Hi there folks. So glad you have dropped by to say Hello. Below you will find a little information about me and my teaching studio. I look forward to hearing from you.

First of all I teach people individually and teach differently for different people – as every student is an individual and has their own learning style.

I teach in a studio in Thames Ditton, U.K.

I have been teaching since I was in my teens (so a long time). It started in High School where I would help other students with their music during lunch hours. I have been teaching privately for 30 years (in Canada and the U.K. – moved to the U.K. in 2007); as well as for various school boards.

I love to teach and love my students. Music is to enrich our lives. It is always my great pleasure to encourage people and help them to achieve and enjoy their musical goals.

I charge £20.00 for a 30 minute lesson which is payable on the day of the lesson. At this moment I teach Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Having said this I sometimes also teach on other days. So let me know what works for you.

I have a positive and relaxed approach to life and teaching but one thing I must really insist on is this. If you can’t come to a lesson please please let me know the day before; otherwise, I will need to charge you for the lesson.

Just FYI. I don’t teach by the term. I teach all year around including summers and we try to have in July of each year a Music Sharing Event where we all play music for each other. Having said this – Students can take time out whenever they want as long as I know a few weeks ahead of time.

I began writing music at the age of 6 and continue to this day. My first song was called The Camping Song. I wrote it on a huge poster-sized piece of cardboard and painted a picture of people camping right next to the music. It was in the key of C and was based on the C major triad. It’s funny how you remember things like that.

I am a life long musician born in 1956 (Vancouver, Canada) who has worked full time as a musician since @1980. My work life has covered very specific areas of music which include performing and recording (mostly classical flute and piano), teaching, accompanying ballet classes playing music for church services, including organising concerts and writing music for and playing in ballet productions.

Around 1995 I started organising a lot of the music I had been writing and in 1997 did a complete concert with the string quartet, singers and piano exclusively of my original compositions. This program was well received and so I kept writing. Around 2006- 2007 when I moved from Canada to the UK I started putting books of the music I was writing together. I think at this point there is about 82 of them selling on Amazon. I advertise on Amazon most of the time and sell between 1-5 books a week; sometimes many more. It is seldom that I go for a week without selling one or two books.

Most of my original writing, as well as arrangements, are around a grade 8 or diploma level of technical difficulty; and I have been blessed to have had some music recorded. For the past number of years, I am happy to say that I receive small but steady and ongoing royalty payments. What has surprised me is that normally these royalties come from performances given by musicians who I don’t even know. This is truly lovely and I am very grateful. I am also thrilled to get ongoing commissions/requests from people who want a piece of music for a particular event. I am always happy to help them in this way.

The first two concerts of my compositions were given in 1997 and 1998 in Vancouver, Canada. Since then my music has been performed and recorded in Canada, the USA, UK, Western Europe, Bulgaria, Australia, Asia (including Vietnam and Japan), and Brazil.

My music has also been featured on a number of radio stations and also been performed at The 15th London New Wind Festival; Sonic Boom (Vancouver Pro Musica); Women Composers Festival of Hartford, USA; Diamond Jubilee Concert (in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s 50-year reign – London); and Music Fest Aberystwyth, Wales.

In addition, my music is included in the Contemporary Showcase Syllabus of the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects (ACNMP) and the Compendium Musicae Flauta (the first international catalogue of flute music by women composers).

I have written and/or arranged well over 600 pieces of music for various instruments and ensembles ranging in style from simple folk melodies to the avant-garde. These works include chamber and orchestral music, a chamber opera, string quartets, solo music for piano, flute, singers as well as hymn tunes.

I have published (El Flauto Records) a large number of sheet music books and CDs, all containing original compositions and/or arrangements.

Recognition:

I have been simply recognised by the people who play my music and those who ask me to write music for them.

References:References and lots of other information available upon request.

Music Qualifications & Achievements:

Education:

• M.A. (Music), B. Music, F.R.S.M., F.T.C.L., A.R.C.T.Studied composing with Dr. Gareth Churchill [U of Cardiff] (2005 – 2018)Studied composing with Mark Armanini (1999 – 2006)Studied composing with Dr. David Duke (1985 – 1998)

Professional Organisations:

• The Ivors Academy (The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA)
• Women in Music UK
• Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM)
• Riverside Arts Centre and Sunbury and Shepperton Arts Association
• Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI)
• Canadian Music Centre (CMC),
• Canadian League of Composers (CLC),
• Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects (ACNMP),
• Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA)
• Association of Canadian Women Composers (ACWC),
• Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)

Libraries Which Hold My Music:

• The British Library
• Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford
• Cambridge University Library
• The National Library of Scotland
• The Library of Trinity College, Dublin
• The National Library of Wales
• The New York Public Library
• National Library of Canada

Music Director and Freelance Church Musician:

• United Reform Church, Hampton Hill (2019) pianist
• Sunbury Methodist Church (2018-2019) – concerts and hymn workshops
• Holy Trinity Brompton, London (2014-2016) – orchestra player
• All Souls, Langham Place (2010 – __) orchestra player
• St. Mary’s Church, East Molesey, Surrey (2008-2010) substitute organist
• Norbiton Methodist Church (2007-2015) organist/pianist once a month
• St. Peter’s Church, West Molesey, Surrey (2007 – __) substitute organist/pianist
• Holy Rosary Cathedral, Vancouver, Canada (2001-2006) concerts and substitute 5 p.m. service organist
• St. Chad’s Vancouver, Canada (2001-2006) Music Director
• Martin Luther Church, Vancouver, Canada (1999 – 2006) – substitute organist and concerts
• Trinity Lutheran Church, Delta, B.C. Canada (1999-2001) Music Director

Music Director – Musical Theatre Productions:

• Musical Revue – Manor Players, Sunbury Surrey (2018)
• Jack and The Beanstalk – Shepperton Players, Sunbury, Surrey (2017-2018)

Ballet Pianist:

• The Ballet School, Notting Hill, London (2010 – __)
• The Harmsworth School of Dance, North London (2007-2017)
• ArtsEd, Chiswick (2007-2010)
• Goh Ballet, Vancouver, Canada (2000-2006)
• The Surrey Dance School/Academy, Surrey, B.C., Canada (2000-2006)