He is one of the most amazing piano players out there, like literally out there in public places.
Brendan Kavanagh, also known as DR K, was born to Irish parents in North London back in 1967.
Despite his father’s background as a plasterer from County Cork, Brendan didn’t quite fit the mold of a builder.
Even as a child, he was drawn to toy pianos and tried his hand at writing music with notes like quavers and treble clefs.
Unlike many kids his age, Brendan preferred reading books alone rather than playing football outside.
When Brendan was about seven, his father brought home an old upright piano he found abandoned on a construction site.
Young Brendan delighted the neighborhood with his rendition of ‘Silent Night’ while his dad struggled to carry the heavy piano up four flights of stairs to their small flat.
Humble beginnings.
With a real piano at home, Brendan started taking formal lessons and learned to read music.
His classical music journey progressed, and in his early twenties, he studied with Nelly Ben-or, a renowned concert pianist and Holocaust survivor.
Ben-or, who taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, nurtured Brendan’s love for classical music and even allowed him to play some boogie woogie on her piano.
Brendan’s interest in boogie-woogie music sparked when he was seventeen after hearing Jools Holland play it on TV.
After playing in various bands in London, he met Hammy Howell, a legendary boogie-woogie player, who gave him lessons and taught him his signature boogie.
A sudden turn of events.
Brendan’s passion for literature led him to pursue English studies at Middlesex University, University College Dublin, and University College Cork, where he earned his Ph.D. with a thesis on W.B. Yeats and Eastern Mysticism.
Despite teaching English and Latin at secondary schools for a while, Brendan eventually left the profession due to growing dissatisfaction with bureaucracy and testing.
He penned a book titled ‘Toxic Teaching’ expressing his concerns about modern education, which is still available on Amazon.
Today, Brendan is widely known for his spontaneous piano performances on YouTube, with his videos garnering over a billion views across various social media platforms.
Kavanagh now has over 2 and a half million subscribers on his YouTube channel.
Most of his videos are his outstanding piano-playing performances in public places.
Occasionally, he’d meet other musicians, dancers, and even complete strangers joining him in his impromptu performances.
This one is no different and it shows how enticing music can truly be to a person.
It can change the mood in a snap and turn a dull moment into a festival.
From a solo performance into an accompaniment.
It’s just an ordinary day at the ‘office’ for Kavanagh, he was in a public place, he saw a public piano, and there he went in for another amazing performance.
Surrounded by passers-by just minding their own business, Kavanagh decided to present them with a lively performance to brighten up their days even just for a short while with his music.
Little did Kavanagh know, that the blonde girl beside the piano was destined to be there at the right time.
As soon as she heard the keys going in, she too went in for an impromptu dance performance.
She was just tapping, jiving, hopping, and doing everything to keep up with Kavanagh’s vibrant music.
She even invited an elderly couple to dance with her, watch it in the video below.
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