Michael Hamnett

Michael Hamnett (born 17 September 1967, Manchester) is an English percussionist. A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, Hamnett is the pianist and musical director of the acclaimed Latin-jazz ensemble Caxixi, the pianist in Dave Hassell's Latin band Apitos, one of the percussionists in the award-winning West End production of The Lion King and a freelance percussionist, musical director, composer and arranger. He has performed across the globe from Aberystwyth to Zimbabwe, championing contemporary music for the marimba and performing many world premieres, both as a soloist and as a freelance percussionist with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Halle Orchestra. At Canterbury Christ Church University, Hamnett is the Director of Percussion Studies and the Musical Director of the Big Band.