Information About Jonathan - Greenwich teacher

Personal Description:

I am a composer and educator based in South-East London who has recently obtained a PhD in composition from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, having previously studied at Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music. My passion for music feeds directly into my passion for teaching, and I hope that I can inspire as many people as possible to deepen their love of music by learning to understand it from the inside out.

Tutoring Experience:

I have been teaching music for over 10 years both in schools and as a private tutor, ranging from interactive workshops with primary students to university-level one-to-one composition. I have previously been the resident composition teacher at Eton College (2015-17) and City of London School for Girls (2017-20), as well as delivering workshops at schools around the country in a visiting capacity. I am as comfortable working with students taking their very first steps in theory and composition as I am with those who are more advanced, and can teach across a variety of styles and genres including classical, jazz, rock and musical theatre.

Tutoring Approach:

As a tutor, I always seek a student-led approach, adapting content and delivery to individual tutees’ needs. Above all, whether in theory or composition, I always try to enthuse students by conveying my own love of music and encouraging theirs. No element of music or musical development can be considered in isolation, and so I seek to link up whatever a student is working on with their wider musicianship and listening – classical or otherwise – to put things into context. Another important part of my teaching practice is preparing tailor-made resources for students which are theirs to keep, ensuring that any material covered can be revised and consolidated.

Music Theory:
Time is split between teaching key concepts (including providing tailor-made resources) and looking through student work, always balancing the discussion between aspects of the work which are more or less successful. While most of my theory students take ABRSM theory grades, I also teach theory and musicianship more broadly without focusing on specific exams and boards.

Composition:
The core of my composition teaching is of course discussing and dissecting students’ music, but alongside this go technical exercises, score analysis, music history and live listening which feed back into the compositional process and put the music written into context. Most importantly, I meet students on their own stylistic ground, helping them to achieve the best possible realisation of their personal artistic ambition while also encouraging them to listen and explore as widely as possible.