Glantaf Duo bring a violin and marimba combo to Schools Prom 2014
11 November 2014, 18:37 | Updated: 15 December 2016, 11:50
Brothers Harry and Charlie have been immersed in music for as long as they can remember.
As members of the National Youth Orchestra, Charlie and Harry won the Duet Competition at the Urdd National Eisteddfod and have also taken home various other awards and prizes.
They're not newcomers to the Schools Prom. "We were here three years ago," Charlie tells Classic FM's Tim Lihoreau. "We were doing piano duets back then but then we thought we'd vary it a bit and bring together quite an odd combination of violin and marimba."
After dabbling with a range of instruments, combining violin and marimba has been very exciting and rewarding for the brothers.
"Mum did try and get me to play clarinet having studied it herself at the Royal College," says Charlie, "but that one didn't quite take off."
At this year's Prom they're playing Handel's Passacaglia, originally written for violin and viola/cello, which is lent a percussive and more mellow twist from the marimba. The percussion also brings a jaunty element to the fun, jazzy Hot Canary, and complements the violin’s representation of a lively canary.
