ABOUT
Daryl Simpson is a dynamic singer and musician from Omagh in Northern Ireland. He is well known across the stages of the world as a member of international touring group the Celtic Tenors. He has honed his craft performing with some of the top Orchestras including the Vancouver Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, Dallas Symphony and Cincinnati Symphony.
Although a trained operatic tenor, Daryl is equally happy to perform music ranging in style from folk, music theatre, jazz and pop. This crossover appeal has led to a busy career of performances, recordings, and broadcasts all over the world including the UK/Ireland (BBC/ITV), US (PBS), Canada (CBC), Australia (ABC), Middle East, Netherlands (RTL) and Germany (ZDF).
Daryl’s skills as an instrumentalist include performing piano and guitar regularly in his solo and Celtic Tenor shows. This has also formed the basis of his arranging skills for orchestra, band and vocal ensembles with work as a producer on various recordings and theatre projects. Recorded material includes singing/performing as a Decca artist and includes over 10 albums and 2 TV Specials.
Daryl is the founding Musical Director of the Omagh Community Youth Choir, which was set up in the wake of the Omagh atrocity to promote peace and reconciliation through music. They have made various appearances on television and radio, including performances on the Royal Variety Show, the National Lottery Show and further afield in the United States. Their current recordings include ‘Across the Bridge of Hope’ for the Omagh Fund, ‘To Love in Peace’ in conjunction with Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Ben Elton, and ‘Reconciliation’ with the Eileen Eivers Band. They have also recorded a live album at the famous New Orleans Jazz National History Park. They also scored a US Billboard top10 as part of Playing For Change before going on to perform at Glastonbury Festival in 2009.
As an opera tenor Daryl received training in the Alexander Gibson opera studio in Glasgow before being taken on as a young artist in Opera theatre Company’s inaugural programme under Artistic Director Annilese Miskimmon. He then was accepted into the prestigious Zurich International Opera Studio where he gave multiple performances as Tamino in Die Zauberflote. He felt very blessed to work under the tutelage of legendary tenor Nicolai Gedda and works to impart his knowledge to other young performers through masterclasses and vocal clinics. Daryl also currently works alongside Northern Ireland Opera giving concerts and broadcasts.
As a response to the Covid pandemic Daryl reached out to his audience by firstly giving 18 free weekly concerts on Facebook as means of giving some hope during lockdown. He has since developed that idea by developing a new subscription page on Patreon where he has given over 90 one hour weekly live shows to members in Northern Ireland, England, Germany, Austria, Canada and the USA.
Daryl was recognised with a BEM (British Empire Medal) for services to Community Relations and Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland, as part of the Queen’s 2018 New Year Honours List.
