Young Totnes School of Piano pianist debuts in Totnes!

A new Totnes talent in the world of the piano is about to perform her debut concert. Lina Okihara has been learning piano since she was seven. She is now fifteen and her first solo concert will be on July 29st at St. Mary’s Church in Totnes High Street. The concert will last an hour from 11am to midday.

Lina’s concert will consist entirely of music by Ludovico Einaudi, the Italian composer whose music is currently highly successful as concert music, for film and TV, and on recordings. Born in 1955, Einaudi studied with the Italian avant-

gardist Luciano Berio at the Verdi Conservatoire in Milan, and began by composing chamber music in traditional forms. He evolved his own style of music during the 1980s, a distillation of some aspects of minimalism, ambient and pop. Earlier this year he played to a packed house at Plymouth Pavilions as part of an international tour. In the audience was the young Lina Okihara.

Lina, who lives with her family in Bridgetown, attends Churston Ferrers Grammar School and is now in Year 10. Her piano teacher over the years has been Sam Richards of the Totnes School of Piano. Sam comments: “Lina has always been a good student, but her discovery of Einaudi – perhaps two years ago – saw her leap forward in ability and interest. I am very proud that she is now doing her first solo concert here in Totnes, and hope that plenty of people turn out to hear her. It is quite an undertaking for one so young.”