Forging New Friendships at Chetham's Piano Summer School

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Sam has always been very content in his one square mile around home. As long as he has his friends, his piano and his PlayStation, he’s happy. He goes to our local school, where his love of piano makes him the proverbial big fish in a small pond. His teachers roll him out for every event. At open evenings, he’s there in the hall, providing an impressive backdrop of Mozart and Beethoven while prospective parents drink coffee with the headteachers. It’s great for his confidence, but he doesn’t have any friends at school who share his passion.

He made these friends when he went to Chetham’s. The chance to forge lasting friendships has been one of the best things about his two summers there.

Outside of lessons and practice, there’s plenty of time to relax in the atrium with a drink and snack and get chatting to other young pianists and their parents. Every child is there because they love music, and this is something Sam really valued. After years of being the only person in his school who truly loved the piano, he’d finally found children like him, who spoke the language of music. 

The atmosphere of the summer school is supportive rather than competitive. Young pianists are encouraged to help each other and celebrate their progress, and there is also the chance for them to duet together. They are all on the same journey, and this is something Sam really relished. In the evenings, he would often head to a practice room with a friend and they would take it in turns to listen to each other play.

He and his new friends also went to evening concerts together. One they all especially loved was John Lenehan’s magical Film Fantasia, where he provided the music for clips from silent films and cartoons. The chance to sit with his friends and watch Tom and Jerry in the Stoller Hall, accompanied by a live, world-class pianist, wasn’t one of Sam’s usual experiences, and he came away bright-eyed with the excitement of it.

When the summer school ended, they were able to stay in touch through WhatsApp. Even now, they share videos of one another playing and messages saying things like, ‘Wow! You’ve really improved since August!’ When we booked this year’s course, we made sure we chose the same week as the friends he made last year and the year before.

For young pianists like Sam, who don’t go to specialist music schools, the summer school is a chance for them to really connect with children like them. The friendships formed here are based on a shared love of the piano, and are some of the most meaningful connections a young pianist can make.

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