17-Year-Old Freya Terris Makes History: Passes ABRSM Grade 8 Piano Using Only Her Left Hand

Freya Terris, 17, from Lisburn in County Down, has achieved a rare musical milestone: she passed the ABRSM Grade 8 piano exam performing a programme written solely for the left hand.

A long-term injury and subsequent surgery left Freya unable to use her right hand for piano playing. While adapting to this new reality, she and her teacher began exploring repertoire written specifically for the left hand and built a fresh technique through focused practice.

"My left hand could already play but not at all in the way that it now needs to," Freya reflected. "I sort of stumbled into it and, without realising, built up that technique." After roughly two years of work and just weeks before further treatment on her right hand, she accepted that she might never play with two hands again and decided to pursue Grade 8 with adapted repertoire.

Freya spent two years learning a catalogue of left-handed piano pieces after an injury left her unable to use her right hand to play [BBC]

Freya contacted the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) to ask whether she could sit the exam with modifications. The board reviewed options and supplied a list of pieces composed for the left hand. "They were so encouraging — they were all up for it and just as excited as I was about it," she said.

Describing herself as a "stubborn person," Freya committed to the practice needed and persevered through difficult moments. There were times when lessons were paused so she could recover mentally and rediscover her love of the instrument. "I think that was necessary. The analogy we had used was that I was throwing myself at a brick wall," she said.

Support, Research and Wider Impact

Her teacher, Rory Dowse, treated the setback as an opportunity to explore creative solutions. Together they studied the careers of other single-handed pianists such as Nicholas McCarthy and Leon Fleisher, so Freya would not feel isolated in her experience. "I didn’t want her to feel like, 'I’m the only one that is going through this,'" Dowse said.

Susan Terris says her daughter was determined to find a solution [BBC]

When Freya finally received her exam result after months of anxious waiting, the news of her distinction delighted friends, family and the ABRSM staff. The board told her she had earned "a little place in history." Freya said she was proud to show that the adjustments made on her behalf produced a successful outcome.

Her mother, Susan Terris, attributed Freya’s success to determination and resilience. "She took it in her stride... she decided that she would find the solution to it along with her teacher," Susan said.

The collaboration between Freya, her teacher and ABRSM also had policy ripple effects. Dowse said ABRSM had been considering one-handed repertoire for lower grades and that Freya’s case demonstrated demand for higher-grade options as well. In June 2026, ABRSM published its 2027–28 syllabus, introducing a dedicated one-hand repertoire list across Grades 1 to 8 for the first time in the board’s 137-year history. The change enables one-handed pianists in the 93 countries where ABRSM operates to pursue recognised qualifications at every level.

"It’s meant a lot, for me, what they have done and it is really exciting that this is something that other people can do," Freya said.

Next Steps

Freya is also a two-time Young Musician finalist—once with two-handed repertoire and again in 2025 with a left-hand programme. She plans to study music at university after completing her final year at Friends' School in Lisburn.

Why this matters: Freya’s achievement shows how adaptability, creative teaching and institutional flexibility can open doors for musicians with disabilities, and it helped prompt a formal pathway for one-handed pianists worldwide.