We talked with pianist Beatrice Nicholas a month ago when she was about to launch into no fewer than 5 different concerts for Black History Month in the UK. Two were full solo recitals; two were joint events, where she was playing with another performer; one was a church event; and we found out later that there was a ‘secret’ event that she couldn’t speak of until afterwards.
Beatrice Nicholas, 2025
We rarely see a performer who is THIS busy, and we never get a chance to check back with anyone to see how it all went. This time, we pre-booked Beatrice and did a post-event review.
For our first interview, read here: The Joys of Music: An Interview with Beatrice Nicholas.
She started with a concert at St. Margaret’s, London, with selections from her EP release Black and Classical, performing music by African American composers Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Betty Jackson King, with additional works by Price and Bonds that weren’t on the EP.
Beatrice – Black and Classical music video
Her other solo recital was held as part of the Black Voices Festival at All Saints Church, London. Retitled as Classical Women!, the core of it was her regular Classical Swing program, where her jazz trio (piano, bass, and drums) plays music by Hazel Scott, Nina Simone and her own jazz arrangements of works by Chopin and Liszt. The setting for the concert was in-the-round, something new for the trio. The influence worked both ways: they were imbedded in the audience as much as the audience was imbedded in the trio. One aspect that Nicholas’ trio tried to emphasise was the role that improvisation had in the music, particularly that of Nina Simone. Nicholas took that improv to the audience, passing out tambourines and asking them to contribute to the rhythm section and, in a work by Margaret Bonds, to sing. The audience was at first tentative and then embraced their changed role.
Finale from Classical Swing!
She joined bassist Leon Bosch for his program on Reimagined Spirituals. As a duo partner, she said she really enjoyed the piano solos he placed in her hand. Bosch’s program is highly personal. He’s from South Africa and had a different take on the traditional spirituals than Nicholas had encountered before. The important element was that these were spirituals that had been reimagined by Bosch, not spirituals re-edited. By placing them in his context, he brought a new depth to his arrangements of works such as Deep River.
Beatrice Nicholas and Leon Bosch
Nicholas noted that other parts of the Black Voices Festival were wonderfully effective. The Festival was organised by Duncan Fraser (Artistic and Community Education Director of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society), who filled his classical festival with non-classical elements, such as a pan-steel ensemble. Other performers, such as the gospel choir from the London Adventist Chorale, had the audience on its feet in appreciation.
Nicholas’ other duo collaboration was with Mebrakh Haughton-Johnson (clarinet) (Their Classically Black concert at King’s Place). Haughton-Johnson was a 2025 finalist in the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) auditions and was a wonderful inspiration to young musicians in the audience. One of the works they performed was Jessie Montgomery’s Peace, a 2020 work for clarinet and piano, written as a reflection on the combination of sadness and peace during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The church event mentioned above was a highly personal examination of Christian faith and music. Held at St Stephens Church, Canonbury, Beatrice was interviewed by composer Deborah Pritchard and spoke about the intersection of her faith and her music. She played music by Betty Jackson King, who also had a strong Christian faith, as an example.
Beatrice Nicholas at St Stephens, Canonbury, 2025
Then there was the secret concert. It turned out to be an invitation to Downing Street to perform as part of a celebration of Black History Month hosted by Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, MP for Tottenham.
Beatrice Nicholas and David Lammy, 2025
Nicholas played selections from her Black and Classical EP, plus her own jazz arrangements of more familiar music. She presented her newly released EP to the DPM, and from the pictures, this celebration of the UK’s black movers and shakers was an extremely great party!
Beatrice Nicholas presenting her new EP, 2025
Her next public presentation will be a children’s show based on her character of Beatrice the Amazing Astronaut (an audience member at one of her October concerts recognised her with dawning delight: You’re Beatrice the Astronaut!). Her interactive family concert brings together music from Mozart to John Williams to present both virtuosic piano music and to get her listeners involved in the music: immersive is just the start of it!
Beatrice the Amazing Astronaut
Beatrice Nicholas’ October schedule was highly unusual – most performers may have 2 different programs they’ll present over a season, and to keep 5 in the air required a great deal of focus. Her presence at David Lammy’s celebration at Downing Street speaks to the importance of her work promoting music by black composers and her work bringing so many people to classical music. We look forward to what she’s doing next, bringing musical joy to audiences of all ages!
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