Winter 2023

Wendi Kirby began teaching piano at the tender age of 14 and has continued teaching IZIV WMRGI ,IV ½VWX EPFYQ [EW VIPIEWIH MR %TVMP ERH LIV WIGSRH MW HYI SYX F] ]IEV´W IRH SHORT CUTS MUSIC T ypically, musical artists spend their early years performing. Pianist and composer Wendi Kirby has chosen a different path. “I’ve kind of done my life in reverse,” she says. “I taught at the beginning and worked into per- forming and composing later.” 8LI ½VWX XMQI /MVF] TPEGIH LIV ]IEV SPH ½RKIVW SR E OI]FSEVH ±- ORI[ - [ERXIH XS TPE] piano and never deviated from that.” She was essentially an autodidact before undertaking classical training at the college level. “I started teaching piano at 14 to make a down payment on a Yamaha G2 grand piano,” she recalls. Kirby has run a successful music school for decades, but around 2018, she felt the urge to compose and perform for the public. “Being classically trained, I always felt that everything had to be just so, and I played and taught that way. Later in life, I learned to play F] IEV ERH MQTVSZMWI ² ,IV ½VWX EPFYQ [EW released in April 2023 and the next, recorded in London, is due out by the end of the year. Kirby still runs her Monterey music studio and has added several creative events to the mix, including “Quintessence,” pairing curated music with food and wine. For more information about Kirby, please visit www.wendikirbymusic.com. Pianist Wendi Kirby Br ings Her Music to the Public B Y M I CHA E L CHAT F I E LD 72 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 3 Photo: Scarlet Page