• We’re still musicians

    I am always thrilled to meet a new group of music teachers when leading an INSET course; it reminds me how valuable it is for us to get together and share our thoughts, worries and most importantly our successes. More than most subjects we can be rather isolated as a teacher of Music, having a…

  • Teach Through Music

    I’m excited to be joining the Fellows who will support the enrolled teachers on the Teach Through Music professional development programme commencing this autumn. One reads so many ‘sermons’ by academics about the virtues of music education but finally a programme exists that gives a voice to those who ensure music thrives in the classroom.…

  • Gurney’s ‘Sleep’

    Ivor Gurney (1890 – 1937) saw himself as a composer first and a poet second but he clearly was equally gifted in both disciplines. The son of tailors, he grew up in a modest household that afforded him the opportunity to learn piano and would later attend the Royal College of Music. His teacher Charles…

  • Engaging young people with new music

    Two things always surprise me about using ‘new’ music with my classes; one, they consistently will describe it as ‘odd’ and secondly they will question its value as ‘music’. It makes me smile every time. With scientific precision pupils will find much ‘contemporary’ music to be unattractive. Something changes though, if I introduce the music.…

  • Be insistent with your vocal weapon…

    I was watching vocal masterclasses on YouTube, keen to glean some ideas on a few issues I’ve been working on in my own singing lessons. Gerald Finley gave a masterclass at RCM in 2003 and I was glued to his first session with a tenor, particularly as I have been working on Un’aura amorosa too…

  • Review of “The Armed Man”

    Here is my review from the Vivace Chorus’ 16 November 2013 concert, where I gave the pre-concert talk.  Jeremy Backhouse, conductor of the Guildford-based Vivace Chorus, never ceases to craft interesting programmes and last Saturday we were treated to the pairing of Haydn and Karl Jenkins in a choral concert at Guildford Cathedral. Haydn’s ‘Mass…

  • Are conductors necessary?

    Originally posted on Steven Berryman: Haydn’s last visit in 1794-95 [to Great Britain] had marked both the climax of London’s public concert life and the beginning of its decline. The founding of the Philharmonic Society in 1813 by a group of professional musicians was a rare flash of light in an otherwise sombre scene. Although…

  • Opera “too difficult”?

    Originally posted on Steven Berryman: I read Susan Elkin’s piece for The Independent, ‘Why are educationists so afraid of cultural excellence?’ with much nodding of my head. I am particularly passionate about promoting living artists in my teaching – right from Year 4 upwards – and also ensuring pupils are engaging with as much music…

  • Learning to sing

    It’s been nearly a year since I took up singing lessons. It remains incredibly stimulating and rewarding work, on a musical and personal level. It connects immediately with all those Alexander Technique lessons I’ve had since 2001; for the voice to work well, like the body (or the ‘self’) it needs to be connected well.…

  • Reimagined and Recomposed

    Much of my early experiences of composition teaching was exploring the processes of other composers and recently I’ve become fascinated by how other composers and musicians have reimagined the work of others. A student of mine introduced me to the work of the pianist Christopher O’Riley, sharing an album of Radiohead songs O’Riley had reimagined.…