The American Piano with Beatrice Nicholas – mixed ability – WAITING LIST

We are very excited to welcome back British classical concert pianist and composer Beatrice Nicholas for a weekend delving into the rich repertoire of American piano, “classical swing” and boogie woogie.

The mixed-ability weekend will explore the crossover genre of notated jazz, blues and boogie woogie through the lens of 20th century Broadway, Hollywood and the American rights movement.

Beatrice enjoys an international career as a solo concert pianist, performing works by Bach through to the present day, with notable performances at Wigmore Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and Royal Opera House. Alongside this – and composing – she loves collaborative work with chamber ensembles and The British Black Classical Foundation, which tackles the lack of ethnic diversity in the classical arts and represents and works in communities of colour throughout the UK and beyond.

After these, time will be spent in private practice, one-to-one tuition with Beatrice – or an open lesson performance class in our Steinway recital room. Repertoire for this is not restricted to boogie woogie and can take the form of any notated jazz, broader 20th century American piano music – or something completely different for contrast!

The highlight of a weekend course is often our Saturday evening tutor recital talk. Beatrice will treat guests to a concert inspired by the female jazz legends Hazel Scott and Lil Hardin Armstrong. These African American female jazz stars trained first as classical pianists but were denied access to the classical music industry on account of their colour. Hazel Scott in particular, became famous for giving popular classical music a jazz spin with her style became known as ‘classical swing’. Music will contain a selection of the following:

• Moonlight Sonata Mvt I, Ludwig van Beethoven.
• East Town Boogie. By Lil Hardin Armstrong. Arr Beatrice Nicholas.
• Waltz in C Sharp Minor l. Op.69 No.2 by Federic Chopin.
• Chopin Minute Waltz in the style of Hazel Scott
• Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C Sharp Minor by Franz Liszt
• Hallelujah by Vincent Youmans. Arr Hazel Scott.

On this weekend course, guests will:

• Have the chance to play in and observe two performance masterclasses.
• Will receive a one-to-one lesson with Beatrice.
• Enjoy access to play on our 9 grand pianos anytime between 7am and 8pm. (There are enough pianos to go round that everyone can play a piano at any given time.)
• Experience a private salon concert in the main hall of the family home, performed by Beatrice.
• Join and socialise with a group 8 fellow piano enthusiasts during lunch and dinner.
• Dine in style with lunches and three course dinners prepared by our fabulous chef.
• Experience the Finchcocks bubble, hailed as a “paradise for pianists” by BBC Music Magazine and stay in a grade 1 listed country manor.

Beatrice Nicholas is a captivating Pianist whose performances are full of imagination, freedom and beauty. She plays solo repertoire ranging from Bach to the present day and has performed in the UK’s leading venues. Her music engagements take her around the UK, Germany, Poland, Thailand and the Czech Republic. Notable venues have included the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Royal Opera House, London Coliseum, Berlin Konzerthaus, Sadler’s Wells Theater, Leeds Town Hall and Snape Maltings.

As well as being a solo artist, Beatrice enjoys collaborative work with a variety of opera singers and instrumentalists. She  has strong links to the world of dance and has  played for the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Royal Ballet and for the English National Ballet companies. Beatrice is also a composer and arranger who has received commissions from the Creative Minds Festival, Nottingham Chamber Music Festival, Dark Design Graphics Company and been showcased by the British  Black Classical Foundation as a featured composer for  Black History Month 2021.

Beatrice, born in England, was admitted to the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music at fourteen years old.  She studied solo piano with Danielle Salamon, composition with David Sutton Anderson and received additional teaching from composer Paul Patterson at the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain Composer’s Course. During her time at the  Junior Department Beatrice won the institution’s major prizes for piano and represented the Department as a composer. At eighteen years Beatrice went to the Royal Academy of Music, studying piano with Patsy Toh, composition with Elena Langer, and won  the Royal Academy of Music’s Eric Brough Memorial Prize for Piano. She continued her training with concert pianists Michael Endres and Susanne Gruetzman at the Hanns Eisler Music Academy in Berlin. Beatrice believes that music is a powerful tool of communication and enjoys using it to lift and engage the human heart.

For booking enquiries, please contact fill in the form below.