Who is Nancy?
Nancy Piver (rhymes with “diver”) is a life-long ukulele and piano player with a passion for arranging music. As music director of the SLO Strummers, in San Luis Obispo, California, she adapts the pieces they perform to fit the group’s skills and voices. She arranged all the songs in the book “Flower Power for Ukulele, 30 Groovy Hits from the Sixties,” published by Hal Leonard. She is a graduate of the James Hill Ukulele Initiative teacher certification program.
Nancy directs small and large ukulele ensembles playing her ragtime—and swing, classical, and Latin arrangements—at the West Coast Ukulele Retreat, Menucha Ukulele Band Camp, and other venues; she presents special ensemble workshops by request.
As a piano player, Nancy's specialty has been accompanying; her first gig was at age five, playing Christmas carols for her kindergarten class. At age seven, she received her first scholarship, and played on television. Fast forward to the 2000s, where she created dozens of duet arrangements for one piano-four hands and for two pianos; she and duet partners performed for years at private events and retirement homes, and for the dance instruction at the West Coast Ragtime Festival.