One handed pianist defies the odds (From Sutton Guardian)

One handed pianist defies the odds

2:20pm Friday 17th August 2012 in Freetime By Nick Hitchens

The dedication required to become a professional pianist is something to be admired – when it is achieved by one born with just one hand, it is spectacular.

Nicholas McCarthy was born without his right hand and only chose to take up the instrument aged 14, but quickly progressed to win a place at the Guildhall School of Music three years later.

From there he has never looked back and is the youngest sole left handed pianist on the circuit.

Two years of studying at Guildhall earned him the Annual Piano Prize and he has now toured venues including Queen Elizabeth Hall, O2 Arena, St Martin in the Fields, St James’s Piccadilly, Fairfield Halls, Steinway Hall, Victoria and Albert Museum, The Lansdowne Club, Bluthner Piano Centre, Chappell’s, Cheltenham Town Hall, Christchurch Cathedral and The Vilhena Palace in Malta.

The Tadworth youngster has received numerous awards for his contribution to music and most recently was awarded the prestigious international AMI Award for his creative excellence in music and was presented to him at a ceremony held at The London Studios.

Nicholas studied at the Royal College of Music in London where he studied with Ian Jones and Nigel Clayton. He graduated in July 2012 and made history by being the only left-handed pianist to graduate from the Royal College of Music since it was founded.

Nicholas has since accepted a place at the Royal College to study on the Masters of Performance Postgraduate programme.