On Thursday evening, I joined Nick and Andy at the Cranleigh Arts Centre to watch a performance by the Derek Paravicini Quartet.
This was an event Informed Choice sponsored for Jigsaw Trust, in aid of World Autism Awareness Day.
[tweet_box]Derek Paravicini is one of the most extraordinary pianists and musical entertainers of his generation.[/tweet_box] Yet he is blind, autistic and has severe learning difficulties.His unique musical abilities are recognised all over the world.
Derek was joined on Thursday evening by three exceptional musicians to form the Derek Paravicini Quartet. This quartet features Derek along with Hannah Davey (vocals), Ben Holder (violin) and Ollie Howell (drums).
Nick, Andy and I were all extremely moved by Derek’s performance, impressed by the talents of Hannah, Ben and Ollie, and brought to tears by the appearance on stage of two young autistic children with musical abilities beyond our comprehension.
We were incredibly proud to have played a small part in bringing a performance of the Derek Paravicini Quartet to the Cranleigh Arts Centre and helping to raise awareness of the important work done by the Jigsaw Trust.
If you have a spare 20 minutes, please watch Derek’s TED talk from TEDxWarwick in 2013 which will give you a flavour of this magical musician:
