Teen pianist says music helped him through cancer

40 minutes ago

Shaun PeelEssex

Felix said he started "fiddling" with the piano when he was three years old

Martin Giles/BBC A teenage boy smiles at the camera. He is wearing a white hooded sweatshirt with "La Rochelle" written on it. Behind him is a piano. — Felix said he started "fiddling" with the piano when he was three years old

A 17-year-old pianist who is partially blind has described how music helped him during his cancer treatment.

Felix, from Feering, Essex, was born with retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer that affects about 50 children a year in the UK.

He said he started "fiddling" with the piano when he was three, adding that when he was in hospital receiving chemotherapy treatment, a keyboard was never far away.

"I have loved listening to music all of my life. I can't read music on a stave, but I learn all of my music by hearing and memory," said Felix, who is studying for a diploma in music performance at Colchester Institute.

"I imagine different notes in my head as colours - so C is pink, D is orange and E is yellow," he added.

Felix said he has been helped by the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust, a charity supported by BBC Children in Need.

Felix receiving chemotherapy aged four at Great Ormond Street Hospital - even then he had two keyboards on the bed

Family photo Boy on a hospital bed surrounded by toys, including two piano keyboards. He is wearing a black T-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms. — Felix receiving chemotherapy aged four at Great Ormond Street Hospital - even then he had two keyboards on the bed

Felix was a month old when his mum realised that he could not see. After tests his doctors discovered he had cancer in both of his eyes.

The tumours were treated with chemotherapy and other tough forms of care, but at four years old Felix had to have an eye removed to stop the cancer from spreading.

After more chemotherapy and surgery, Felix said the doctors were able to save a little bit of sight in his remaining eye.

"We wondered if we would be able to meet his needs, but Felix has excelled," said Felix's music tutor Michael Allen

Martin Giles/BBC A man with a bald head and wearing glasses looks to camera with a closed slight smile. He is wearing a black long sleeved T-shirt and a red lanyard. — "We wondered if we would be able to meet his needs, but Felix has excelled," said Felix's music tutor Michael Allen

Now, at 17, Felix hopes to train to become a concert pianist, composer or a session musician.

He passed his grade seven piano exam with distinction, and is aiming to secure a place at one of the top music schools in the country, the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Greenwich, London.

Michael Allen, Felix's tutor at Colchester Institute, said the other students at the college look up to the 17-year-old.

"Felix is also a pitch perfect singer, but he underplays his abilities. In all of my 20 years of teaching I have never met a student that can describe music as accurately and effectively as Felix," said Allen.

"Ironically, when we're listening to music he can see more than other students when it comes to seeing the music. And his piano playing isn't good because he's blind. It's just very good," he added.

Felix said jazz composer Mike Cornick was one of his inspirations, along with artists such as Bruno Mars and Raye.

He praised the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust and BBC Children in Need for their support, adding: "They put families who have children who have lost eyes in touch with each other, so families know they are not alone, and that there is hope."