Pavilion is perfect place for a pianist

Brant Nuttall, 49, is more commonly heard tinkling the ivories in the Mazzai Cafe, but on Sunday he’ll move next door into the Pavilion - which was the complex’s first theatre and originally used as a recital space.

Brant moved to Blackpool aged eight and started learning the piano from concert pianist Katrina George, before winning a place and a senior music scholarship at Rossall School in Fleetwood aged 10.

He was also a regular at the Blackpool and Fleetwood music festivals, which his father encouraged him to enter for performance experience.

He went on to study at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music and became a licentiate of the London College of Music, aged 19.

After moving to King’s Lynn in Norfolk in 1992, working as a piano teacher and engaging in various recitals in the area, he returned to Blackpool in 2010 to be near his family.

He said: “There are some differences between Brant aged eight to 15 and Brant now: Gone is the arrogance and reticence. He was a shy boy who could only express himself through his music. Now I love communicating with everyone.

“This has had an effect on my recitals: I now include a Q&A session within the performance, to involve the audience in an evening that they play a key part.”

- An Evening with Brant Nuttall, Pavilion Theatre, Sunday, doors open 7pm. Tickets on sale at the Winter Gardens box office.