I am a Scottish-Japanese classical pianist with particular interests in chamber music and 20th Century/contemporary repertoire, as well as performance practice research.
I received my first piano and violin lessons at the age of 7 in my hometown of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire after the surprise gift of a piano from my beloved Japanese grandfather, and was a violin and piano scholar at North East of Scotland Music School with Gillian Findlay (violin), and Nigel Clayton (piano). At 18 I won first prize in the Moray International Piano Competition, and went on to undergraduate studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with John Thwaites, and the Royal College of Music with John Blakely. I went on to receive a Post Graduate Diploma in piano accompaniment from the Royal College of Music supported by an award from Pro Musica Ltd, studying with John Blakely and Roger Vignoles.
Whilst freelancing in London, I began to develop a keen interest in contemporary music, and in 2013 did a Master’s degree with the pianist and composer, Rolf Hind - a world authority on contemporary music - at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with generous scholarships from the Worshipful Company of Stationers and the Guildhall Music Trust. I was awarded a distinction for my final recital, performed in Milton Court at the Barbican Centre in 2015.
Masterclasses with: Dominique Merlet, Stephen Kovacevic, Martino Tirimo, Boris Berman, Ian Brown, Andrew West, Malcolm Martineau, and Peter Hill.
Previous performance venues include: LSO St Luke’s, Blüthner Piano Centre, The Edinburgh Festival (with Opera Bohemia) and Barbican Hall (as part of the BBC Thea Musgrave Total Immersion, recorded for BBC Radio 3), Bristol Cathedral, The Lansdowne Club (London), The Flavel (Dartmouth), The University of Exeter, and Ashburton Arts Centre.
I am a current PhD student in Performance Practice at the University of Exeter. In this project I am looking at stillness in piano repertoire, which is challenging to learn and perform but not always acknowledged and addressed. My practice as research is investigating how embodied techniques might be adapted for this from other disciplines such as meditation, yoga, and psychophysical actor training. Ongoing performance projects include performances with Kintsugi Music - a professional chamber ensemble which I co-founded with violinist Johanna McWeeney. Further details at www.kintsugimusic.com
In addition to performance and performance research, I have a wealth of teaching experience. As former Head of Keyboard at Mount Kelly, I now teach at Blundell's School in Devon. I am also a postgraduate teaching assistant at the University of Exeter, delivering both practical and academic modules. I have some limited space available for private piano lessons.
I received my first piano and violin lessons at the age of 7 in my hometown of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire after the surprise gift of a piano from my beloved Japanese grandfather, and was a violin and piano scholar at North East of Scotland Music School with Gillian Findlay (violin), and Nigel Clayton (piano). At 18 I won first prize in the Moray International Piano Competition, and went on to undergraduate studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with John Thwaites, and the Royal College of Music with John Blakely. I went on to receive a Post Graduate Diploma in piano accompaniment from the Royal College of Music supported by an award from Pro Musica Ltd, studying with John Blakely and Roger Vignoles.
Whilst freelancing in London, I began to develop a keen interest in contemporary music, and in 2013 did a Master’s degree with the pianist and composer, Rolf Hind - a world authority on contemporary music - at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with generous scholarships from the Worshipful Company of Stationers and the Guildhall Music Trust. I was awarded a distinction for my final recital, performed in Milton Court at the Barbican Centre in 2015.
Masterclasses with: Dominique Merlet, Stephen Kovacevic, Martino Tirimo, Boris Berman, Ian Brown, Andrew West, Malcolm Martineau, and Peter Hill.
Previous performance venues include: LSO St Luke’s, Blüthner Piano Centre, The Edinburgh Festival (with Opera Bohemia) and Barbican Hall (as part of the BBC Thea Musgrave Total Immersion, recorded for BBC Radio 3), Bristol Cathedral, The Lansdowne Club (London), The Flavel (Dartmouth), The University of Exeter, and Ashburton Arts Centre.
I am a current PhD student in Performance Practice at the University of Exeter. In this project I am looking at stillness in piano repertoire, which is challenging to learn and perform but not always acknowledged and addressed. My practice as research is investigating how embodied techniques might be adapted for this from other disciplines such as meditation, yoga, and psychophysical actor training. Ongoing performance projects include performances with Kintsugi Music - a professional chamber ensemble which I co-founded with violinist Johanna McWeeney. Further details at www.kintsugimusic.com
In addition to performance and performance research, I have a wealth of teaching experience. As former Head of Keyboard at Mount Kelly, I now teach at Blundell's School in Devon. I am also a postgraduate teaching assistant at the University of Exeter, delivering both practical and academic modules. I have some limited space available for private piano lessons.