PIANIST’S WINNING SCORE MICHELLE SCOOPS FIRST PRIZE
Kings Heath pianist and composer Michelle Lord is celebrating after winning first prize in a prestigious music competition.
Michelle has played the piano since she was a young girl, inspired by a childhood visit to the cinema to watch The Sound of Music. She began taking piano lessons at the age of just four - no mean feat as she was unable to read or speak English at that time as her mum was French.
Her musical education took a slightly different direction when at the age of 12 she won £500 on the Premium Bonds and decided to buy an electronic organ – much to the horror of her classical music teacher.
“This was not considered a ‘proper’ instrument and the fear was that playing unweighted keys would spoil my piano technique, as well as encouraging improvising (not allowed!),” she recalls.
“My classical piano lessons continued alongside my electronic organ lessons. It was like a breath of fresh air to be able to play by ear; not having to read every note on the music. I would open the windows and play loud! Sambas, bossanovas, swing, you name it. It was a good job that my neighbours liked music!”
From then she spent every weekend either competing in music festivals playing classical piano or backing cabaret in social clubs and cabaret venues.
“This experience was invaluable. I had little or no time to read the ‘dots’ (the music). Those were the days of live music, before DJ’s came along and more recently tribute acts. It’s all very different now.”
Later she became one of the first electronic organists to gain an LGSM (Licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama), after which she was offered an external examiner’s role travelling worldwide.
“At this point, my classical piano teacher (Miss Joyce Mildren), changed her opinion, and from then on, the electronic organ was the ‘highlight’ of the annual pupils’ concert and topic of conversation!”, she jokes.
Her musical career continued, playing all over country and teaching other aspiring players and she credits another local musician, Brian Hazelby of Sutton Coldfield, for helping her to develop her own piano style.
Around 12 years ago she also began to start showing an aptitude for composing. “My gift of music includes having ‘perfect pitch’ (the ability to recognise any note). They say that we are all born with it, but if not developed at a very young age, we lose it. This skill is so useful to me as a composer.”
In 2010 she was approached by script writer Geetika Lizardi to compose music for a new musical project. This project called ‘Jane’, based on the life of Jane Austen, was showcased at the Artrix theatre in Bromsgrove in 2012. Since then she has continued to compose for her own pleasure.
Then last year Michelle decided to enter Pianist magazine’s annual competition with a piano composition called ‘Walking the Dog’ and was thrilled to receive a special mention. Thinking it was worth another shot, she got back to work in the spring this year on another entry.
“I like to sit at the piano and experiment with melody lines and chords until something stands out to me, and then I work at developing the idea, once again at the piano. The whole process is in my memory and not put to paper until I’ve finalised it. The original idea I had just didn’t transpire to anything and it wasn’t until the autumn, whilst showering, I found myself humming a tune. That tune developed into the winning score that took me the best of two months to finalise. I imagined an 18th century haunted ballroom.”
The Pianist magazine competition judges described it as ‘a waltz full of unexpected twists and turns’.
“To win first prize in the 2022 competition is thrilling. Best of all is to have my music published in the magazine and recorded by concert pianist Chenyin Li. I cannot wait to hear it!” she said.
The prize also includes a new Kawai electronic piano. “I know that I’m fortunate to have been given a ‘gift’ of musical talent, however, I’m extremely grateful to the teachers that have nurtured and inspired me along the way, as without them, I wouldn’t be the versatile musician that I am today,” she said.
Now Michelle is working on a new project with friend Katie Newbon, of Solihull. She has previously worked on the music for Katie’s charity panto that she stages every couple of years. Now they are collaborating on writing a new musical, with the working title ‘Found’ - a story about love and loss. They have recently workshopped it with very enthusiastic and talented students at the Blue Orange Theatre in Birmingham and hope to preview it in the city when it’s complete.
LIVE24-SEVEN.COM 117
ENTERTAINMENT MICHE L L E LORD
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132
