Derek Paravicini is affectionately known as The Human iPod
by Peter Mack
Derek Paravicini was born fifteen weeks prematurely in July 1979. Due to his early delivery, he was placed into a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where he received oxygen therapy. This therapy was blamed as the cause of his blindness and also for affecting his developing brain resulting in severe learning difficulties.
He is the son of Nicolas Paravicini and Mary Ann Parker Bowles, the former sister-in-law of Camilla Parker Bowles, who later, by her marriage to the Prince of Wales became the Duchess of Cornwall. He is a great-grandson of author William Somerset Maugham. His stepmother is Susan Rose “Sukie” Phipps (born 1941), who was brought up by Fitzroy MacLean one of the models for James Bond. His cousins include the food writer Tom Parker Bowles and the gallery manager, Laura Lopes. This remarkable pedigree should have given him a great start in life however it was not to be. Derek is Autistic.
His Nanny gave him a keyboard when he was two years old and he began to show some signs of accomplishment immediately. His parents later enrolled him in the Linden Lodge School for the Blind in London. There was a young music teacher named Adam Ockleford that taught blind children to play the piano at the school for the blind.
Adam fondly tells the story of his first meeting with Derek over twenty-five years ago. “I was teaching a young girl to play the piano when I felt a thump on my back. Derek’s family had brought him to the Linden Lodge School for the Blind that day, and when he entered the room, he immediately rushed across the room and pushed me away from the piano. He sat at the piano and began this series of karate chop actions across the keyboard. After getting over the shock of being beaten up by a four-year-old that I thought was a total madman, I suddenly heard the very definite tune ‘Don’t play for me Argentina.’ I was amazed as it became apparent to me that this little guy had taught himself. “My diagnosis went from madman to potential genius in seconds.” Adam still smiles at the memory.
At nine years of age Derek played his first major concert as a guest with the Royal Philharmonic Pops Orchestra, and at ten was presented with Barnardo’s Children’s Champion Award by Princess Diana. Adam recalls those moments with pleasure and great detail but he is not so sure whether Derek’s memories are so detailed.
“Autism wasn’t known as well as it is today and we just thought these kids were a little eccentric or quirky and Derek certainly fell into that category,” Adam said. From that moment on an amazing relationship has developed between Derek and Adam that is as strong as ever and will continue for many years to come.
Adam continues “Derek has what is known as ‘perfect’ or ‘absolute pitch’ which allows him to hear a key once and it becomes engrained in him forever. Once he hears a note he instinctively knows where it was on the keyboard. But before this could be done I had to physically take his little hand and place it on the key. Once I had done this for each key he knew precisely where each key was. Derek can hear a car engine, tumble dryer or an airplane and he can tell you accurately what key it is in. People who speak in tonal languages such as Chinese or Vietnamese tend to have better pitch recognition but Derek has universal absolute pitch.”
People with Autism tend to be perfectionists and people with perfect pitch are often stressed by music that is not precisely in the key that they feel it should be. Derek has never had this potential problem because Adam’s teaching method makes his students play in all keys so they have heard it before and it is not so stressful for them. Again unusually in Autism Derek is a very powerful, energetic and passionate pianist but when accompanying a singer he has the innate ability to play sensitively and seems to ‘feel’ the music; unlike his emotions towards everyday life that elude him. Some musical Savants can play a variety of instruments but Derek is wedded to his piano and he will look at nothing else. He can neither read nor write music. He is now thirty-one but academically he functions at the preschool level.
Autistic people often see life as black or white there is no grey in their world. They can only concentrate on what is being said and cannot ‘read between the lines’ and often life is all about them. An example of this happened recently when Derek and Adam flew to Phoenix, Arizona for Muhammad Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night. David Foster was the compere for Derek’s performance and after his first number, Tiger Rag he suggested to Derek that they ask for requests from the audience. Derek said, “Yes! Can I request The Flight Of The Bumble Bee” and then commenced to play it for himself.
Adam related that “The past twenty-five years hasn’t been all smooth sailing and the ASD symptoms kicked in with regularity as Paravicini was growing up; for example for me to be able to teach him he had to allow me to share his piano and he disliked this as would most ASD people. He thought the piano was his and that nobody could touch it; this was also a challenge for me. During his teen years, he went through the same as all kids did, but he was always able to fall back to his music. The pleasure that I get with him is that he is just getting better and better and it’s a great joy to me to be a part of it. He is developing in all areas. His social skills are improving and he loves to travel and meet people; things are in a good place for him right now.”
One of the problems with ASD people is that the education system seems to end when they are eighteen but in fact, they need to continue to learn forever it seems. For someone with severe learning difficulties, he is very, very lucky as he has a talent or a commodity that people want. They want to hear him play, they want to see him and he gets many opportunities that others do not. So he has a very full and interesting life. Many people in his position seem to vegetate and don’t get the opportunities to develop, as they get older. His now divorced parents are a constant source of support for him and they relish going to his concerts.
Adam continued, “Despite not having a girlfriend he seems to always gravitate to the youngest and prettiest girls in the room even though he can’t see. The ladies love him; he’s a very charming man. He likes to meet people and loves nothing better than going out for a beer or a meal and just chilling with friends.”
Adam believes that as Derek gets older he will be able to select his concerts and make more choices for himself. He will be firmly etched on the consciousness of the public. He is pretty well known now, particularly in America where he has done quite a few concerts. Derek has played before the Queen in the past and has an upcoming performance at Buckingham Palace.”
Adam Ockleford studied music when he was younger and is a Professor of Music, trained at the Royal Academy in London. He is trained in composition, oboe, piano, and harpsichord and he has a degree in music as well. Adam enjoys the psychology of music and wants to know what makes musicians tick. He then trained as a special needs teacher for his role at the blind school. He was asked to go and see the blind school when he was about 20 and was so struck with how special it was, that he is still there today.
The journey that Adam and Derek are on together is a lifetime journey and they will enjoy it for as long as possible.
Visit the following links to learn more about and connect with Professor Adam Ockleford and Derek Paravicini.
www.derekparavicinisblog.blogspot.com
www.roehampton.ac.uk/staff/AdamOckelford
www.angusrobertson.com.au/by/adam-ockelford/
www.facebook.com/people/Adam-Ockelford/638403630
