Welcome to Patrick King, our new Co-Principal Timpani

At what age did you start playing, and what made you choose your instrument?

I started playing the cello aged three, and my dad used to have a drumkit in the garage. I kept pestering my parents for drum lessons and the deal was if I kept practising my cello, then I could also start on the drums.

The first symphony orchestra I ever watched was the LSO! They came to my home city of Norwich and our family friend (Jonathan Lipton, former horn player with the LSO) arranged for me to watch the rehearsal. I was transfixed with the timpani and percussion and immediately thought ‘wouldn’t that be an amazing job!’

I also won the LSO St Luke’s Academy in 2004 which gave me an opportunity to freelance with the LSO just after I graduated from music college. This was an amazing experience as I began my transition from student to professional.

Do you have any percussion heroes?

Growing up watching the LSO as a student, Kurt Goedicke (timpani) and Neil Percy (percussion) were huge influences on me. Also my former tutor of EUYO Rainer Seegers, a retired timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic, is another hero of mine. Obviously my amazing colleagues in the timpani and percussion section of the LSO – Nigel Thomas, David Jackson and Sam Walton – all are heroes! As well as all my teachers and professors who have helped me along the way.

What are you most looking forward to in the rest of the LSO’s season?

I’m really looking forward to working with Sir Simon Rattle again. Australia is an exciting tour on the horizon and a chance to see my family in Melbourne. I’m also looking forward to performing Berg’s Wozzeck at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in July, which I remember being an amazing opera from my time at Welsh National Opera.

If you could go back, what advice would you give your younger self as an aspiring musician?

Keep working hard and keep listening. Be a sponge and watch as many amazing musicians as you can. If it’s your dream, never give up!

Are there any other interesting things about you we should know?

I’m a member of The Magic Circle, I’ll always be happy to do some magic if you ask nicely! Otherwise, in my free time, I live on a farm, with my wife and four children keeping me busy.