The Rodewald Suite at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 8 February 2013

This small venue at the rear of the Philharmonic Hall is often used by some very talented artists looking for more intimacy and sound acoustic quality that suits their music and performance styles. The night’s show is a prime example with Canada’s young singer/songwriter Amelia Curran who has just released her fourth album. Supporting Curran was Anna Corcoran, a local singer/pianist wo’d braught along what seemed to be a room full of older fans.

I often ask myself the question: What distinguishes a great artist from a competent/good one?. Often the answer lies in what the listener/watcher feels as well as what is seen. I suppose what I’m alluding to is ’star quality’. As a reviewer (and an extremely critical one I’ll admit) I’m looking for special - a rare commodity. Corcoran plays piano extremely well, so well that it seemed to em to be a specialist skill. Vocally, she presented as competent but unremarkable. In fact I found her voice somewhat tiring to listen to and hoped that her long set would end soon. Now don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad voice and at times the emotion of the song lyrics shone through. No, it semed to be the relatively high vocal register that caused me the problem.

Song-wise, amidst some decent covers were several self-penned songs which were good but not great. Corcoran had an easy and friendly way with the audience which I believe is an important part of her artistic make-up.

Anna Corcoran Biography

Corcoran trained at Goldsmiths College, University of London where she graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Music (Hons). She then embarked on her life as a professional musician; perfecting her performance skills and adding to her collection of songs performing nationwide as a session singer, singer pianist and as a vocalist with trios, quartets and bands. Prior to moving to London for university, Anna was vocalist for Sefton Youth Jazz Orchestra and The Swing Shift Big Band. Holding her first performance residency at the age of just 14, Anna began compiling her extensive repertoire of music. Hugely influenced by her parent’s record collection, this began with Simon & Garfunkle and Mary Black quickly leading to the discovery of Sarah Maclaughlin, Joni Mitchell and Carole King.

Her passion for the craft of these iconic singer-songwriters began.It was during this time of inspiration that Anna began to turn her hand to composing. Initial projects written for solo voice and piano, soon developed into 4-part choral arrangements which were performed across the North West of England on various concert platforms. This early exposure encouraged an accomplished selection of vocal arrangements which are performed regularly by choirs and vocal ensembles.