Guitarist D was born into a musical family in Watford, England, in 1985. Throughout his childhood he dedicated himself to a diverse array of musical pursuits, including mastering the drums, saxophone, keyboard, and steel drums, and later exploring the art of classical sound recording. Throughout all of these pursuits he always maintained a close relationship with the classical guitar. He was taught for over 10 years at Watford School of Music by the classical guitarist Lee Sollory and, at the end of his time there, was awarded the Senior Guitar Prize in 2004.

After graduating from the University of Surrey’s Tonmeister™ Course in 2008, winning the AMS-Neve Prize for Most Natural Classical Recording in the process, he accepted a place at the Royal College of Music; graduating with distinction in 2012 from the Master of Performance programme. During his time there he studied with guitarists Craig Ogden, Carlos Bonell, and Chris Stell, but most importantly, Gary Ryan, who championed Declan’s abilities in the area of percussive fingerstyle – a technique made popular by steel-string players such as Tommy Emmanuel, Thomas Leeb, Jon Gomm, and Mike Dawes. Gary was so convinced by Declan’s writing abilities he insisted that he play one of his own compositions in his Masters recital.

Since then he has been busy establishing himself worldwide as a leading figure in crossover percussive/classical guitar. He consolidated his abilities in traditional and percussive fingerstyle techniques to create a show titled “FUSION GUITAR: CLASSICAL & PERCUSSIVE GUITAR” and the show received a 5* review on its opening night as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2013.

If you’re looking for birthday party entertainers or acts for any other occasion, this musician is a great choice.