My Burnley: Multi talented concert pianist Joanna Garcia tells us why she is proud of the town she calls home

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m Joanna García, and I’m the director of a piano school, pianist, coach, adjudicator and content creator. I went to Walshaw High School in Burnley, then did my A’ levels at Nelson and Colne College. Following this, I gained a first class honours Bachelor of Music degree from Manchester University in 1996, also winning three Hargreaves Music Prizes and the Sir Thomas Beecham Medal for outstanding achievement. I continued my studies at the RNCM and following my studies, I was offered a two-year junior fellowship in accompanying at the RNCM, and was subsequently appointed as assistant staff tutor in accompaniment. I also worked as staff accompanist at Chetham’s School of Music, and taught piano at Manchester University. I have performed with eminent musicians such as Sir John Tomlinson in a concert shown on the South Bank Show, had a long-standing duo partnership with viola player Robin Ireland, performed a recital in Buenos Aires with tenor Roberto García López, and performed with the Lindsay Quartet in their Sheffield Festival. Performance fear struck me back in 2000, however, and I re-trained as a primary teacher. I worked for 17 years in several schools around the North West as teacher, assistant head and later deputy head before a series of life events five years ago made me re-evaluate everything and ultimately come back to the music I loved and missed.

I now have a crazily busy teaching schedule as director of the Joanna García Piano School, where I work with students nationally and internationally.

How long have you lived in Burnley?

I was born in Burnley in 1975 and lived here until I moved to Manchester to go to university in 1993. I met my Argentinian husband at the Royal Northern College of Music. We stayed in Greater Manchester until 2014, when we decided to move back to Burnley. We made this decision as our son, Matías, was at school at St Mary Magdalene’s and I worked there too. Commuting from near Bury was getting too much and my mum had been ill, so we wanted to be closer to my parents.

Why did you choose to live/work/stay in Burnley?

I think our pull to return was based on practicality, in all honesty. We wanted to be nearer to work, and we wanted to be closer to family and friends. My husband, Roberto, is originally from Buenos Aires, and let’s just say that the difference between the way of life here and there is striking! Over there it’s insanely busy. The central part of Buenos Aires alone has over three million inhabitants, soit’s highly cosmopolitan. But the density of population and the poverty of the shanty towns is juxtaposed with a rich cultural life, stunning architecture and an incredible sporting heritage. It’s a melting pot of cultures and beliefs, and over there the propensity is to over-examine the very state of existence, and to argue loudly and fiercely about politics and life in general.

However, you could also say that this juxtaposition of poverty and riches, of cultural insularity and those who have a more outward-looking search for what makes life meaningful and beautiful, is what characterises Burnley.

Something struck me, on the day we moved back here. Stepping into Oddie’s to buy lunch on moving day, I immediately noticed the warmth of the people just going about their business. They were ready to smile and chat, and that willingness to make a joke and laugh about the smallest things is what will forever be so special for me about this town.

What do you think are the best parts of the town?

I’d been at university for just a few weeks when I realised I’d waxed lyrical about Burnley for long enough, and so I persuaded a lovely pal of mine from Dublin to accompany me on a short X43 journey to surprise my parents at home.

From Rawtenstall onwards, I built up in her mind’s eye what she would see when we finally reached the peak of the long, winding road through the Crawshawbooth shops (ostensibly glaring at each other across the main roads) and past the a-little-more-room-to-breathe houses of Loveclough. As we passed the sunset glitter of the reservoir, I described to her how even the local accent would change as we went over the summit: the Lancastrian “r” would disappear as swiftly as you could say “round the ragged rocks.”

Perhaps I’d built it up in my mind’s eye more than I needed to, but then again, there’s always a pull of nostalgia that comes from your home town that renders the edges of your vision rather softer, somehow. In any case, Catherine gasped, and, in her soft Dublin lilt, she whispered, “Ah, but it’s beautiful!”

There she was. Pendle Hill in all her evening glory, like a mother dog guarding her territory. And the higgledy-piggledy town planning of Burnley yawning out across the valley: a mismatch of Industrial Revolution housing, of parks, of new homes, of the inimitable Turf, and of the beauty of this stretching valley, lazy in the evening light. Back then, that moment the bus began to descend from the summit on its journey to the town

centre….it made me hold my breath for a minute. I still think it does that now.

What do you dislike about Burnley?

Burnley is a town with a rich history, but I feel deeply uncomfortable about the race riots that were such a high profile part of the national news back in 2001. These were, in my opinion, dark times for the town. Political and financial tensions bubbled up in a furore no doubt also fuelled by Burnley’s links with the far right. I could have cried for my home town with what I witnessed in the news at that time. I’d like to think that we’re gentler now, that we see people for the human beings that they are, rather than their ethnic or their cultural background. Thankfully, much work has taken place over the years to combat generational bias and discrimination. But we’re not there yet.

How would you describe Burnley to a visitor who had never been here before?

There are times when Burnley is frustrating. The pace of life can be slow, and I tend to work at a million miles per hour. I found being at a Burnley secondary school tough because of the general lack of aspiration amongst many of my peers; it’s not always cool here to want to aspire and to do well, and my son experienced precisely the same as he went through high school himself. I was called “posh” because I enunciated my name; I was berated for getting full marks in French tests, and it was suggested that although I could do some GCSEs early in Y10, it wouldn’t be wise because of the way my peers might treat me. I think it’s very hard to challenge these values and to place greater emphasis on wanting to work hard to better yourself and the power of education to facilitate that. I know that local schools and colleges are doing much to combat a generational lack of aspiration. In contrast, I think that Burnley and the surrounding areas is the home of a great deal of notable sport and culture. Sport I can’t really comment on. But culture? There are thriving orchestras and choirs; drama societies exist, and there are superb performing arts opportunities for young people. In the wider area we have blues festivals and a whole range of different genres of music. And the food! Roberto and I are real foodies, and there are some little gems of places to eat round here. Incredible Italians, fabulous Thai food, and of course our characteristic South Asian cuisine. You only need to go to Burnley Market to find excellent street food, and even a fab little French patisserie! Perhaps what I love most of all, though, is when you see someone from Burnley (perhaps with the most dour face) break into a smile as you ask them how they are. No doubt they’d be prepared to do absolutely anything for you as they answer your question with that characteristic Burnley understatement, “Aye, not so bad.”

There’s a fierce pride in this town. Pride in the landscape, in the unfussy STRAIGHTFORWARDNESS of everything we’re about. Pride in the Clarets, in the rich heritage, in the stunning landscape, in the culture.

And, quietly, that pride is one I share.