PIANIST Nicholas McCarthy will be welcomed to Dorset to perform in Bridport and Lyme Regis.
Nicholas is the only single-handed pianist to graduate from the Royal College of Music.
Since his graduation from RCM in 2012, Nicholas has wowed audiences around the world with his mesmerising performances in top class venues ranging from The Royal Albert Hall and St Martin-in-the-Fields to The Kennedy Centre, Washington DC and South Korea.
He will be the opening act for the 2016 Concerts in the West season, from February 19 to 20.
Concerts in the West’s founder and director, Catherine Hodgson said: “To play a 50-minute recital with one arm requires tremendous stamina and you have to remember that the music Nicholas plays is written for the left hand alone with nothing changed, which shows how good he is.”
Born in Epsom, Surrey in 1989, without his right hand, McCarthy only began to play the piano at the relatively late age of 14, after he was inspired by a friend playing Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata.
He has been featured widely in the media, giving live performances on TV and radio shows such as BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, BBC television, Channel 4 and ITV.
Nicholas has been the subject of a BBC documentary and was featured on Channel 4. In the summer of 2014 he presented two of the world famous BBC Proms on BBC4 television and the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2015.
He performed with the British Paraorchestra at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic games and has recently been appointed ambassador of The One Handed Musicians Trust (OHMI).
In September 2015, Nicholas released his first album Solo, which received outstanding reviews and reached a top ten chart position.
Nicholas will perform at the Coffee Concert at Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, Bridport, Dorset on Friday February 19 from 11am to 2pm.
Tickets cost £10 or £8 with concessions, coffee included. Go to bridport-arts.com for tickets.
On Saturday February 20 he will perform at The Hub, Lyme Regis, at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £15 and can be bought from Serendip, 11, Broad Street, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3QD. Or call 01297 442594.
Concerts in the West ticket holders may bring a friend for free who has never attended a Concerts in the West performance before.
CONTACT ME:
t: 01305 830973
e: joanna.davis
@dorsetecho.co.uk
twitter: @DorsetEchoJo
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here