Hello!
Sam is a flexible musician; mainly a pianist, teacher and arranger.
Music for weddings and other functions
Keyboardist for bands - rock, jazz, soul, dance and lots more
Church organ for services, weddings and funerals
Musical direction of musical shows, bands and choirs
Arrangement, backing tracks, transcription and composition
Training in Sibelius notation software
Music lessons for piano, organ, keyboard and theory
News
25th November 2012
The new Guilty Pleasures website is nearly up and running. The old one is being overhauled by the talented Alan Strawbridge. (If the background is pitch black with an orange neon font, the old one is still online.)
It was great to play for WOW's rehearsals today. They're preparing audition material for April's Miss Saigon. The kids are as great as ever and the show will be a great challenge.
11th November 2012
Last night's gig with the fabulous Rachel More at The Carlton went excellently. Perhaps most importantly, we were fed sirloin!
7th November 2012
Began teaching today at an extra school: All Saints at Bishop's Caundle. Very pleasant students, really organised and accommodating staff. Great all round!
23rd October 2012
My Music Tech lessons at Baden-Powell & St Peter's Middle School have a new focus! We are to create the opening music for the school's Carol Concert at the Lighthouse, Poole. I've made it awkward by thinking that we should only use sounds sourced from kitchen items and manipulate those sounds into pleasant, musical noises. Nobody knows if it will work and the school is not going to be too pleased if the start of their biggest musical performance of the year starts with a sound redolent of Tom Waits' drummer falling down the stairs. Watch this space!
19th October 2012
The Musicians' Union's Teachers' Conference was amazing. Peripatetic instrument teaching can be a rather lonely job and it was great to talk to colleagues and hear thoughts from the wonderful Paul Harris on The Virtuoso Teacher.
27th September 2012
Background piano at Merley House. Their Bosendorfer is lovely; I hope to perform (and pass!) my LTCL diploma in performance on it.
I'm testing out digital sheet music at solo piano gigs like this. Carrying bags of music seems so last century. It's going well: page turns are easier with the pedals, the storage is huge (even on the cheap second-hand machine I purchased) and the software seems OK but occasionally hesitant to turn pages, which is preventing me from putting the machine to use in other musical environments (the embarrassment of failing to play any notes at all because the computer has found better things to do than turn the page is potentially out of this world). However, I can cope with that on my own by either remembering the notes or segueing into a nearby song!
22nd September 2012
Fiddler on the Roof went extremely well. I learnt to overcome my fear of conducting without a keyboard. By the last show I couldn't imagine conducting with one again! But sadly (economic) needs must so I shall keep busy in that area.
19th September 2012
The dress rehearsal for Fiddler on the Roof is tonight. We have accordion and strings in the pit - uncommon sights all! More info is on Weymouth Operatic Society's Facebook page. You can book tickets through Weymouth Pavilion's website.
15th August 2012
Tonight at Kingston Maurward is our last Guilty Pleasures gig before Jess goes to the great land of maternity...good luck Jess!
16th August 2012
Getting ready for the Curves Choir of Wimborne's performance at Kingston Lacy fete this Saturday at 12pm.
15th August 2012
A real shame that Weymouth Operatic Society (known as "WOS" on the street) couldn't perform the planned promo for our upcoming performances of Fiddler On The Roof as planned today at Weymouth Carnival. However, WOW (known as "WOW" by the kids of Weymouth) did perform in the Dome and they were as great as ever:
14th August 2012
Going through new songs for Jess Upton and the Guilty Pleasures: Sweet, Billie Jean, I think we're alone now and Stayin' Alive. Got to nail that Sweet siren!
9th August 2012
Completed my first subcontract MIDI project for a company online that provides backing tracks on request (and payment...). Very interesting since usually I provide the completed, "rendered" audio. I hadn't heard the song before, though apparently he's big in Canada: Alan Doyle - I Fought The Law I've Seen A Little.
2nd August 2012
MOVED HOUSE!!! We now have a lovely place with huuuge garden and lots of rooms (as well as a ham-curing cupboard, which Terri has appropriated for shoes and coats). Jamming beckons!
29th July 2012
Dorset Online Music Festival 2012 is in full swing! You can see the entries so far by going to this page. All pianists are welcome to join in!
28th July 2012
My esteemed college colleague Andy Pike has started up a new business dealing with PA (Public Address) equipment. You can visit the site, whatpa.co.uk, here.
25th July 2012
Russ Parker, drummer, has a lovely new website:
www.roscodrums.co.uk
4th June 2012
A big weekend for debuts! Sam & Sue's Piano Duets launched today, playing at the Sealey Suite, Blandford for the Rotarians' open day.
The performance of Sammy & Charles from Fippeny Pieceprior to ours was great! Well worth catching sometime.
2nd June 2012
The Curves Choir's debut concert was great fun outside Waitrose in Wimborne today!
The debut concert of Big Band Fever went really well at The Exchange, Sturminster Newton, on Saturday!
28th May 2012
The Curves Choir of Wimborne's musical resources are awaiting your eyes here!
22nd April 2012
Shillingstone First School's first concert went off with a bang - hear some pieces via this page!
16th December 2011
Piano resources for students are available for free here! More to come...
15th December 2012
I've added Sibelius Training info to the site.
20th November 2011
My very first Ukulele Orchestra kicks off this month, at Milborne St Andrew First School. All together: I'm leaning on a lamp-post...or not.
13th November 2011
Songle studio has opened! There I offer people the opportunity to record along with high-quality backing tracks to create tracks hat can be given as presents. The website for songle can be seen at www.songle.co.uk.
