As a versatile pianist and organist interested in cinema, composition, and improvisation across various styles, silent film accompaniment has become my passion.
My first piano lessons began at the age of seven with an elderly piano teacher, who was also the organist of the local church. Generations of students from my village had learnt the piano with her and my new teacher made it ‘absolutely clear’ that I was to be her final pupil before retiring. She was very strict and there were even some tears to begin with. But she also had a mischievous sense of humour which made me laugh. She told me that in her youth, she had started her career by playing in dance bands (where she had to work with some very interesting characters) and playing the organ in cinemas ‘before the talkies ruined it’! Her colourful stories have always stayed with me.
I became an organist myself at the age of twelve. Before setting off each Sunday morning, I would watch repeats of silent films starring Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton & Charlie Chaplin on TV. I also became a fan of the scores of Scott Bradley’s ‘Tom and Jerry’ music at the same time. I loved listening to the jazzy sounding music and attempting to recreate it on the piano – and sometimes on the organ before services!
After university and a move to London, I was asked to accompany a screening of some short, Edwardian silent comedies on the organ at St Giles’ Church in Camberwell. The films had been produced at Gaumont Studios which had once been based in Camberwell – it was amazing to see familiar buildings, parks and landmarks captured in the films. And the comedy creators, the people chasing down a giant roll of carpet down a hill or accidentally breaking things with an oversized plank of wood, didn’t seem that much different to people today, despite the films being the oldest I’d ever seen. I was fascinated and agreed to improvise some music for the screening.
Since then, I’ve been entertaining audiences with comedy shorts as well as feature-length thrillers. I’ve enjoyed accompanying films at large venues, such as BFI Southbank and The Brighton Dome, to smaller venues such as Theatreship or The London Archives. I often perform at the Cinema Museum which is an amazing venue, brimming with memorabilia and knowledgeable film buffs! I’ve also composed soundtracks for restoration projects of old films and even brand-new silent films.
Through visual storytelling – and live music – silent films capture the entire range of human emotions, without spoken words. Screenings attract diverse audiences and there are thousands of films to discover.
Past Perfomances
2026
Completion of 6 silent soundtracks of Snub Pollard shorts
BFI Southbank – Live piano accomp. of the restoration premiere of John Ford’s ‘3 Bad Men’.
St Giles’ Camberwell – Live piano / organ accomp. of Buster Keaton’s ‘The Scarecrow’ & ‘The Cameraman’
Cinema Museum – Live piano accomp. ‘The Red Kimono‘ (1925)
Cast & Crew premiere of ‘Boxing Babette’ (2026), original score
Finch Community Cinema – Live piano accomp. of silent film ‘ The Crowd’ (1928)
London Archives – Live piano accomp. of Hitchcock’s silent film ‘The Lodger’ (1927)
Cinema Museum – Live piano accomp. ‘Der Mann Feuer’ (1926)
Theatreship Canary Wharf – Live piano accomp. of silent film ‘Underground’ (1928)
Cinema Museum – Live piano accomp. of rare silent film ‘Daughter of the Regiment‘ (1929)
2025
Cinema Museum – Live piano accomp. of ‘Keystone Studios Rarities’!
St Giles’ Camberwell – Live organ accomp. of ‘The Cat and the Canary’ (1927)
London Archives – Live piano accomp. of silent film ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari‘ (1920)
Le Giornate Del Cinema Muto 44 – Pordenone Masterclass and silent film accomp.
Cinema Museum – Live piano accomp.of silent film ‘Le Brasier Ardent’ (1923)
London Film School – Live piano accomp. of student silent films
Cinema Museum – Live piano accomp. of silent film ‘Asphalt’ (1929)
Cinema Museum – Live piano accomp. of silent film ‘Walking Back’ (1928)
Cinema Museum – Live piano accomp. of ‘The Yellow Lilly’ (1928)
Cinema Museum – Live piano accomp. of ‘Focus on Biograph’ presentation
