{"id":582113,"date":"2026-08-03T17:31:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T17:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/582113\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T17:31:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T17:31:41","slug":"antrim-student-makes-piano-history-with-one-hand-the-overwhelming-feeling-was-just-relief-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/582113\/","title":{"rendered":"Antrim student makes piano history with one hand: \u2018The overwhelming feeling was just relief\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like countless other young musicians, Freya Terris discovered her love of music at the piano stool. Yet her journey has been anything but ordinary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all started with my sister. My sister is a phenomenal pianist and I grew up hearing her practising and annoying her while she practised,\u201d says 17-year-old Terris, who attends Friends\u2019 School in Lisburn, Co Antrim<\/a>. <\/p>\n

When Terris was four, her sister Chloe reached her \u201cbreaking point\u201d and their parents decided to allow Terris begin piano lessons. \u201cI loved listening to my sister play so I thought I might as well learn how to do it for myself and give her some peace. I\u2019ve been playing ever since, I just love music,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Terris worked her way up the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) grades until she reached Grade 7 for piano. <\/p>\n

In 2024 a long-term injury and surgery left Terris unable to play with her right hand and what once brought her so much joy now seemed like a daunting task. <\/p>\n

\u201cI unfortunately came to the conclusion that the time wouldn\u2019t come to pass where I would pass my Grade 8 exam,\u201d Terris says. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my teacher\u2019s idea to see how open the board would be for me to play a repertoire specifically for one hand. I believe I was the first to get Grade 8 with one hand. The board agreed, surprisingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terris still had to push herself to pass the exam and had to effectively relearn the instrument that first made her fall in love with music with only her left hand. While learning a repertoire strictly limited to one hand, Terris says the whole situation \u201cfelt like a small drop in a big ocean\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"FreyaFreya Terris playing at her home in Lisburn. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni\/The Irish Times<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the many things that I was coming to the realisation that I wouldn\u2019t be able to do any more. It almost felt like it was another restriction that I didn\u2019t need. I thought if I can do something about this then I will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terris succeeded and became the first student in ABRSM history to pass their Grade 8 piano exam with a repertoire solely for the left hand.<\/p>\n

The Board has since added a one-handed repertoire to its 2027\u201328 syllabus. Initially launched in 2023 for Grades 1-5, the collection expanded to include \u201cPiano Music for One Hand\u201d in the advanced Grades 6-8 since Terris\u2019s achievement. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was very relieved when I got the results,\u201d Terris says with a laugh. \u201cBut the overwhelming feeling I felt was just relief. You know, I just wanted to do everyone proud. My parents and my piano teacher, and my music teachers in school who have been so supportive and have put so much time and energy into making me think that doing this is possible. It\u2019s almost for their sake I\u2019m glad I could do this and do this well in a way that I\u2019m proud of.\u201d <\/p>\n

Terris says it\u2019s \u201cway more mentally challenging\u201d playing with one hand and that everything is \u201cmore complicated\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes a bit more time to sort out the score before you even get to playing. Technically, it is harder. Physically I feel like I\u2019m about to fall off the pedestal when I\u2019m performing because it is so quick. There is a lot of movement involved in it.\u201d <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Cover bands: The serious business of pretending to be someone elseOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Before passing her Grade 8, Terris says she was coming to a stage where she was no longer enjoying her long-time hobby of playing the piano. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was difficult practising and looking down and seeing my \u2018useless\u2019 right hand sitting in my lap. But in the end, I know it is a positive thing \u2013 sometimes I look down and I\u2019m like, \u2018look at what I can still do\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cFreya is an extremely conscientious student,\u201d says Rory Dowse, a fellow Lisburn native and Freya\u2019s piano teacher. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe had to undergo the operation and had to relearn the instrument in about the space of a year and then became the first person to pass it with one hand in the ABRSM\u2019s 137-year history,\u201d says Dowse. \u201cIt\u2019s really incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dowse learned the piano under Peter Tuite, the Head of Keyboard at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, who in turn was taught by Leon Fleisher. <\/p>\n

\"LeonLeon Fleisher playing at the Seattle Symphony Orchestra in 1963 before losing the use of his right hand <\/p>\n

The renowned American pianist Fleisher lost the use of his right hand due to focal dystonia at the height of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cFleisher built much of his career on the left-hand repertoire,\u201d says Dowse. \u201cThere\u2019s a direct line from Fleisher\u2019s legacy to what Freya has just done.\u201d <\/p>\n

Like Terris, Fleisher had to create an alternative musical path and mastered the left-handed repertoire before becoming a conductor at the Baltimore and Annapolis orchestras.<\/p>\n

For Dowse, whose own journey has connected Terris to the story of the renowned Fleisher, it has been \u201csomething of an Odyssey\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love storytelling at the piano, and I\u2019m proud to share this story of Freya,\u201d says Dowse. \u201cThis love [of playing the piano] \u2013 as well as the love of challenge, courage and prophesying \u2013 has kept me moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s reminded me that storytelling creates connection, beyond the TV cameras and Facebook posts, and that this is what we are and what we need. This is why the piano continues to find a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in Lisburn, Terris plans on studying music at university after completing secondary school.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a perfect world I\u2019d love to go to somewhere like Cambridge, Edinburgh or Trinity College Dublin. Somewhere academic because, you know, I am a history girl. But I do just love music. Who knows, we will see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following in Fleisher\u2019s footsteps, Terris has already proven that there is nothing she cannot do when she puts her mind to it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like countless other young musicians, Freya Terris discovered her love of music at the piano stool. Yet her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[80306,93,61,60,976,42415],"class_list":["post-582113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-antrim","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-weekendreview","tag-your-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}