SOUTHEND pianist and composer Josh Winiberg will be performing live in Southend for the for the first time since the pandemic began.

Debuting material from an upcoming album, written for piano, violin, and electronics, this concert will showcase 10 new compositions as well as favourites from his 2017 album, Change.

Josh, whose work has recently been published by living-composer specialists Editions Musica Ferrum, is known for his atmospheric and emotive piano compositions, which have been used in award-winning films, radio shows, and stage productions worldwide.

His previous album, which featured local musicians Alex Milne and Elisa Bergsersen, was described by Kathy Parsons (Mainly Piano / Solo Piano Publications) as “an outstanding album from the first note to the last” and has been streamed over a million times.

“Change was a very intense and emotional album,” Josh explains. “Most of the tracks were written in just a few months, and there was a strong sense of what the album was about while I was writing it. Some parts were tense and brooding, others optimistic and outgoing. But the writing was very dense throughout, featuring piano, string quintet, acoustic and electric guitars, synths, and drums machines, sometimes with many layers of each instrument. This new album is very different – much more exposed – and draws on material written over many years.

“Over the course of the pandemic I had the chance to listen to all the improvised recordings I’d made over the last 10 years or so, and finally began to see a through line – pieces which worked together stylistically, and which complemented each other. So much has happened over the course of the time it was written, it’s difficult to pin the album down to any particular event or story, but it’s a very intimate and reflective album. Lockdown must have played a big part in that.”

The concert is in aid of Safe Steps Southend, a local charity which helps survivors of domestic abuse. 50 per cent of profit from ticket sale will be donated to domestic abuse charity Safe Steps, Southend.

“Charities like Safe Steps play a vital role in our community. Domestic abuse is a scourge on society and something I feel deeply about. Over lockdown I really felt for anyone that was trapped with their abuser for protracted periods of time, so it feels more important than ever to make sure domestic abuse charities are properly funded, and to raise awareness of this important cause.”

The concert takes place on February 19, at 7pm - 8.30pm, at King’s Road United Reformed Church, 91 Crowstone Road, Westcliff.

Admission is £12 (£8 concessions).