I started learning the piano in 1973 when I was 7, taking the usual grades, achieving Grade 7 and a reasonable proficiency, though certainly not gifted or especially talented. When I went to uni I was put in a shared bedroom, much to my initial dismay. However, this fellow student was also a pianist, we became great friends and he ended up being the best man at my wedding.  He had been writing music for piano for some time and it was then that I started dabbling, inspired by his efforts.

Over the next 43 years I have written numerous short piano pieces as well as a number of multi-layered electronic pieces using a simple sequencer on my trusty Atari ST and Kawai K4 synth. The time to spend on this activity steadily declined over this time as work (teaching) and children (6!) took over my life but have recently gone back to writing for piano.

Then, a couple of years ago I became very good friends with a colleague at work (who told me about this site) who was active in the local theatre and loved musicals. I had grown up with Gilbert and Sullivan operettas as a child and have always had a latent interest in musicals, but we started going regularly to the West End to watch musicals and it became a hugely important and joyous part of my life; favourites include Billy Elliott, Bend it Like Beckham, Made in Dagenham, and at the moment especially Kinky Boots. In addition a continuing and massive favourite of both of us is Ushers which we saw a number of times at the Arts Theatre. I found this musical particularly poignant as it helped to precipitate my decision to come out as bi recently, given the wonderfully moving storyline within it. This truer reflection of who I am really am is also a big driver to make this application and develop this side of my life and personality.

Anyway, to finally get to the point, I have an ever-increasing urge and desire to use my musically creative talents, such as they hopefully are, to collaborate with a writer and produce a – small-scale – musical, in the feel/style/vein of Ushers in terms of scope, and this opportunity suggested to me by my wonderful friend has given me at the least the chance of this happening. As well as the numerous pieces already written over the years, some of which could I’m sure be adapted into a scored song-type format, I have more recently been setting out to try and write music which I think could be specifically used for this purpose, and I now feel ready to develop this properly with other like-minded individuals (whilst somehow carrying on with the day job to pay the bills of course).

So that’s where I’m at, I want my music heard, i want it enjoyed in the context of musical theatre, I want to be who I want to be. To coin a phrase lol

Dave Tomlinson