, but tickets are limited.