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, conservatoire 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.

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.

Christine Reeves

Christine has been a keen amateur pianist as long as she can remember. She was fortunate to be able to have piano and viola lessons in the music department of Aberystwyth University while studying for a history degree there.  Later she gained two piano diplomas while studying part time for them at TVU, London.  She has enjoyed playing piano/organ at the two previous churches she attended in Harrow Wealdstone and Wigston, Leicester, playing duets with friends and attending courses at Benslow Music in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

She has resumed lessons, at first in Leicester and since moving to Mirfield, with Amy Preece. She is looking forward to meeting fellow enthusiasts on Mirfield Piano Walk.

Christine Reeves and Amy Preece will play their 3 recitals at Eastthorpe Hall.

Ian Abbott

Ian has been playing the piano since the age of five and took his grade 8 at sixteen. He then started to learn the organ and took up lessons whilst at university where he was studying chemistry and has been the organist at Trinity church for 30 years. He also has over 30 years experience as a musical director in amateur theatre. He has been the musical director with Marsh Ladies Choir in Huddersfield for 16 years and the accompanist for Mirfield Choral Society for two years. Away from music he volunteers as a Signalman at the East Lancashire Railway. 

Simeon Walker

Leeds-based pianist and composer Simeon Walker is a versatile and prolific voice in the Modern Classical scene. Regularly touring across the UK and Europe, his music has amassed over 50 million streams and is frequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. His extensive 2026 tour spans the length and breadth of the UK from Penzance to Aberdeen and everywhere in-between, featuring works from his ‘Imprints’, ‘Remnants’ and ‘Live in Eindhoven’ releases.

Walker’s music moves from quiet solitude to flowing exuberance, evoking open, spacious landscapes and grandeur while retaining sincerity, intimacy and warmth. Listeners are invited to gather around the piano, finding meaning in the spaces between the notes as tender, expressive musical stories unfold, delivered with a uniquely delicate touch and a self-deprecating wry smile.

Students of the Lion Academy

Ben Bland is pianist and founder of music school The Lion Academy in Brighouse. He will come with 6 of his students ((ABR 6 or higher) to the event and will perform during the first 2 concerts in the Moorlands cricket club. They will play pieces like the Theme from The pirates of the Caribbean, Scott Joplin’s  The Entertainer and Mozart’s Alla Turca. With their participation we cover all levels of soloists from good amateurs to experienced professionals.

Students of Musica Kirklees

Caitlan Neal, her younger brother Ian, and James Michael are all piano students at Musica Kirklees, the organisation that provides music lessons in schools across the district. Musica Kirklees also operates five music centres throughout Kirklees, alongside its central ensembles based at the University of Huddersfield.

Caitlan and James are currently preparing for Grade 8, the highest level in the piano examination system, while Ian is working towards Grade 6.

Bringing together amateur pianists with professional and well‑established performers in a single event creates an environment that can inspire young musicians to consider a musical career. For audiences, hearing these young performers can be equally motivating and may even encourage visitors to take up piano lessons themselves.