The last few months have been a busy but immensely satisfying period of music-making and teaching for me.
I was very pleased to have been recognised by the Southern Enterprise Awards Scheme 2025 for small businesses for my contribution in the fields of music performance and music education. This was totally unexpected but it is nice to get recognition for one’s endeavours!
I played for a magical wedding ceremony at Minterne House in Dorset in November, the first time I have played at this lovely venue. They don’t have a piano but I brought my digital piano and amplifier and it sounded great. I am very much looking forward to returning there soon for a wedding open day when I will also get to meet a couple whose wedding I will be playing for in May .
I returned to Westlands Entertainment Centre in December, playing my usual mix of classical, jazz and pop music with a Christmas classic at the end of the evening. It is always lovely playing at this venue and it was great to see my students and other familiar faces there – I always feel inspired by this.
I played for my last wedding of 2025 just before Christmas at a venue near Yeovil: an evening pre-wedding dinner and the drinks reception the following afternoon. However, what should have been a joyful experience was marred by the venue’s refusal to tune and maintain their piano. The couple were expecting me to perform on the baby grand piano there. However, when I arrived, I was presented with a piano which had no pedals as the pedal unit was completely detached from the piano and the instrument was seriously out of tune. I doubt it had received attention for several years: it was basically not playable. Fortunately, I had taken my digital piano and amplifier with me which was just as well because otherwise, the couple would have had no live piano music which would have ruined their wedding. Not only that but the lighting in the building was poor, which made reading thousands of notes challenging. As the staff were seemingly unable to bring over a spare lamp, I had to get by with a small clip-on light I had also brought with me. In the end it all went as well as it could have done and the couple and the bride’s parents showed their appreciation, which made it worthwhile. If a wedding venue expects a professional pianist to deliver on their acoustic piano, the least they can do is to ensure that the instrument has been well-maintained on a regular basis – it’s not rocket science, for goodness’ sake. Anything less than this is disrespectful to both the pianist and to the wedding couples who often spend thousands on their wedding day. Thankfully the problem of a badly-neglected acoustic piano has not arisen with other wedding venues I have played for because they are co-operative and ensure that their instrument is properly cared for.
I enjoy playing Russian music very much and uploading my performances on social media but I am rather dismayed by the negative comments of some Ukrainian people because of this. To them I would say that music has nothing to do with politics: what these people don’t realise is that I also play piano music by Valentin Silvestrov who is a Ukrainian. (Interestingly, not one Russian person has criticised me for doing so.) So I will continue to play and record the great works of Rachmaninov, Khatchaturian and Shostakovich and other Soviet-era composers – if some people don’t like it, they don’t have to listen.
I continue to prepare my students for exams, who are presently working for Grades 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8. I am also coaching some of them for the Highbridge Festival of the Arts competition, which takes place in March 2026.
During these winter months, it has been lovely undertaking a variety of performances at different venues and meeting different people as a result of this. My piano students have also worked hard which has been very gratifying.
I wish everyone who reads my blog a very Happy 2026.
🎶