It has been a busy but varied few months! This time of the year can be a challenging one for self-employed musicians: there are more bugs around and we are fearful of catching them because of the likely impact on our work. Having been well pretty much all year I succumbed to a hideous cold and cough in November which meant that I was unable to teach for two weeks. I had an event to play for during this period which fortunately I managed to fulfill although I felt pretty lousy!
Fake business reviews are annoying. Some years ago, a disgruntled local tradesman who had done some work at my house and who clearly had nothing better to do, wrote a fake review for my business when they had never been a customer of mine. He refused to remove it and in spite of me reporting it multiple times, it has never been taken down because the all-powerful American technology company, Google, did not accept that it was fake. It is no longer possible to talk to a human being at Google – I suspect that such responses are AI-generated, which is a depressing notion. This nonsense unfortunately impacted upon my overall rating, which is a false representation of my skills, qualifications and experience. It is high time that, if a business-owner reports a fake review, they should be believed. It is something I feel so strongly about that I have contacted the Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology about it and await a reply. I even contacted the CEO of the company, Sundar Pichai but have so far received no response. Other countries have successfully challenged Google regarding these issues – it is about time the UK did the same.
In the digital world we inhabit, live music is precious and I try to go to concerts whenever possible. In September I attended an unusual recital: a guitar quartet. This was performed in a tiny church in South Somerset and consisted mainly of transcriptions of pieces. It was interesting to hear guitar arrangements of Debussy’s solo piano works! It was an uplifting experience and a lovely way to spend an autumnal Sunday afternoon.
I was unexpectedly asked to play for a Catholic wedding ceremony at the beautiful Brympton House in October. Religious ceremonies are a rarity nowadays but this one was rather special. I played some classical music before the ceremony as well as two hymns and songs by Beyonce, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and Coldplay. The bride took the trouble to write a lovely review for me which I really appreciated.
In November, Westlands Arts Centre in Yeovil invited me again to play for their “Piano Nights” series where guests can relax over a drink whilst listening to live piano music. Some members of the audience were at the previous event I played for and there were also a number of my own students! People’s musical tastes vary – someone wanted to hear Rachmaninov whereas another person only liked pop and jazz! Fortunately my repertoire is very diverse. This time I played less classical music with more jazz (including my own arrangement of the classic Masquerade by Leon Russell), blues, pop as well as some Argentine Tango music by Piazzolla, which proved popular. I also played an arrangement of one of Sam Smith’s songs, an artist I admire. Most of the music I played with a score but several pieces were memorised, which enabled me to connect with the music without the distraction of dots and page-turns. It was a two-hour stint with a tiny break in the middle so it called for concentration and stamina. But it was a super evening and I am looking forward to returning there in February.
I was delighted that an online interview about my life as a working musician which I gave to the Independent Society of Musicians (I am a member) was made public and appears on their website! Answering their thought-provoking questions reminded me of why I became a musician in the first place. You can read the interview on: https://www.ism.org/member_news/member-spotlight-caroline-wallis-newport/
In December I went to another live concert in Bristol, this time of Advent choral music, which unusually, featured many female composers. It was beautifully sung and an uplifting experience at this time of the year.
Now I am looking ahead to preparing my students for the Highbridge Festival of the Arts which will take place in March, as well as ongoing exam preparation for different grades.
I wish everyone who reads my latest blog a very happy, healthy – and musical – New Year X