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What is your first memory of the piano?

The instrument itself rather than the music. I remember being fascinated by the mechanics of it as a very small boy: how a finger could set in motion such a complicated chain of events, all culminating in a single note. It struck me then, and still does, as one of mankind’s great inventions.

Who or what inspired you to become a teacher?

Disappointment, perhaps. Like many young musicians, I imagined the concert platform would provide all the fulfilment I could ever require. It did not. One eventually realises that performing is only one means of serving music. Teaching allows one to leave something behind in another human being, and I have come to regard that as the greater privilege.

Who were your most significant teachers?

My first teacher taught me discipline. My second taught me imagination.

The first is indispensable. The second is everything.

What do you consider the most important qualities in a musician?

Curiosity. Not merely about music, but about life itself. One cannot hope to understand music through music alone. Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin – all demand something of our humanity as well as our musicianship. Technique is acquired through work; humanity has to be lived.

What do you expect from your students?

Honesty. I do not mind mistakes, but I do mind pretence. A wrong note played with conviction tells me more than a flawless performance that has nothing to say.

What is the greatest challenge in teaching exceptionally gifted students?

Protecting them. The world is very eager to applaud talent, but considerably less interested in preserving the person who possesses it. A gifted young musician must be allowed to remain curious, to read, to fall in love, to walk in the countryside, to make mistakes. Otherwise, one risks producing a brilliant pianist and an impoverished human being.

How important is technique?

Essential, but technique is a servant, never the master.

Students often imagine they are practising scales. In reality, they are practising freedom. The better the mechanism functions, the less one has to think about it when the music begins.

How do you approach interpretation?

By asking questions rather than providing answers. Why has the composer written this harmony? Why this dynamic? Why silence here rather than another note? If a student discovers the answer for themselves, they will never forget it.

How do you deal with performance anxiety?

Preparation first, perspective second. Though I would be dishonest if I suggested either is always sufficient. Fear is not necessarily rational, and knowing that one is prepared does not always silence it. I remind my pupils that audiences do not attend concerts hoping the pianist will make mistakes. They come because they wish to be moved.

Which composers do you return to most often?

Beethoven remains inexhaustible. Every decade of one’s life reveals another Beethoven. I suspect I shall still be discovering him on my final day.

Brahms has become increasingly dear to me with age, while Debussy continually reminds us that the piano is capable of colours we scarcely imagine.

Do you think performance and teaching belong together?

Absolutely – one informs the other. A teacher who has never stood before an audience cannot fully understand the peculiar loneliness of the concert platform. Equally, a performer who never teaches risks believing music exists only for applause.

What gives you the greatest satisfaction as a teacher?

The moment a student no longer needs me. That sounds rather melancholy, but it is precisely as it should be. A teacher’s task is not to create dependence, but independence.

Do you have a favourite pupil?

No – though there are certain students whose gifts make one feel extraordinarily fortunate to have crossed their path.

What advice would you give to a young musician embarking upon a professional career?

Do not chase success. Chase truth in the music. Success, if it comes at all, is merely a by-product. And remember that there is a life beyond the keyboard. If your music is to speak honestly, it must be nourished by friendship, kindness, disappointment, literature, laughter, and love. Otherwise you will become a very accomplished pianist indeed, and have very little worth saying.

A note about Mr Hines

Sadly, you won’t find Icarus Hines listed amongst the great piano teachers of the early twentieth century. He is a fictional character from F M Wilson’s debut novel Facing the Music, in which he is the teacher and mentor of the gifted young pianist Theo Browne. His opinions, however, are entirely his own…

(Image generated by AI)

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What is your first memory of the piano?

My maternal grandmother was a professional pianist and teacher, so my mother and her sisters played a bit and my parents loved classical music in particular, so I grew up surrounded by music. I started playing the piano at around aged 6 and I have a very vivid memory of my piano teacher, her house and her beautiful grand piano.

This first teacher was incredibly strict and rather scary, but I loved my piano lessons despite her rather formidable demeanour, and I loved practising. I never had to be reminded to practice, but my siblings often begged my mother to ‘please make her stop now!’ My first piano was a battered old upright but I loved it and just wanted to play constantly so as a result I progressed very quickly, but I think my siblings were relieved when my parents decided to create a downstairs bedroom for me so that my piano could be moved in there and I could play until my heart was content without disturbing everyone else!

Who were your most memorable/significant teachers?

I have been incredibly lucky to study with some wonderful pianists and teachers, both in regular lessons and in masterclasses and workshops, including Graham Fitch, Artur Pizarro, Noriko Ogawa, Leslie Howard, Phillip Fowke, to name just a few. I have learned so much from each one and am fascinated by their individual approaches to the piano. I have often found it a good idea to take different works to different pianists, especially if they are renowned for recording and performing the works of that particular composer.

I think that world renowned pianist and teacher Graham Fitch is a truly wonderful teacher and his approach to effective practice and endless suggestions for ways of working through tricky phrases and passages is invaluable. There is no one quite like Graham in the world of piano teaching, he really is an inspiration both as a pianist and a teacher.

Who or what inspired you to start teaching?

I always knew that I wanted to be a musician, right from the very first time I touched the piano, and I think that my inspiration to teach came from the many wonderful teachers I have had and their gift for sharing the music in such an inspirational way.

The piano is such a huge part of my life and of me, it is something which has brought me much joy and which has also helped me through some very difficult times. The piano feels like a gift that needs to be shared with others and teaching always felt like a natural progression to me. I was very keen from a reasonably young age to pursue qualifications which would enable me to understand how to teach others to play this wonderful instrument.

Who or what are the most important influences on your teaching?

Interestingly, I think this has changed over the years as I have gone through various stages on my musical journey. I have always loved to continue to learn alongside my teaching and I would say that Graham Fitch is perhaps one of the greatest influences of my later teaching career. As well as the wealth of knowledge that Graham possesses, his lessons are delivered in a most respectful and generous way, he is sharing not ‘telling’, he is also a consummate professional and I really admire and love everything about his teaching style.

Your most memorable or significant teaching experiences?

Over my 40 year teaching career I have had many memorable and significant experiences, some are as simple as a student having a lightbulb moment when you explain or demonstrate articulation or phrasing in a certain way, or the look on their face when they are finally able to play the piece that has challenged them, musically and fluently, others are the big moments when a student passes an audition for a place at music college, plays a wonderful concert, passes a diploma or wins a class in a festival. I increasingly find that the simple moments are as significant and as much of a privilege to be part of as the big moments, after all it is the small steps on a student’s musical journey which will lead to the bigger achievements.

I do feel very privileged to be able to teach some wonderful students and to watch them progress over the years, some have gone on to have careers in music and for others music and the piano have become embedded into their lives in such an important way that I can honestly say that all my teaching experiences have felt memorable and significant.

What are the most interesting or challenging aspects of teaching adults?

I really do enjoy teaching adults, I find that most adults usually come to lessons well prepared and enthusiastic, ready to learn. However, adults can sometimes be very impatient with themselves, and a little self-critical particularly if they are juggling busy careers and home lives with trying to fit in time to practice. I often find that those with high flying careers can find it quite hard if progress is slow as they are used to a high level of success in their careers.

I particularly enjoy teaching advanced adult amateurs, I find that they tend to work very hard and are extremely dedicated to their practice and progress.

What do you expect from your students?

I do expect my students to practice and I am rather unbending on this! I realise that there are weeks when due to school or work commitments it can be really challenging to find time, but in all honesty, without effective practice, there will be no, or very minimal progress, and I am really clear about this with my students from the outset.

Effective practice can happen even when time is tight, and my lessons do focus on showing students how to practice effectively so that they can get the most of the practice time they have and progress well.

I also expect students to listen to music, to attend concerts and to turn up to their lessons ready to play and to learn.

What are your views on exams, festivals and competitions?

Exams, festivals and competitions need to work for the student, by that I mean that they can be a very important part of a student’s musical journey, but we have to use them in an appropriate manner and at an appropriate time, they are not the end goal, they are steps along the way, sometimes very helpful ones should the student wish to study for exams, perform in a festival or enter a competition. Equally, they do not suit everyone.

If a student is aiming for a career in music, then exams, festivals and competitions will likely need to be part of their journey. I believe that it is very much our job as teachers to know what our students may be capable of and to advise them accordingly, a student needs to be more than a really good performer to enter competitions, they need to be ready for them emotionally and mentally, as teachers, being as sure as we can be that this is the case is vital, as it can make the difference between a student enjoying a wonderful performance opportunity, or having their confidence damaged if they are not ready or do not have the emotional resilience.

If a student is ready for exams, festivals and competitions then these can be wonderful opportunities and a great experience for the student, however we really need to know our students and how they may cope with the pressure.

One of my huge bugbears in piano teaching is when an exam syllabus is used as a curriculum and a student goes merrily from one exam to another, I find that using exams in this way is soul destroying and totally unmusical, the piano has such extensive repertoire and we should be introducing our students to that rather than sticking rigidly to a graded exam syllabus, we do our students a huge disservice if we do this, quite honestly I find it to be an incredibly lazy way of teaching.

What are your thoughts on the link between performance and teaching?

I think that it is really important for piano teachers to be able to perform, even if this is no longer a regular part of their career, it is important that they understand how to

perform, after all, how can we teach our students to do something which we cannot or have never done ourselves. I realise that not all piano teachers perform regularly, quite often because the teaching aspect of their career leaves little time for the demands of performance, but to have done so is important. Performance is an art and one which we need to have knowledge and experience of to be able to advise our students on all the complexities it entails.

Who are your favourite pianists/pianist-teachers?

Most of my favourite pianists and pianist-teachers have been mentioned in earlier questions, most are people I have been lucky enough to study in some way with, Graham Fitch, Artur Pizarro, Leslie Howard, Noriko Ogawa, Phillip Fowke, Chenyin Li for example.

Murray Perahia is one of my all-time favourite pianists too, I especially love his Bach. Steven Kovacevich’s Schubert too is a must for me. Piers Lane is another favourite as are Marta Argerich and Daniel Barenboim.

I also love listening to Horowitz, Artur Rubinstein, Cortot and Arrau.

I could probably go on…

What’s the one thing we’re not talking about in the piano teaching world which you really think we should be?

The fact that anyone with even the most minimal knowledge of piano playing and perhaps none of teaching, can set up as a piano teacher is one thing that we really need to talk about. I wrote about this recently in one of my blog posts and it really did cause quite a stir, many were not happy to discuss this and some were offended by my raising the subject, however, I do feel that it needs to be discussed, and widely so, as there are far too many students who are having their technique and understanding of piano playing damaged by people who really should not be able to call themselves piano teachers.

Guildhall School alumni Lorraine Augustine is the granddaughter of a professional pianist and grew up surrounded by music, beginning formal piano lessons at a young age and knowing from the very first lesson that playing the piano was the only thing she really wanted to do.

Lorraine went on to achieve Diplomas in Performance and Teaching and to study with Pianists such as Graham Fitch, Noriko Ogawa, Artur Pizarro and Leslie Howard and holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Performance Teaching from Guildhall School.

Lorraine is a regular Adjudicator for Piano Festivals and competitions including the annual Junior Clementi Competition.

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2720374What is your first memory of the piano?

I had a plastic red toy with keys on it that looked like the keys on a piano.  I enjoyed playing on this and so my parents asked me if I would like to learn to play the piano and once I started having lessons and had my own piano I really enjoyed it.

Who or what inspired you to start teaching?

It was almost by chance. When I studied at Birmingham Conservatoire my landlady was also a pianist and piano teacher.  She had a request from a prospective student and luckily she forwarded it to me and I found that I liked teaching very much.

Who were your most memorable/significant teachers?

They were all memorable and significant.  I am so grateful to them for all they taught me and for all the inspiration they gave.  In my native country Sweden Irmeline and Irma Ericsson helped me develop sight-reading skills by giving me three new pieces to learn every week (compare with three new pieces per year in the exam syllabi!).  Christina Lindwall inspired me to go into music professionally with her great musical ideas.  At the beginning of my professional studies at a music college in Sweden Anders Peterson was a wonderful teacher with very careful musical work who organised numerous concerts and study trips in Sweden and abroad for me and my fellow students, giving me a first taste of performing and inspiring me to do more.  Hans Leygraf demonstrated incomparably methodical practice techniques during a Masterclass in Darmstadt.  Gordon Fergus-Thomson provided advice on very detailed score reading.  Peter Feuchtwanger taught me a natural approach to piano playing, which I instantly admired and which has influenced my thinking of the physical aspects of performing.  He has also inspired me greatly musically and helped me always to remember the cantabile qualities of the piano playing.

Who or what are the most important influences on your teaching?

Experiencing arts in its different forms; visiting museums, art galleries, the ballet (I also work with ballet as one of my employments as a pianist at Elmhurst School for Dance) attending concerts and going to the opera are all examples of pursuits which influence both my teaching and performing, as are travelling and meeting interesting people.  It is a privilege to be able to draw on a vast number of experiences and to pass that on to students and audiences.

What do you expect from your students?

To love music.

What are your views on piano exams, festivals and competitions?

They are good sometimes as goals to work towards.  More beneficial still are masterclasses and concerts which is why I organise these regularly for my students.  Last summer I took my students to Sweden where I gave a masterclass and they then performed in a Grieg concert.

What do you consider to be the most important concepts to impart to beginning students, and to advanced students?

This pursuit of beauty that piano studies constitute, which encompasses intensely intellectual, spiritual and emotional aspects.  This applies to both categories of students.

What are your thoughts on the link between performance and teaching?

It is a wonderful advantage to be able to draw on past and present experiences of performing when teaching performance-related issues such as stage presence, stage conduct, memorising and stage fright.  Also all musical aspects of the piano teaching will be enhanced from having a performance background since every piece of music improves enormously during a public performance.  And it is also worth keeping in mind (my students point this out to me regularly) that every piano lesson is a miniature performance with all that it entails.

Tell us why you decided to develop a series of piano exercises and how do you feel these will benefit pianists?

I wanted to pass on my ideas on the physical approach to piano playing.  Following my studies with Peter Feuchtwanger, I teach my students various exercises where the focus is on the ‘how’ rather than the ‘what’.  So the movements, relaxation of certain muscles and tension of others are all important, while the notes in this case are almost incidental. I therefore  encourage the students not to be overly concerned with accuracy but instead to learn a new movement and degree of relaxation that can then be incorporated into the repertoire.  There is a great advantage to having this one aspect in isolation since when performing a piano work there are so many musical elements to consider.  Technique and teaching of movements at the keyboard is often neglected until the teaching becomes quite involved, by which stage bad habits have often set in and are hard to correct.  The DVD may be used to learn the exercises from scratch in which case it is paramount to try copying the movements demonstrated as closely as possible.  In the case of my own students the DVD is used as a reminder of the exercises and to support the information I give in the lessons.  Closely related to these exercises are fingerings which are chosen to encourage a particular movement when working on repertoire.  The traditional ‘five finger position’ is not present; in fact there is rarely a position but always a movement which gives much more suppleness and freedom at the keyboard.

Mikael Pettersson’s DVD of piano exercises is available to order from his website or as a download

Swedish concert pianist Mikael Pettersson obtained a B Mus (Hons) degree at Birmingham Conservatoire in the year 2000.  He has also attended  Masterclasses with Prof. Hans Leygraf and has studied with Prof. Peter Feuchtwanger.

Mikael Pettersson has taught piano for several years, mainly for the higher grades and at Diploma level and has competition prize-winners amongst his students.  He is also Head of Keyboard Studies for Undergraduate and Postgraduate students completing a Music Degree at the University of Wolverhampton.  He regularly organizes Masterclasses and concerts for pianists.

He received a Diploma in the summer 2007 for his attendance at a Masterclass at Universität Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria where he also performed in concert.  In December 2010 Mikael Pettersson performed in Florida, USA, with mezzo soprano Virginia Alonso, who has appeared in performances together with Placido Domingo.   Recently Mikael Pettersson released his second CD featuring Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worte.  

In 2012 Mikael Pettersson was a semi-finalist in the International Adilia Alieva Piano Competition which took place near Geneva.

www.mikaelpettersson.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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11540907_1014642958549022_1294551780_oWhat is your first memory of the piano?

I think I was born to play the piano. I was lucky enough to have an upright piano in our dining room. I was always in school choirs and from the age of 5 would arrive home and play the songs we had sung during the day. It was my aunt that mentioned I should have piano lessons and the seed was planted. My mother, although not a musician, sang in the home and often had classical music playing, and I myself had an extensive collection of recordings. Both parents have always encouraged me to continue my love for music and their support has been unwavering. I was taken to many classical music concerts and regularly heard the likes of John Lill and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. At secondary school I took up the violin and joined orchestras, but my main love remained the piano and I considered myself a pianist.

Who or what inspired you to start teaching?

I studied music at the University of North Wales, Bangor. There, I had a rich and varied musical life, taking part in two orchestras, singing in the choral society and continuing with my piano and violin lessons. I went onto study at Bretton Hall to gain a PGCE qualification with a view to teaching in schools and whilst I was there I had a request to teach a boy in the village. I enjoyed this and it whetted my appetite. We also had a visit from a practising piano teacher talking about her profession and it seemed a good career to consider. I trained as a music teacher and, not finding a job, went into secretarial work and computer programming. I vowed never to give up my music and joined a choral society and played in orchestras. I decided to teach on Saturdays, cycled to student’s houses and acquired a few home pupils.

Who were your most memorable/significant teachers?

My first teacher was fine up to a point, but had a terrible memory, and that meant I could hoodwink her as to how far I’d reached and still gain a reward toffee. I had one who gave me thirty minutes practical and an hour of theory; needless to say, this didn’t work. My greatest teacher was a Gertrude Tomlinson who I stayed with for some twelve years. We played Beethoven Symphonies as duets, she was an avid fan of Southampton Music Festival and encouraged me to enter every year. She continued to encourage me and later on I was one of two students who remained with her. It was thanks to her that I acquired my performance diploma before going to university.

Who or what are the most important influences on your teaching?

The most important influence was Mrs Tomlinson: there was a great emphasis on sight reading and I became very good at it. We often played together and I also had a regular duet partner of my own age. She became more of an aunt later on, and lived with my duet partner’s family after her husband died. Nowadays my influences are: my students (their enthusiasm, ideas and different needs), Beethoven and Debussy (composers I like to introduce students to as part of their repertoire), social media (awareness of books and resources from other piano teachers and pianists), my own experience in different genres (swing bands, soul bands, theatre bands, orchestras) and my piano tuition at university (with an emphasis on finger technique).

Most memorable/significant teaching experiences?

This is a difficult one … there are many teaching experiences, mostly good. Recently a student has acquired a place with the junior department at the Guildhall School of Music and she told me that it was thanks to me that she decided her second study was to be piano. I’ve also received a gift and note from a young student, something made by her and her sister. Last year I had a student who, against all the odds, gained a good pass at a recent examination, is getting a piano and is now determined to practice vehemently. My older students give me great pleasure too: I have taught two ladies who love to play duets together and a seventy-three-year-old lady obtained her grade three examination from scratch.

What are the most exciting/challenging aspects of teaching adults?

Adults are usually very keen students. There have been a few who have, for one reason or another, decided it really isn’t for them but the long stayers have a determination to catch up on what they’ve missed out on. One of the biggest challenges is when a student has studied piano before and had a long break; the technique they had may need modifying and with the onset of arthritis and other matters we may have to have alternative strategies for note reaching and speed. Some are keen to do examinations whilst others just want to acquire a bank of pieces to play. We have to find appropriate tutor books for adults for many are geared to younger players and we have used the Smallwood tutor a fair amount, and we often change the names of the ‘quaint’ titles. Adults are often surprised at what they can achieve and I take this as a great compliment.

What do you expect from your students?

“Practice makes progress” is a phrase we use and “no practice, no point”. Most are willing to practice adequately and come with a guilt complex if they have not done this. I like to think I’m not a scary teacher but they do seem to feel bad if they’ve been unable or forgetful. I expect students to be my partner during the lesson …. for instance, sometimes I’ll take the top part of a piece whilst they take the bottom, or we use rhythm cups together, or we play a duet. They like the fact that we both take part and it relieves the feeling that they’re just being watched. I expect them to converse and tell me about any difficulties in their playing and I expect them to be on time. At the same time, they expect me to inspire, direct and encourage them, which I very much hope I do.

What are your views on exams, festivals and competitions?

I wish my students had more time for competitions and festivals but they often have so many other activities. A few do enter our local festival but I don’t tend to press them for anything else. Examinations are useful markers for students and parents but there is no need for them to enter every single one, and we often take a longer time to ‘skip’ to a higher grade. Some adults are keen to do examinations and, having persuaded them that they too can enter, they bite the bullet and are surprised at how welcome they feel at the venue and at how much they can achieve. I encourage students to help each other, especially if they’re learning the same examination pieces, and by playing duets. If they can collaborate on something in the school concerts, this is a really good experience. The bottom line is that I want my students to enjoy learning the piano and not to see it as an added burden.

What do you consider to be the most important concepts to impart to beginning students, and to advanced students?

For beginning students, they need to know that they too can achieve as much as the person they’ve just heard next door who they perceive is playing brilliantly. My job is to convince them that they’ll get as much as they put in. They need achievable goals. Emphasis on slow, accurate playing rather than the opposite is something I tell all students, beginners or advanced. Advanced students need to be aware that there is always something else they can do to improve their playing and that perfection is something that concert pianists are still trying to acquire. In short, all students should do their best, and that is all anyone can do. I do expect students to respect other people’s abilities for there is nothing worse than feeling inferior.

What are your thoughts on the link between performance and teaching?

I consider myself a pianist and piano teacher. Teaching something can make you realise certain faults in your own playing you didn’t notice before. But it also inspires your students if you can play something advanced in front of them. For me, the fact that I’ve won a first and third in the EPTA composition competition last year and this, has encouraged some to consider composition themselves. Leading by example is always a good thing and many people don’t have the exposure to professional piano performances, and it’s good for them to see what can be achieved (even if I’m not quite to the standard of Lang Lang).

How do you approach the issue of performance anxiety/tension?

I ask them the question “Do you think most of those people watching you could do this?” and the answer is invariably “no”. We agree that nerves are a good thing for making you perform better and that the piano doesn’t present any danger if you make a mistake. I do have a couple of students who do not wish to do examinations for that involves playing in front of a strangers but occasionally I’ll get them to play for a teacher or another student. Any opportunity for them to play is a good thing, whether it’s in a school concert, music festival or in front of me and a few students.

It’s important for the students to realise that I too get nervous and I tell them about my own experiences, such as when my nose starts to run whilst I’m playing or I panic about a page turn. I stress that live performances involve risks and that audiences are usually very forgiving and indeed some events, such as a collapsing music stand, can be amusing ice-breakers.

Who are your favourite pianists/pianist-teachers and why?

John Lill, Daniel Barenboim and Vladimir Ashkenazy are amongst my favourite pianists. I love their combination of rage and sensitivity. Going back to the issue of anxiety and the fact that performance involves risks, I remember an incident at Southampton Guildhall where the sustaining pedal came off. John Lill saw the funny side and showed his professionalism by merely restarting the piece. My tutor at university was William Mathias, a Welsh pianist and composer, and we had a visit from Ashkenazy who played Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto. I have recently had the pleasure of meeting many pianist-teachers through the European Piano Teachers’ Association and believe it’s a very necessary part of our profession.

Jenny was raised in Southampton and studied the piano from the age of 7. As a teenager she obtained her grade 6 violin, and after leaving school she worked at a bank for a year and achieved a Licentiate in Piano Performance from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She went on to gain a BA (Hons) in Music Arts from the University College of North Wales in Bangor, and a PGCE from Bretton Hall.

She married, moved to Oxfordshire and had children. Unable to find a teaching job, she took office work and during that time acquired a computing certificate at Oxford University (External Studies), acquiring work Oxford University Computing Services and ABB Simcon. She eventually acquired a teaching position (Music, ICT and French), managing to reduce this to ICT at the Mary Hare School for the Deaf in Newbury where she gained a diploma in special education. After a permanent move to Grantham in 2001, she taught ICT until her post was made redundant.

Jenny has always had piano students and when her job was declared redundant, that was the spur to make it her main career. She is now a private piano teacher at Kesteven and Grantham Girls School in Grantham and has students at home. An accomplished pianist and musician, she is in demand as an accompanist. She is Musical Director for Grantham Operatic and has overseen productions of Sweeney Todd, The Mikado and Fiddler on the Roof. She also deputises for the keyboard player in Grantham Rhythm and Blues Band and has played in the theatre for several productions.

She has sung with choral societies in the Beethoven Halle in Bonn, The Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford and Oxford Town Hall. She has played the violin in Sankt Augustin Musukschule (German), Harlaxton Manor and Grantham (Lincolnshire Strings Celebration). She has performed piano solos at the Holywell Music Room in Oxford, Didcot Civic Hall, Harlaxton Manor, Belvoir Castle, St Wulfram’s Church in Grantham and Warwick University. She is the proud winner of a first prize in the 2014 National Composition Competition organised by the European Piano Teachers Association, of which she is a professional member. She has also learned that she has won a third prize in the 2015 competition.

Jenny loves to teach and considers her wide-ranging experience an advantage when deal with different personalities, abilities and aspirations. Many students want to take examinations but some prefer a more relaxed approach. As long as they enjoy the lessons and have some sort of goal, Jenny is happy.

For more information about Jenny please visit her website at www.jswmusic.co.uk