Simon Hester was born in Sheffield and studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Geoffrey Pratley and Jean Harvey and won many prizes for his performances both as a soloist and accompanist.

Mr. Hester's career has covered a wide range of musical worlds, and his versatility is much admired in both classical and jazz repertoire. He gives recitals throughout Great Britain and has appeared at the Bath, Edinburgh, and Exeter festivals and has toured throughout the UK and abroad with the highly successful show “All You Ever Wanted to Know about Opera.”

Simon Hester performs frequently with the violinist Carmine Lauri, and has also worked with the distinguished violinist Maurice Hasson having appeared with him in recitals throughout Europe.

Mr. Hester’s work for violin and piano “Dark Eyes Variations” was premiered in London last year and a number of his piano works are due for publication this year. This year his piano concerto was premiered with him as soloist.

Simon Hester's popular YouTube channel “The Lonely Pianist” celebrates the art of piano improvisation.