Last night the Kleiner Trio (working title) held their first performance at a musical society in Farnborough. The concert was a wonderful success, and were received very well, especially at the enjoyable (and delicious!) supper after the concert. It was a real pleasure to play for and meet the local people who are all so keen on live music.

Last week I was fortunate to have worked with Vladimir Ashkenazy when he came to College to conduct Rachmaninov's second piano concerto. He was such a lovely person - so short in the flesh but full of spark and always equipped with jokes (about pianists). Although the one rehearsal we had with him was cut short ("what more is there to do?"), he was so musical that he inspired everyone to play well. I would quite like to adopt him, as a grandfather.

To start the year off musically, I was on another Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra tour during December and January. I hate to sound repetitive but it was a fabulous tour. We went to Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, and highlights included playing Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in the Berlin Philharmonie, Dvorak's New World Symphony in the Kurhaus at Den Haag, playing Bolero with a Dervish Dancer swirling around by the stage, having an auditorium built especially for the orchestra, and rehearsing in it during its construction (i can still taste the dust..) and traveling with a wonderful bunch of people.

So, so far this year has been packed with musical entertainment (always a good thing), and there's more to come with information on my Final Recital (March) to follow shortly.