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Declan Solo Guitar

Declan Solo Guitar

Brilliant Solo Guitarist

  • Highly Recommended
  • Viewed & Approved
  • UK Nationwide

With a keen passion for the classical guitar and an extremely easy-going and friendly personality, Declan will provide your event with an unforgettable array of music.

Declan graduated with distinction from the Royal College of Music in summer 2012 after completing the Master of Performance programme. He has since gone on to travel the world, giving concerts in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Turkey, and Bermuda. A recent career highlight was giving a concert in his Spanish hometown Andrés Segovia, where he gave numerous encores.

His unique style of playing - performing and composing repertoire that fuses traditional methods of classical technique with the recently innovated 'percussive finger style' technique - has seen him gain international acclaim.

Esteemed members of the classical and percussive finger style guitar communities, including Newton Faulkner, Thomas Leeb, Jon Gomm, Bridget Mermikides, and Milton Mermikides, championed Declan through their social media sites and aided in this success.

Declan was born into a musical family in Watford, England, in 1985. Throughout his childhood Declan dedicated himself to a diverse array of musical pursuits, including mastering the drums, saxophone, keyboard, and steel drums, and later exploring the art of classical sound recording.

Throughout all these pursuits he always maintained a close relationship with the classical guitar. He was taught for over 10 years at Watford School of Music by the classical guitarist Lee Sollory and, at the end of his time there, was awarded the Senior Guitar Prize in 2004.As previously mentioned Declan studied at the Royal College of Music, but prior to this he pursued a long-held interest in classical sound engineering alongside his studies of the classical guitar at the University of Surrey, and graduated in 2008 with a Bachelors in Music & Sound Recording from the internationally acclaimed Tonmeister(TM) course. During his time there he worked and received credits on albums with Pink, Lang Lang, Katherine Jenkins, Elin Manahan Thomas, the Swingle Singers, Shlomo Minz, and every major UK orchestra. As a guitarist, during his time at the University he studied the classical guitar with Richard Wright and guitarist/composer Professor Stephen Goss, and gained recognition for his compositions and recordings centred around the classical guitar.

He got through to the final of UniS's Joyce Dixey Competition in 2006 where he received Special Commendation for a concerto he composed for guitar trio and string ensemble, and was awarded the prestigious AMS/Neve Prize for Most Natural Sounding Recording by the University when he graduated in 2008. Declan has since gone on to win a number of other prizes including First Prize in Backline(TM)'s 'The Big One 2010' in Guildford, and Third Prize in Rhythm of London 2011.

A fantastic musician who will give a unique twist to any event, sure to go down well with any audience and a must have for your function/event.
BBC

Kings Place, London

Nokia

Mayor of London

Olympics

Guilfest

Henley-on-Thames Festival

Hop Farm Festival

Transport for London

Mayfair Hotel

London Southbank Centre

London Transport Museum

National Gallery

Patrón

P&O Cruise Liners

Royal College of Music

Victoria & Albert Museum (Norfolk House Music Room)

Wayne Hemmingway
Spanish/South American:-

Asturias (Leyanda) - I. Albéniz

Homenaje pour le Tombeau de Calude Debussy - M. de Falla

Millers Dances - M. de Falla

Capricho Árabe – F. Tarrega

Gran Vals - F. Tarrega

A Day in November - L. Brouwer

Deux Airs Populaires - L. Brouwer

Deux Themes Populaires Cubains - L. Brouwer

Felicidade - A.C. Jobim

Paçoca (choro) – C. Machado

Piazza Vittorio (Choro Maxixe) – C. Machado

Sambossa (Bossa Nova) – C. Machado

Dansa Brasilera - J. Morel

Sons de Carrilhoes (The Sound of Bells) - J. Pernambuco

Cinq Preludes - H. Villa-lobos



Popular Classical Arrangements:-

Clair de Lune - C. Debussy

La Fille Aux Cheveux de Lin - C. Debussy

Gabriel's Oboe (from 'The Mission') - E. Morricone

Canon in D major - J. Pachelbel

Gnossienne No.1 - E. Satie

Ave Maria - F. Schubert



Baroque/Early:-

Air on a G String - J.S. Bach

Cello suite No.1 (BWV 1007) - J.S. Bach

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - J.S. Bach

Lute Suite in E minor (BWV 996) - J.S. Bach

Prelude, Fugue and Allegro (BWV998) – J.S. Bach

A Fancy - J. Dowland

Hope Forlorn Fancy - J. Dowland

Sonata L.332 - D. Scarlatti



20th Century Concert Repertoire:-

Six Balkan Miniatures - D. Bogdanovic

Koyunbaba - C. Domeniconi

Hommage a Villa-lobos - R. Dyens

Songe Capricorne - R. Dyens

Albino - T. Leeb

Sonatina Meridional - M. M. Ponce

Angel – E. Roche

The Per-U-Lator - E. Roche

Roundabout - E. Roche

Impromptus - Sir R. Rodney-Bennet

Scenes from the Wild West - G. Ryan

All in Twilight - T. Takemitsu

Sonata ("Omaggio a Boccherini") - M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco





Popular Folk/Jazz Arrangents:-

Down by the Sally Gardens – Trad. Irish

She Moved Through the Fair - P. Colum & H. Hughes

All you Need is Love - The Beatles

Wonderful Tonight - E. Clapton

Solid as a Rock – E. Fitzgerald

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room - J. Meyer

Three Times a Lady - L. Richie

They Can’t Take That Away from Me – G. Gershwin

Fly Me to the Moon - B. Howard





GUITAR/VIOLIN DUO REPERTOIRE



Baroque/Classical

Air on a G String - J.S. Bach

Ave Maria - J.S. Bach

Be Thou With Me - J.S. Bach

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring - J.S. Bach

Piano Concerto in F Minor (2nd Movement) - J.S. Bach

Sheep May Safely Graze - J.S. Bach

Sinfonia (from Christmas Oratorio) - J.S. Bach

Minuet (from String Quintet) - L. Boccherini

Prince of Denmark’s March - J. Clarke

Trumpet Tune - J. Clarke

Pavane - G. Fauré

Panis Angelicus (O Lord Most Holy) - C. Franck

Caro mio Ben - G. Giordani

Processional (from Royal Fireworks Music) - G.F. Handel

Processional (from St. Anthony’s Chorale) - J. Haydn

Intermezzo (from Cavalleria Rusticana) - P. Mascagni

Wedding March - F. Mendelssohn

Rondeau - J-J. Mouret

Ave Verum Corpus - W.A. Mozart

Laudate Dominum - W.A. Mozart

Canon in D - J. Pachelbel

Pavane for a Dead Princess - M. Ravel

Ave Maria - F. Schubert

Waltz of the Flowers (from Nutcracker) - P.I. Tchaikovsky

Bridal Chorus - R. Wagner



Latin / South American

Tico Tico - Z. de Abreu

Quizas, Quizas, Quizas - O. Farrés

Luna Lunera - T. Fergo

Y Bolero - M. de Jesus

El Dia Que Me Quieras - C. Gardel

Agua E Vinho - E. Gismonti

Paçoca (choro) - C. Machado

Piazza Vittorio (Choro Maxixe) - C. Machado

Sambossa (Bossa Nova) - C. Machado

Evocation - J.L. Merlin

La Cumparsita - H. Pagano

Chiquilin de Bachin - Astor Piazzolla

Sway Quien Sera - P.B. Ruiz

Pablo the Dreamer (Adios Muchachos) - J. Sanders

The Peanut Vendor - M. Simons

El Condor Pasa - Traditional Peruvian

Cielito Lindo - Traditional Mexican

La Bamba - Traditional Mexican

La Cucaracha - Traditional Mexican

Estes Indiferente - Nevaldo Veranes

El Choclo - Á. Villoldo



Standards / Show Pieces

Blue Tango - Leroy Anderson

Spanish Harlem - J. Leiber & P. Spector

All of Me - S. Simons & G. Monks

More - R. Ortolani & N. Oliviero

In a Little Spanish Town - M. Wayne

Fiesta - Leonard Whitcup



Popular/Folk Arrangements

Skinny Love - Bon Iver

Down by the Sally Gardens - Trad. Irish

She Moved Through the Fair - P. Colum & H. Hughes

All you Need is Love - The Beatles

Wonderful Tonight - E. Clapton

Solid as a Rock - E. Fitzgerald

Heartbeats - J. Gonzalez

Yesterday - J. Lennon & P. McCartney

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room - J. Meyer

Three Times a Lady - L. Richie

They Can’t Take That Away from Me - G. Gershwin

Fly Me to the Moon - B. Howard

UK Nationwide & Worldwide
1 x 60 mins, 2 x 60 mins or 3 x 60 mins performances

Reviews of declan solo guitar

L

Lorraine & Rob Jeffery, Wedding, Hertfordshire

Declan is such a find! He played at the church, drinks reception and dinner for our wedding at the end of July. He is gobsmackingly excellent and we loved to see family members just standing and staring at him play. He is also such a lovely person and got a huge cheer from our guests when he came to say goodbye before setting off. He added to the atmosphere of the wedding and learned a new song for us without hesitation. We wholeheartedly recommend him.

A

Alex & Lisa Gordon-Martin, Wedding, Surrey

We can't recommend Declan highly enough. He was a lovely bloke, an incredible talent and played beautifully at our wedding. Thanks so much Declan and all the best for the future!

K

Karl Bettles, Wedding, Hertfordshire

Declan recently performed at my wedding at extremely short notice. He is a very competent musician and has a varied repertoire. I can definitely recommend him. You won't be disappointed

K

Kieran & Georgina Colebrook, wedding

Brilliant musician and a real professional, thank you Declan for a great performance at our wedding. I highly recommend him.

D

Daniel Hughes - Hyde Park Barracks, 40th Birthday

Great music. Declan played for 4 hours at my wife's 40th birthday. Everyone raved about it. Fantastic background music.

With a keen passion for the classical guitar and an extremely easy-going and friendly personality, Declan will provide your event with an unforgettable array of music.

Declan graduated with distinction from the Royal College of Music in summer 2012 after completing the Master of Performance programme. He has since gone on to travel the world, giving concerts in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Turkey, and Bermuda. A recent career highlight was giving a concert in his Spanish hometown Andrés Segovia, where he gave numerous encores.

His unique style of playing - performing and composing repertoire that fuses traditional methods of classical technique with the recently innovated 'percussive finger style' technique - has seen him gain international acclaim.

Esteemed members of the classical and percussive finger style guitar communities, including Newton Faulkner, Thomas Leeb, Jon Gomm, Bridget Mermikides, and Milton Mermikides, championed Declan through their social media sites and aided in this success.

Declan was born into a musical family in Watford, England, in 1985. Throughout his childhood Declan dedicated himself to a diverse array of musical pursuits, including mastering the drums, saxophone, keyboard, and steel drums, and later exploring the art of classical sound recording.

Throughout all these pursuits he always maintained a close relationship with the classical guitar. He was taught for over 10 years at Watford School of Music by the classical guitarist Lee Sollory and, at the end of his time there, was awarded the Senior Guitar Prize in 2004.As previously mentioned Declan studied at the Royal College of Music, but prior to this he pursued a long-held interest in classical sound engineering alongside his studies of the classical guitar at the University of Surrey, and graduated in 2008 with a Bachelors in Music & Sound Recording from the internationally acclaimed Tonmeister(TM) course. During his time there he worked and received credits on albums with Pink, Lang Lang, Katherine Jenkins, Elin Manahan Thomas, the Swingle Singers, Shlomo Minz, and every major UK orchestra. As a guitarist, during his time at the University he studied the classical guitar with Richard Wright and guitarist/composer Professor Stephen Goss, and gained recognition for his compositions and recordings centred around the classical guitar.

He got through to the final of UniS's Joyce Dixey Competition in 2006 where he received Special Commendation for a concerto he composed for guitar trio and string ensemble, and was awarded the prestigious AMS/Neve Prize for Most Natural Sounding Recording by the University when he graduated in 2008. Declan has since gone on to win a number of other prizes including First Prize in Backline(TM)'s 'The Big One 2010' in Guildford, and Third Prize in Rhythm of London 2011.

A fantastic musician who will give a unique twist to any event, sure to go down well with any audience and a must have for your function/event.

BBC

Kings Place, London

Nokia

Mayor of London

Olympics

Guilfest

Henley-on-Thames Festival

Hop Farm Festival

Transport for London

Mayfair Hotel

London Southbank Centre

London Transport Museum

National Gallery

Patrón

P&O Cruise Liners

Royal College of Music

Victoria & Albert Museum (Norfolk House Music Room)

Wayne Hemmingway

Spanish/South American:-

Asturias (Leyanda) - I. Albéniz

Homenaje pour le Tombeau de Calude Debussy - M. de Falla

Millers Dances - M. de Falla

Capricho Árabe – F. Tarrega

Gran Vals - F. Tarrega

A Day in November - L. Brouwer

Deux Airs Populaires - L. Brouwer

Deux Themes Populaires Cubains - L. Brouwer

Felicidade - A.C. Jobim

Paçoca (choro) – C. Machado

Piazza Vittorio (Choro Maxixe) – C. Machado

Sambossa (Bossa Nova) – C. Machado

Dansa Brasilera - J. Morel

Sons de Carrilhoes (The Sound of Bells) - J. Pernambuco

Cinq Preludes - H. Villa-lobos



Popular Classical Arrangements:-

Clair de Lune - C. Debussy

La Fille Aux Cheveux de Lin - C. Debussy

Gabriel's Oboe (from 'The Mission') - E. Morricone

Canon in D major - J. Pachelbel

Gnossienne No.1 - E. Satie

Ave Maria - F. Schubert



Baroque/Early:-

Air on a G String - J.S. Bach

Cello suite No.1 (BWV 1007) - J.S. Bach

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - J.S. Bach

Lute Suite in E minor (BWV 996) - J.S. Bach

Prelude, Fugue and Allegro (BWV998) – J.S. Bach

A Fancy - J. Dowland

Hope Forlorn Fancy - J. Dowland

Sonata L.332 - D. Scarlatti



20th Century Concert Repertoire:-

Six Balkan Miniatures - D. Bogdanovic

Koyunbaba - C. Domeniconi

Hommage a Villa-lobos - R. Dyens

Songe Capricorne - R. Dyens

Albino - T. Leeb

Sonatina Meridional - M. M. Ponce

Angel – E. Roche

The Per-U-Lator - E. Roche

Roundabout - E. Roche

Impromptus - Sir R. Rodney-Bennet

Scenes from the Wild West - G. Ryan

All in Twilight - T. Takemitsu

Sonata ("Omaggio a Boccherini") - M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco





Popular Folk/Jazz Arrangents:-

Down by the Sally Gardens – Trad. Irish

She Moved Through the Fair - P. Colum & H. Hughes

All you Need is Love - The Beatles

Wonderful Tonight - E. Clapton

Solid as a Rock – E. Fitzgerald

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room - J. Meyer

Three Times a Lady - L. Richie

They Can’t Take That Away from Me – G. Gershwin

Fly Me to the Moon - B. Howard





GUITAR/VIOLIN DUO REPERTOIRE



Baroque/Classical

Air on a G String - J.S. Bach

Ave Maria - J.S. Bach

Be Thou With Me - J.S. Bach

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring - J.S. Bach

Piano Concerto in F Minor (2nd Movement) - J.S. Bach

Sheep May Safely Graze - J.S. Bach

Sinfonia (from Christmas Oratorio) - J.S. Bach

Minuet (from String Quintet) - L. Boccherini

Prince of Denmark’s March - J. Clarke

Trumpet Tune - J. Clarke

Pavane - G. Fauré

Panis Angelicus (O Lord Most Holy) - C. Franck

Caro mio Ben - G. Giordani

Processional (from Royal Fireworks Music) - G.F. Handel

Processional (from St. Anthony’s Chorale) - J. Haydn

Intermezzo (from Cavalleria Rusticana) - P. Mascagni

Wedding March - F. Mendelssohn

Rondeau - J-J. Mouret

Ave Verum Corpus - W.A. Mozart

Laudate Dominum - W.A. Mozart

Canon in D - J. Pachelbel

Pavane for a Dead Princess - M. Ravel

Ave Maria - F. Schubert

Waltz of the Flowers (from Nutcracker) - P.I. Tchaikovsky

Bridal Chorus - R. Wagner



Latin / South American

Tico Tico - Z. de Abreu

Quizas, Quizas, Quizas - O. Farrés

Luna Lunera - T. Fergo

Y Bolero - M. de Jesus

El Dia Que Me Quieras - C. Gardel

Agua E Vinho - E. Gismonti

Paçoca (choro) - C. Machado

Piazza Vittorio (Choro Maxixe) - C. Machado

Sambossa (Bossa Nova) - C. Machado

Evocation - J.L. Merlin

La Cumparsita - H. Pagano

Chiquilin de Bachin - Astor Piazzolla

Sway Quien Sera - P.B. Ruiz

Pablo the Dreamer (Adios Muchachos) - J. Sanders

The Peanut Vendor - M. Simons

El Condor Pasa - Traditional Peruvian

Cielito Lindo - Traditional Mexican

La Bamba - Traditional Mexican

La Cucaracha - Traditional Mexican

Estes Indiferente - Nevaldo Veranes

El Choclo - Á. Villoldo



Standards / Show Pieces

Blue Tango - Leroy Anderson

Spanish Harlem - J. Leiber & P. Spector

All of Me - S. Simons & G. Monks

More - R. Ortolani & N. Oliviero

In a Little Spanish Town - M. Wayne

Fiesta - Leonard Whitcup



Popular/Folk Arrangements

Skinny Love - Bon Iver

Down by the Sally Gardens - Trad. Irish

She Moved Through the Fair - P. Colum & H. Hughes

All you Need is Love - The Beatles

Wonderful Tonight - E. Clapton

Solid as a Rock - E. Fitzgerald

Heartbeats - J. Gonzalez

Yesterday - J. Lennon & P. McCartney

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room - J. Meyer

Three Times a Lady - L. Richie

They Can’t Take That Away from Me - G. Gershwin

Fly Me to the Moon - B. Howard

UK Nationwide & Worldwide

L

Lorraine & Rob Jeffery, Wedding, Hertfordshire
Declan is such a find! He played at the church, drinks reception and dinner for our wedding at the end of July. He is gobsmackingly excellent and we loved to see family members just standing and staring at him play. He is also such a lovely person and got a huge cheer from our guests when he came to say goodbye before setting off. He added to the atmosphere of the wedding and learned a new song for us without hesitation. We wholeheartedly recommend him.

A

Alex & Lisa Gordon-Martin, Wedding, Surrey
We can't recommend Declan highly enough. He was a lovely bloke, an incredible talent and played beautifully at our wedding. Thanks so much Declan and all the best for the future!

K

Karl Bettles, Wedding, Hertfordshire
Declan recently performed at my wedding at extremely short notice. He is a very competent musician and has a varied repertoire. I can definitely recommend him. You won't be disappointed

K

Kieran & Georgina Colebrook, wedding
Brilliant musician and a real professional, thank you Declan for a great performance at our wedding. I highly recommend him.

D

Daniel Hughes - Hyde Park Barracks, 40th Birthday
Great music. Declan played for 4 hours at my wife's 40th birthday. Everyone raved about it. Fantastic background music.

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