Artist Biography

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'Sonata i 5 offeryn', 2020 (Comisiwn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol)

Deffro'r Llwch (Comisiwn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol /BBC NOW)

Patrick Rimes

Composer & Arranger

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Artist Manager: Sioned Jones sioned.jones@harlequin-agency.co.uk

Website: http://www.patrickrimes.com/


Patrick Rimes is a musician who crosses the boundaries of classical and traditional music. He is a composer, arranger, conductor and one of the founders of the North Wales Camerata, a classical viola player and traditional fiddle and pipes player. He was Music Director for S4C’s one-off Christmas Special ‘Nadolig Bryn Terfel’ in December 2014, his first project as music director for TV and 'Bryn Terfel - Gwlad y Gân' in 2016.

As member of the contemporary five-piece folk group, Calan, Patrick has played to big audiences at festivals including Glasgow’s Celtic Connections and the Cambridge Festival and toured Europe, the US and Mexico.

Patrick Rimes is a fiddle and viola player, piper, composer and arranger, based in Cardiff. Born and raised in Bethesda, North West Wales, his style is firmly rooted in the area’s distinctive fiddle tradition but he draws on a wide variety of other influences too, from orchestral music to jazz and bebop.

After starting to learn the fiddle aged 7, Patrick was quickly drawn into the thriving scene of traditional music sessions and workshops in Bangor, alongside his instrumental studies with ‘classical’ teachers. He was twice named junior fiddle champion of Wales, and remains the only person to have won the coveted ‘Blue Ribbon’ award at Anglesey Eisteddfod for a traditional, rather than classical, music performance.

He began conducting whilst at the University of Leeds, leading the University Symphony Orchestra on successful tours of France, Germany and Spain, and in 2014 co-founded the North Wales Camerata. This vibrant chamber orchestra strives to provide a platform for young musicians to explore the very limits of their chamber music skills, as well as being a valuable stepping stone into the world of professional playing. Patrick is in demand as a teacher with both Trac (Wales' traditional music foundation) and Clera (the society for traditional instruments in Wales), giving regular workshops and lessons on style, repertoire and arranging skills. He is regularly in action on the classical and early music stage, as violist of the Cambrian Quartet and frequent member of Essex Baroque Orchestra. He has appeared as a viola soloist with Leeds Baroque Orchestra, and with the John Jenkins Ensemble on renaissance viola.

Patrick continues to strive to bend and ultimately break the perceived ‘boundaries’ between roots music and other genres. As a member of ground breaking folk five-piece Calan, he has recorded three studio albums and placed Welsh music on the map at many of England’s most prestigious festivals including Cambridge, Sidmouth and Cropredy, as well as touring regularly in Europe and the USA. His fruitful collaboration with the Cerys Matthews band has seen him take their unique blend of Welsh and American influenced music to the platform of the World Music Expo, the Nuyorican poets cafe in New York and the BBC Proms. 2014 saw the release of his first work as a musical director for television – a successful collaboration with Bryn Terfel and a selection of guest artists for S4C's 'Nadolig Bryn Terfel'. This was followed by 'Bryn Terfel - Gwlad y Gân' (Bryn Terfel - Land of Song) for S4C in 2016.

In 2015 Patrick embarked on a number of exciting projects, including two tours of the USA with Calan, 'Beyond Borders' for PRSf and 'Cylch Canu: SongChain' for Theatr Mwldan. In 2016, Patrick curated the Wales Millennium Centre's free folk music festival, ‘Calan Mai’, premièred a new piece of music for the children's story 'The King, The Cat & The Fiddle at St David's Hall, Cardiff and toured the UK with Calan.


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This Artist Biography was last updated on 31 July 2023. It is our policy to update biographies every six months. If this information is to be used after 31 January 2024 please contact us and we shall be delighted to supply you with the latest version by return.