08-08-2006, 03:26 PM
WHEN Derek Paravicini's fingers gracefully stroke the ivory keys on his piano, he is whisked off to a world where only he can go.
It is unlikely that anyone will ever fully understand the power that takes hold of the 27-year-old genius.
Derek is an autistic savant. Born prematurely at 25 weeks weighing just half a kilo-gram, he has been totally blind all of his life.
Despite also having learning difficulties, Derek learnt music before he could speak.
He taught himself to play the piano,and by the age of four he could play a huge array of pieces,including Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.
He said: "I would play whatever I could. I did get a lot out of playing the piano. I am quite patient and I do play for my friends ."
Derek - whose parents are Nic and Mary Ann - appears to be at his most comfortable behind the piano, sporadically breaking out into song mid-conservation.
Music teacher Adam Ockelford saw Derek's "chaotic" piano techniques and took the youngster under his wing.
Adam was teaching at Linden Lodge School for the Blind in London at the time, where Derek was a pupil.
The pair are now based at the Redhill Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) where Derek has been a full-time resident for about six years.
Adam is the director of education at the RNIB and describes Derek as "phenomenal".
Derek will be featured in a channel Five television documentary in September called Extraordinary People.
Film crews followed Derek around for a month, exploring his life. Part of the documentary was filmed in the Watermill Jazz Club,in Dorking,where Derek has performed on several occasions.
Adam said: "He loved it. I think he likes all the attention.
"We have worked hard. Derek can get frustrated, but in music he has endless patience.
"For him, the music became a language. When he was little it was his first language.
"He also found a plastic organ in his toys and taught himself how to play it."
As a child, Derek was understandably confused about the sounds he could make from the piano keys.
He would make the sounds in any way he could - with karate chops, his elbows and even his nose.
Adam said that in the early days, Derek was protective over the piano and would push his teacher out of the way so he could play.
He said: "At the time he didn't seem to talk. I was teaching another child piano lessons, but Derek shoved her off and started playing Don't Cry For Me Argentina.
"Derek didn't want to share his piano, so the only way I could teach him was to put him at the other side of the room and play something quickly.That way, by the time he could find the piano again, he could push me off and play it himself.
"I didn't just see a spark, I saw a blowtorch. "I've taught similar children before, but I have never got to them early enough to straighten out the technique."
Over the years, Adam has helped Derek express himself on the piano and said his behaviour has improved.
Because of the strange technique he was using, Derek was unable to realise his musical potential.
He now feels for the keys and can echo the tunes Adam plays.
Derek's first major concert was at the Barbican Halls, in London, in 1989, when he was just nine
To date,he has played in numerous shows, including the Terry Wogan Show, with the Royal Philharmonic Pops Orchestra, and alongside renowned pianist Jools Holland.
His favourite kind of music is jazz, but his repertoire also includes Beatles tunes and golden-oldies such as We'll Meet Again and Flight of the Bumblebee.
He is preparing to fly out to Hollywood later this year to play and he has also taken centre stage in many shows at the RNIB.
All of the songs are embedded in his memory and at the click of your fingers he can play an endless array of tunes, whether it be classical or modern pop.
Adam said: "It really is a privilege to have someone who is so able,but he is locked up in his own brain.
"It is so exciting to help someone out of that prison of disability.
"He has always been a lovable chap. He is very warm, cheeky and funny.
"The most important thing is whether Derek can express all he wants to,and, in the music,I think he can."
And what does the future hold for Derek? He said: "More music and performing."
Derek's debut album, Echoes of the Sounds To Be, will be released in music shops nationally in a few weeks.
icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk
It is unlikely that anyone will ever fully understand the power that takes hold of the 27-year-old genius.
Derek is an autistic savant. Born prematurely at 25 weeks weighing just half a kilo-gram, he has been totally blind all of his life.
Despite also having learning difficulties, Derek learnt music before he could speak.
He taught himself to play the piano,and by the age of four he could play a huge array of pieces,including Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.
He said: "I would play whatever I could. I did get a lot out of playing the piano. I am quite patient and I do play for my friends ."
Derek - whose parents are Nic and Mary Ann - appears to be at his most comfortable behind the piano, sporadically breaking out into song mid-conservation.
Music teacher Adam Ockelford saw Derek's "chaotic" piano techniques and took the youngster under his wing.
Adam was teaching at Linden Lodge School for the Blind in London at the time, where Derek was a pupil.
The pair are now based at the Redhill Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) where Derek has been a full-time resident for about six years.
Adam is the director of education at the RNIB and describes Derek as "phenomenal".
Derek will be featured in a channel Five television documentary in September called Extraordinary People.
Film crews followed Derek around for a month, exploring his life. Part of the documentary was filmed in the Watermill Jazz Club,in Dorking,where Derek has performed on several occasions.
Adam said: "He loved it. I think he likes all the attention.
"We have worked hard. Derek can get frustrated, but in music he has endless patience.
"For him, the music became a language. When he was little it was his first language.
"He also found a plastic organ in his toys and taught himself how to play it."
As a child, Derek was understandably confused about the sounds he could make from the piano keys.
He would make the sounds in any way he could - with karate chops, his elbows and even his nose.
Adam said that in the early days, Derek was protective over the piano and would push his teacher out of the way so he could play.
He said: "At the time he didn't seem to talk. I was teaching another child piano lessons, but Derek shoved her off and started playing Don't Cry For Me Argentina.
"Derek didn't want to share his piano, so the only way I could teach him was to put him at the other side of the room and play something quickly.That way, by the time he could find the piano again, he could push me off and play it himself.
"I didn't just see a spark, I saw a blowtorch. "I've taught similar children before, but I have never got to them early enough to straighten out the technique."
Over the years, Adam has helped Derek express himself on the piano and said his behaviour has improved.
Because of the strange technique he was using, Derek was unable to realise his musical potential.
He now feels for the keys and can echo the tunes Adam plays.
Derek's first major concert was at the Barbican Halls, in London, in 1989, when he was just nine
To date,he has played in numerous shows, including the Terry Wogan Show, with the Royal Philharmonic Pops Orchestra, and alongside renowned pianist Jools Holland.
His favourite kind of music is jazz, but his repertoire also includes Beatles tunes and golden-oldies such as We'll Meet Again and Flight of the Bumblebee.
He is preparing to fly out to Hollywood later this year to play and he has also taken centre stage in many shows at the RNIB.
All of the songs are embedded in his memory and at the click of your fingers he can play an endless array of tunes, whether it be classical or modern pop.
Adam said: "It really is a privilege to have someone who is so able,but he is locked up in his own brain.
"It is so exciting to help someone out of that prison of disability.
"He has always been a lovable chap. He is very warm, cheeky and funny.
"The most important thing is whether Derek can express all he wants to,and, in the music,I think he can."
And what does the future hold for Derek? He said: "More music and performing."
Derek's debut album, Echoes of the Sounds To Be, will be released in music shops nationally in a few weeks.
icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk