Cara Tivey

Pianist & Composer

Original music, composition & piano improvisation in a wide range of styles & genres for :

  • Film, theatre, TV and radio productions
  • Creative collaboration with artists and performers
  • Functions and events – weddings, festivals and parties
  • Art exhibitions, dance and spoken word performances
  • Lyricists, poets and authors
  • Music workshop sessions

I can also lead workshops in small groups for breathing, voice production, diction, singing and drama games.

About Me

Classically trained, I have been a professional pianist since leaving drama school in the early eighties. I started working with seminal Birmingham bands Basil Gabbidon (founder member of Steel Pulse) and The Au Pairs and then went on to complete a stint with Everything But The Girl. I was sidekick to Billy Bragg for six years, toured the world with Park Life era Blur and recorded with The Lilac Time. 

I have worked for many years in education, lecturing in performing arts with visually impaired students. I approach all tasks creatively, exploring ways to make the subject accessible.

Recent work includes collaborations with dubstepper Geode and drum and bass artist Amoss. I now perform in my own right and compose hybrid classical/jazz pieces for piano at my Herefordshire home.

Bandcamp

Buy Wave Motif, a recent collection of solo piano compositions.

Soundcloud

Follow on Soundcloud and listen to unreleased material.

Discogs

See full discography of record releases I have appeared on.

Facebook

Twitter

Wikipedia

News and stuff

BBC Introducing – Opportunities

BBC Introducing – Opportunities

BBC Introducing has proved to be a very useful platform for my composition. In this year alone, I have had several radio plays of material from ‘Zone’, largely on BBC Hereford and Worcester who continue to be supportive of my work. Contemplation and Cirrus concluded...

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Zone LP

Zone LP

Pleased to announce the release of my solo L.P ‘Zone’, a diverse selection of my best piano compositions created during and after Lockdown. The result of many hours of playing and developing ideas in solitude and inspired by the beautiful Herefordshire countryside.

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Primadonna Festival 2022

Primadonna Festival 2022

At this year’s Primadonna Festival, taking place at the Food Museum in Stowmarket from July 29th to 31st,  I will be performing a series of pieces I wrote in response to songs written by Stephen Duffy and the Lilac Time. I played on both ‘And Love for All’ and...

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2Faced Dance Company

2Faced Dance Company

The Ford Collective is the gift that keeps on giving! At their social events throughout the past year, I have met a wonderful array of artists and creatives, including Tamsin Fitzgerald, Artistic Director at 2Faced Dance Company.

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Videos

Testimonials

Cara was a wonderful addition to our live music programming at the first ever Primadonna Festival in Suffolk. Her original compositions drew festival-goers from across the site, creating a beautifully melodic and mellow vibe towards the end of a very hectic day of programming. We hope she’ll come back!

Catherine Riley, General Manager, Primadonna Festival

I hired Cara Tivey to work on a couple of music projects with blind and visually impaired young people at The Story of Books. Professional, kind, and inventive, Cara is a complete joy to work with. I greatly appreciated Cara’s sensitivity to the needs of individuals in the projects. She has a quiet way of bringing out the best in others:- listening deeply, asking intelligent questions, and easing those around her into a place of confidence. Cara is a brilliant musician – and sassy and stylish to boot. I’d work with her again at the drop of a hat.

Emma Balch, The Story of Books

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