Gwil’s 12hr Pianothon

Just over a year ago, I lost my mum to cancer. Before this, I had never lost anybody close to me. This in addition to the very short amount of time between me realising the severity of the illness and her passing made me realise that life is chaotic and more often than not, we are not in control of what happens, whether we like it or not. I planned to go to Newcastle University last September to study psychology, however, I chose to take a gap year to heal and to be with my family, which in hindsight was a good decision. She died just after I finished my A levels and my parents were understandably reluctant to make me fully aware of just how bad it was until I finished, so it was undeniably a shock when I heard the news. For a while afterwards, I mainly felt empty more than anything but as time went on, I started learning to think more positively and the more I tried, the less anger I had, instead replaced by an appreciation of having her as a mum in the first place. Her legacy lives on through me and my 3 brothers in many different ways, but in particular through music. My mother was a very talented musician, especially on the piano. She was keen for me to start piano lessons at around age 5 and despite my protests and tantrums which lasted several years, I wasn't allowed to stop. Thanks to her, I now also have the gift of music- which will live on to my last days. My aim with this pianothon is to raise awareness of how cancer affects families and people all over, but also to prove that even during the hardest of times, beauty can still prevail. The idea of giving back to a good cause is also a main motivator and the money will go towards research into cancer, as well as support for families. I have decided for the last 5 minutes of each of the 12 hours, I will have a different pianist to play to so I can stretch, use the toilet, etc.