Jill Wallis

Jill has been playing for us in the house at Belton for a couple of years now. She is always punctual and organised. She brings a good selection of music with her and plays a good selection of music from across many genres. She certainly knows her way around the keys and is very at home on our grand piano! When Jill plays, it really brings the room and the rest of the house to life, visitors always comment on her playing and she is easily able to hold an audience amongst the visitors here, who will often stay for quite some time to listen to Jill play. It has been great to have her as part of the team. Jonathan Wilkinson Collections and House Officer

Jill Wallis is an outstanding musician. As a teacher, performer, accompanist and all round pianist, she is the best I have known. I have had the pleasure of watching Jill perform on countless occasions including as keys in pit bands for musicals, at competitions and concerts in addition to accompanying her clarinet pupils. She carries huge emotion through her playing and is sensitive to every situation. Her range is spectacular, and she is just as comfortable with a wedding ballad as she is with a sonata. Listening to Jill's music never fails to amaze me, her love of the instrument blossoms through every piece and brings an incredible sense of musicianship to all who encounter it. As a person she is warm, generous and full of love - all of which are beautifully translated into musical form when she plays, it is a genuine treat. I have played with Jill on countless occasions and each time has been a blast. We have performed together in many duets over the years at different venues, she never failed to lift me up and encourage a sense of bravery when nerves would encroach. She kept our little team together so well and was everything I needed when learning to play as an ensemble, however large or small it may be. It is so exciting to duet with Jill, I admire her ability to hold so much heart in her playing and felt as though I had a tiny piece of this when we performed together. Jill and I also played together in the band for many musicals including Fame, Back to the 80s and 13. Having a solid Keys 1 player is integral to a musical, and nobody does it better than Jill. She is incredibly astute and in time, and has a fantastic attention to detail. She follows the conductor beautifully and is an asset to any band she plays in. Working as Keys 2 in these shows with Jill gave me an insight into the world which would go on to be my future career. She helped me with any and all questions I had, tutored me through the trickier parts of the scores and essentially turned me into a solid pit pianist. Since playing with Jill and learning from her, I have gone on to forge a career in theatre as a Musical Director; I am currently working as Assistant MD on the UK & International tour of 'SIX: the musical', have played across the UK, Europe and also did a stint in China. I am a regular dep on the West End production and owe it all to Jill. Jill was my first and only piano teacher for 14 years; she gave me the gift of a love for music that I am truly grateful for. Learning from Jill was the greatest joy of my life and I count myself incredibly lucky to have had such a wonderful mentor for so many years