For me music is the stuff of life. As a coach, it’s my mission to help aspiring musicians unlock their potential and let their talents flourish.
"Highly Recommended! Michael is focused, passionate and fun to work with. His conducting experience brings a unique dimension to his approach to teaching piano. If you're looking for a teacher who knows how to help his students enhance the musicality of every aspect of their playing with the technical knowhow to accomplish it, you couldn't do better."
- Jonathan S.
“I started lessons with Michael to complete my ABRSM piano grades, I am proud to say that under his tuition I achieved a Distinction for my Grade 8. Michael is an excellent teacher, not only for exam coaching but he has taught me to master various complicated techniques, play with greater expression and overcome the challenges of performance. Michael is an established concert pianist and I find his extensive knowledge of music styles/composers, his experience of performance and passion completely inspiring. Lessons are fun and interactive, yet thought-provoking when exploring serious pieces. I really enjoy my lessons with Michael and would highly recommend his piano tuition.”
Review by Louise G.
I'm a Royal College of Music trained conductor and pianist, and this informs all my coaching, whether piano, theory, aural skills or otherwise. Over the years, I've taught and mentored students of different ages – from bright six-year-olds to curious 66-year-olds. My students are of different abilities ranging from complete beginners through to university/conservatoire level.
Whether you want to play the piano or delve deeper into music theory, my motto is ‘making music live’ and guiding others to express themselves through music. I’m fully invested in helping my students accomplish their goals and develop a passion for music. I gain a tremendous sense of accomplishment in watching my students progress and I have a 100% pass rate for all ABRSM grades, most of whom have gained distinctions.
'Filling in the gaps'. Sight-reading is a common stumbling block for students. As a child I was a terrible sight-reader but as a professional musician I've managed to overcome this, and I've now developed a structured way to teach sight-reading so it’s more accessible and fun for my students. Similarly, I continue to explore ways to keep sessions interesting so students sustain an interest and learn better with things like technique, scales, theory and aural skills. I believe that when included in lessons simply as part of music-making, they stop being intimidating and start becoming inspiring.
Having taught students with different learning paces, I’ve realised that when a certain lesson or session seems challenging, it’s not because a student can’t do it. Every student has a specific learning capacity and I make sure that my method and approach is personalised and I provide abundant motivation. It's always satisfying to overcome a challenge and suddenly be able to do something you never thought possible.
Due to Covid-19, I am currently teaching online only and have actually found it a very effective way to teach. With the student’s permission, all lessons are recorded giving the student great resource to draw on, personalised to them. Combined with my multi-camera setup and the ability to repeat watch, in many ways it makes it easier to demonstrate a technical challenge than in person.
I offer a 10% discount for students that pre-pay for 10 classes. If your musical skills have become rusty or if you want to start your musical journey, I’ll be more than delighted to help you achieve your goals. Let’s chat – book a free 20-minute taster session to discuss your aims and to see if we're a good fit.
Thanks for your interest and I look forward to hearing from you.
Experience & Education
Royal College of Music2003 – 2005
Advanced PGDip
Conducting: Neil Thomson; Piano: Neil Immelman Harpsichord: Robert Woolley
University of Leeds1998 – 2002
MMus and BMus
MMus Performance (Conducting: Eno Koço / Piano: Rena Kennaway) BMus Hons Music