Following the success of the first Clementi Piano Festival held in March 2016 at the composer’s former home in Kensington, we are delighted to announce that the event will run again in February 2017 at Clementi House in Kensington.
The piano competition will be held all day from 10am to 5pm. with the junior classes in the morning progressing through to senior levels in the afternoon. The competition is divided into eight graded classes from 1 to 8. The competition is open to students aged 17 and under.
Performers interested in participating should send the following information by email to londonpianoevents@gmail.com. A link to book tickets for the competition will be sent to you upon receipt of complete information:
Name of Pianist:
Name of Guardian:
Email of Guardian:
Teacher’s Name:
Teacher’s Email:
Last exam passed & date:
Anticipated date and grade for next examination:
*If the pianist does not enter graded exams, please ensure the teacher has provided accurate information on current playing level and projected playing level by February 2017.
Each class will have a Set short Prelude and Piece by Clementi. We are currently compiling the syllabus and we welcome input from teachers for suggested repertoire by Clementi. We anticipate the syllabus will be released on 1st June.
All competitors receive written feedback and a certificate. All classes have medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Three trophies will be available for high scorers at Junior, Intermediate and Advanced level.
We gathered on a gloriously sunny day at The Warehouse in South London for the second annual Casio Workshop for Piano Teachers. The Warehouse is home to the London Festival Orchestra and is conveniently located a few minutes walk from Waterloo station. The event is organised by Lorraine Liyanage, Head Teacher at the SE22 Piano School and Director of the Dulwich Classical Keyboard Festival. Casio have sponsored the piano classes of the Dulwich Classical Keyboard Festival since 2013 and the SE22 Piano School have two of their instruments in their studio as well as numerous students using their excellent digital pianos.
For this year’s workshop, we were delighted to have use of the newly released Celviano
Grand Hybrid Piano. Casio has collaborated with German piano maker C. Bechstein to develop the Celviano Grand Hybrid, a digital grand piano that takes up no more room than the average keyboard. The idea is to combine all the benefits of electric and acoustic pianos, while delivering the experience of playing a grand piano. There is a choice of three grand piano sounds: The Berlin, Hamburg or Vienna grand. The scene feature provides 15 different preset modes for different composers including Debussy, Chopin and Liszt. They provide the optimal tones and reverberation for each piece that is being played. A hall simulator also recreates the experience of performing in a real concert venue. See the end of this article to watch Benjamin Grosvenor play a Casio Celviano Grand Hybrid at the Casio/C. Bechstein press conference at Stilwerk in Berlin.
In addition to the sound, the keys go one step further towards replicating the feel of a grand piano by the use of C. Bechstein’s traditional wooden keys and a natural grand hammer action to enhance response and feedback. This makes the keys feel sufficiently weighted under the fingers.
Caroline plays the Casio Grand Hybrid Piano
Laura plays a Casio AP-700
Casio Workshop for Piano Teachers
Casio Workshop for Piano Teachers
Chris Stanbury demonstrates the Casio Grand Hybrid Piano
Our workshop participants thoroughly enjoyed playing the Grand Hybrid piano and wide range of Casio pianos on the day. We had informative workshops from physiotherapist Drusilla Redman including an excellent Posture Clinic that assesses the optimal position for pianists to sit at the piano. We will all be using this information when next teaching to ensure our students are sat in a way that will enhance effortless playing and minimise injury. Two composers, Rosa Conrad and Heather Hammond, led workshops on creative ensemble playing and incorporating jazz into music lessons. Verity Gallagher from CLIC Sargent also came to talk to use about Practice-a-thon and how the money raised from CLIC Sargent’s fundraising supports young people with cancer and their families. Finally, the session concluded with a demonstration of the Yohondo app from John Holcroft. The app is made to help students learn their ABRSM exam pieces in bite-size pieces. The app is for iPad and is a brilliant addition to the weekly lesson as it helps the student break down their practice into manageable chunks that will lead to greater progress than trying to play the same thing over and over again without any sense of the bigger picture. Exhibitors Manu-Mat and Solemate displayed their products on the day. Do contact John at Yohondo for your code to download your free app.
If you have any feedback about the Casio Grand Hybrid piano or ideas for future workshops, do please get in touch. We would love to hear your feedback. londonpianoevents@gmail.com
Rosa Conrad:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IkXoLi-gjc]
Benjamin Grosvenor plays a Casio Celviano Grand Hybrid at the Casio/C. Bechstein press conference at Stilwerk in Berlin:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4icW76yMDA]
Have you visited Finchcocks Musical Museum? It is a treasure trove of historic pianos, fortepianos, clavichords, organs, virginals, muselars, harpsichords and more. The collection is owned by Katrina and Richard Burnett and housed in a Georgian Manor House in Goudhurst, not far from Tunbridge Wells in Kent. The beauty of the collection is that anyone that is musically inclined can visit on an Open Day and play the instruments. In addition to this, the Museum offers two Open Days led by Gary Branch of the Educational Team in October. One day is for under 18s and many of our students have visited each year and have been delighted to be able to play their repertoire on the instruments for which it was originally written.
The day starts with coffee in the cellar restaurant and time to meet your fellow musicians. Then there is an introduction to the wide range of keyboard instruments in the collection and demonstrations from the Educational Team.
At the time of application, you choose two pieces that you would like to perform. The large group then separates into smaller numbers for masterclasses on instruments appropriate to your repertoire. The first year I attended, I brought a piece by Handel that I played to Jean Phillips on the Antunes harpsichord; followed by a piece by Haydn with Gary Branch on the fortepiano.
There is also the chance to observe one other masterclass as well as try out instruments in the house in your own time. A delicious lunch is also available to purchase in the Cellar Restaurant. The day concludes with an informal performance by selected participants. I can guarantee you will leave with a desire to return as soon as possible! Booking is now open for the October Open Days. Please visit the links below to book your place:
Following the success of the first Clementi Piano Festival held in March 2016 at the composer’s former home in Kensington, we are delighted to announce that the event will run again in February 2017 at Clementi House in Kensington.
Each class will have a Set short Prelude and Piece by Clementi. We are currently compiling the syllabus and we welcome input from teachers for suggested repertoire by Clementi. We anticipate the syllabus will be released on 1st June.
We gathered on a gloriously sunny day at 
For this year’s workshop, we were delighted to have use of the newly released Celviano
