PrettyInScarlett

Not quite 2 weeks into Skipton life and time for my first concert courtesy of Skipton Music . I recognised Yuanfan Yang from his Leeds International Piano Competition entry - definitely a 'one to watch' name! Arriving at Skipton Town Hall , I found that the main hall was pretty full. Definitely more people than a typical Darlington Piano Society concert. The hall has quite a high stage so there aren't really any bad seats.  In his brief speech to the crowd, Yuanfan referenced his previous concert here, 10 years ago!?! Yuanfan spoke with a good degree of confidence and humour. The concert programme was as follows: Liszt, La Vallée d'Obermann from Années de Pélerinage Y. Yang, Ode to the Atlantic Schumann, Carnaval Op. 9 Schubert, Klavierstücke - No. 1 in E flat from Drei Klavierstücke D. 946 P. Cashian, Landscape (1995) Prokofiev, Sonata No. 7 in B flat, Op. 83 I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of a self-penned work and a recent compos...

The Red House - Old Shire Hall Still on a roll after my Thursday trip to London, M and I continued the farewell-to-Durham party with Lumiere on Friday.  I obtained tickets for the Friday evening ticketed slot - remembering the post-ticketing queues from 2013's edition - and M and I met a few friends to explore. There were still more larger installations - still not quite as completely random/otherworldly as some of Québec Lumière 2012 - but a very high quality of work. We headed first to Old Elvet for the The Red House and Dreamers .  The Red House in particular was very well done. Heading onto the peninsula, we went to see the Cathedral installations. The World Machine , this year's exterior sound/light installation, was fantastic; a visual explanation of the birth of cosmology. Once we had queued into the Cathedral (this section - not enough thought into the organisation) we were treated to Complex Meshes ; this interactive display on the vault ceiling referred to...

About a year ago I was invited to join the Facebook group Piano Network UK. The group is for pianists, teachers, composers, promoters, tuners, journalists: anyone with a specific interest in the UK piano scene. A very friendly bunch, as shown by the 'launch event' held in London last Thursday, 12th November.  The event was initially booked months ago and in the meantime my diary has become very full - such that 3 hours each way to London and back became valuable downtime!  I had also booked an audience ticket rather than performer - it would have been great to perform, but a good decision in the end as I had (still have!) no brain space to prepare anything at the moment. The meetup was held in 1901 Arts Club which is a really small, intimate venue just next to Waterloo station - along one of those curious super-narrow London streets. The ground floor was our performance space for the evening; upstairs there is a cozy bar and lounge. Once we got started, the vibe ...

With all the excitement about moving, we will definitely miss this place! Arriving here still homesick for Ottawa, it was great moving into such a friendly area. I'll miss the music groups most definitely; whilst Durham Amateur Pianists isn't continuing in present form, Let's Play the Piano! Newcastle and the Gateshead Piano Workshop are still strong.  Farewell home grown apples   After the amazing Eliza Carthy back in August, it's been so hectic we've not made any concerts etc. I finally made it to Empty Shop the other week for their Cassette Store Day related music fair thing and some good beer. No cassettes purchased (many years since I last had a tape deck) but I did acquire The Caroline EP by local band Dennis . Warm, bouncy, feel-good songs with a brass twist, very nicely done. Also on Facebook . Back there just yesterday for Wax In The Attic , an all-day vinyl fair/event. My most notable 'why not?' purchase was Musique de film imaginé by...

Onwards and upwards (and back to Yorkshire) - after a fun filled few years in the North East, M and I are moving to Skipton, North Yorkshire. Another move to somewhere I'd never been before - but given enjoyment of our moves to Ottawa and Durham, that's not necessarily a bad thing. We are overlapping for a few months; I have now been to Skipton and certainly there's a lot to see and do! Plus a surfeit of ale-based establishments... early mentions to Skipton Sound Bar and The Beer Engine . The town feels very vibrant, particularly on market day(s) and the community seems very busy. Initial googling/searching/looking around has unearthed the following groups/events/activities (in no particular order)  about which I/we will thoroughly enjoy learning more: Skipton Ukulele Club! -  I'm still working away at the ukulele, but have never made it to the Durham Uke Group beyond beginner's class - diary clash - so hoping to join this one! Skipton Music - a clas...

Since returning to the piano as an adult and through listening to lots of music, I have come to look forward to 'The Leeds' - the world-class Leeds International Piano Competition . The Leeds runs every 3 years, currently running for the 18th time. This year I decided to had along to one of the first round events - nicely coinciding with my birthday! Keyboard seats a must. After lunch with a friend, M and I arrived at the Leeds University Great Hall in time to soak up a bit of atmosphere before the first competitor of the afternoon arrived on stage. Whilst all 5 competitors (in order: Drew Petersen , Rodolfo Leone , Peng Lin, Célia Oneto Bensaid and Gunyoung Hwang) were all very technically competent, it was interesting for the listening experience of hearing successive performers in the same room on the same instrument. Seated position, shoulders, feet, projection - lots of variables! Petersen had a very 'proper' posture and technique, but his pieces lacked what ...

Sarah Hayes Within an increasingly busy schedule (again arriving at a gig with no listening preparation), M and I attended one of this year's Folkworks Durham Gathering events on Saturday, once again a sold out event at the fabulous Old Cinema Launderette . An instant ticket purchase - after thoroughly enjoying Martin Carthy's gig at the Launderette last year, just seeing the event listing for Eliza and Co was enough. Fun guaranteed. Eliza Carthy and Saul Rose played as a duo, preceded by Sarah Hayes . Eliza and Sarah had both been teaching at this years' Folkworks Summer School which has just finished. I found singer, flautist and storyteller Sarah's set quite interesting - overwhelmingly we have seen folk artists at the Launderette, but this was the first keyboard instrument spotted. Sarah has both classical and indie experiences but last night's set was a simple but effective slice of folk. Eliza Carthy and Saul Rose Eliza and Saul followed up...