It’s almost fifty years now since I first sat down at a piano, aged six. I come from a musical background. My grandfather was an organist and choirmaster in Yorkshire who taught Roy Castle–though, admittedly, it was the piano and not the trumpet–and my father ran a successful business in the 1970s selling musical instruments.

There was never any doubt that music would play an important role in my life. I cannot remember a time when I could not read it. I plodded through my Grades 1-3 between 1977 and 1980, but then a battle with a Bach Two-Part Invention that I was supposed to master for Grade 4 beat me and, having failed to get my Grade 5 before I turned 14 (something I put right when I passed with Distinction shortly after my 55th birthday!), I was refused the chance to do O Level Music or start having organ lessons. Instead, I wrote and performed musical theatre and contemporary worship, teaching a few pupils who wanted to get their first few grades to earn some pocket money.

I currently (June 2024) have around twenty-two students on my books, including four adults. Most start with me as beginners and, within a few years, have progressed to about Grade 3 level. I also teach piano lessons to adults and those who have no interest in doing examinations. I have also worked with people who play keyboards in worship bands, as I also do this regularly.

Music Qualifications & Achievements:

My first degree is in Geography and French (1991), followed by a Postgraduate Teaching Certificate (PGCE) in 1993.

Music that I have written, which includes choral works, contemporary worship music, songs for a pantomime, and a musical has been performed in Sussex and Surrey since 1988.

I used to sing with the Eton College Choral Society (1982-1986), in the Parish Church Choirs of St. Mary Magdalene, Broughton in Furness (1985-1986), and St. John’s West Byfleet (1993-1998), where I was also Assistant Organist.

I was part of an acapella singing group that won First Prize at the Woking Music Festival in 2011.

My most significant achievements as a musician were writing the songs for a stage musical in 2007 and a voluntary for my daughter’s wedding called ‘A Muggles Melody’–she is a very keen Harry Potter fan!