Ethan Loch

Ethan David Loch (born 2004) is a Scottish pianist and composer. Born blind, Loch was a competitor in the BBC Young Musician 2022 competition. He reached the competition's grand final, after winning the keyboard category final.

Early life

Loch was born in 2004[1] in Blantyre,[lower-alpha 1] Scotland, to Larinda and Fraser Loch.[2][3] At ten weeks old, he contracted bacterial meningitis and almost died. During eye examinations doctors noticed an unrelated defect in his retinas. At around ten months old he was formally diagnosed with Leber's Congenital Amaurosis.[2][4] Until the age of five, Loch resided in Vancouver, Canada.[3][5][6]

Loch has been playing piano since he was eighteen months old.[7] By the age of three-and-a-half, he had learned the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata).[8] Under the tutoring of his mother, he began studying piano at the age of four using the Suzuki method.[4] Loch has been composing since he was a child and has perfect pitch.[8][9]

Education
Loch is currently studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

For his primary education, Loch was homeschooled by his parents.[4] At the age of twelve, he started piano lessons with Simon Bottomley in Manchester. Under Bottomley, Loch developed his piano technique; of Bottomley's teaching, Loch stated:[10]

He was the teacher who gave me the technical brilliance. I would definitely say I needed a bit more discipline in technical areas, and he really pushed me.

To help walk safely and avoid obstacles, Loch was taught echolocation by Daniel Kish.[8] This relationship with Kish was the subject of a BBC Radio documentary called Batman and Ethan.[5]

After a successful audition on 26 January 2015, Loch spent a year at St Mary's Music School, Edinburgh. Loch was St Mary's first blind pupil.[8] As of 2023, Loch is currently studying piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under Fali Pavri.[2][9] Aside from the piano, Loch also plays the accordion.[4][8]

Career

Loch learns music aurally, as opposed to reading braille music. To learn a piece, he first listens to multiple recordings to memorise notes and rhythms. After checking through the score with his mother and teacher, Loch begins practising the piece.[3][11]

BBC Young Musician

Loch was a participant in the BBC Young Musician 2022. He won the competition's keyboard final, playing the fourth movement of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 3; Scriabin's Poème, Op. 32, No. 1; and Debussy's Feux d'artifice.[9][12] On hearing his playing, the judging panel chair Anna Lapwood remarked:[9]

There's something about him, the way he plays, his sincerity, that made us all remember why we're involved in music-making, and it's to be moved. It's to experience those moments, when you don't expect them necessarily, where you witness something that feels genuinely life-changing through music.

Loch then progressed to the grand final, appearing alongside Jaren Ziegler, Sofía Patterson-Gutiérrez, Sasha Canter and Jordan Ashman. He played Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, performing with Mark Wigglesworth and the BBC Philharmonic.[10][12]

Inspirations
Vladimir Horowitz served as an inspiration to Loch.

Loch has two inspirations to his playing. As a child, he was inspired by Rowlf the Dog, the piano-playing dog from The Muppet Show.[1] He was also inspired by the Russian-American pianist Vladimir Horowitz; Loch would often play Horowitz's 1987 recording, Horowitz in Vienna, on DVD.[1]

Awards
  • Overall winner of the 15th International Giuseppe Sciacca Awards (2016)[2][13]
  • Seventh James Waterhouse Loretto Piano Competition winner (2017)[2]
  • Scottish International Youth Piano Competition senior division winner (2019)[2][3]

Discography
  • Mysterious Pathways (2019)[7]

Notes and references

Notes
  1. Some sources state Loch was born in Bonnybridge.

References
  1. "BBC Young Musician - Ethan Loch". BBC. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  2. Reilly, Johnathan (24 December 2020). "Blind 16-year-old pianist taking classical music world by storm". The Scotsman.
  3. Didcock, Barry (6 October 2022). "Ethan Loch: Blind Scottish piano prodigy set to make history". The Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  4. Holden, Lucy. "It's easy peasy, says 10 year old blind pianist Ethan Loch". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. "Blind Scottish pianist reaches BBC Young Musician final". BBC News. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  6. Kendrick, Keith (12 March 2015). "Blind Boy, 10, Scoops Prestigious Prizes For Piano Playing". Huffington Post.
  7. "How a Canadian artist captured the vision of a blind piano prodigy". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 January 2019.
  8. "The blind boy who learned to see with sound". BBC News. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  9. "Ethan Loch in grand final of BBC Young Musician 2022". Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 7 October 2022.
  10. Walton, Ken (14 December 2022). "The Scotsman Sessions #344: Ethan Loch". The Scotsman.
  11. "Ethan Loch interview: BBC Young Musician finalist on vivid dreams, perfect pitch, and barriers to access". Music Teacher. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  12. Palmer, Ellie (7 October 2022). "17-year-old Ethan Loch wins BBC Young Musician Keyboard Final". Pianist Magazine. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  13. "Ethan is an inspiration". The Falkirk Herald. 24 November 2016.
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