About Me
From the age of 5 I had a classical upbringing, taught by one of my mother’s friends at the RNCM, Eva Warren. I had weekly lessons till the age of 16 when work, friends and general teenage distractions materialised!
At the age of 11, I became the holder of a Wirral Studentship award, which entitled me to subsidised organ lessons. These started with Simon Lawford at St Georges in Thornton Hough, but quickly moved on to Roger Fisher at Chester Cathedral. Looking back, it was an honour to be a pupil of such a highly regarded organist, and I still have vivid memories of being transported by my father to his house in the square by the cathedral, hoping our lesson would be on “the beast” in the cathedral, only to be taken into his spacious extension containing (if I recall correctly) 3 pipe organs! I continued practising at my local methodist church in Heswall and started playing for occasional Sunday services there and in Thingwall. From the age of 18, I left home to study for my degree, but felt I had ended my organ studies on a high note having achieved distinction in Grade 8.
After graduation, I returned to playing for pleasure, and starting accompaniment duties at various local ladies’ choirs on the Wirral (Bromborough Ladies, Peggy McKnight Singers, Accord).
On moving to Wilmslow in 2003, I started working as a rehearsal accompanist in musical theatre, introduced by a friend at work. Around the same time, I started playing regularly for Sunday services and weddings at St Georges URC in Thornton Hough. This continued until July 2021 when unfortunately the church closed. Shortly afterwards, I was approached by Parkgate and Neston URC to play for morning services and I have continued up to the present. Other churches played at regularly during the last few years are St Bart’s and St Anne’s in Wilmslow, St Michael’s Church in Shotwick and St Nicholas Church in Burton.
In recent years, I have returned more to my roots on the classical side, and have assisted various opera groups, i.e. Opera Viva (Crosby), Cheshire Light Opera and Victoria Opera in Cheshire. In 2021, I was involved with the latter in rehearsals for Michael Balfe’s little known opera Satanella, and on one occasion had the great privilege of partaking in a rehearsal with Sir Richard Bonynge and a couple of the principals. I was grateful too in being asked to provide the organ accompaniment for the CD, which was recorded on the Norman & Beard organ at St George’s.
Other than church services, much of my recent work has been with the Capriccio vocal emsemble based in Macclesfield, and playing for rehearsals and in the pit band for musicals by Birkenhead Operatic Society (BOST). The latter are a prestigious company and I feel honoured to be involved with them. Many of their shows are at the two large theatres in Liverpool city centre – the Empire and the Royal Court.
Please get in touch if you require my services in any of the musical spheres detailed on my web site. Currently the majority of my work is in Wirral, North Wales, Cheshire and Merseyside, but I would be more than happy to travel outside these areas to play for you.