A VISUALLY impaired musician from Hereford will play his first solo organ concert- entirely from memory and by ear.

Stephen Anderson, 25, who also suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, will perform at Belmont Abbey in aid of The Seeing Dogs Alliance Charity.

He is unable to read sheet music because he suffers from three conditions in both eyes.

He started playing the piano at the age of 14 and is self-taught.

Mr Anderson said: "I just kept sitting down at the piano and finding I could play things. I could repeat what someone was playing to me or what was on the radio.

"I play some form of musical instrument every day. The organ is by far the most complex. To be able to teach myself that and also to display that publicly for the first time is rather petrifying but I am looking forward to it."

He will perform Bach's Air in D major and Nimrod from Elgar’s Enigma Variations as well as début two personal compositions.

Mr Anderson said: "I hope it will really demonstrate how anyone can reach their full potential and achieve what many others might consider to be the impossible.

"My impairment hasn’t stopped me at all, but rather enabled me to pull out all the stops to teach myself the organ, the piano, the accordion, and more recently, the bagpipes. If I can do it, anyone can."

Mr Anderson has macular coloboma, giving him an increased sensitivity to light.

He also suffers from microphthalmia, which dilates the pupil and doesn’t protect the eye from bright sunlight, and nystagmus, which prevents both eyes from being able to focus.

Mr Anderson wants to raise awareness about the work of The Seeing Dogs Alliance charity, which provides fully trained dogs and personalised tuition for new owners.

They trained his ex-girlfriend, Louise Taylor, and her dog, Ginny, which made a huge difference to her life.

Mr Anderson currently uses a cane and is applying for a guide dog.

He said: "The significant difference is a cane is an obstacle finder- the dog is an obstacle avoider. One will walk around things I don't know are there- the other one will crash into it and then I need to work out how to walk around it."

The concert is on December 11 at 7.30pm. Tickets are available on the door. A requested minimum donation of £5 is being asked for or whatever they are able to donate on the night. Tickets can be booked in advance by calling Mr Anderson on 07879 885959.