FROM wintery Finland to summer on the Mid North Coast, prize-winning Coffs Harbour-raised pianist Adam Herd will delight local music lovers with a special Christmas Concert.

The concert will feature a mix of Finnish folk songs, Beatles hits and classical works with a few seasonal surprises.

Mr Herd will explore jazz, folk, Disney and Christmas tunes in an eclectic Sunday afternoon extravaganza.

He holds a Bachelor of Music with first-class Honours from Queensland Conservatorium and a Master’s degree from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where he has lived for several years.

Mr Herd has won prizes and competitions during his travels around the world and has been acclaimed for his live performances and recordings.

Despite the risk of injury to his fingers, he participates in a range of sports, from surfing around Coffs Harbour to skiing through the forests of Finland.

He currently works as a piano lecturer at two of Finland’s premier music institutes and, in his spare time, arranges and composes music or works on the next idea for his forest-piano YouTube series.

The concert is a bonus extra to the Coffs Harbour Music Society’s 2023 subscription series, and will take advantage of the longer summer evenings by starting at 3pm on Sunday, December 17 at Coffs Harbour Regional Conservatorium, Bray Street, Coffs Harbour.

The program will include Three Etudes by Kapustin, Four Etudes by Gershwin and Mr Herd’s own arrangement of Lennon and McCartney’s ‘Blackbird’, along with a ‘Christmas potpourri’ and some Finnish folk songs to complete the program.

Music Society member Adrienne Wainwright described Adam as “a very talented, exciting pianist”.

”It is uplifting to watch him perform,” she said.

There will be refreshments at the concert and an opportunity to meet and chat to Mr Herd.

Tickets are $60/$15 and available from www.coffsmusicsociety.com.au, from 0466 985 652 or at
the door.

By Andrew VIVIAN