Ryan Corbett at The Cumnock Tryst

Ryan Corbett will soon be bringing an array of his musical stylings to The Cumnock Tryst on Saturday 18th February 2023. This concert will be hosted in the glorious surroundings of Trinity Church in what is set to be a highlight of the season.  Ryan’s dynamic ability on the classical accordion is not just the result of natural talent, but years of hard work and musical passion.

At only 23 years old, Ryan Corbett is quickly making a name for himself as a stalwart of the Scottish music scene, having been recently named by the Scotsman as ‘One to watch in 2023’.  A Glasgow native and Royal Conservatoire Graduate; Ryan’s stylings as a classical accordionist have accumulated him a dazzling array of accolades.  Already in his career he has received prizes at international accordion competitions around the world and achieved a historic place as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist for 2022-24, becoming the first accordionist to be accepted on to the scheme since its inception in 1999.

Ryan has been enraptured in music since he was 12 years old and studying at the Milngavie School’s prestigious centre of excellence.  It was there that his love affair with the accordion began, initially being self-taught until finding a mentor in accordion professor, Djordje Gajic.  Now, over a decade on, Corbett tours the country with his professor, playing at some of the biggest events in the Classical music calendar including Bath Festival, Lammermuir Festival alongside recitals at Perth Concert Hall and Musselburgh’s Brunton Theatre.

Despite the already huge success, Corbett continues to study as a postgraduate at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, expanding and nurturing his skills in the city that first gave him a love of Scottish traditional music.  The future is set to be even brighter for Ryan, with a planned tour of American Universities, gigs at festivals such as Ryedale and Norwich & Norfolk festivals and a new collaboration with Scottish-Nigerian trumpeter Aaron Akugpo. 

We are delighted to be hosting Ryan for his first major solo performance of 2023 on Saturday 18th February at Trinity Church, with a programme that promises Ryan’s distinctive takes on works from Bach, Feld, Bronner and many more. 

Artistic Director and Founder of Cumnock Tryst, Sir James Macmillan CBE said, “Ryan Corbett is one of the most astonishing and surprising young newcomers in Scottish music, and it’s a great delight for me to bring him to Cumnock for one of our Tryst concerts. He’s been before - we hosted him at our St Andrews night a few years ago at the Dumfries Arms Hotel, and our guests were bedazzled by his playing. This is a recital not to be missed.”