Ian graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 2000 with the Dip.Ram, its highest performance accolade. He has a busy and varied free-lance career performing with orchestras around the world as well as leading European chamber groups (London Sinfonietta, BCMG, Ensemble Modern, Britten Sinfonia, Scottish Ensemble, CHROMA, Icebreaker)
Ian is a keen advocate of new music and has worked closely with many leading composers interested in writing for accordion including David Gorton, Howard Skempton, Michael Zev Gordon, Luke Bedford, Jonathan Dove and Diana Burrell.
He has performed and recorded with Blur, The Divine Comedy and Sophie Solomon and is regularly heard in film scores.
Ian was Musical Director for Jonathan Dove's long running and critically acclaimed family opera 'The Enchanted Pig' at the Young Vic and also works in the West End and at Stratford with the RSC.
In February 2010 Ian toured with Scottish Ensemble performing Kurt Schwertsik's 'Adieu Satie' accordion concerto and the same year performed Betty Olivero's "Neharo’t Neharo’t" (for Viola, Accordion and Strings) with Britten Sinfonia at the BBC Proms. This was Ian's 13th BBC Proms concert, more than any other accordionist since the Proms began in 1895.
He is currently MD for the Opera Groups new street opera 'Save the Diva' with performances around the UK during June and July. In the Autumn Ian will tour with the BBC Symphony Orchestra performing in the premiere performances of a new piece by Rebecca Saunders in Bonn and Ghent. He will also appear in the Ghent festival with Icebreaker and in October give repeat performances of his arrangements of well known Tangos with Aurora Orchestra in Cardiff and London.
Ian is a co-founder of the Morley Accordion Orchestra and has been its Musical Diretor for 12 years.
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