International concert pianist Marilyn Meier dies

Marilyn was a warm and funny woman and a phenomenal pianist and musician. She accompanied me in some terribly difficult contemporary music performances. The pleasure of working on such difficult music with Marilyn was her playfulness. All the time however, I knew she had my back and would do everything possible to make life easier for me, even if it meant slotting in a note here or there to get me back on track. I could trust her immense skill as a pianist and musician to hold everything together and yet her humility made her a wonderful collaborator and colleague. She was an astounding role model for young musicians and young Tongans dreaming of artistic lives. She was also a stupendous pianist with a power and sound that would have been acceptable in Tonga's front row rugby team. She was a great friend and she taught me many lessons about courage and optimism. She was so proud of her beautiful daughters and son. She was loved by so many of us and I feel so honoured to have been counted as a friend. - Lotte Latukefu, PhD, M.Mus., Lecturer, Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong.