Soloists

The Mirfield Piano Walk 2026 is a one-day community event that turns the town into a musical journey. Audiences follow a set route, stopping at various venues—such as churches, a cricket club, fire station, and historic buildings—to hear live piano performances from amateurs, graduates, and professionals.

On this page we are introducing our soloists to you.

Aidan Mikdad

We’re delighted to share that Aidan Mikdad has confirmed his participation in the Mirfield Piano Walk. Aidan, a Dutch pianist, first performed in 2014 at the ‘Pianowandeling in Edam’ as a 13-year-old. Since then, his career has flourished.

 In July 2023, Aidan Mikdad was awarded The Queen’s Commendation for Excellence at his graduation ceremony from the Royal Academy of Music (University of London), where he received a Master of Arts in Performance with Distinction. He also earned the prestigious DipRAM after achieving an outstanding mark of 97/100 in his Final Recital.

Between 2021 and 2023, he studied with Professor Joanna MacGregor at the Royal Academy of Music, supported by the Bicentenary Scholarship for graduate studies.

Prior to that, in June 2021, he graduated summa cum laude from the Conservatory of Amsterdam under Professor Naum Grubert, earning a bachelor’s degree in music with a perfect score of 10/10.

Since 2023, he has resumed lessons with Professor Grubert at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. He currently practises on a Fazioli grand piano, generously provided by the Dutch Musical Instrument Foundation.

Aidan has been active in international piano competitions from a young age, earning numerous accolades. Over the years he has won many prestigious prices and we are therefore proud that he agreed to play in Mirfield.

Aidan will perform at the closing concert in St. Marys church.

Mia Odeleye

Piano UK Finalist 2025

Mia is a versatile musician, known for her expressive style and interpretative depth. She has extensive experience performing both as a soloist and as part of ensembles, and is particularly drawn to composing and exploring repertoire that transcends traditional genre boundaries.

With over ten years of stage experience, Mia has performed for both formal and informal audiences—ranging from charity concerts to competitive music festivals such as Blackheath and Kingston. Her notable achievements include winning Wandsworth Young Musician of the Year 2022, where she performed works by Rachmaninoff and Margaret Bonds on solo piano.

Mia is an avid explorer of classical music by composers of the African diaspora, with a special interest in the works of early 20th-century African American women, including Florence Price and Margaret Bonds.

In 2025, she was a finalist in Channel 4’s The Piano, making a powerful impression with her performance of Sinner, Don’t Let This Harvest Pass, in which she both played and sang.

Josiah Wade

Piano UK Finalist 2025

Pianist and composer, Josiah Wade trained under the highly respected jazz pianist and composer Julian Joseph, and under the extraordinary classical composer and pianist Michael Csányi-Wills.

​Josiah’s repertoire spans from Classical to Jazz to Contemporary music, where he blends his various influences to create his own unique style.

Josiah recently performed for the British Soap Awards, and has also performed at notable venues such as the ‘606 Jazz Club’, ‘The glass house’ and ‘Wigmore Hall’.

Josiah won a spot in the most recent final of “The Piano” season 3 which aired on Channel 4 where he composed and performed his own new original piece Josiah’s Dream winning an upright Steinway Boston piano.

Anisa Ford

Piano UK Finalist 2025

Born in 2011, Anisa Ford began playing piano during the pandemic, teaching herself a Mozart piece from YouTube at age ten. What started as a quiet pastime quickly revealed a natural affinity for classical music. Under the mentorship of Michael Harvey, she developed a deep musical fluency and emotional sensitivity that distinguished her early performances.

Within 18 months, Anisa earned a scholarship to the Purcell School of Music, demonstrating a rare ability to absorb and interpret complex repertoire. Her rapid progress and expressive playing soon drew wider attention.

She gained national recognition on Season 3 of The Piano, where her performance of Glinka’s Skylark at Liverpool Street Station captivated passersby and impressed judges Jon Batiste and Mika. “A powerful human who happens to be 12,” Batiste remarked.

Anisa now studies at the Royal Academy of Music’s junior department, continuing to refine her craft with an eye toward major concert stages.

Amy Preece

Amy Preece (née Whitwam) started violin lessons in 1985 with Caroline Goddard.

Piano and recorder lessons soon followed, and she gained grade 8 in all three instruments before leaving high school. She also won the Bessie Brearley Prize for the highest grade 8 piano mark in Huddersfield.

She was awarded a Bachelor’s degree with First-Class honours from the University of Huddersfield, majoring in Performance (violin) and Composition. Prizes include the J. Woods & Sons Prize for Composition and the Philip Bates’ Prize for Young Composers (both 2005).

In 2007 she was awarded the LRSM in Violin Performance and in 2009, the DipABRSM in Piano Performance.

She has had compositions performed by Michael Finnissy, Gregory Rose, PlusMinus Ensemble, Daryl Runswick, FourSight, Mieko Kanno and the Fidelio Trio

Amy has received commissions from four ensembles – Marsh Ladies’ Choir (Huddersfield), FourSight (London), The Brakedrum Assembly (London) and Hepton Singers (Hebden Bridge). She performed the Mozart G Major Concerto in March 2015, the Bach D Minor double concerto in May 2017 and Beethoven’s F major Romance in March 2020, all with Paddock Orchestra.

In the coming months we will introduce our other soloists one by one, following our postings on Facebook, Instagram and X.