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THEN...

My love for music stemmed from my passion for learning and my fun and crazy childhood!  I was encouraged at an early to 'play' the piano, not to just study it, so it wasn't until I reached an older age that I realised I had been doing some serious learning; and by then it was too late - I was hooked!  (No pun intended).

I completed all grades in piano - Introductory, Preliminary, 1-8, by the age of 16, however my real passion was playing by ear and playing jazz and the classical training just gave me a strong theoretical base underpinning what I was exploring by ear.

I also studied up to Grade 8 on the violin and learnt by ear how to play the clarinet - deliberately not taking lessons in this instrument, instead choosing to learn by playing in various jazz bands and groups.

5 generations - me, my mum, my nan, and my nan's nan!

I was lucky to have some pretty inspirational people around me who kept this growing passion for 'playing' the piano alive.

Nan sat for hours with me at the piano, teaching me chords and patterns so we could play duets together, and she would listen to my latest creation that I would endlessly play over and over again with an enthusiasm that would never fade, ever.

My brilliant piano teacher from the age of 5 - Gill Shove, would divide my lessons in half, with the first half devoted to the serious study, saving the best half for play! I believe that she is the best piano teacher I could ever have had.

My Uncle Jim from Wales used to send me music through the post to learn and would sit for ages listening to me play them back to him when we went to visit.  Uncle Terry used to perform duets with me on the saxophone and we'd learn Jazz standards together, along with my brother Keiran on the alto sax.

My family, friends and everyone around me would have great fun setting me new challenges on what pop song to play next, and testing me to see if there was any song that I couldn't turn into a ring tone on their Nokia 3310.

My music teacher in secondary school, Dave Welton, would bend over backwards to help support my love for music, getting me involved in all things musical in school and opening many doors and opportunities for me.

So it is easy to see why music became such a key part of my life, its really all been about the learning environment I had as a child, and all the positive influences around me, of which I know I am very lucky to have had.

...NOW

I love what I do!  One of the things that gives me a buzz when I play is being able to touch people's emotions in a way that only music can.  I love creating something poignant that means something to someone, and makes them feel something good.  The best place to do this is at weddings, where I have the opportunity to add something very special, to the most important day of someone's life, which is exactly what I do.

I have now played at some of the UK's top music venues such as Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, The Pigalle, Jazz Cafe and Glastonbury Music Festival.  I have worked with artists such as Jay Sean, Kele Le Roc, recorded at BBC Maida Vale studios and I appear on the Radio One Live Lounge 5 album, on a cover of The Black Eyed Peas' hit number 1 record 'I Gotta Feeling'.

I have also had the pleasure of working with Oggie (international star of Thriller Live! musical), Amber Topaz , Mikie Black, The Lil Swing Thing, The Kingsize Five, MC Zani (UK Beatbox Champion), La Femme de la Funk (a one-off all female hip hop group but looooved this!), Krysten Cummings, Philip Bent and many others.

After taking some time out for my beautiful baby girl Scarlett, and then my little prince Mikey, I am now currently working on a number of writing / recording projects, including soundtrack compositions.

Of course my number one focus is on weddings and events, spending most of my studio time arranging personalised arrangements of my clients favourite songs, composing their love story in music or recording music for people that are unable to get me there in person.

If you would like to know more about my background, or foreground, or are interested in booking me for your luxury event or wedding, please contact me.