Information About Matthew - Stourbridge teacher

Personal Description:

I am a 'cellist/composer/pianist living in Stourbridge, West Midlands. Aside from tutoring work I participate in various artistic projects and have been working as pianist/cellist for a school teaching eurythmy, a form of dance.

Tutoring Experience:

I have taught the 'cello privately at various points during the last ten years or so, and have also taught in the schools system. During 2007-2008 I ran a music workshop at an institute for adults recovering from mental health problems. I have also taught English as a foreign language to classes as part of the Cambridge CELTA course.

Tutoring Approach:

I find it very important that the student really experiences as much as possible of what I am trying to bring across as a tutor. It's not enough for me to tell a student to play with feeling, for example: I need to illustrate this by first playing the particular passage without feeling and then playing it with feeling and asking the student to say what was different the second time so that they really have a tangible experience of what I am trying to bring across.
I like to develop skills such as improvisation that encourage sponteneity and intuition. Technique is of course also part of the springboard for artistry, therefore it is important that the student gets a good technical grounding.