Matt Penn

First and foremost, I absolutely love what I do! Although I was classically trained, I felt hemmed in and as though ‘fun music’ was a bad thing. In my late teens I realised it’s not all about following the rules, but more about getting in and making a grab right at the soul of the music! Once I started to do this, the reaction I got told me I was onto something. Now, being able to create the exact tone of elegance requested by a bride for their walk-in, or lift the room with an upbeat exit of a newly married couple gives me a sense of satisfaction that I’ve helped make a dream come true. Over twenty years, I have found that people look for someone reliable who ‘gets’ what they want and I simply love being that person. My ‘friend’, the white baby-grand piano that can travel with me, has been incredibly popular in recent years too, bringing the decadence of a ballroom to quite literally any venue. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people have stood there in amazement and asked me all sorts of questions about it! Over my twenty years of experience, there’s a wide variety of personal solutions that I’ve helped shape. However, sometimes people just like things simple. So, if this is you, just leave it all to me. I’ll read the room. I really welcome being asked to learn something new, or creating a piano arrangement of an obscure theme from a client’s favourite online video! These sorts of requests are surprisingly common and mean so much to the people I play for. It’s a vocation for me to bring their dreams to reality. With a chance for a bit of humour and a keen eye for a chance to improvise, my relationship with venues and guests is also of huge importance to what I do. I’m part of the team and when a chance opens up to add something personal to brighten someone’s day, I’m in my element. I was originally classically schooled at both the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and the University of Leeds. However, it’s the playing for pure pleasure that makes me tick today. Like I mentioned before, it’s about getting right into the soul of the music, not fussing about technical intricacies or ascending 6ths! Quite a few things will likely influence the style of music you want for your event. Your guests... the venue... and most importantly the event VIPs like bride and groom or someone celebrating a special birthday. Your own personal taste will come into it too. I’m multilingual as far as the piano is concerned and can play a set list of pop hits through the decades, or some late-evening smooth jazz... or any number of musical styles... or alternatively switch it all around based on guests' requests. Thanks for reading about me! If you got this far, mention ‘COFFEE’ and I’ll make sure you get a free one as part of your booking! 😆