Information About Adrian - Southwark teacher

Personal Description:

I am a professional musician and music teacher who has worked in London for the last 25 years. I have experience teaching students of all ages and abilities and am comfortable providing fun, engaging and unique lessons, each one tailored to the individual needs of the student. I have worked in a wide range of musical positions, including musician, band leader, arranger, composer, and producer, and am comfortable teaching skills relevant to these roles.

I have played across the world in a wide variety of bands throughout my career, including big bands, jazz bands, rock bands, Afrobeat bands, Indian bands and also music for film. I play regularly in the London and European improvisation club circuit with a wide range of musicians, and also perform solo saxophone recitals. My 25 years of experience playing in a wide variety of bands and ensembles means I am well-equipped to pass on the relevant skills and knowledge to students.

I have gained excellent organisational skills through my work as a band leader and teacher. Through arranging for my own jazz ensembles and street bands, I am able to arrange for school ensembles and have completed a variety of arrangements for children's music ensembles.

Tutoring Experience:

I have a wealth of teaching experience that leaves me well-equipped and comfortable in providing engaging, stimulating and thorough lessons.

I currently tutor students privately, covering jazz, improvisation skills, jazz theory, classical saxophone, and am comfortable entering students into graded exams (ABRSM and Trinity). I was the Saxophone Tutor at Hackney Community College for ten years from 1995-2005, where I taught jazz Saxophone to adults, covering basic to intermediate saxophone techniques and performance skills.

I have also taught extra-curricular music to children in Primary Schools (2005-2015 at Walnut Tree Walk Primary School) and Saturday morning music centres (2000-2006 at Borough Music School).

I am also an experienced music workshop facilitator, which means I am accustomed to making my lessons as fun and engaging as my workshops are. I hold a teaching certificate from Goldsmiths College in Music Workshop Skills. From 2000-2004 I ran music workshops with children and local community members for the Thames Festival Procession. I have also been running improvisation workshops in non-idiomatic improvised music for four years now, and I have worked with students from Leeds and Middlesex University, engaging with degree based courses. From 2012 I ran workshops in community centres in and around London.

Tutoring Approach:

My lessons are tailored to each individual student’s needs and I always take their preferred learning styles into account. Creativity and enjoyment are central to my way of teaching, and I incorporate engaging activities into the lesson.

I provide engaging, stimulating and thorough lessons, each one suited and tailored to the needs of the individual student. A discussion with the student in the very first lesson allows me to understand the aims and goals of the individual; from there I create a learning plan that ensures these aims and goals can be met and achieved. For me it is vital that the students feel heard and well adapted with the choice of both repertoires and teaching methods.