Schools

I worked at a secondary school in Brighton for 7 years as a Key Stage 3 and 4 music teacher. During that time, I ran the a cappella choir there, VOX, as well as the Year 7 feeder choir – VOXETTE.

 

VOICE CRAFT: UNIQUE SECONDARY SCHEMES OF WORK. TRAINING AVAILABLE.

I also developed a unique and bespoke Key Stge 3 scheme of work for voice called Voice Craft. This differs from the more conventional approaches to vocal music as I approached the design and teaching from a Natural Voice perspective, rather than teaching ‘technique’ and the right and wrong of it. It features elements of the wild and wonderful world of singing  – from work songs to wassails, Gregorian chants to Meredith Monk,  and rapping to scatting. It features lots of practical work – composition, listening skills, peer evaluation,composition, a bit of drama thrown in for good measure. Everything you need for the development of the well rounded, Natural Voice singer!  I have held some training with other Heads of Department in Brighton secondary schools and I am passionate that this work continues in secondary school, to continue to help promote singing and your voice as an instrument as children face the challenges of secondary school, peer pressure, changes in their voices etc.

I offer training for secondary school teachers who would like to push their vocal provision into the field of innovative excellence. Please contact me to discuss.

 

PRIMARY SCHOOL WORK

Since leaving secondary, I have been delighted to have been asked to run an eclectic variety of exciting voice projects in primary schools (as I get older, my singers are getting younger!). In 2014-15, I ran a wonderful whole school composition project at Woolmore School in Tower Hamlets. The visionary head teacher, Tracy Argent, asked me to run writing and singing workshops on the theme of ‘transition and change’, as their old (beautiful, Victorian, creaky, small!) building was being knocked down and the children were all being moved to a brand new, bespoke and much bigger building. I worked with the children from Reception to Year 6, for a term, and we produced an absolutely amazing song suite called ‘We are Woolmore’!