Brendan Kavanagh

Brendan Kavanagh (born 1967),[1] also known as "Dr K", is a contemporary British pianist and piano teacher of Irish descent. He specializes in playing and promoting the boogie-woogie genre, almost exclusively improvised, often combined with classical, jazz, blues, rock & roll, and traditional Irish music themes. He regularly performs in open venues on public pianos, sometimes in duet formats with musically inclined passersby or friends. He also plays the piano accordion, with emphasis on traditional Irish tunes.[2][3]

Brendan Kavanagh
Kavanagh in 2021
Background information
Also known asDr K
Born1967 (age 53–54)
London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Pianist
InstrumentsPiano, Piano accordion
Labels
WebsiteDr K YouTube channel

Education

Kavanagh graduated from Middlesex University with first class single honours BA in English. He then obtained his MA in Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama at University College Dublin, followed by a PhD from University College Cork.[4]

Online presence and open public venue performances

In 2007, Kavanagh founded Dr. K Media Limited and changed his focus to online teaching, selling, performing and promoting piano music, with a strong emphasis on the boogie-woogie style. With the advent of smartphones which allow virtually anyone to capture and disseminate musical performances, he began performing in open public venues.[1]

He has performed as Dr. K, often wearing his signature dark hoodie and shades, or sometimes wearing a workman uniform, playing incognito in front of often astonished passersby on public pianos at train stations, airports and other open public venues, mostly around London. His impromptu performances, often weaving together classical, boogie-woogie, Irish and popular themes, are captured and uploaded to his YouTube channel, where he has amassed over 1 million subscribers, making him as of March 2020 the 14,909th most-subscribed channel.[5] He also broadcasts some of his performances directly, via live streaming.[6][7][3][8][9]

See also

References
  1. "'Police officer' musician fools Londoners with dazzling piano skills". Evening Standard. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  2. "The two best piano players on YouTube have joined forces, and yes, it is brilliant". Ireland Calling. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  3. "Teen's rendition of The Sound of Music's 'Edelweiss' at London Underground station goes viral". Classic FM. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  4. "Musician's incredible piano skills make people stop and stare in Cork Airport". Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  5. "Brendan Kavanagh's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats". socialblade.com. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  6. "Two Irishmen meet by chance and play most amazing piano duet you've ever heard". Ireland Calling. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  7. "Opera singer, 16, goes viral after singing in London Tube station". Grimsby Telegraph. 29 August 2019. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  8. May, Adam; Beard, Liam (2 September 2019). "16-year-old's spontaneous opera performance becomes Internet phenomenon". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  9. "A 'workman' wowed commuters with his piano skills at St Pancras station". Time Out London. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
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