Patrick Hughes's Profile

Background:

Patrick Hughes is regarded as one of Ireland’s most exciting saxophonists. As a protégé of the world-renowned French saxophone virtuoso Jean-Yves Fourmeau, his playing is steeped in the French classical tradition. He graduated from the Conservatoire National Régional de Cergy-Pontoise (Paris) with the important Premiere Prix and Medaille d'or of his international saxophone class in 2011. In June 2009 he completed his Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance degree at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He is an outstanding prizewinner, winning 1 st Prizes in both saxophone competitions and in the McCullough Cup (Woodwind Concerto) at the E.S.B Feis Ceoil in Dublin. He is also the recipient of a Y.M.F.E (Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe) scholarship, winning outright 1st Prize as a student. International highlights include 1 st Prize in the "Concours de Saxophone Parisien 2010" in Paris. As a student, Patrick was announced as the winner of the prestigious R.D.S Music Bursary. This is one of the largest music bursaries on offer to young musicians in Ireland and amongst the largest in Europe ; it was the first time in its seven-year history that this prize was awarded to a saxophonist. He is a former member of both the Irish Youth Wind Ensemble and the National Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. He has participated in masterclasses and lessons with many of the world’s finest saxophonists including: Arno Bornkamp, John Harle, Jean-Dénis Michat, Kyle Horch and Otis Murphy. He has also performed with the two professional orchestras in Ireland , the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Patrick is a passionate teacher and has established one of the best private teaching practises in Ireland, He also teaches in several music schools in his native Dublin. As a teacher , Patrick has secured many distinctions with his students at grade 8 ABRSM level. His students have also being accepted by prestigious conservatories at home and aboard. Outside of his busy teaching schedule he is a part of the Swing Cats band - hugely popular in Ireland and Abroad. He has performed live with Chris De Burgh, Twink, Eurovision winner Paul Harrington, Phil Coulter and Marilyn Bergman. He has appeared twice on Irish TV in two separate hour long TV specials “Swing Cats Live” viewed by over 250,000 people. Patrick also enjoyed the opportunity to perform in Ireland’s 3Arena to 6,000 people. Patrick performs exclusively on Yamaha Custom Saxophones.