“Paul is the most inspiring speaker I’ve ever heard.  He is funny, warm and engaging and he captivated the audience from the moment he started speaking.”  (Darryl Wideman, Headmaster, Silcoates School, Wakefield)

“Paul’s remarkable talent as a musician and communicator ensure an evening filled with laughter and awe - learning about Paul’s journey to become a musician, watching him interpret both classical and modern song, and learning Paul’s sign interpretation of Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’.”  (Bardsey-cum-Rigton WI)

About Paul

Paul has been profoundly deaf all his life yet pursued a career as a musician.  A pianist and organist, he has a music degree from Wadham College, Oxford, a postgraduate performance diploma from the RNCM and holds ALCM and ARCO diplomas.
 
In 1988 he founded "Music and the Deaf", a charity to help deaf people enjoy music, which he ran for 27 years.  In 1992, Paul began giving signed theatre performances, working on shows such as Les Misérables, Cats, Phantom of The Opera, West Side Story, Carousel, My Fair Lady, and many more.  He has also signed for The Sixteen Choir, Rambert Dance Company, Opera North, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and at the Edinburgh International and Aldeburgh Festivals.
 
In 2007, he was awarded an OBE for Services to Music and holds Honorary degrees from the University of Huddersfield and the Open University.

In 2010, he gave the first ever signed BBC Prom - Sondheim at 80 - in the presence of Stephen Sondheim and with performers such as Judi Dench, Bryn Terfel, Simon Russell Beale and Maria Friedman