The Snowman 2007/8

For the latest season of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company's stage production of The Snowman, I joined the band on tour at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, between 13th and 30th December 2007. My position was the same as last year: 1st Keyboard Player and Assistant Musical Director.

Performance on BBC Radio 3

On 29th November 2007, a recording featuring myself on piano and Dave Brown on bass was broadcast on "Late Junction" on BBC Radio 3, presented by Verity Sharp. The piece we performed was "Balloons", by composer Alexis Bennett.

Concert in Lagos, Nigeria

At the end of October 2007, I travelled with tenor Kevin Kyle to give a concert at the 2007 Muson Festival in Lagos, Nigeria. For the first half, I performed a solo piano recital which included my own "Toccata" and works by Schubert, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Agosti's fantastic transcription of three movements from Stravinsky's "The Firebird". For the second half, I accompanied Kevin in a wide variety of French, Italian, British, Austrian and German vocal music, including the first seven songs from Schumann's masterful cycle, "Dichterliebe".
We also gave a masterclass for piano and vocal students at the Muson Centre, which we very much enjoyed.

Silent Films at Ealing Town Hall

In late October 2007 I was invited to accompany four very early short silent films for the British Film Collectors Convention at Ealing Town Hall: "The Sliver Wedding" (1906), "The Pumpkin Race" (1908), "One Too Exciting Night" (1912) and "Pathe's Animated Gazette" (1915). It was my first performance at this venue, and I was given a very warm reception.

Richard Wagner Season at BFI Southbank

Having accompanied the UK premiere screening of "The Life and Works of Richard Wagner" (1913) in October 2002 at the Barbican Centre's Cinema 1, it was my great privilege to repeat the experience five years later - in October 2007 - at BFI Southbank. Once again, I weaved my own piano improvisation around extracts from Wagner's music, which I played as the appropriate scenes from his music dramas were being depicted in the film.
Also in October 2007, I accompanied two parts of "Die Nibelungen" - "Siegfried" and "Kriemhild's Revenge" - as filmed brilliantly by the great Fritz Lang in 1924, providing my own piano improvisation. The films were two-and-a-half and three hours long respectively, and I was called upon to perform them together with a short break in between!