Lenny Sayers

Lenny Sayers has held the position of Principal Bass Clarinet with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales since 2011 and has been on the teaching staff at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama since 2012. Before moving to Cardiff, Lenny was a freelance musician and teacher based in Manchester and has performed with many of the UK’s leading professional orchestras. In 2001 he was a finalist in the BBC Radio 2 Young Musician of the Year, the last year the competition was held.

Lenny is a very versatile musician - as well as being an accomplished performer he is a published composer and arranger and an experienced workshop leader, presenter and animateur. At the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Lenny not only teaches one-to-one clarinet and bass clarinet lessons, but also teaches on the ‘Outreach Skills’, ‘Teaching Skills’ and ‘Harmoniemusik: Arranging for Wind Ensemble’ modules for the woodwind department. As an animateur Lenny has devised and presented the Family Concert for the Penarth Chamber Music Festival since it was founded and has also presented concerts for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Corbridge Chamber Music Festival.

His compositions have been performed on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Scotland and his works for orchestra with audience participation regularly feature in the BBC National Orchestra of Wales Family Concerts. His many arrangements of klezmer music have proven to be very popular with clarinet players throughout the world, including the students at RWCMD.