AMANDA HURTON enjoys a varied career as pianist, accompanist, teacher, chamber music coach, examiner and adjudicator. She studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and Royal College of Music, where she graduated with First Class Honours and won 10 major prizes including Concerto Prize twice and prize for best Diploma Recital. Amanda was a national finalist in BBC YMOTY 1982, finalist in LPO Pioneer Competition and National Federation of Music Societies Competition, and winner of the Tillett Trust Competition and Hastings Concerto Competition. She has performed extensively in the UK and in Europe including France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Further afield she has performed in USA, the Middle East and two concert tours in Australia. Concerto highlights include Rachmaninov No.2 and Gershwin at the Barbican, Prokofiev No.3 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Ravel Concerto for Left Hand with the Young Musicians’ Symphony Orchestra at St John’s, Smith Square. Solo performances include at the Fairfield Halls, White Rock Theatre Hastings, Bath Festival, Newbury Festival, broadcasts on BBC Radios 2/3/4, French Radio and live on Classic FM.

Amanda has accompanied twice in the BBC ‘Young Musician of the Year ‘ Category Finals, including in 2023 with her clarinettist son Lucas Dick and in 1980 with the string section winner, Clare McFarlane. They were later selected as a duo for representation by Young Concert Artists Trust, resulting in many recitals and a documentary by Granada TV. The duo performed the complete Beethoven Sonatas for Violin and Piano in a series of three concerts at the Purcell Room, Southbank. Other chamber collaborations include with the Mistry Quartet, Vogler Quartet, Ruşen Güneş, Leslie Newman, Leland Chen, Hu Kun, Karine Georgian, and a performance of the Debussy Violin Sonata with Sir Yehudi Menuhin in Paris.

As a resident pianist, Amanda has been invited to work at Dartington International Summer School, Lake District Summer Music and at the International Menuhin Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Amanda has been an ABRSM examiner since 1995 and has examined and given seminars abroad, also acting as mentor on the CT ABRSM Professional Development course. As recording producer, she has produced recordings of orchestral, choral, chamber and instrumental works for record companies including BMG, ASV, Claves, Auvidis, Hyperion and Naxos. These have resulted in awards and recommendations including Diapason d’Or, Gramophone Editor’s Choice and CD Compact Recording of the Year. From 2003, Amanda produced six series of complete Piano Syllabus recordings for ABRSM, working with an array of international concert pianists and college professors including from the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Royal Northern College of Music. She has served on competition juries including 2016 Wales International Piano Festival Competition.

Amanda has taught piano in schools, University of Roehampton, and in her thriving private teaching practice for over 30 years. Her students have enjoyed successes in festivals, competitions, exams and diplomas and many have gone on to study music at College and University and have careers in music including in performing, teaching, conducting and composing. Her recent concerts include Dvorak Piano quintet with the Kucharsky String Quartet, piano duet recitals with Piers Lane, a contemporary piano premiere, chamber collaborations with an array of instrumentalists, and acclaimed performances of Mozart and 20th Century repertoire with two choirs.

As a teacher, Amanda takes pride in supporting and encouraging high artistic standards, technical excellence, musical engagement and curiosity in a caring and tailor-made way for each student, that also helps equip them with the skills and resilience for professional pathways and a lifetime of music-making.