I am a pianist and cellist from the beautiful North Coast of Northern Ireland.

My journey with music began at a young age, and I knew from my very first year of high school, after I heard ‘Danse Macabre’ by Camille Saint-Saens for the very first time, that I wanted to spend my life pursuing a career in music. It ignited such a passion for music in me that I spent the next seven years actively participating in seasonal concerts as a cellist and pianist, which gave me the opportunity to perform for the first time when I played the ‘Minute Waltz’ by Chopin in Year 12.

I won several prizes for music when I was at school, including the ‘Prize for the Most Promising Pianist’, ‘The Jeremy Farrell Cup for String Players’, The prize for achieving the highest mark for Music A-Level, and ‘The Glassey Prize for the Best Work in the Associated Board Examinations’ for two years in a row.

After I achieved an A* in A-level Music, I went on to study Music (Bmus) at Queen’s University Belfast. This gave me a lot of brilliant opportunities to expand on my experience as a Music Teacher, where I began teaching piano, cello and theory for En-Act Music in my first year, and in my final year I was a teaching assistant for the Junior Academy of Music.

Since then I have had the joy of building up my teaching through private tuition and through my work as a teacher for the Causeway School of Music.

Music Qualifications & Achievements:

I have a first degree honours in Bachelor of Music degree from Queen’s University Belfast, along with a degree plus qualification that I earned through my role as a teaching assistant for the Junior Academy of Music.

I studied diploma level piano in the performance module as part of my degree for three years, getting the honour to perform for the musicians of the Ulster Orchestra regularly in class.

I am also working on my grade 8 cello, and have had the privilege of being involved with many orchestras, string quartets and ensembles in my life.

I have played the cello for conferences and in wedding services, and am currently a cellist for the Belfast-based traditional Irish band ‘The Common Ground’. I have recording experience as a cellist also, playing on the album ‘One Way Train’ by the Noel McKeary Band, and on the Single of Belfast Musician Rí called ‘Another Kind of Love’.

I didn’t necessarily plan to become a piano teacher, but somehow I always gravitated towards passing on my knowledge and love of music to others. It started with my younger siblings, and I desired greatly that they would learn a tune on the piano or hear the beauty of the music I played – and when they showed interest and participated, I found such immense joy in the fact it was I who had made them realise how great music is! That is what inspired me to teach music professionally and to make this my everyday occupation.