MAIN TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

From September 1988 until December 1997,I taught music at Poynton County High School as a full-time member of the Music Department. In addition to classes in Years 7 to 9,I also taught classes at both GCSE and A Levels. I also held important pastoral responsibilities as a form tutor,taking one form from Year 7 through to Year 13.

Within my department,I have been responsible for implementing several requirements of the National Curriculum,which have included the necessary revision of the music syllabus and the preparation of assessment tests,examination papers,aural tapes and numerous theoretical and practical worksheets. I have also produced various arrangements and original compositions for classes in Years 7 to 11,for use in lessons,in addition to my extensive work for the various extra-curricular groups in the school. Music Technology also formed an important part of the curriculum and I have utilized computer software
(including C-Lab Notator,E Notator and Cubasis)where appropriate. In July 1996,I updated my skills by attending an intensive five-day course at Cheshire Micro Unit in Chester,gaining a Diploma in Music Technology.

During my time at Poynton,I have been closely involved with numerous school productions,including
My Fair Lady,Handel’s “Messiah” and the annual Christmas concerts. I also rehearsed and directed a performance of Britten’s “Noye’s Fludde”,produced in collaboration with the Expressive Arts Department
and mainly involving Lower School pupils. Other events for which I held important responsibilities include two Last Night of the Proms,Elizabethan Evening,Songs from the Shows,”Guys and Dolls”
and a World Music and Dance Evening.

My extra-curricular roles have included many lunchtime and after-school activities,such as Middle School Choir,Concert Band,Orchestra,Early Music Group,Percussion Ensemble and a Flute and Guitar Ensemble. This last-named group won a prize in the 1994 Rotary Club Competition,held at the R.N.C.M.
The ensemble also participated in the National Festival of Music for Youth,held at The Royal Festival Hall
in London,in July 1995. I have also rehearsed and accompanied the Community Choir,which consists of pupils,parents,grandparents and staff. The idea of a community choir is one which I would be interested in developing at other schools.

I believe very strongly in promoting and encouraging extra-curricular work in schools,as it helps to build up performance skills both for solo and ensemble work,as well as providing a pleasant,communal environment for the children. I particularly enjoy forming unusual groups,where I have the opportunity to promote instruments(and musical styles)that I believe need more exposure. The Percussion Ensemble and
Early Music Group in particular,were formed for this purpose.

In addition to the above areas of responsibility,I also organised the timetable and made other arrangements
for the Associated Board Practical Examinations,regularly accompanying pupils on these occasions.
I also arranged many trips to Hallé and BBC concerts,ballets,operas and musicals,in and around the area.
These were very popular events and the children found them very exciting. I encouraged pupils of all ages
and abilities to attend.

My particular strengths lie in communicating my enthusiasm for music,whether through Listening,
Performing or Composing,three key elements in the approach to teaching music. I have a very wide knowledge of all types of musical styles and this is coupled with my specialist skills in composing and arranging music. I am a very competent pianist and percussionist and I enjoy performing in concerts with a number of local orchestras,including The Stockport Symphony,Gorton Philharmonic and High Peak Orchestras. I have particularly enjoyed conducting/directing the various ensembles during my time at Poynton High School and this is one area which I would like to build on for the future.

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FURTHER TEACHING POSITIONS:

Since leaving Poynton High School,I have been working as a supply teacher in various schools in and around Manchester,Stockport and Cheshire and from January until early February 2001,I taught music(full-time) at Hyde Technology School,to pupils in Years 7 to 11. I have also undertaken general cover assignments in a number of other schools. I have also undertaken workshops in several schools,
involving improvisation,composition and performing. From the beginning of June 2001 until late September,I taught Music at St.Ambrose College,Hale Barns and at Cheadle Hulme College. These were all short-term (supply) appointments. From January until October 2002,I had a temporary contract as Acting Head of Music at Ashton on Mersey School,teaching classes in Years 7 to 9 and a small group of Year 10 pupils,as well as being a member of the Expressive Arts Faculty. At Ashton,I directed both the School Choir and Concert Band and ran an after-school Keyboard Club. I worked on a new and improved curriculum for Key Stage 3 and I was particularly keen to motivate pupils in Year 9 to build up classes for GCSE Music in Years 10 and 11. I have also taken classes in Years 7 to 10 at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls,during November and December 2002, April to May 2003,while the Head of Music was on sick leave.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

I like to adapt my composing skills to educational, amateur and professional groups and I have had a number of past successes. In February 1983,The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Edward Downes
gave the premiere of my Concerto No.2 for Orchestra,at Studio 7 in Manchester,the music being broadcast live on Radio 3. In September 1989,I won First Prize in a national competition organised by Granada TV and Shell UK,to compose a Fanfare. This piece was performed at a Hallé Concert and conducted by Stanislav Skrowaczewski. I have composed many works especially for pupils at Poynton and other schools and in 1998,I composed the music for a large-scale project(involving music,dance and drama),especially for Year 8 pupils at St.Thomas More R.C.School in Buxton. One performance,which I directed,took place at The Buxton Festival.

“Oh,Pandora!” is based on the legend of Pandora’s Box and covered all aspects of the Performing Arts,
including music,dance,drama,poetry and art. I gave a number of workshops using a substantial collection of my own percussion instruments – the sessions mainly involved structured exercises and opportunities for improvisation. These workshops aimed to develop the pupils’ creative and performing skills. As the production is especially aimed at Lower School pupils,it caters for all ability levels. I also composed an original score for a separate instrumental ensemble,as well as computer-generated music using Cubasis.
The work has been very successful,the pupils gradually “discovering” their practical abilities through performing and listening to each other. They also composed ideas of their own which were integrated into the musical fabric. Needless to say,this production could be adapted for performances by other year groups.

In 1998,I composed “Anniversary Games” for A Level pupils at Fallibroome High School,Macclesfield.
The work was performed several times during 1999,including a concert performance at The Chester Festival. In 1999,I was commissioned by Stockport Music Services to compose a “Millennium Song-Cycle” for primary school pupils and this resulted in “Juvenilia:10 Songs for the Millennium”. The first performance took place at Brooklands Primary School,Sale in July 2000.

I am currently working on several pieces for a number of performers,including the North West based tuba quartet TUBALATÉ,who premiered “Pascal’s Victim” at the 1999 Vale of Glamorgan Festival and recorded the work for CD. In November 2001,I completed an orchestral work ,“Toccata Inquieto”,which was commissioned by Altrincham Girls’ Grammar School. Tubalate gave another performance of Pascal’s Victim at the Bangor New Music Festival on April 9th 2002, which took place at the University of Bangor.
I have recently completed my first film score for “Sculpted”,as well as a Cello Concerto and Dithyramb for marimba and piano(composed at the suggestion of Evelyn Glennie).



MOST RECENT and PRESENT OCCUPATIONS

I worked at Eccles Sixth Form College from April until June 2005,teaching Music to students at AS and A2 Levels,including classes in Music Technology.

I am presently working at Aquinas Sixth Form College teaching AS and A2 Music and Music Technology classes,as well as taking a group of 7 GCSE Music students and have initiated a new extra-curricular Percussion Group.
I have also helped with the college production of “Guys and Dolls” at Christmas 2005,as well as with “Sweet Charity” in February 2007 and Return to the Forbidden Planet in February 2008,playing percussion in the band.

I continue to coach private students for GCSE and AS/A Level examinations and have had two students who both took examinations last summer. Both students passed with good results,my GCSE student attaining an A* for her Music examination.