Our students achievements

Shivank Menon has been an online student at the LCSP since 2016, learning from his home city, Mumbai in India and visiting the UK during the summer holidays.After just 3 years, Shivank composed his first pieces for piano and recorded them in London. These original compositions amassed over 3 millions views on YouTube and reviews world wide. Shivank has since moved to London to continue his studies in Engineering at the Imperial College of London and Piano at LCSP. He has been a guest presenter on BBC Radio 3 and is the director of the Imperial College chamber music group performing numerous concertos with the University Orchestra.

David Balica has worked with the London Contemporary School of piano since 2013, studying songwriting, modern and classical piano. David has produced an array of original compositions and is now a student of the Trinity College and a regular guest performer and composer at LCSP events. David's composition output is very diverse, from classical music, contemporary electronic, avante garde and pop music genres, reflecting his passion for all things arts and music!

Alanna was just 3.5 when she first joined our musical family and later received the Bill Moores young talent scholarship program. Recently Alanna has been studying composition at LCSP whilst continuing her classical studies with eminent pianist Christine Crowshaw. Alanna's music has been broadcast on Radio 3 and has won film awards for her soundtracks. The video you see here is from when Alanna was 8 years old. To listen to more of Alanna's recent works we strongly recommend you listen to her music on Spotify and Apple Music which has millions of listens worldwide.

Ray started learning piano with us in 2010. Starting piano at a later age, Ray has always wanted to play and arrange songs from the American songbook, every week for many years he committed learning one tune from the classics. For any jazz frequenter at London's classic jazz bars and clubs, you would see Ray in the audience, a familiar face of our community and one of London's finest gentleman's, we were very sad to lose Ray in 2020 to Covid and his passion for music and decade spent with his company is treasured by our community.

Lawrence juggles a difficult work schedule in publishing. He uses effective practice techniques we coach our members and despite limited time, Lawrence is able to practice and learn piano concerto movements. Lawrence's love for romantic classics from Beethoven to Liszt shows in his musicianship, in our classes we take a collabarative approach with our students, often using two pianos and playing together. In this piece, Lawerence's piano coach, Tom Donald, makes his own arrangement of the Beethoven orchestral part and plays it on the 2nd piano.

Do you have a specific goal or event in mind? Alice, learnt to play this beautiful tune as a surprise on her wedding day in Italy. It was a huge success, and the preparation made for a memorable experience for all involved. Congratulation Alice! Music can make the most powerful gesture to a loved one or family and friends.

Ben never really connected with traditional piano exams and classical music. However, still requiring some UCAS qualifications for University and with a huge passion for piano and music, he embarked on taking a few jazz exams, for the experience. The preparation for these exams were not only joyous and infectious with much improvisation and laugher, the exam results were outstanding and backed up by a solid foundation of jazz training as shown in this video. Also with the pleasant memories of enjoyable and fun childhood music lessons. Ben is now an adult who is very successful in his chosen field, but music stays with him for life, like many of our younger students.

Steve started piano since he retired as a commercial airline pilot. In 2019 he visited the LCSP for an intensive course and in years 2020-24 has been an active online member of our school, taking courses such as "Complete Musician Piano Essentials Program" and the "Pop Syndicate Program" as well as attending our weekly online masterclasses. Over this time Steve has developed creative and expressive improvisation skills, and is an active member of our school community. Be sure to check his YouTube channel to track his musical journey.

Every year a few lucky members of the school join us on a retreat to play music together and to explore many elements of creative music making together. This is from the 2022 Retreat which was held at the prestigious Cheltenham's Ladies College in Gloucestershire. In just one day, 4 pianists learnt a stunning arrangement of Silent Night for 8 Hands by Latvian composer, Georgs Pelecis.Pianists : Andy Mais, Chris Jack, Yuliya Pashkova, Eleanor Autin Pralle

Bonnie's story might seem totally out of left field, but in many ways, this type of incredible achievement is a recurring pattern in our school community. Bonnie started lessons just before the 2020 pandemic, and her purpose for learning piano was not to become a pianist, but to use the piano as a tool for writing songs. Immediately after learning just a few chord modules from our Complete Musician Program, Bonnie began writing new songs. One song, in particular, was an inspiration, which was produced in-house by our team alongside Bonnie. Later on, this track, "Out Out," was even featured in the BBC Proms of 2020, celebrating the success of students who took up the piano during the pandemic. You can hear more of Bonnie's songs on Spotify and Apple Music.

Anna redefines what it means to be truly committed to music and personal growth. Despite a demanding career at an international firm that involves extensive travel and a busy family life, Anna continually makes time for her artistic passions—whether it’s playing piano and cello, or capturing award-winning photographs. Her dedication extends far beyond the occasional hotel lobby piano session during work trips. She frequently makes quick trips to London for intensive three-hour lessons with her teachers, Siwan Rhys or Alberto Ferro, before returning to her professional and family responsibilities.Anna also goes the extra mile to support our community, attending Siwan Rhys’s concerts in the U.S. Students like Anna blur the lines between online and offline learning, work and play, art and life—showing that there are no excuses, no such thing as "too busy," and no room for complacency.Working with individuals like Anna is an inspiration, reminding us that sometimes the student can teach the teacher just as much, if not more.