{"id":956,"date":"2023-12-17T21:57:38","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T21:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carolinewallisnewport.co.uk\/?p=956"},"modified":"2023-12-17T21:57:38","modified_gmt":"2023-12-17T21:57:38","slug":"winter-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carolinewallisnewport.co.uk\/index.php\/2023\/12\/17\/winter-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Most of the weddings that I am asked to play for usually take place during the warmer months but this year was unusual, with a flurry of activity in the latter part of the year – two in September, two in November and one in December. I had the privilege of returning to two beautiful Somerset venues: Brympton House and Orchardleigh Estate. One of these weddings materialised at very short notice – I had a week to prepare! I was asked to play a wide range of music for the various receptions and ceremonies, including several songs I hadn’t played before, such as the theme from Romeo and Juliet,<\/em> songs by Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder, an Etta James classic: \u201cAt Last\u201d (which is surprisingly tricky to sustain as it is so slow), music from Titanic<\/em> and songs by Prince, the Beatles, Radiohead, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart and Jess Glynne. I really love performing such an eclectic mix of music!<\/p>\n

I have two weddings booked for the first part of next year. One of them will take place in beautiful Victorian gardens on the Wiltshire\/Dorset border so I am looking forward to going there. It is definitely inspiring when you are given the opportunity to perform in such beautiful surroundings.<\/p>\n

I took on three new adult students this term, each at different stages but all possessing a terrific enthusiasm for the piano and for music in general. They practise so hard between their lessons, in spite of the busy lives that they lead and are a joy to teach.<\/p>\n

Three of my students passed their piano exams this term, a child and two adults. The child achieved a Distinction for her Grade 1 exam and the two ladies passed their Grades 4 and 5. I have some great advanced students at the moment who are studying for Grade 8 and the ABRSM Performance Diploma – music by Liszt, Mozart, Bach, Debussy and Brahms. I am also preparing several of my child and adult students for the Highbridge Festival of the Arts, a competition which takes place next March.<\/p>\n

I am pleased that I have recently been accepted as a weddings and events pianist by two classic venues in my favourite counties of Somerset and Dorset and very much look forward to playing at them in the future.<\/p>\n

I believe, as a teacher and performer, it is important to go to recitals and concerts and to see wonderful music being performed live by other professional musicians. In September I attended a piano recital in Yeovil given by the excellent Hungarian pianist, Daniel Lebhardt, for which I wrote a review for the local paper. I also went to a Christmas concert of medieval and Baroque choral music in Bristol, which was magical and very uplifting.<\/p>\n

I am now looking forward to the Christmas break after another hectic but fulfilling few months.<\/p>\n

I wish everyone who reads my blog a very Happy Christmas and a great 2024\u00a0xx<\/em><\/p>\n

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Most of the weddings that I am asked to play for usually take place during the warmer months but this year was unusual, with a flurry of activity in the latter part of the year – two in September, two in November and one in December. I had the privilege of returning to two beautiful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[33,32,20,30,34,25,31,15,10,19,29],"class_list":["post-956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-abrsm","tag-brympton-house","tag-distinction","tag-events","tag-exams","tag-excellent-results","tag-highbridge-fesival-of-the-arts","tag-piano","tag-piano-exams","tag-success","tag-weddings"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t