the phoenix collective
South Croydon
I started life as a primary class teacher with a scraped Grade VII piano and ‘O’
Level music as my only musical background. I was soon given the task of teaching
music throughout a school of 4-8 year olds and realised I did not have the
skills or knowledge to be able to do this effectively. My wise headteacher sent
me on a Kodály course and my world started to change… Now, after many years of
learning from amazing teachers, I am passionate about this wonderful,
structured, joyful way to teach and to learn musical skills, knowledge and
understanding – it is my raison d’être! I grew up with the unshakeable belief
that I was ‘not musical’ – because I was never a good pianist, I couldn’t do
aural tests, or sight-sing, or write a dictation; theory never made much sense
to me. I perceived that ‘performance’, ‘aural’ and ‘theory’ were three separate
entities. It was only Kodály study that made me realise that they are all
interconnected and also part of this whole wonderful thing called ‘music’. It
also unlocked all the music that was inside me and which I never knew was there.
My passion is bringing musical skills, knowledge and understanding to a huge
variety of people – to children; to adults who are both professional or amateur
musicians; to both specialist and generalist teachers. I have realised that
Kodály musicianship has so much to offer a vast range of people, including
choral singers, class teachers and professional players. A particular interest
in recent years has been discovering the benefits of Kodály musicianship to
those working in different styles and genres, including pop, electronic music
and modern a cappella singing.
