Q) You joined Concord 2 years ago, how long have you been a teacher?  

A) I’ve been teaching music since my mid 20s, I did have a brief period working for a publisher and in a music shop but I quickly decided that teaching was the ideal job for me. 

Before I came to Concord, I mostly worked in the state sector and much of that was as Head of Music.  In my last school, the music department was a real hub of activity with students meeting up in break time to practice together. Sadly that changed during the Covid pandemic and once we all got back in the classroom it wasn’t the same as it had been and took a while to return to how it was.  

Q) How did you come to join Concord? 

A) I was Head of Music in my last job and wanted to find a part-time role to give me more time to explore my plan of composing scores for film and tv - I’ve written scores for projects with Bournemouth University graduate film students and had my music played in cinemas in London including the IMAX at the BFI. I hope to write more in the future. 

I knew about Concord as I live locally, when my children were at a nearby primary school they put on performances in the College theatre, so I knew what an incredible place it is here.  

Q)  Tell us about your love of music 

A) I play the trumpet and piano and have belonged to several jazz bands over the years, playing mostly in small jazz clubs. I enjoy the camaraderie and how jazz is spontaneous and interactive at the same time. To be really good at it, you need to have lots of imagination and enjoy the freedom to take risks. My favourite artist is the trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis, who is a big champion of jazz education, fostering a love of the genre and is an artist who has been equally at home in both the classical and jazz worlds. 

Q) What have you enjoyed most about working at Concord? 

A) Concord students have such a great range. Some of them haven’t really studied music before but have lots of enthusiasm, and we also have some phenomenal musicians too, achieving grade 7 or 8 at a very young age. It is a real privilege being part of all their journeys and working with students from all around the world. 

As well as teaching, I’ve enjoyed helping Mrs Hannah Latter-Perrins backstage with the Summer and Winter concerts, open mic events, the jazz group, performances in St Alkmunds Church, the Lower School band and I’ve taught composition workshops in extra curricular sessions too. My final project will be helping with Hamlet performed by Form 3, we are pre-recording all the music for it over the next couple of weeks. 

Although not everyone studies music at Concord, the theatre seems to be at the heart of student life.  

I am very proud to have been part of the team at Concord College, if only for a couple of years, and wish all students and staff the very best for the future. 

Q) What are your plans for the future? 

A) I’m retiring as a class teacher and this will allow me more time to visit family in Canada and the USA. I’ll also continue with my composing work, play music more and go to more concerts. This year we will be going to the WOMAD festival for the first time. I also have a great love of the outdoors and plan to spend much more time in the hills, mountains and wild open spaces.