Musical savant

Went to see Derek Paravicini play at the Royal Festival Hall last night.

I haven't seen him since 2003, when he participated in my third year undergrad psychology project, and I've never seen him perform like he did last night.

I remembered him being fast - despite his profound blindness and severe learning difficulties he could perfectly and within milliseconds replicate any 10-note chord I played - but last night his fingers positively flew over the keys of the Steinway Grand as he added chromatic embellishments to well-known favourites (Air on a G string; Black and White Rag, Flight of the Bumblebee etc). Accompanied by the Emerald Ensemble, Derek was obviously enjoying himself, and bowed several times to the rapt audience after each rendition. CBS were there, filming it all for a 60 minutes programme.

As a third year undergrad I had worked closely with an MSc student, Val Tadic, on the project with Derek, and it was great to see her again last night. She's now Dr. Tadic and is working at UCL's Institute of Child Health on a prestigious Medical Research Council funded postdoc. She, her partner Ian (also a PhD, working at Goldsmiths) and I had a long talk about the cut-throat nature of academia. It was good to talk to people in similar situations as myself, and to hear what it is like in different places.

Still thinking about my own academic future...