logo
Late starter, strong finisher

Late starter, strong finisher

RNZ News16-07-2025
This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.
Pianist Abhinath Berry
Photo:
Supplied
As a child, Abhinath Berry didn't enjoy piano lessons, so he stopped having them.
Usually, that'd be the end of the story - at least the story the piano would play in the young musician's life.
But as Berry reached his mid-teens, he began to avail himself of the piano keyboards at his Dunedin high school. And at home, Berry began to teach himself.
It may not have given the perfect technique (in fact, for a while Berry probably thought he'd left his run too late to take up the piano professionally), but he was good enough to convince Otago University Piano Professor Terence Dennis to award him a place at the University's music school.
Now, having graduated from Otago, Berry is halfway through a Master of Music in Performance at London's Guildhall School of Music.
He's taken a break from London and its exceedingly hot summer to return to New Zealand, where he's enjoying the Dunedin winter while also performing several concerts.
Berry spoke to RNZ Concert's Bryan Crump, where they discussed his introduction to the piano, what he's playing during his working trip around the country, and what he's looking forward to when he returns to Guildhall for the second half of his course.
Berry says that will focus more on teaching musicians the marketing skills they need to carve our a musical niche in a busy professional field.
He's also been working on developing piano exercises that tap into some of the things he learned when he was still teaching himself. Exercises which are shorter than those often prescribed today, and which focus on specific challenges a pianist needs to overcome, rather than running on for too long and running the risk of the musician injuring themselves.
Having already performed a concert in Dunedin, Berry still has three gigs to go before returning to the Northern Hemisphere: in Wellington, Arrowtown and Wanaka.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Boxing: NZ's Lani Daniels beaten in world title fight
Boxing: NZ's Lani Daniels beaten in world title fight

RNZ News

timean hour ago

  • RNZ News

Boxing: NZ's Lani Daniels beaten in world title fight

Claressa Shields takes on Lani Daniels in Detroit. Photo: © DAZN 2025 New Zealand boxer Lani Daniels has fallen short in her bid to become the undisputed women's world heavyweight champion. Daniels lost to Claressa Shields by unanimous decision, with the American retaining her four title belts in Detroit. Shields outclassed the New Zealander throughout much of the contest, with Daniels not really challenging the champion until the later stages. The American's dominance grew as the fight went on and she landed some clean shots in the middle rounds as 37-year-old Daniels tired. Lani Daniels and Claressa Shields. Photo: Frank Balluff Daniels lifted her performance and traded punches with Shields in the eighth round, but the American was never really tested as she improved her record to 17-0. Shields said she expected Daniels to come out firing and was surprised the New Zealander started slowly. "I thought she wanted to fight, but she didn't really engage until the last three rounds," Shields told DAZN. "She was very tough and tricky toward the end, but I know I won every round." Shields became a five-weight world champion when she moved up to heavyweight earlier this year and beat Danielle Perkins to unify the division. The American is a three-weight undisputed champion, having previously held all four belts at middleweight and light-middleweight. Shields is expected to step away from the heavyweight division and move back down in weight, but she doesn't care who she fights next. "Anybody can get it," Shields said. "I want to make the biggest fights and the best fights." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store