Alan's Story

To my amazement, a few days before my 8th birthday, I came home from school to find a piano sitting in our living room—a honey coloured upright bought from neighbours a few blocks away. There was no stool, so a dining chair and cushion did the job, and soon I was picking out little tunes.

By the time I reached high school I was playing the organ at church. The evening services suited me best; I could improvise within the revivalist style of hymns that filled the church with enthusiasm. At fourteen I played for my first wedding—a nerve racking but successful day—and soon I was regularly accompanying countless ceremonies. By fifteen I was spending school holidays in Sydney music stores like Winton Music Centre, where the manager, Cliff Bingham, became an informal mentor. I even minded the store some days, and one customer was James Dibble from the ABC News. 

Teaching became my career for forty three years, but music remained my lifelong companion. In 1979 I settled in the Blue Mountains and began playing at the Leura Gardens Motel, followed by a long engagement at what is now the Mountain Heritage Hotel. Playing for the visitors from near and far remains a privilege.

At home, music fills every corner. I still have my grandparents’ 1890s German piano, lovingly restored, plus a pianola, a concert grand, and the old Thomas Paramount organ that started it all. I also play trombone in Blue Mountains Concert Band and enjoy promoting community music whenever I can. These days I often think of how lucky I’ve been. My journey has been modest compared with the brilliance of today’s young Australian virtuosos, but it has been rich and contented. From my first hesitant “Three Blind Mice” to a lifetime of performances, music has shaped who I am—quietly, steadily, and with joy I never expected from that childhood wish for a piano.