Accompanist - Nicola Hargreave
Nicola studied piano with Peter Wallfisch and piano accompaniment with John Blakely at the Royal College of Music; graduating with GRSM (Hons) 1st Class and the Raymond Fennell prize for highest mark of the year in 1988.
Whilst at the College she was also awarded ‘highly commended’ in the 20th century Prize, won the accompaniment prize and performed the piano solo in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia with the RCM Sinfonia.
After leaving the RCM, Nicola was a piano teacher and accompanist at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Junior Department before becoming Head of Piano at Oundle School in Northamptonshire in 1998. She has also worked as a freelance accompanist including for Young Musician of the Year competition and has made recordings for BBC Radio 3, including a programme demonstrating Beethoven’s original piano.
In 2002 Nicola moved to Southampton to study medicine and is now also a qualified GP. Nicola now lives in her home town of Bournemouth with her husband and young son. She continues her freelance accompaniment work in the South, and is accompanist at Brockenhurst College and piano teacher at Walhampton School.