Having spent 28 years in army music, 17 of which as the music director of various bands and training establishments, Len decided to change direction, leave the military and become an educator. Having trained with the British Kodály Academy, Colourstrings International and Trinity College of Music he set up his own music school covering the age range 22nd week of pregnancy (when the hearing develops) to upper primary. He is still very active in instrumental work playing in a number of bands and orchestras as well as being the MD of an adult wind band.
Len has been delivering Kodály workshops across the UK for both instrumental and classroom work for many years. CPD days have been provided for whole school staff (including classroom assistants and lunchtime supervisors), instrumental teaching services, choral directors and general workshops on the Kodály approach. He has also run year long adult study classes for the BKA leading to formal qualification.

Len lives in Camberley (Surrey) with his woodwind teacher wife, one grown up daughter (a vet) and three dogs. His other grown up daughter is studying at Kings College (London) and is a regular and welcome visitor.

Mark will be teaching Secondary methodology. For more details please visit Kodály Summer School 2016.

Mark is Director of Music at Bilton Grange Preparatory School, a leading boarding school near Rugby. He trained as a teacher with Dr James Cuskelly (IKS President) and Maree Hennessy (Director of the Kodály Centre for Music Education at Holy Names University) at the University of Queensland, graduating with a Bachelor of Education in Secondary and Primary Music in July 2006, having previously gained a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Music Studies (Hons I) in Vocal Pedagogy from the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University.

In the UK, Mark has taught from EYFS to A Level, and has been a Head of Department since early 2008, implementing a Kodály-inspired curriculum at each school with great success. Before moving out of London, he was an occasional deputy teacher for the String Training Programme at Junior Guildhall, covering Kodály classes for Cyrilla Rowsell and others. More recently, Mark delivered training on the International A Level in Music (CIE) to teachers in China and on the Isle of Man. He is an experienced examiner for iGCSE, A Level, Pre-U and Singapore Music syllabuses.

As a choral conductor, Mark has met with success in the Barnardo’s National Choral Competition, taking the Junior Chamber Choir at Surbiton High Girls’ Prep School to the National Finals at the Royal Festival Hall in March 2015, and touring to Belgium a few weeks later to première his Pentatonic Mass, which was also performed by the Miraculum Children’s Choir when they visited Surbiton for the second time in July 2015.

Cathy will be teaching musicianship, Secondary methodology and  Sing and Conduct: Beginner/Post-beginner. For more details please visit Kodály Summer School 2016.

Singing in choirs has always been a big part of Cathy ́s life. As a child she attended Southwell Minster School where choral singing was a daily activity. During A levels, with a group of friends, she sang for cathedral services in Norwich and Llandaff. Since moving to London, she has been a member of the Bach Choir and sung for various church services including with the choir of the Royal Naval Chapel, Greenwich.

Cathy has been a music teacher at Reedham Prep School and taught both junior and senior musicianship at the North London Colourstrings School. Cathy trained choirs at both of these institutions and has also led adult choir rehearsals at the Blackheath Conservatoire for Singing. Cathy enjoys playing the piano, especially Bach and accompanies students for ABRSM exams.

Cathy enjoys combining teaching and performing and finds that the two disciplines are complimentary to one another. As a violinist, Cathy freelances with professional orchestras, most regularly the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also toured with James and War of the Worlds performing in arenas including Wembley and the O2. In 2014, Cathy was solo violinist and voice for the Royal Shakespeare ́s production of Titus Andronicus. Cathy enjoys being a part of the Really Big Chorus events at the Royal Albert Hall, most recently performing Orff`s Carmina Burana with over 1000 singers from 17 different countries.

Since 2004 Cathy has taught violin and viola at the London Oratory School seeing students from beginner through to grade 8. Since 1999 she has been tutor and leader of the Sinfonietta Orcheastra on the NLMS Music Summer School. She has recently begun teaching at the Centre for Young Musicians and in 2013 she taught under-graduates at Leeds College of Music. After studying with Geza Szilvay, she has used the Colourstrings method when teaching beginners.

In 2015 Cathy graduated from the MA course at the Kodaly Institute, Kecskemet. Since returning to London, Cathy has been a deputy teacher for the musicianship classes at the Junior Guildhall School for Music and Drama and for adult musicianship classes at Blackheath Conservatoire for Singing as well as continuing her work at the London Oratory School and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Rebecca lives and works in Exeter as a freelance musician and teacher. She graduated from Dartington College of Arts in 2007 with a First Class Honours Degree in Music and, in 2015, with a Masters Degree in 21st Century Music from Brunel University. Her current work includes instrumental and musicianship teaching, performing and theatre work as well as playing in a gypsy jazz band.

www.rebeccalouisewillson.com

Andrea Hallam is a passionate chamber musician and is in demand both as a violinist and violist. Andrea has been deeply influenced by the great Austro-Hungarian music-making tradition to which she was introduced at the International Musicians’ Seminar, Prussia Cove Master Classes in 1997.  There as an English Speaking Union Scholar, she met Lorand Fenyves, with whom she subsequently studied for three years. Since 2000 Andrea has been a regular participant at IMS Open Chamber Music and was invited to perform in 2012 at the anniversary concert at Wigmore Hall.

Andrea collaborates regularly with pianist Izabella Simon and has performed twice in the festival in Budapest established by Izabella with her husband, pianist Denes Varjon. Her extensive chamber music experience also includes collaborations with artists such as Steven Isserlis and Mayumi Seiler as well as with members of chamber groups including the Amadeus, Orion, Tokyo, St Lawrence, Belcea, Keller, Chilingirian and Endellion string quartets and the Florestan and Gould piano trios. In addition, Andrea has played with some of Europe’s top ensembles such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Camerata Bern and Ensemble Modern.

Andrea is a member of the Israeli Contemporary Players where she also sometimes plays solo. Last season, she played principal second violinist with the Jerusalem Camerata and has also played with the Tel Aviv Soloists, the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra and Meitar Ensemble.

Paul Harris is one of the UK’s most influential music educationalists. He studied the clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music, where he won the August Manns Prize for outstanding performance in clarinet playing and where he now teaches. He is in great demand as a teacher, composer, and writer (he has written over 600 music books); and his inspirational masterclasses and workshops continue to influence thousands of young musicians and teachers all over the world in both the principles and practice of musical performance and education.

Paul Harris’s concept of Simultaneous Learning is now a recognised and highly regarded form of teaching worldwide. This exciting, imaginative and holistic approach encourages students to learn positively, effectively and independently. It turns the old-fashioned & reactive style of teaching (pupils play, make mistakes and teacher corrects) on its head. This inherently practical way of teaching allows you, as teacher, to get the best out of your pupils and include all the core skills within a standard lesson time. In this presentation you will discover techniques that enable pupils to develop much more fully as musicians.

Carolyn Spencer works in a large primary school outside Guildford and uses a Kodály approach in her class and instrumental teaching (oboe and piano) and with her choirs.  Carolyn first came across the Kodály approach to teaching music when training as a Montessori teacher 25 years ago and has been using it in her teaching ever since. Trained by The Voices Foundation, she runs insets in schools and has just started a Music Coordinators network in Guildford schools to support teachers. She has conducted research into the importance of music in nurturing the attachment bond between mothers and babies and this underpins all her teaching as well as her termly baby and toddler workshops.

Eleanor Meynell won a scholarship to Chetham’s School of Music at the age of 11 where she studied with Heather Slade-Lipkin and Ryzsard Bakst and later, singing at the Royal Northern College of Music.

During her time at Chetham’s she was a prize- winner in several national and international competitions, winning Bromsgrove Young Musician of the Year aged 15 and was awarded both ARCM and LGSM diplomas.

Eleanor developed an interest in singing while still at school and, inspired by singing Pierrot Lunaire with Daniel Harding and Simon Rattle, went on to pursue a joint career as both singer and pianist at an international level.

Eleanor has broadcast as a soloist and chamber musician on BBC Radio 3, Classic fM and Radio Belfast and collaborates with several instrumentalists and singers. She is also a member of the Monteverdi Choir and for the past ten years has toured with them performing at major concert halls and opera houses all over Europe and the USA. She made her Wigmore Hall debut in 2015 conducted by John Eliot Gardiner in music by Schubert and Brahms which received critical acclaim in The Times.

Eleanor sang full-time with the BBC Singers for five years with whom she broadcast regularly for BBC Radio 3 and the BBC Proms and she is on the staff at both Trinity Laban conservatoire and Goldsmiths College as accompanist and vocal coach.

For more information please visit www.eleanormeynell.com