Nick Harvey is a talented composer who has written for many different TV programs in Britain. But Nick isn’t the only musician in his family—his 79-year-old father Paul was also a composer and concert pianist.
Unfortunately, Paul has dementia, and he sometimes has trouble focusing and loses his train of thought. But Nick noticed that when his father was at his piano, his memory was often much sharper.
In June 2019, Paul went to Nick’s house for lunch. After lunch, Paul immediately gravitated to Nick’s piano.
“It is like a magnet to him — he is MADE of music,” Nick told The Washington Post.
Nick asked his father if he could play “Where is the Sunshine,” a song Paul wrote in the 1980s when he was teaching secondary school. Nick and Paul both weren’t sure if he would remember the song. Paul started playing hesitantly, and then, the whole song came to him! Nick quickly started recording a video of his father playing.
“I didn’t know how many more chances I’d get to capture him playing like that,” said Nick.
Nick loved watching his father play the piano. It was clear that Paul loved music more than anything.
Nick shared a video of his father playing piano on his Twitter page. Along with the video, he shared this note:
“Dad has dementia. Sometimes he drifts into another world and I feel like I’m losing him. He is never more present, however, than when he plays the piano. He came to mine today and I asked him to play one of his compositions. He thought he wouldn’t be able to remember it.”
The video quickly went viral, receiving over three million views. People across the world loved the song and Paul’s performance.
After the video went viral, Paul and Nick did an interview with the Press Association. In the interview, Paul that he was glad that his music was bringing so many people joy.
“I am very pleased that something I’ve written has had such an effect,” he said. “It’s come so late in life, it shows that it can happen at any time.”
https://twitter.com/mrnickharvey/status/1143218996419936256
Nick also shared a great photo of the original sheet music. He said that his father had written the song in the 1980s for a play at the Imberhorne School.
“He deserves wider recognition,” Nick said. “He has more talent in his little finger than most people have in their whole body.”
Paul and Nick are two amazing musicians who created a beautiful video together. If you’d like to see the video of Paul playing his original music, check it out below.
Dad has dementia. Sometimes he drifts into another world and I feel like I’m losing him. He is never more present, however, than when he plays the piano.
He came to mine today and I asked him to play one of his compositions. He thought he wouldn’t be able to remember it. pic.twitter.com/EQGcXBwB3w
— Nick Harvey (@mrnickharvey) June 23, 2019
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