Aside from being the principal of a world-class piano school and a pianist/composer, for many years I’ve worked as a producer on projects ranging from film scores to award-winning albums.
I love projects like those and enjoy working on a difficult, awkward brief. This might involve mashing different styles of music together or having a project with challenging outcomes brought forward by a quirky and delicate soul. The bigger the challenge, the more I am interested in it usually!
Projects are without a doubt the great musical highlight of my calendar year.
Last year, I had some stunning musical adventures:
For instance, I worked with General Major Andy Salmon as part of his personal journey to healing, following the difficult battles and campaigns of his career. The album we released, Journey through Conflict: Iraq, included him singing for the first time ever and also featured and Iraqi ex-guerilla fighter!
Right now, we are putting the finishing touches on an album with Jason Karr, another of the school’s students. Jason’s songs which have been playing in his head for over 30 years will be pressed onto Vinyl for release this Summer. I had to teach him all of the chord systems on the piano before he could tell me exactly WHAT IT WAS he was hearing in his head. Last week a world-class opera singer joined him in the recording studio to lay down one of the tracks.
We also recorded Shivank Menon’s debut album. Shivank is a 16-year-old pianist from Mumbai who works with the LCSP over Skype. He visited us in London to record original compositions and now they have had over 3 million hits on YouTube.
Another really interesting project this past year was the compilation of a book of simple musical arrangements with a student who is approximately Grade 4 piano. The songs from her cultural heritage had never been written down for piano before.
What musical venture could you take on?
Many of our students start wondering what musical venture they could take on. Most prefer something less elaborate, such as writing a song for a loved one or composing their first tune for piano. For others, it may be rehearsing several pieces so they can perform them for friends and family, or producing a YouTube video that documents their piano journey.
Regardless of the end goal, starting a project large or small will structure your piano lessons more and generally skyrockets your progress in a way that ordinary piano lessons never could. That is what real learning looks like in the 21st Century.
Whatever project you have in mind, I’d be glad to be your piano project stuntman and mentor. BUT, while I have endless inspiration but I have limited time. For that reason, I can only take on a few new projects each year, so I’m putting out the feelers now to see what you might want to do. What does your project look like?
You too should consider an extended musical venture if any of the following applies to you:
1 You have the drive, but you don’t know how to set goals and struggle to stick to them
2 You have a musical challenge you are unable to overcome
3 You have a crazy idea, but you need the right people to help you pull it off
4 You lack musical confidence and need a mentor and producer to bring the best out of you.
5 You desperately need some musical goals to structure your piano lessons but you don’t know what project you should take on
6 You have a small simple project in mind (small projects are a joy, as they are less time-intensive for all!)
Would you like a Goals Briefing Call with me?
If you do, please contact me [email protected]
IMPORTANT NOTE: I strictly will not engage with timewasters, but I will happily consult with any of you and give honest advice. We can set up a phone call this week to see what might be possible.
All projects will be costed, quoted and fully calculated according to the needs and resources they require. Every one of my musical project partners over the years will tell you that I systematically overdeliver. It’s in my blood to do so. I won’t rest until all of the boxes are ticked and the dots are crossed. I just need to work with people who share my passion.
A reasonable investment will be required if you have a big idea in mind. These things do cost money to produce, but all of my collaborations will tell you what I deliver costs only a fraction in the output they receive. If it means delivering better value for money, I may refer you to a member of my extremely talented team should I believe they would be better suited to you. After all, I may not be the best person for your project.
To book a briefing call with me and discuss your potential ideas, projects or challenge that you wish to overcome, just send me a personal email. I will always give my honest assessment as to whether we will be the right fit for each other and the timeframes needed.
I already have a few massive projects locked in for 2020, it would be wrong of me to take on too much more, but I have the time and resources to dig into another 3-4 major projects for 2020, and perhaps another 5 minor ones (no musical pun intended).
Musical projects are the greatest joy in my musical life, I love collaborating with others and solving their challenges. I love over-delivering on musical puzzles and bringing people closer to the music they’ve always wanted to play. Putting modesty aside for a moment 😉, I believe I am one of the only producers around who combines production/composition with education, mentorship, and teaching, thus a project with me might be just the thing you need to elevate your musical dreams.
So drop me line: [email protected]
I am looking forward to hearing your proposal or just arranging a quick chat.
Tom
