Music is a bridge

On 27^th August David, one of the people we support in Southville, put on a fantastic concert for staff and other people supported at his service, demonstrating his considerable skills in both playing the piano, and in composition!

Check out the video below to hear his music for yourself:

Following the concert, David spoke with Support Worker Wojciech Nowak in an interview that spoke of illness, loss, music and hope:

David, after your piano concert, you said that music is a bridge for you. Could you explain what you meant by that?

“When I was twenty, like everyone else, I had plans and dreams for my future. Everything was going very well. Then one day, my world fell apart. Illness came into my life. Nothing was left of my plans and dreams, or of the things that had brought joy to my life. Only ruins.

“It was a huge shock, not only for me but also for my family. I was convinced that everything was lost.

“Then one day, I happened to sit down at the piano and play. I don’t really know what happened, but while I was playing, I began to feel hopeful again. I felt like I was getting something back that I thought I’d lost.

“For me, music is not just notes on a page. Music takes me back to the happy moments in my life. I believe again that I can make it.”

During the concert, you performed four pieces: a Chopin prelude, ‘Amazing Grace’, a Bach prelude, and your own composition, ‘Addicted to Blue’. Why did you choose these four pieces?

“In a way, the music I played that told part of my story — and I think the story of everyone I live with, too.

“Some time ago, I watched The Notebook. It’s a story about a great love that survived even through illness. The film really moved me. In the scene where Allie is sitting at the piano, I heard a Chopin prelude. It stayed with me, and that’s why I wanted to play it at the concert.

“Amazing Grace is a piece I’ve always liked. What I love about it is that you can interpret it in so many different ways. I love jazz and blues, so when I play it, I can bring some of that into the music and make it my own.

“Bach is more personal. For me, playing his music is a way of saying thank you to my father. He was a musician himself, and he was the one who introduced me to the world of music.

“The final piece was my own composition, ‘Addicted to Blue’. I love playing it because it brings something alive in me.”

You mentioned your father. You said that he was a musician and that he introduced you to the world of music. What did he teach you?

“He taught me technique and also harmony. Furthermore, my dad showed me, through playing drums live at church, the significance of devoting our musical gifts to God. When I compose music, I understand that it is for the glory of God.”

So your father introduced you to music, and now you’re writing music of your own. Tell me about ‘Addicted to Blue’. Where did that piece come from?

“It comes from the time I spent with Bob Garet, a travelling musician. He took me to a gig in Bristol, where I played a lot of music and learned more about the blues.”

I don’t know if you know this, but after the concert, we asked people which piece they liked the most. Everyone chose ‘Addicted to Blue’ — your own jazz/blues composition. What does that mean to you?

“You have no idea how happy that makes me. I’m incredibly proud, and it gives me so much hope for the future.”