Jenny Durbin was born in Brighton in 1985 and began studying the piano at the age of five. When she moved with her family to Lincoln, she became a regular on the Music Festival circuit, winning several awards over the years. At the tender age of sixteen Jenny was awarded a place at the prestigious Chetham's School of Music, Manchester, where she studied with Peter Lawson. She then gained a place at the Royal Northern College of Music, studying the piano with John Gough. In 2008, she graduated with an Honours degree in Music and followed this with a course in postgraduate studies, having been awarded the Gwendolyn Reiche Memorial Scholarship.

Whilst we have only known Jenny as our accompanist, she has also accompanied many solo musicians and the Alteri Chamber Choir of Manchester, as well as performing as a soloist in her own right at numerous venues across the North West of England, including Wesley Chapel Harrogate, Penrith Piano Circle, Chester Town Hall and at the Bridgewater Hall Manchester for a Halle Orchestra 'Speaker's Corner'event.

At Haydock MVC, we welcomed Jenny as Associate Accompanist in May 2008 and immediately "threw her in the deep end" by asking her to accompany us at a concert in Rainhill, just two weeks (and two rehearsals) after she joined! She accomplished this faultlessly and received a well deserved ovation from the audience and choir members. Since then she has been called upon on many further occasions with equal success. She also joined Ruth in accompanying the choir at its recent CD album recording

Jenny has made a great impression on the choir, with her confident yet sensitive piano accompaniments as well as her quick wit and ready smile. We wish her much success in her chosen career as a professional musician.

Thanks to Chris Hudson for photo.