Festival banner, and his debut recital this evening at the Bermuda National Gallery promises to be excellent.

The hour-long programme, which begins at 6 p.m., will include Couperin's Prelude and Suite, Gibbons' Two Fantasias, Frescobaldi's Toccata and Capriccio, and Bach's Three Preludes and Fugues from WTC1 and The Italian Concerto.

The British-born performer comes with impressive credentials and many talents.

As an undergraduate at Cambridge University he was organ scholar at King's College for three years. As a graduate student he studied the music of Bach, and has become a respected specialist.

His long list of academic appointments includes: lecturer at Aberdeen University; Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge; faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley; lecturer and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge.

Arising from his studies at Cambridge University, Mr. Butt has written a number of books, and last year, to mark the 250th anniversary of Bach's death, he devised the programme, "Odyssey: Bach and the Cello,'' which was performed at the Bermuda Festival this week.

Whilst at King's College, the artist also founded a new, mixed choir entitled King's Voices. Today he directs several choirs in Cambridge and Berkeley. He is also an active performer who regularly appears as a solo organist and harpsichordist, in addition to being a director in Britain and the US.

A recording artist also, Mr. Butt has made seven albums on organ, harpsichord and clavichord under the Harmonia Mudi label, as well as Bach's sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord.

As director of the University of California Berkeley Chamber Chorus and the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale, Mr. Butt has participated in many concerts and recordings with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.

Tickets for tonight's only recital are sold out. To enquire about returns visit the Bermuda Festival box office next to the ferry terminal building on Front Street, or telephone 295-8572. Patrons should note that the title, "Cocktail Harpsichord Recital,'' denotes the hour at which it is being held, and does not include refreshments.

Cocktail hour: Harpsicordist John Butt received his formal training at England's Cambridge University, emerging as a specialist of Bach.