If you haven’t yet discovered the delightful gem that is the 1901 Arts Club, now is the time to do so….
7 Star Arts present a trio of concerts at the 1901 Arts Club this autumn featuring leading musicians, including pianist Viv McLean and up-and-coming soprano Sofia Kirwan-Baez, in a range of imaginative programmes of music from Nadia Boulanger to George Gershwin and Benjamin Britten – and much more besides. These concerts are in support of English National Opera’s Benevolent Fund
Housed in a converted schoolmaster’s house a stone’s throw from Waterloo Station, the 1901 Arts Club is an intimate, convivial chamber music venue whose ethos, ambiance and decor is inspired by Europe’s ninteenth-century Salon culture. It’s the perfect place to enjoy music with friends, and it boasts an elegant upstairs bar for pre- and post-concert socialising. And at these concerts with 7 Star Arts, you’ll have the chance to meet the artists as well.
Tuesday 24 September HIDDEN GEMS OF FRENCH SONG with Sofia Kirwan-Baez
Hotfoot from her recent appearance at Longborough Festival Opera, soprano, pianist and songwriter Sofia Kirwan-Baez takes you on a journey through French song, from Nadia and Lilli Boulanger to Edith Piaf and Barbara. Plus a few surprises along the way…
Wednesday 4 December CLASSIC GERSHWIN with VIV McLEAN piano & SUSAN PORRETT narrator
7 Star Arts most popular words and music production makes its 1901 Arts Club debut. This “glorious celebration of Gershwin’s life and music” weaves the vibrant music of the ever-popular composer with his fascinating life story from birth in the colourful, teeming New York of 1898 to his tragically early death in 1937. Programme includes Gershwin favourites The Man I love and Rhapsody in Blue as well as lesser-known works.
Following one of those wonderfully serendipitous encounters on the internet, I am delighted to present “Notes from the Keyboard”, a series of articles for adult amateur pianists, by Dakota Gale, chronicling his own experiences of learning the piano as an adult.
Four years ago, my wife surprised me with a digital piano for my birthday. I’d mentioned my desire to learn a few times and, ever the muse, she called my bluff.
I couldn’t read music. Finding middle C was a quest. I was a B-E-G-I-N-N-E-R.
And yet…she was right. At 38 years old, I tumbled rapturously into the world of piano.
Four years later, the honeymoon phase is over, and yet I remain motivated to play every day and am still loving the journey. (<–understatement: I’m head-over-heels for it.)
I even do stuff like learning to do portraits by drawing musicians! (My wife tells me that’s eccentric…)
I’m playing pieces by Chopin, Debussy, Beethoven, Liszt, and other famous composers that I thought were a decade off. Even facing the inevitable frustrations of piano study, I’m finding joy in piano every.single.day.
Learning piano transcends fun – I feel like I’ve unearthed a gift, a path to access some of the most beautiful music ever written. Accessing the pieces revealed a fountain of satisfaction that isn’t tied to money or achievement, a much-needed oasis of play as an adult.
In fact, I’ll often drop into a flow state for 30 minutes and be surprised when my timer goes off. Where else do we get that feeling once we’re done playing with Legos or mud pies?
You, mega-savvy adult reader, can do it too!
Adults CAN learn to play piano
I share my achievements not to brag (many pianists young and old far outshine my abilities), but to offer hope to adult learners. If you’re telling yourself, “Oh, I could never learn to play” or “I’m not musical” or “only kids can learn piano,” let me persuade you otherwise.
I’m shocked how many people tell me only children can learn. Well, kids are “naturals” at learning because:
They don’t over-complicate things, focusing on foundational blocks that are small and approachable. (Be it music, language, or other skills.)
Kids are able to practice more undistracted hours because an adult provides housing, food, and does their laundry. Their job is to be curious sponges; our Adult Role is often yawn-tastic Tuesdays, repeated.
Adults lack those luxuries. We put pressure on ourselves, try to play songs that are too hard for us, question if the time investment is worth it, and simply don’t have as much time to practice.
I’m an adult. (It snuck up on me.) On top of all the typical adult stuff, I have far too many hobbies. Sometimes friends do annoying things like interrupt my piano reverie to invite me to dinner or on bike rides. *sigh* The inconsiderate louts, I must practice!
And yet by carving out time each day to study piano, in a few months I reached a deeply satisfying level of proficiency that kept me coming back. After four years, I’m frankly astonished sometimes at what my fingers can do.
As a bonus, it’s beautiful for people to listen to (or so they pretend). A skill I’ll enjoy and develop for a lifetime, long after I’m done taking irresponsible risks on my mountain bike.
Beyond that, I’m fired up! I look forward to enjoying creating music the rest of my life and only wish I’d started earlier.
Dear reader, welcome to “Notes from the Keyboard: Adult Piano Chronicles” on The Cross-Eyed Pianist. This will be an ongoing series about my journey learning piano as an adult. I’ll share my journey (ups and downs!) and headaches with pieces and how I resolve them. I promise to absolutely not take myself too seriously—after all this is a hobby, not a vocation.
If you have ideas for topics you’d like to hear about from a dedicated amateur student of classical piano such as myself, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with you!
Dakota Gale
When he isn’t playing piano, Dakota Gale enjoys learning languages (especially Italian) and drawing. He also writes about reclaiming creativity as an adult and ditching tired personal paradigms in his newsletter, Traipsing About. He can often be spotted camping and exploring mountain bike trails around the Pacific Northwest.
This site is free to access and ad-free, and takes many hours to research, write, and maintain. If you find joy and value in what I do, why not
Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts (WLCC), which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022, is undergoing a ‘rebrand’ to reflect exciting expanding plans to bring more high-quality classical music and musicians to the popular Dorset seaside resort.
The series, founded by Weymouth-born pianist Duncan Honeybourne on his return to his hometown at the age of 25, has become well known as a platform for young professionals and established artists, and is now taking its activities up a gear. Last year’s summer concert, featuring chamber musicians coached by Duncan at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department, was such a success that this year a special summer series of four extra Sunday afternoon concerts is being presented under the organisation’s new name CHAMBER MUSIC WEYMOUTH.
In addition to two Young Artist Showcase events on 9th and 16th July, Chamber Music Weymouth will also present a special concert of sea shanties and music inspired by or evocative of the sea and coastal landscapes with Lyme Bay Moonrakers and Duncan Honeybourne (14th July). The summer series will conclude on 28th July with a song recital given by baritone John Barker and pianist Helen Cawthorne.
Artistic Director Duncan Honeybourne says, “We’ve always made a point of welcoming young musicians, and last year’s young piano trio thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the seaside, eating ice cream on the beach after playing Mendelssohn to a large, supportive and enthusiastic audience. Everyone loved the event, and there were calls for a repeat, so this year we decided to expand the enterprise.”
Frances Wilson, herself a major voice in the piano world through her blog ‘The Cross-Eyed Pianist’, joined Duncan in 2019 as Concerts Manager, and together they plan to put their stretch of the Jurassic Coast firmly on the musical map. Frances says, “We have enjoyed record audiences since we returned to our regular monthly concerts following the challenges of the covid lockdowns, and we look forward to capitalising on this enthusiasm for what we do here with an expanded programme of concerts and other related events as we approach our 25th anniversary in 2027.”
Thanks to a generous donation from the Weymouth Music Club, which closed in 2023 after presenting concerts in the town for almost 80 years, Chamber Music Weymouth will, in addition to the regular monthly lunchtime concert series, offer further opportunities to young musicians at the start of their professional careers. Future plans also include a music festival, piano competition and masterclasses/piano courses.
The first Young Artist Showcase concert, presented by Chamber Music Weymouth, takes place on Sunday 9th June at 3pm at St Mary’s Church in central Weymouth. Students of Duncan Honeybourne from the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department and the University of Southampton will perform music by Mozart, Lalo, Paganini, and Beethoven. Tickets cost just £5, available online or on the door.
Full details of all concerts/events and a detailed history of the series can be found at weymouthchamberconcerts.com
“a really special concert series” – Joseph Tong, pianist
“Weymouth is truly fortunate to have a concert series that benefits both local people and the wider musical community…..this is a valuable initiative that deserves continuing support and celebration.” – James Lisney, pianist
Launched in 2002 by concert pianist and Weymouth resident Duncan Honeybourne, Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts presents high-quality chamber music in the heart of Weymouth and offers a platform for musical partnerships with friends and colleagues. The concerts also give young musicians, often recent graduates from conservatoire or university, valuable performing experience to a friendly, loyal audience.
Programmes are varied and imaginative, mixing well-known works with lesser-known repertoire and composers, and all concerts take place in the attractive surroundings of St Mary’s Church, an early 19th-century church in central Weymouth, built of Portland stone.
Since its return to normal concert-giving following the covid lockdowns, the series has enjoyed record audience numbers with concerts by, amongst others, pianists Margaret Fingerhut, Joseph Tong, Allan Schiller and John Humphreys, Viv McLean, Penelope Roskell, James Lisney, Matthew Schellhorn and Katharine Lam, cellist Joseph Spooner, bass-baritone Timothy Dickinson, violinists Peter Fisher, Christopher Horner and Leora Cohen, and clarinettist Poppy Beddoe, as well as talented young musicians or recent graduates from conservatoire. Featured contemporary composers include Sadie Harrison, Adam Gorb, Ben Gaunt, Liz Dilnot Johnson and Fazil Say.
The series receives no funding or sponsorship, and all artist fees and other costs are met through ticket sales alone.
Award-winning British composer Thomas Hewitt Jones releases a new version of the much-loved hymn Abide With Me on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Normandy by Allied forces which marked a crucial turning point in the Second World War.
American troops arriving in Normandy on D-Day (National Geographic)
Originally written in 1847 by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte, with words based on Luke 24: 13–35, ‘Abide with Me’ is a prayer for God to stay (“abide”) with the speaker through the trials and tribulations of life and death. Traditionally sung at remembrance events and services, and at funerals, it offers comfort to the bereaved and hope for the coming weeks. The hymn speaks to the universal human condition, and it is that feeling of hope and assurance which makes this hymn so special. It is most often sung to the tune “Eventide” by the English organist William Henry Monk.
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
This new version by Thomas Hewitt Jones is performed by the Scottish Session Orchestra, conducted by Adam Robinson, recorded remotely in Glasgow – with Thomas on solo cello and pipe organ from his home studio.
Composer Thomas Hewitt Jones says, “‘Abide with Me’ is such a well-loved tune which typically has resonances with wartime and remembrance. However, as my friend Gordon Giles, Canon at Rochester Cathedral, reminded me, the words also allude to the resurrection. As such, I think it can be seen as a song of great comfort in trying times. I have given it the unashamedly rich string treatment here, with nods to Vaughan Williams but also a couple of subtle harmonic twists. I have also showcased the Lammermuir pipe organ, which is in my studio, and it is wonderful to have the excuse to get the cello out again! I hope you enjoy this new take on the beloved melody.”
‘Abide with Me’ – arranged by Thomas Hewitt Jones (solo cello & organ), with the Scottish Session Orchestra conducted by Adam Robinson.
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