Adam Soper

I have extensive teaching experience (10+ years), and have worked as a teacher for Newcastle University (as an Associate Lecturer in performance and composition, and as a tutor in song-writing and performance studies), Northumberland County Council (as a peripatetic guitar tutor), and the Rock Project Newcastle (as a guitar and bass tutor and session leader). I am a registered guitar tutor with RSL and Trinity College London, an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a member of the Independent Society of Musicians. I have a 100% pass rate for students sitting exams (initial grades through to Grade 8 and diploma) with Rockschool, Trinity, Trinity Rock and Pop, and the London College of Music exam boards.

As a professional musician, I have over twelve years’ experience and have toured the UK as headline act and main support for international artists and performed at major UK music festivals. I have worked with numerous independent record labels and institutions such as the Church of England, the North East Folklore Society, the Newcastle Lit&Phil Society, and the rural arts organisation Slop Projects. My work has been funded by the Peter Warlock Society, Norfolk County Council, the Newcastle Performance Research Network, and the Newcastle Institute for Creative Arts Practice.

As a creative practice and education researcher I have presented my research to multiple conferences including the annual Association for Popular Music Education conference at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (2025), and the 3 Rivers Regional Teaching Conference at Teesside University (2024). My writing has featured in multiple industry and research publications, and my book The Songs of Peter Warlock Arranged for Guitar is published by Goodmusic Publishing.

I have a PhD in Creative Music Practice from Newcastle University, the theme of which was on the use of improvised composition-performance as a tool to seek out occluded knowledge. I am fully DBS checked and hold Personal Liability Insurance.