Piano man hits high note with exam success at 88

At the age of 88, and tinkling the 88 keys, Ray Eveleigh has passed his grade eight piano exam – 67 years after reaching grade seven.

Mr Eveleigh, a retired reverend who lives near Driffield, East Yorkshire, has enjoyed a lifetime of music. He took up the piano as a child to accompany his father’s ukulele and went on to play in jazz clubs in his native Wales.

At Cardiff University, he fell in love with a soprano singer, who was looking for a piano player to accompany her. He married Brenda and life got in the way of any more piano exams.

That was until last Christmas, when his daughter Jenny Bray – also a professional singer – thought it would be a fun to buy him the grade eight examination music, which is the highest level beneath a diploma.

“I thought just for a bit of a laugh I’ll get them for Dad, as I didn’t think he’d want to do an exam,” she said.

Not only did Mr Eveleigh start playing again, he took lessons with concert pianist Ann Martin-Davis and became one of a “tiny percentage” of people to pass his exam with distinction.

“It’s very satisfying’, he said. “It was fun and it was hard work, because the older you get the more difficult it is to learn things.”

Reporting by Simon Spark.

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