Orrett Rhoden
'Some pianists are not musicians and some musicians are not pianists, but you, young man are both.' - Arthur Rubinstein
Orrett Rhoden was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 2 January 1961. At twelve he won the Howard Cooke Trophy for Excellence in the Jamaica National Festival. He studied with Rita Coore, Rosalyn Tureck, Nina Svetlanova, Virginia-Gene Rittenhouse, Maxine Franklin and Andrew Esterhazy, and first came to notice after appearing in two BBC documentaries made when Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Jamaica in 1983.
The following year he played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1 with the London Symphony Orchestra at Barbican Hall in London, in 1985 he made his Carnegie Hall debut, and in 1986 he appeared twice on Joan Rivers' TV talk show in the USA. Rhoden has also played in France, Spain, Italy, Canada, Mexico and Poland.
Further information: orrettrhoden.com
A selection of articles about Orrett Rhoden
CD Spotlight. Most Remarkable - Jamaican pianist Orrett Rhoden, heard by Bill Newman