Tiny Keys Big Sounds: an interview with pianist Tricia Dawn Williams
When Maltese pianist Tricia Dawn Williams posted a video of herself playing “5 Measures Out” by Olivia Kieffer on a toy piano in 2020, she had no idea this creative response to the isolation of lockdown would garner 9,000 views on Facebook in just over 3 days. Her enjoyment of Kieffer’s music, along with her fascination with the musical capabilities of the toy piano, led her to research more music, purchase more instruments, and to eventually create programs and an upcoming album around the instrument. Tiny Keys, Big Sounds, featuring music for toy pianos, will be released June 20, 2025. It is yet another creative project in a series of “outside the box” music experiences that marks Williams’ musical career.
Williams is a fearless pianist. She seeks and inhabits sound worlds most pianists don’t have the courage to enter. From toy pianos to inter-disciplinary performances; from the music of Maltese composers to pioneering the use of motion-capture technology to control and trigger electronic sounds with the MYO band interface on her forearms, Tricia Dawn Williams expands listeners’ understanding of what pianists and piano music can be. When I discovered her work I knew I wanted to feature her on No Dead Guys and I asked her for an interview. I’m honored that she said yes.
At what age did you begin playing the piano and what drew you to the instrument?
When I was little I had toy instruments. My favorites were 3 toy pianos – 2 blue ones and a black one that was slightly larger. They were all in the shape of a grand piano. I still remember them vividly. I used to spend hours playing with them. Each piano key played only one tone and the black keys were not even playable as they were painted on, so they were very primitive toy pianos. I remember I was 6 years old when one evening my father came up to me and said “Would you like to learn how to play piano?" I have found you a piano teacher and you have your first lesson tomorrow.” I was so excited, barely slept that night. My teacher’s name was Rita Micallef. I do not remember my very first lesson, but I do remember my first few lessons with her and how she would name a piano key at random and ask me to find it quickly on the piano after I had learnt it. I also remember her counting out loud with me and tapping on my knee to help me keep a steady tempo. It’s enchanting how the brain holds on to particular memories.
When did you develop an interest in contemporary music and who (or what piece) pulled you to it?
Unfortunately, my interest in contemporary music came very late in my life at the age of 26 and it was introduced to me by my partner Ruben Zahra with whom I’ve been sharing my life both professionally and personally for the past 25 years. I did not even know there was such a thing as contemporary classical music, although whilst going through the exam system I was always drawn to that 3rd piece on the exam syllabus that was so different from the other pieces. I remember choosing Hindemith in my Advanced exam as part of the program. It was a piece from the Ludus Tonalis. I remember at the beginning of our relationship, Ruben aged 27 at the time, gave me a copy of his music on CD and asked me to listen to it. I listened …. and hated it … and told him so. He rebuked me and made it his mission to make me listen to more late 20th century music and contemporary works. Slowly my ears tuned in and I realized I had missed an entire 100 years of music and this scared me. I felt so ignorant but soon made up for it. Ruben introduced me to Pawlu Grech – a musician, artist and teacher who had lived most of his life in Rome and then London where his musical career took off in 1964. For 10 years I met with Pawlu once a week and he would mentor me on 20th century music. Sometimes we would just talk and he would tell me about his studies in Rome at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia, his association with the great 20th century Italian composers Luciano Berio and Luigi Dallapiccola and his memorable meeting with Igor Stravinsky (that was always his favourite story).
Pawlu and I did not always agree upon everything … for example he wasn’t much in favour of John Cage but then he did like George Crumb and was actually fascinated by his music.
When did you choose to be a professional pianist and at what point did you know that contemporary classical music was your career path?
I always felt my happy place was being on stage performing to an audience. As a young pianist I performed mostly chamber music and always classical music. Although I always walked off the stage feeling happy and satisfied, I always felt there was something missing, even when I performed solo. All this changed when I started adding more contemporary classical music to my performances until it became just that. I feel I’m on fire especially when I’m performing rhythmic works. There are some composers that I feel very close to and their works are always included in my recitals.
I know very little about Maltese music. What composers and compositions would you suggest that people look for to learn more about this music?
There have been many composers over the years so it’s easier for me to mention the ones I’ve known personally and whose music I played. I will start by mentioning Charles Camilleri (1931 – 2009) who pioneered modern Maltese classical music, fusing folk motifs with avant-garde techniques. I’ve performed quite a few works by Camilleri, both chamber and solo and my favorite set is Mediterranean Images for solo piano. A contemporary of Camilleri is Joseph Vella (1942 – 2018). His works bridge tradition and innovation. I don’t have a particular favorite piece by this composer but I do enjoy playing most of his works.
Then there are the Maltese ‘living composers’ whose works I always try to include in my performances, at least a couple each time. In fact for my recent project I commissioned 8 of them to write a piece for my upcoming album. The Maltese composers featuring in this album are Albert Garzia, Daniel Cauchi, Christopher Muscat, Kris Spiteri, Veronique Vella, Mariella Cassar-Cordina, Alex Vella Gregory and Ruben Zahra. Each have their own style from incorporating electronic music to folk inspired, jazz and rock which made it more interesting for me.
There are other Maltese composers as well living away from the island, to name a few Kristian Schembri, Euchar Gravina and Karl Fiorini whose chamber works I have performed several times.
Your career covers everything from championing the music of Maltese composers to collaborating on multi-media projects, to your concerts celebrating the toy piano. What inspired you to look beyond traditional concert paths to create such a wide-ranging career?
Very simple....I get bored very easily so I need to try new things frequently. Luckily I am able to do this and take risks as well. It is also so much more rewarding when I collaborate with other artists and learn from them, even when they are not musicians.
I understand that your performances combine video-art, electronic music and extended piano techniques, including being a pioneer in using motion-capture technology to control and trigger electronic sounds with the MYO band interface on your forearms. How difficult is it to combine piano playing with this extra technology and when did you begin doing this?
It is not very difficult to combine everything together if you want to do it and persist in trying. Sometimes something feels out of reach or impossible but I always keep in mind the end result which keeps me focused on what I want to achieve.
Two examples of this are 2 pieces that I performed – “Echoes from Tomorrow”, my recent commission to Maltese composer Daniel Cauchi and “Suspensions” by Atau Tanaka which took me I think around 4 years to finally perform, though not through lack of practice from my end but rather the difficulty of obtaining the technology to do it.
I’ll start with “Echoes from Tomorrow”. The composer Daniel Cauchi is also a fine percussionist with whom I’ve performed several times. When I asked him to write a piece for me, I asked him to write it for a 37-key toy piano and a small percussion instrument... something I could handle. Knowing my love for “complicated” rhythms he wrote a piece for toy piano, bass synth and cajon. Don’t ask me how I learnt this piece, but learn it I did and it became one of my favourite pieces after I figured out how to juggle between having my right hand play the toy piano, my left hand switching between bass synth and cajon, my right foot pressing a tiny sustain pedal that kept slipping under my shoes and my left foot carefully pressing another bluetooth pedal to turn the pages on my iPad. At times I felt like I was falling face down into the instruments and all this besides the complex music the composer wrote. As he says in his own words,
“Inspired by the pulsating rhythms of dance music, the piece aims to both push and highlight Williams' exceptional rhythmic prowess. Drawing from our collaborative experiences, I sought to challenge her abilities while creating a dynamic and theatrical performance that seamlessly integrates the coordination of all three instruments.”
Around 12 years ago I came across “Suspensions” on YouTube performed by Sarah Nicolls. I did not even know Atau at the time. When I heard/saw Sarah’s performance I was so excited and wanted to play it. I quickly emailed Atau and asked him whether it would be possible for me to play this piece, especially since it was commissioned by Sarah. He told me the problem was the sensors she was using were still not so reliable, there weren’t extra sensors, he needed to be with me, etc., etc. I even went up to London where I attended a 3 day conference about this type of technology and piano playing and I got to meet with both of them. Five years later, I receive a message from a common friend that Atau and I had (unknowingly to me). The message simply said, “If you’re still interested in playing “Suspensions”, I can send you the score and a package via DHL containing all that you will need to play it.” You can imagine my excitement. Of course I wrote immediately to Atau and asked him to send me everything as soon as possible. He did. The package contained 2 beautiful MYO bands, one for each arm and carefully labelled as to which one was to be placed on the left and right. He also sent me the computer program that was to be installed on a MAC and the patch. It was amazing that everything worked. I still remember the feeling the first time I moved my arms and produced a sound out of thin air. This was the beginning of a friendship and collaboration between Atau and I that goes on till today as he’s one of the international composers I commissioned for my upcoming album.
So I would say I immersed myself in technology and piano performance around 15 years ago and I can’t wait to continue developing this aspect of myself as a contemporary classical pianist.
I was intrigued by one of your recent projects, “Kafka’s Insect,” an interdisciplinary performance by Ruben Zahra that combines music, video art and sound design. What is this about and how did you become involved in it?
KAFKA’S INSECT is a multimedia performance based on Franz Kafka’s novel The Metamorphosis, published in 1915. Ruben composed the music as well as directed and edited the video which follows the narrative through the sections in the novel that portray sound, such as a medicinal glass vial shattering on the floor, rain pelting against the window panes, apples hurled against the wall … etc. These sounds function like another “instrument” as they complement the live piano score. I got involved in this project because Ruben is my partner and therefore my role as the pianist is by default. The soundtrack also includes modular analog synthesizers and one of the challenges is that almost the entire score is locked to a click track…which means that I am playing with an in-ear-monitor ticking away in order to always be in sync with the video.
You’ve created several programs around the toy piano. When did you become interested in toy pianos and what prompted you to commission music for the instrument and to perform it in concert?
Around 10 years ago, I performed alongside the Italian percussion ensemble ARS LUDI. One of the pieces was a transcription of “Tierkreis” by Karlheinz Stockhausen for percussion, piano and toy piano. I did not own a toy piano at the time and it’s not something you can rent out either, especially in Malta since there were no toy pianists. So the ensemble brought one with them and gifted it to me before they left. This was a humble red 18-key toy piano. Following the performance I wanted to experiment playing some pieces on it and started searching for composers who had written music for such a small instrument. My first contact was Olivia Kieffer from the US who sent me a set of short pieces which were charming. However, I did not do anything with the toy piano for a few years and left it in a corner in my studio, literally gathering dust….until Covid hit!!!!
Covid was a time when life stood still. All my performances both in Malta and internationally got cancelled. As we got confined to our homes I was getting bored, nervous and even depressed. But I’m not one to stay still for long. We were still allowed to go out. Ruben and I used to take long walks in the countryside. My need to perform kept pushing, I couldn’t bear to stay home any longer. So I told Ruben, “grab your camera, we’re going to shoot a video of me playing the toy piano”. He was in because he loves creating videos and in fact does all my video recordings and editing for me when I have performances. So off we went to a local cliff side (Dingli Cliffs) with my little red toy piano (all fresh and clean) and camera equipment on a bright sunny day. There were a few people around, who were very curious but nobody disturbed us. We shot a 90 second video featuring the piece “5 Measures Out” by Olivia Kieffer. It was fun to do and I felt refreshed. I shared it on Facebook, just for fun, and the video garnered 9,000 views in just over 3 days. This was a first for me. People started talking about it and unknowingly I got featured on a news blog as well. I continued recording a few other pieces by Olivia and uploaded them. I started to really enjoy the playfulness of the toy piano but soon realized I couldn’t do much with an 18-key instrument. That is when I started researching seriously the toy piano, its history, manufacturers, other toy pianists and composers who wrote original music for this instrument. I was amazed at how much music there was for this tiny instrument. I placed a call on social media for works and composers from around the world contacted me and sent me their music, some of which I haven’t had the chance to play yet. I’m now the proud owner of 10 toy pianos, most of them are brand new Schoenhut models since the company very generously endorsed me in the beginning. Then I managed to source out vintage models –3 Michelsonne Paris from France and 1 Jaymar from the USA. I also have a baby grand Kawai from Japan, the same company that also manufactures grand pianos.
During Covid I was invited by Classical:Next (Germany) to produce an online recital featuring piano and toy pianos. I was a Classical:Next artist in 2019 so I was very much looking forward to this opportunity. I named the program “Out of the Cage”, partly because I had included some John Cage music and also because it literally felt I was getting out of a cage. Shortly after The Three Palaces Festival in Malta invited me to participate in their digital performances with a full programme for piano and toy piano.
Following Covid, when my public performances resumed, I made sure to include at least 1 toy piano piece in every recital. My partner Ruben Zahra was one of the first to write toy piano pieces for me and he even wrote the Kinderklavier concerto - a toy piano concerto in 3 movements featuring 3 toy pianos and chamber orchestra which was premiered in Malta and later recorded in the Czech Republic with the BRNO Contemporary Orchestra.
Given the limited number of keys on a toy piano, what can you tell me about the expressive capability of the instrument?
Whilst the number of keys is limited on a toy piano (my smallest one has 18 keys and the largest 37 keys) it’s more the expressive capability that I find very demanding on me as a pianist. The dynamic range is between Mezzo Piano and Forte. Also Legato is very hard to produce. When I’m sitting at my toy pianos learning a new piece, I imagine myself as one of my young students learning a new piece at the piano and I tell myself—as I tell them—to take note of all the details and exaggerate them at the beginning until they become part of you. Each toy piano has its own character so this makes it even harder. Some of my vintage toy pianos have a life of their own and they don’t always respond how I want them to when playing so I have learnt their characters and my fingers know exactly how to touch them to coax them in producing the best sound for me. For example I have a white Schoenhut, Spinet model, that has a very mischievous C that won’t play unless I make an effort to really lift my finger and strike the key. This is a brand new toy piano and I’ve opened it to check whether there was anything holding the hammer back from striking the tines but all looks good….So I guess it’s reminding me that it’s a toy. Then I have a Kawai that is the prince out of all my toy pianos. He makes a beautiful sound, just like a carillon thanks to the metal tubes and improved hammer action allowing for better dynamic control. In fact, I often like to pair the Kawai with a mechanical music box.
What current and future projects are you most excited about?
At the moment I’m just closing off my latest project ToyPiano+ which has been in the works for the past 2 years with the support of Arts Council Malta. ToyPiano+ explores the artistic potential of the toy piano as a concert instrument. This project consisted of three main strands: i) a toy piano recital with electronic music and small percussion instruments; ii) a concert which combines the toy piano with the grand piano and a backdrop projection of video-art; iii) an outreach program of 7 concerts for children taking place in schools - featuring a storytelling narration accompanied by a live toy piano soundtrack. In this project I involved 13 Maltese and international composers, 3 video artists as well as the collaboration with writer Trevor Zahra and actor Joseph Galea. The 13 new compositions especially commissioned for this project were recorded in Malta and produced as an album by international label Parma (USA). The album TINY KEYS BIG SOUNDS will be released on June 20, 2025 and will be distributed on all music streaming platforms.
As for future projects …. Well I am already thinking of something else that will possibly include motion gesture technology, but for now it’s just thoughts.
What advice might you offer young pianists seeking to create contemporary music careers for themselves?
It will be hard but persistence is key. Choose music that you really enjoy playing as it will be easier to commit to the piece you are learning. Create a dialogue with the composer about his work.This is so important. Once I was preparing a solo work by a composer who suffered from tinnitus.The piece was very abstract with very complicated rhythmic notation.Whilst I was sure I was playing the piece rhythmically correctly I wasn’t so sure I was conveying what the composer was trying to say until I met her. She told me about her condition and we had a few discussions. Then it all made sense to me and I managed to produce the sounds she was hearing in her head.
There is so much exciting music being written every day. Learning a new piece is like opening a gift. I wish to live forever just to play piano
Tricia Dawn Williams is a Maltese pianist of Irish and Welsh descent who is passionate about contemporary music, multimedia and new technologies. She creates innovative and immersive performances that combine video-art, electronic music and extended piano techniques. She is also a pioneer in using motion-capture technology to control and trigger electronic sounds with the MYO band interface on her forearms. She has commissioned, premiered and recorded numerous works by composers from different countries and backgrounds.
Williams has performed in prestigious venues and festivals around the world, such as Les Invalides in Paris, Béla Bartόk Memorial House in Budapest, Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf, The Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Den Jyske Opera in Aarhus, Arena New Music Festival in Riga, European Capital of Cultures in Pafos and Lithuania, Festival International de Carthage in Tunis, John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, Cape Town Festival in South Africa, Riverside Theatre in Sydney, ppIANISSIMO Festival in Sofia, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Meervart Musiktheater in Amsterdam, International Izmir Festival in Turkey, Oxford Festival of the Arts in UK, Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy and at Satosphère – Société des arts technologiques in Montreal, Canada.
In 2019, her project TRANSITion was selected by Classical:Next as one of the 11 most innovative and inspiring projects out of 200 applicants worldwide. Classical:Next is a platform that brings together the diverse scenes of classical music and offers them a forum to exchange and develop new ways for classical and contemporary music.
Tricia Dawn Williams has a fascination with the toy piano and its repertoire. In 2020, she connected with several composers worldwide and recorded various pieces for this instrument. She also gave online performances for Classical Next in Germany, Porto Pianofest in Portugal and the Three Palaces Festival in Malta. She was featured in Black Dress Code digital concert library as well. In 2022, she performed and recorded Ruben Zahra’s ‘Kinderklavier Concerto’ with the Brno Contemporary Orchestra, which is available on major digital music platforms.
In 2024, Williams launched the project ToyPiano+ with the support of Arts Council Malta. This project explores the artistic potential of the toy piano as a concert instrument and involves the participation of 13 Maltese and international composers, 3 video artists as well as the collaboration with writer Trevor Zahra and actor Joseph Galea.
Williams owns 9 toy pianos, 4 of which are vintage. She is endorsed by the Schoenhut Toy Piano company, the oldest and largest manufacturer of toy pianos in the world.
In 2022, she established the Piano & Percussion WOW Duo with renowned Chinese percussionist Beibei Wang and they made their debut at the Oxford Festival of the Arts in the UK followed by another performance in Malta.
Williams started playing the piano at a very early age with Rita Micallef and was later mentored on 20th century music by Pawlu Grech. She has also attended masterclasses with pianist Margaret Leng Tan on the music of George Crumb. She is the secretary of the ‘Malta Association for Contemporary Music’, a group dedicated to promoting the performance and understanding of contemporary music in Malta and the sub-editor of ENCORE Arts & Culture Magazine.