Shara Piano Sessions

Shara Piano Sessions - get up close and feel the resonance and vibration of the beautiful Shara Temple grand piano, played by three wonderful pianists.

Norman Appel was born in 1957 and grew up in Sydney. He started piano studies at age 6 and began composing at 15 when his piano teacher taught him theory and improvisational skills. His abilities as a composer and performer have drawn high praise. The sensitive and emotional nuances of his music have often moved audiences to tears.
His influences and inspirations include Keith Emerson, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Frederick Gulda, Edgar Meyer as well as Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy.

Elizabeth Swain, OAM - a well known and much loved choral conductor who established the Newington College Music Department, and then went on to conduct the Choir at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. Her love, connection with and sensitivity to the deeper and universal sacred significance of the Western choral tradition informs the approach that the choir takes to performance. Elizabeth started playing the piano at the age of 3 – her mother Phylis would sit her up on the kitchen bench and teach her how to read the notes!