Sunday, 1 February 2026 : 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Welcome to an afternoon exploring the rich and varied soundscapes of classical, jazz and popular music. This programme will explore the piano’s remarkable versatility, showcasing how musical expression transcends boundaries and connects different eras and styles. From the structured elegance of classical composition to the freer spirit of jazz and the catchy rhythms of popular music, this really is a performance for the whole family!
Alun Hughes was born and educated in Cardiff (including rugby and the dark arts!) He showed an interest in the piano at age 8, after hearing the Gershwin Piano Concerto and shortly afterwards, his mother procured a Bechstein upright at auction, which had come over from Poland just before World War 2. Alun fell in love with it instantly, and his early musical influences were Chopin, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and the Beatles.
Alun studied Music (and Horticultural Science) at Caerleon Teacher Training College, where he played clarinet, saxophone and timpani in various orchestras (but not all at the same time!) and was a piano accompanist for a local school choir that came first in the Gwent Festival and second at the Cheltenham Festival that particular year. Alun moved to Ashford in the late 1970s to teach mostly Year 6 classes, plus music and sport in various schools across a 27-year career.
He organised and conducted the instrumental music for the Ashford Primary Schools Summer Music Festival, held each year until the mid-1990s at the Stour Centre, in which 500 children from local schools would take part. This is where Alun's love of arranging music started, from Medieval to Tchaikovsky and Strauss Waltzes to Gershwin, Bernstein and the Beatles.
Alun was a keyboard player in a rock band for many years and then became organist at St. Mary’s Church, Westwell, since the mid-90s, playing a wide range of music from Early Renaissance to Contemporary. He has had the privilege of playing the beautiful Steinway Grand at Godinton House on multiple occasions, both as soloist and accompanist, originally for Westwell performances and more recently in helping to organise music for the Ashford Hospices Christmas Concerts.
Since retiring from his beloved career in teaching, Alun has spent a lot of time arranging and playing music from a wide variety of genres, including classical, jazz, boogie-woogie and popular. He strives to make any performance as fun and compelling for the listener as he can!
The afternoon's program of music will begin at 2:00 pm. The performance will last approximately 1 hour, with tea or coffee and a slice of homemade cake to follow at 3:00 pm.
Tickets available here.