“THERE is beautiful new music for piano being written all the time,” says Tim Matthews, the local recitalist/teacher whose charity events are becoming a fixture in Crediton.

“And I’m lucky to have made contact with a few composers who are enthusiastic about their music being performed. When you combine this with popular classics by Rachmaninov, the great J.S Bach and Frederick Chopin then you have a great concert ready to go.”

At 4pm on Sunday, March 12 at Crediton Methodist Church, Tim will be performing a new piece, “Contemplation#4” by Halima Abdelhafiz, an Anglo-Egyptian composer based in London.

In addition, he’ll be playing popular classics by Richard Schumann, Franz Schubert, John Stanley, Arno Babajanian, Leodovico Einaudi, Bowen Liu and the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

This concert, like all of Tim’s recitals, is free to attend.

“I believe in encouraging people to come along, to get involved, to experience music that speaks to them, entertains them, moves them,” adds Tim.

He continued: “Putting a barrier in their way, charging admission, is often a mistake.

“I prefer to let people decide how much they want to donate and, generally, this method means that local music lovers are not put off from attending.

“The Methodist Church is an accessible, friendly venue, and it’s been modernised in recent years making it perfect for musical events.

“This piano recital is an historic event; it’s not happening in Exeter, Bristol or London but here in Crediton. It’s history in sound.

“Musically, Crediton has huge potential with good venues for classical events and a large area from which to draw support.

“We’re at the beginning of a process whereby more concerts will be organised with a view to allowing local people to perform.

“It’s just a case of having the energy and vision to make things happen and we can only hope that people will respond.”