And the crowd roars as Nick takes the stage...

Hi Everyone,

Years ago I did an exercise somewhere where you'd write down the five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell) and then write down your favourite things within those senses. The idea is you refer to it when you're stressed or upset and it calms you down.

At the top of my list for sound is the sound of acoustic guitar, particularly classical guitar. I'm a sucker for it, within the first few notes I tend to start to melt into relaxation.

So you can imagine my joy when I found out that a colleague (and also, I'm very happy to say, a friend) started taking classical guitar lessons last year. Nick has moved from classical guitar to Fingerstyle guitar and has introduced me to some of the music, which, it turns out, I enjoy as much as classical guitar, if not more.

One of Nick's favourites artists is Antoine Dufour, who is quickly becoming a favourite of mine, particularly with this piece, called "You and I", which you can find and listen to here. Nick bought me one of Antoine's CDs at a recent event and I look forward to getting the CD autographed when Nick takes a lesson from Antoine.

Nick is on the shy side so I was surprised when he mentioned that he put a video of himself playing one of Antoine Dufour's pieces, Glimmer of Hope on YouTube. I asked him if it was OK for me to post it on my blog and he said "sure". Nick ultimately wants to write his own music and give performances. I'm very much looking forward to when I can get an autographed copy of Nick's first CD.

And now, without further ado, I present my friend, Nick, and his first step into fame. Sit back and relax for four minutes as you listen to a beautiful piece of music.



Cheers,

Sandy