One of the most famous pieces of classical music is, arguably, Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight sonata’ – or to give it is full title ‘Piano Sonata No.14 C# minor Op.27 no.2’. This magnificent piece of music was completed in 1801 and consists of three movements. Traditionally classical music begins with a fast first movement before a…
Category: Teaching
Finalist: Music and Drama Education Awards March 2020
Posted on Facebook on 5/3/20: I won at the Music Education Awards tonight! I couldn’t believe it because there were a lot of other incredible people there. I am the finalist for the Francesca Hanley Award for my services to music, music education and projects with Audiovisability. My nominations come from my connections in Cardiff…
BBC 10 pieces commission: Hans Zimmer’s ‘Earth’
‘Film music composer Hans Zimmer wrote ‘Earth’ for BBC Ten Pieces inspired by looking down at Earth from space. It uses the sounds of the orchestra layered with electronic sounds, and children’s voices. The music is so imaginative; Hans Zimmer uses music as a language to tell…
Makey Makey: Creating Music Through Technology
The world of music technology is fast paced, exciting and continues to evolve rapidly. While it does not replace traditional concepts of music teaching, it offers 21st century tools to enhance and expand the learning experience.
My son, Harry
My son Harry is 8 years old and wears hearing aids in both ears. He is profoundly deaf in the right ear and has severe/moderate hearing levels in the other ear, ranging from 60 decibels for the low frequencies then a steady upward rise to a mild hearing loss for the higher frequencies. This means…
Celebrating Pupil Success
Real life stories shared to family and friends on social media (facebook/Instagram). Click link below to read more, and to see more pictures. …
Raising the Bar
Sunday 24th and Monday 25th May 2015 saw the first ever ‘Raising the Bar’ event held at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (REP) for young deaf people with exceptional skills in music and dance. A huge nationwide competition was held to select participants. Six musicians and six dancers between 8 – 16 years old were chosen…
Flute teaching
It is quite normal for me to repeat myself and then to see surprised reactions when people learn that I am a flute teacher. A ‘deaf’ flute teacher. No, wait for it – a profoundly deaf flute teacher actually.
Music in Pictures
This sizzling summer term saw me leading workshops in Berkshire for Decibels on the topic of ‘Colour Music’. Many young people with and without disabilities looked into the relationships between music and art and how sounds from live music can be seen and interpreted into pictures and paintings, and vice versa. In this blog I…
Artist’s Residency: Hansel and Gretel (inc.video)
At the end of March Hansel and Gretel was the theme at Springwood Heath Primary School in Liverpool, giving pupils a week of creative twists and turns inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ famous fairy tale.