Deborah Wyndham

pianist, composer

By Suzanne D'Amato

When Deborah Wyndham was 13 years old, she quit taking the classical piano lessons that she began five years earlier.

Now, for the past eight years, Wyndham has been building a full-time career as a professional pianist and composer, and she’s making New Hampshire’s Seacoast her stage.

“At 13, I became undisciplined and lazy,” she said. “I didn’t want to practice.”

Wyndham said becoming a professional pianist happened by accident.

“I’d learned much from those five years of lessons – they were a really strong foundation – but then I stopped playing for a while,” she said. “After high school, I became interested in ragtime and jazz, so I’d started playing again. I wanted to preserve my love of playing the piano rather than force myself to play classical music perfectly.”

Wyndham has been fortunate to keep her calendar full: Since her career began, she’s played around 2,300 gigs – mostly along the Seacoast and in southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts.

“I’ve moved around a lot as a pianist and travel all over New England to perform,” said Wyndham, who currently lives during the week with her family in Peterborough and on her own in Kittery, Maine, on weekends. The Seacoast offers Wyndham many opportunities to play at a variety of venues.

Her gigs typically consist of playing solo instrumental piano for restaurants. Currently she’s playing at Saunders At Rye Harbor – as well as for weddings, private concerts and charity events.

“My musical repertoire includes jazz, jazz fusion, ragtime, contemporary, pop and Celtic music,” she said, adding that she also plays at retirement communities because some of her repertoire is from older eras.

Recently, Wyndham has shifted her busy schedule to include more time for composing and recording original pieces, playing at venues outside of New England and performing different musical repertoires – including her own compositions.

“I’m excited about composing my own music – a contemporary mixture of genres,” Wyndham said. “I’ve been influenced by much of the other music I’ve been exposed to. I am still figuring out what category I fit into.”

Wyndham’s newest venture is recording and promoting a five-song EP to debut her original piano music.

“I haven’t gone on tour yet, but I’m coordinating one now,” she said.

In the future, Wyndham predicts she will tour the country and perform more concerts to share her music with larger audiences.

Although she is not that “lazy” 13-year-old anymore, Wyndham still doesn’t find much time for practicing.

“I find I play so much during a gig – about three hours – that I don’t need to practice a lot,” she said. “If I play too much, I burn out. Performing really is the best way to keep in practice because you’re forcing yourself to hit the right notes.”

Besides, she has to fit in time for her other interests, which include hiking, yoga and swimming.

“Staying in good physical shape helps my dexterity and relaxes me as well,” she said.

Suzanne D’Amato is a freelance writer who lives in Bedford.