I knew and taught Linda Niamath’s music well before I met her in person. Her pieces are fun to teach and to play, and have quickly become my students’ favorites.
We met at a performance of her music held by the Richmond Branch of the British Columbia Registered Music Teachers Association (BCRMTA). I was very excited to meet her, and was impressed with her friendly personality and wonderful sense of humor. I invited Linda and her husband Kent to one of my solo recitals, and they were very enthusiastic, friendly, and approving. I began occasionally visiting Linda and Kent in their house, and we became closer. Linda loved people, and people loved her back. As I got to know Linda better, I realised that she was an extremely positive person, always seeing the best in everyone. When she talked about her music, Linda was very modest, emphasizing that she only wrote short pieces for little kids. In fact, Linda was a highly regarded composer and later in her life became an Honorary fellow of the Royal Conservatory of Music.
In 2015 I invited Linda and Kent to my music studio, where my students played Linda's piano pieces, and she talked about her life and compositions. I have a recording of the event, and though the quality is not perfect, the excerpt where Linda talks about herself is so unique that I decided to share it with you today.
A few months after Linda’s passing in 2020, when I was teaching online, some of my beginners prepared and recorded her music from their homes. I compiled these performances into an online memorial concert in Linda’s honor.
In the spring of 2023, at the Kiwanis Festival, two of my students performed four pieces from “Outer Limits”, a suite of Linda Niamath’s compositions for four hands. Phinehas and Tryphaena Cheng worked with interest and enthusiasm. I was very pleased to find out that their performance was scheduled for April 21, which happened to be Linda Niamath’s birthday. We recorded the entire Outer Limits suite in my studio.
I also want to share a recording of Linda’s beautiful unpublished composition “Clouds” that she gave me during one of my visits to her house. This unknown piece, performed by my student Sarah Wen, is so beautiful, it deserves to be published.
I’m excited to let you know that on April 14, 2024, the Richmond Branch of the BCRMTA is planning a memorial recital for Linda Niamath. Join me in remembering and acknowledging a wonderful person and a talented composer for her contributions to Canadian piano music for children.