John York
Patron
John, a patron of the Orchestra, is proud of his Eastbourne credentials. Born there in 1949, he was educated at the town’s grammar school, where he was a stalwart of Reginald Bertin’s fantastic Music Department, and had piano lessons for 13 years with the celebrated Winifred Mills.
He went on to study from 1966 to 1971 at her alma mater, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in Blackfriars, London, and where later he held a 33-year professorship alongside his time as senior music head of department at St Paul’s Girls’ School, Hammersmith.
After Guildhall and following three further years of study with some legendary teachers in Paris and Vienna, he launched a nearly five-decade career at the Wigmore Hall in 1974 and South Bank in 1975.
He has enjoyed an unflagging concert career of solo performances, broadcasts, recording and chamber music, writing and composing, settling into two important and ongoing duo relationships: the York 2 piano duo with his wife Fiona, and with renowned cellist Raphael Wallfisch.
John has maintained an impressive discography, an international reputation and an unceasing relationship with Eastbourne.
One of John’s many skills is the ability to play tunes like ‘Happy Birthday’ and the National Anthem sitting on the floor with his back to the keyboard with full harmony, though he can’t quite manage the pedalling.