Mainstream classical music is an important historical and cultural area of study which gives great pleasure to many people. As well as professional orchestras and performers, there are numerous local choirs, orchestras and small groups of different kinds which perform and enjoy classical music.

I have been passionately interested in classical music since a very small child. I started to learn the piano at the age of six and the violincello at the age of 8, and could sing in tune well before I could talk. At school I went to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow on Saturday mornings as a junior student, and I took relevant Associated Board and school examinations in Music. I then went on to Napier College, Edinburgh where a perceptive tutor suggested I applied to go to university. Whilst there I obtained the Associate of the London College of Music (ALCM) and Licentiate of the London College of Music (Teacher´s Diploma) (LLCM(TD)) qualifications. I went on to obtain an Honours degree in music at the University of Liverpool in 1987, writing a dissertation on the subject of Franz Schubert´s late song cycles.

I have attended the Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts since 1984 as a regular concert goer. I have also been to the Edinburgh Festival in the past and attend concerts, opera and ballet in London from time to time. I sang in the NorthKen Chorale choir of North Kensington (sadly now defunct) for several years before health problems made this impossible. I still play the piano regularly and love listening to and watching musical performances.

I will share some of the experience and knowedge I have gained through the years with readers of the Classical Music site and hope in this way to enrich the lives of others in the same way that so many people have given me joy in music.

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