Toby Kearney

Toby Kearney is Principal Percussion and Timpani of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, regularly appears as principal percussion of Britten Sinfonia and is a member of O Duo with Owen Gunnell.

Since winning the percussion category of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 2006 Toby has had an extremely varied career. As a soloist and chamber musician he has played all over the UK including concerto performances of James Macmillan’s Veni, Veni Emmanuel, Stockhausen’s Lucifer’s Tanz, Matthew Sergeant’s Percussion Concerto and Avner Dorman’s double percussion concerto Spices, Perfumes, Toxins!

A graduate of the RNCM and RCM, Toby has played with many UK orchestras including the LPO, LSO, BBC Concert and Symphony Orchestras, the Hallé, the John Wilson Orchestra, RLPO, Royal Northern Sinfonia, RTÉ Symphony orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra. He regularly coaches the percussion section of the National Children’s Orchestra and has worked with the percussionists of the National Youth Orchestra, the Ulster Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Percussion Orchestra.

Outside the classical world Toby has recorded and toured as a folk musician with the likes of Martin Simpson, Seth Lakeman, Emily Portman and Fay Hield.