Teen musician Fergus Jones unknowingly performed for his idol on The Piano
When Mosman teenager Fergus Jones sat at a piano at Central Station in September last year, filming an episode for ABC’s The Piano, he had no idea that one of his musical inspirations was in a room nearby, observing his performance.
“Who are your inspirations, your musical inspirations?” The Piano host Amanda Keller asked Fergus prior to his performance.
“Stevie Wonder, Harry Connick Jr,” Fergus replied, before delivering his performance of Fly Me to the Moon by Bart Howard.
So imagine his surprise when, later that day while gathered with his fellow pianists from the show, Fergus watched famous American jazz singer Harry Connick Jr walk into the room!
“That was really cool,” Fergus, 17, admits. He’d been to see Harry in concert in December 2023, and enjoyed listening to his contemporary style of jazz.
“I had this image of him in my head (from) listening to him and going to see him live,” the Year 11 Cranbrook student says. “These famous people, you think of them as ‘different.’ But at the end of the day, they’re just normal people. “He seemed like a really nice, normal bloke.”
Fergus and his fellow musicians had gone on the show purely to bring music to passersby in public locations. So they were surprised to discover that while they’d been playing, Harry and classical concert pianist Andrea Lam had been listening and observing, deciding on which contestant they would mentor for an upcoming concert at the City Recital Hall.
And while Fergus wasn’t chosen as the contestant to mentor, he received priceless feedback from his idol.
“Man, I’m so proud of you,” Harry told Fergus as they met on the show. “You’ve got so much potential, so much talent.”
“It was really great to hear him say that about me,” Fergus admits.
Music is a passion for Fergus, who has been learning the piano since Year 1, starting with classical music before moving onto more contemporary tunes. He also plays the cello and guitar and has been taking singing lessons for the last 18 months. He performs regularly, so when Fergus was given the opportunity to go on the show, he was confident to deliver his performance.
Harry Connick Jr, Andrea Lam and Amanda Keller
“My school’s really great at giving me that opportunity to play,” the musician says. “We do a ton of solo and ensemble performances plus workshops with different musicians from outside the school.”
Fergus writes his own music – he released an EP of three songs on Spotify under his name last year – and his appearance on six-part series The Piano has seen him receive positive feedback from his peers. Although he admits it was strange to see his fellow students watching clips of his performance on their phones, he says ‘it was great to get the school around me and feel supported by my mates.’
While Fergus is unsure of exactly what career he will go into beyond school, he knows one thing: “I would really love to continue playing music as much as possible.” The Piano is showing on ABC iview.