As a very small child, the piano was my safe and magical place. With help from my Grandma – Louise Harrison – I discovered how the simplest, smallest patterns, when allowed to unfold in a poetic groove, sound powerful, perhaps even epic at times.

My first teacher, Ella Pounder, encouraged my improvisatory, musical storytelling. She would allow me to share the stage with her experienced students even though I was no child prodigy. She just appreciated my passion and sensitivity for music and taught me very symapthetically.

Aged 9, I was sent to a teacher who's conventional technical and theoretical approach didn't fit well at all. I might have failed, but I developed a rather interesting attitude. I deliberately refused to care about all the examinations and the competitions he would make me do and privately refused to struggle with things I failed to grasp. Instead, I explored my childlike instinct for musical structures and asked myself to understand the deeper, simpler underpinnings of the music consciously and clearly.

And, sure enough, the piano revealed the secrets of how musical language works. This meant that I not only survived in the competitive classical piano world but thrived, winning lots of junior competitions, passing examinations with distinction, and from the age of 12, performing publicly in many piano concertos.

Aged 14, I studied with the legendary pianist, Denis Matthews. Also fluent in musical language, he was a wonderful fit for me.

At 18, I went to the Royal Northern College of Music where I studied with Ryszard Bakst. There I won several prestigious awards and performed frequently in public concerts, and graduated with very high marks.

However, I felt burnt out. And I could see that the conventional role of classical concert pianist was not for me. So I diversified. I studied jazz piano and singing, I learned production. And I went on to teach these musical skills in various schools and colleges.

In 2009, I moved to London and began teaching fluency in the language of music in the way I discovered it as a nine-year-old and have practiced it ever since. Teaching and performing jazz- and classical-based music with an emphasis on expressive fluency is my mission. I think of myself as a musical storyteller or stand up musician. So whilst I have lots of experience doing traditional classical concerts, I'm now committed to sharing my music in new ways that are all about direct connection and powerful communication.