Jane McGowan catches up with Nicholas McCarthy as he prepares to return home for a very special concert...
Pianist Nicholas McCarthy found fame as part of London 2012’s Paraorchestra. Since then he has charmed the world not only with his music but with his inspirational story. Jane McGowan caught up with him as he prepares to return home for a very special concert
When Nicholas McCarthy took to the stage at the London 2012 Paralympic closing ceremony alongside rock giants Coldplay, a global audience of more than 750 million people bore witness to almost a decade of non-stop practice, perseverance and more than a hint of prejudice.
As you may know, Nicholas is not your average concert pianist. He is a one-handed pianist: the first to attend not only London’s Guildhall but the legendary Royal College of Music.
“My family and friends have always been really encouraging,” says the 30-year-old who is returning to Epsom Playhouse this month. “But I don’t think anyone ever expected me to reach the levels I have got to. No one would ever have thought I could make playing the piano my career.”
Nicholas was born without his right hand and while he had taught himself to play an electric keyboard as a child, he only took up playing the piano “seriously” at the age of 14.
“Despite having only one hand, I had a very normal childhood,” he explains. “I had loads of friends and I was just like all the other kids – either running about outside or sat in front of my PlayStation.
“I had a friend who played the piano and I thought I would like to have a go, I did and I instantly fell in love with it. I worked really, really hard at it mainly I think because I came to it through my own volition. It wasn’t the case that I had been made to play at a young age and had to be forced to sit down and practice each night. I loved it.”
While you may think that the piano is not the most obvious instrument to choose when you can only play one-handed, there is, in fact, a whole swathe of left-handed music available from such composers as Brahms, Ravel and Britten. Many were composed in the late 19th century to allow men who had been injured in battle to return to their music and as you can imagine, the demand for such works increased substantially after the First World War.
Nicholas progressed at a pace, gaining in skill and confidence. However, it wasn’t long before he came up against his first hurdle.
“The first audition I tried to do was at a music school in Croydon,” he explains. “It was actually a piano school and they ran Saturday classes. My friend who had inspired me to have a go at the piano went there, and I desperately wanted to go too. I rang up to ask for an audition and the headmistress said to me, ‘I don’t know how you play the piano with one hand and I just don’t have the time to see you’. And then she hung up.
“That was my first real door slam in the face. I was really upset and I didn’t go near the piano for three or four weeks. I felt like my left hand had been taken from me as well. And then one day walking home from school I thought, ‘Why am I letting this one, single person out of all the millions of people in the world, someone who has never even see me play take this away from me.”
Fired by a new determination, Nicholas auditioned for the junior department of London’s Guildhall School of Music and mindful of his previous experience he made the decision not to tell them about his disability.
“Obviously, when I walked in they could see that I only had one hand. But I explained, I played and I got in.”
Word was spreading about Nicholas’s talent but as he prepared to audition for the Royal College of Music degree course, there were still many people, including some of his teachers, who believed his ambition to work as a pianist had little chance of becoming a reality.
“I just had to summon my courage and believe in myself and give it all I had. And out of the hundreds who audition from all over the world, I was one of just seven pianists who got a place.”
Nicholas graduated in 2012, his recitals garnering immediate worldwide acclaim. He has subsequently released award-winning albums, performed all across the globe and presented the BBC Proms. However, in recent years he has found himself just as much in demand for his talents as a motivational speaker, a career strand that he freely admits took him somewhat by surprise.
“Ever since the Olympics my name just sort of got out there and I was asked to share my story and if that can motivate or inspire just one person then that would make me really happy.”
Nicholas is a regular on the speaking circuit and has given numerous TED talks - the world-renowned platform that sees global movers and shakers from ‘technology, entertainment and design’ share ‘ideas worth spreading’. Other speakers include the late Apple mastermind Steve Jobs, political heavyweights such as Hilary Clinton and musicians including U2 frontman Bono.
Following Nicholas’s appearance at the games, he was asked to part in a TEDx Conference at the Royal Albert Hall, speaking to 6,000 people.
“It was very daunting to be speaking and not playing,” Nicholas explains. “I was very nervous but I am a performer and once I started I found I really enjoyed it.
“The motivational speaking circuit is incredibly competitive. It’s filled with politicians recounting tales of power or multi-billionaires advising you how to make lots of money. Obviously that is not my world. But music is a universal language that can really unite people. Although my story is quite unique, it seems to resonate with people – I think it’s the broader story of triumph over adversity that people respond to.”
And while Nicholas loves visiting the world’s concert halls and conference centres, he admits there is no place like home, which is why his upcoming performance at Epsom Playhouse is something he has been looking forward to for quite some time.
“I always think of the Playhouse as coming home,” he says. “It was my local theatre growing up as a boy from Tadworth and was a big part of my early musical life. Whenever I walk on the stage in Epsom, I have such a warm feeling. There are lots of familiar faces and I get to reconnect with people who have been with me from the start.”
And for the audience? “Oh, there will be plenty of wonderful music, some amusing anecdotes from my travels and a lot of laughter.” What more could you want?
Nicholas McCarthy will be at Epsom Playhouse on Nov 5. For tickets, visit: epsomplayhouse.co.uk
