Well, what an exciting year it has been!
I thought by the time I was 27 that I would be out of the habit of a September - July year but no, I still look forward to the summer holidays as much as ever! That comes mainly from the fact that this year has been rather hectic - new teaching contracts, opera projects all on top of buying a new house.
I thought by the time I was 27 that I would be out of the habit of a September - July year but no, I still look forward to the summer holidays as much as ever! That comes mainly from the fact that this year has been rather hectic - new teaching contracts, opera projects all on top of buying a new house.
In September I started work at Cheltenham College teaching one-on-one singing lessons to students from 3rd to 5th form under the guidance of Gordon Busbridge, Head of Music. It has been a fantastic year with students making lots of progress. Sadly, Gordon is leaving this year after 20 years at the helm, but I am excited to start again in September under a new HoM and hope to be able to give my students lots of opportunities to perform and progress.
In September I also began working at Theatre Stars in Tewkesbury, a completely different stage school set-up with its own benefits and challenges. Working with three groups of children aged 6-14 was exciting and exhausting but the hard work all paid off when they performed their first Summer Showcase at the beginning of July to over one hundred proud parents.
In September I also began working at Theatre Stars in Tewkesbury, a completely different stage school set-up with its own benefits and challenges. Working with three groups of children aged 6-14 was exciting and exhausting but the hard work all paid off when they performed their first Summer Showcase at the beginning of July to over one hundred proud parents.
In February I was appointed as the singing teacher at Severn Vale School in Quedgeley and have had a wonderful time getting to know all the students and their eclectic music tastes. It is so refreshing to work with students who know what they like, and how they want to improve. There is some real talent at Severn Vale!
Talking of talent, my students at Stratford Music Centre have also had fantastic year with Emily Collins gaining a place at music college in London and Isabella Worrall making it through the semi-finals of a national singer-songwriter competition where she was up against artists from all over the country, of which she was one of the youngest. She performed brilliantly.
Talking of talent, my students at Stratford Music Centre have also had fantastic year with Emily Collins gaining a place at music college in London and Isabella Worrall making it through the semi-finals of a national singer-songwriter competition where she was up against artists from all over the country, of which she was one of the youngest. She performed brilliantly.
In April, I was fortunate enough to be invited back to work with Birmingham Opera Company of their latest project, Khovanskygate: A National Enquiry by Modest Mussorgsky. It was a brilliant experience with a phenomenal chorus and received rave reviews!
In June, Hannah Davey and I headed back to the Lake District for another relaxing/rehearsing break and a concert in the beautiful church at Irton and now we are at July! What a year!
In an attempt to make next academic year slightly less hectic, there has been some juggling of my timetable and some sad goodbyes this month. I am leaving Stratford Music Centre and Tewkesbury Theatre Stars and will miss all my students very much. There are also those in year 11 who are leaving school who have done incredible things this year and I wish them all the best with their futures in music. Happy Summer!
In June, Hannah Davey and I headed back to the Lake District for another relaxing/rehearsing break and a concert in the beautiful church at Irton and now we are at July! What a year!
In an attempt to make next academic year slightly less hectic, there has been some juggling of my timetable and some sad goodbyes this month. I am leaving Stratford Music Centre and Tewkesbury Theatre Stars and will miss all my students very much. There are also those in year 11 who are leaving school who have done incredible things this year and I wish them all the best with their futures in music. Happy Summer!
