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Had you always planned a career in music? |
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Yes, from being a small child I knew I always wanted to be involved with
music. |
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Who influenced you and why? |
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My greatest influence from a teacher was probably from Shirley Blakey
who taught me when I was a Junior Exhbitioner at the Royal Manchester College
of music and later at the RNCM. She introduced me to the music of Debussy and I
have loved playing and listening to his music ever since. In fact I judge any
piano I come across by the 'ping' factor; if you can make Debussy sound okay on
the instrument then most things will. Similarly a great musician to me is one
who can make the music of Debussy and Ravel sound magical. One such person was
Colin Horsley who taught me as student. |
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What do you think shaped your musical tastes and what drew you to the
world of dance? |
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read My musical tastes, like most people’s, were probably shaped by personal
experience. A dance accompanist is expected to play a wide variety of styles
and types of music and hopefully one never stops adding to the collection. I
was drawn to the world of dance rather by chance! Whilst in my final year at
the RNCM I saw an advert for company pianist with Northern Ballet Theatre. I
went along for an audition, mostly for the experience, never dreaming that my
ability to improvise would get me the job! Working with NBT was a 'baptism of
fire' as I knew nothing at all about ballet. I had to play for company classes,
rehearsals and performances on tour around the country as those days they
didn't have an orchestra. There had to be a very steep learning curve. |
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How did your musical education prepare you for your profession? |
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Only partly. Obviously my training at the RNCM was second to none; I trained
as an accompanist, but dance accompaniment is something different and
has to be learnt on the job. It is an entirely different skill to that of
accompanying singers and instrumentalists, requiring a knowledge of all forms
of dance and a feel for movement. Sight-reading, a vital skill to any
accompanist, might be developed in colleges but the skill of improvisation is
not taught as fully. I may be standing on a soap box, but I feel strongly that
the profession I am in is undervalued generally. Many see a ballet pianist as
little more than someone who plays for small children in a draughty church
hall; there is so much more to it than that. I have heard and seen some
excellent pianists flounder when confronted with a 'free' ballet class, since
no music is provided and the pianist must follow the dance instructor's
commmands: it is a very difficult task. |
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What do you feel is the most exciting aspect of your professional
life? |
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Most dance classes are improvised and unrehearsed by the musician so
there is scope for a fair bit of artistic freedom. Therefore a certain amount
of 'frisson' can be felt at the beginning of class particularly with an unknown
teacher. Of course, for any performer, the most exciting aspect of my job is
when the opportunity to play in public arises, either at an open class or in
the theatre accompanying the dancers. |
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