About Karen

Pianist

Great Yarmouth

Public liability insurance of £10 million

I was born at an early age and had my first instrument, a 4-stringed guitar, at Christmas 1974. Because my parents didn't really have any musical knowledge, they didn't realise that a classical acoustic guitar was meant to have 6 strings. As if I cared about that! For the rest of the festive season I was strumming away what I later found out to be a G7 chord and singing Showaddywaddy songs. It soon came to pass that I was annoying enough to make my parents enquire about proper music lessons, not just for guitar but piano too. One of the most exciting days in my life was Monday 6 October 1975 - I visited the National Theatre for the first time, had my first ever swimming lesson BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY had my first piano lesson. No going back after that, I was hooked! It's fair to say that of all the life events I have been through, good and bad, MUSIC has been one of my two constants (the other being, of course, my wonderful parents). A life without music is simply unimaginable! In a bad mood? Bash out a Beethoven piano sonata! Feeling overwhelmed? Listen to A Chloris by Reynaldo Hahn! There's music around that suits any & every mood and I'd say that if my life were a soundtrack, there would be one of the most eclectic and weirdly diverse ranges that you could think of - from Iron Maiden to Gorecki, from Purcell to Banco de Gaia.

Musicianship

Genres:

Classical, Baroque, Classical crossover, Contemporary classical, Early music, Fanfare, Film / TV music, Medieval music, Musical theatre, Opera, Renaissance, 1920s era music, 1930s era music, 1940s era music, 1950s era music, 1960s era music, 1970s era music, 1980s era music, 1990s era music, Christmas, Traditional church music, Light music, Easy listening, Jazz, Blues, Cabaret, Dixieland, Gypsy jazz, Jazz fusion, Latin jazz, Modern jazz, Postmodern jukebox jazz, Ragtime, Swing, Barbershop, Gospel

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Instruments:

Piano, Clarinet, Guitar, Alto saxophone

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Event types:

New Year's Eve, Wedding, Wedding proposal, Funeral / Memorial service, Church service, Hotel / Restaurant event, Bar / Club / Venue event, Private event, Corporate event, Charity event, Concert, Recording session, Theatre / Show, Cruise, Burns night, Birthday party, Christmas party

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Other skills:

Transcription, Orchestrator, Arranger, Fluent sight-reader, Repetiteur, Perfect pitch, Instrumental teaching, Theory teaching, Singing teaching, Accompanist

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