Adjudicator & AoBBA Member

Simone graduated with Distinction from the Royal Northern College of Music to embark on a career as a solo percussionist that has seen her recording several CDs (the latest with the BBC Singers), touring and broadcasting extensively nationally and internationally and winning a collection of awards and prizes including Cosmopolitan Woman of the Year in the Performing Arts. She works frequently as a concerto soloist with wind orchestras and brass bands around the world and as a solo recitalist. Simone is a founder member of BackBeat Percussion Quartet who have won a number of chamber music competitions in the UK, Japan and USA and who continue to tour record and present concerts globally with recent trips to China, Japan and Europe. Simone appears regularly as a guest performer with a number of ensembles including The Equivox Trio, Ex Cathedra, The Young Voices Band and in a duo with outstanding jazz pianist Jason Rebello. She has worked with artists including Beverley Knight, Alexandra Burke and Mika. In September 2010 Simone was appointed as Director of Percussion at The Royal Northern College of Music and in September 2017 became Deputy Head of the School of Wind, Brass and Percussion. In addition to performing Simone is an experienced adjudicator of percussion events, wind and brass contests and general music competitions and has judged for such prestigious events as BBC Young Musician of the Year, National Brass Band Championships for New Zealand, Australia, USA, Europe and Switzerland and for The National Concert Band Finals. In 2010 and 2014 Simone presented the European Brass Band Finals from Linz and Perth respectively and The Brass in Concert Championships from The Sage in a live webstream event and since 2011 she has presented the RNCM Festival of Brass including a concert for BBC Radio 2.