An aspect of teaching that I particularly enjoy is the chance to meet and work with new students and this type of coaching is instantly possible on music courses. Here, one has the chance to work with a variety of students in a much shorter time frame than would be feasible with regular one-to-one coaching. Is it possible to make much of an impact on their piano playing on such a short course? Yes it is, but, perhaps more crucially, what one can really do is pique a student’s interest during this time: if the teacher is sufficiently engaging, a student can be introduced to various aspects of playing, whether that be new technical concepts, unusual repertoire, practice ideas, and beyond. Once a student’s interest is garnered, then motivation, commitment, and improvement naturally follow.
This opportunity presented itself over the past half-term break when I was invited to join one of the new Guildhall Young Artists Residencies. I’ve been teaching at Junior Guildhall since 2019, and it has and continues to be a thoroughly enjoyable learning experience for me. I joined Guildhall Young Artists (GYA) Online just last year, working with piano students from across the globe on Guildhall’s online platform. This type of learning can work well if implemented with care, but it works even better given the chance to ‘meet’ with one’s online students, consolidating the work done during lessons and a ‘residency’ is the perfect chance to work with students ‘live’. This online platform was set up in 2020, partly due to the restrictions imposed on us all during the pandemic, and it continues to thrive: it’s the only British conservatoire to offer a complete online learning programme similar in some respects to what might be experienced at Junior Guildhall on a Saturday.
The first Guildhall Young Artists Residency was held a couple of weeks ago in Dubai over a five-day period (18th – 23rd February 2026). Such a large undertaking required months of planning and preparation, and, as might be imagined, a whole team was assembled to manage the many logistical challenges.
A cohort of eight specialist tutors, all from Guildhall, had been tasked with the job of delivering hours of creative teaching. These included Spencer Down (GYA’s Creative Director and Ensemble Course Leader), Julie Beaman (DSL & Head of Centre, GYA Online), Jeffery Wilson (Composition Course Leader), Liz Hosford (Strings Course Leader), Tom Marsden (Percussion Course Leader), Eddie Gower (Drama Tutor & Head of Centre GYA King’s Cross), Tash Moore (Drama Course Leader), and me (Piano Course Leader). We were also joined by Residency Lead & Head of Centre, GYA Online, Joshua Jones, who coordinated the entire event on the ‘ground’, as well as the Director of Guildhall Young Artists and Safeguarding, Alison Mears, and Vice-Principal and Director of Innovation & Engagement, Sean Gregory. I really appreciated working with such a dynamic and supportive group.
Alongside this splendid team, GYA partnered with the Centre of Musical Arts (CMA) based in Dubai, which is owned and run by musicians Tala Badri (CMA Founder and Executive Director) and Brian Cunningham (CMA Director of Teaching and Learning). By complete coincidence, I had previously worked with the CMA team in 2023 delivering workshops for their teachers and lessons for some of their students, and so knew that we were in good hands regarding a well-organised event complete with plenty of enthusiastic students.
In excess of seventy students joined us on the course, and they hailed from a wide variety of countries: some were already on the GYA Online platform and came to meet their tutors in the flesh and to enjoy the opportunity to play in an ensemble, whilst others came from different colleges and schools based in the United Arab Emirates (and beyond), as well as from the Centre for Musical Arts, who deliver regular lessons to several thousand students every week.
The venue for this event had literally just opened: the new Covent Garden Theatre is part of an arts complex, attached to the renowned shopping centre, Mall of the Emirates in Al Barsha. This complex also houses the Pineapple Dance Studio and one branch of the Centre of Musical Arts’ music teaching centre, as well as other creative outlets. On this course, I taught mainly in the CMA’s new centre within the Pineapple Dance Studio.
The main course concept was to work creatively with students so that they were prepared to give a ‘showcase’ performance on the final Sunday afternoon. This is no mean feat, and anyone working with youngsters will be aware that, as a teacher, to meet your class on a Thursday afternoon, having never worked with most of them previously, and then to ensure they are prepared to give a ‘performance’ the following Sunday takes effort, commitment and extremely careful work.
Our team pulled together magnificently and offered a wonderfully diverse, interesting and engaging ‘showcase’ performance lasting well over an hour. Each tutor worked with groups of students, except for Jeffery and myself, who offered some one-to-one classes as well as group work. The final concert consisted of a potpourri of drama excerpts, orchestral and musical theatre arrangements, and a piano and composition showcase, concluding with a Les Misérables medley, all conducted by Spencer and Jeffery, the latter showcasing his composition classes.
My part in the proceedings was ‘piano’ focused and, as well as delivering some ‘masterclass’ style classes and one-to-one lessons, my primary ‘goal’ was to prepare students for ensemble playing in the final concert. I decided to present two groups: one piano duet group (four hands at one piano) and one piano trio group (six hands at one instrument). Having taught this type of ensemble group on quite a few previous occasions, I relished this challenge.
The piano music for this performance came from several sources: namely my own compositions for duet and trio, which were all taken from the series Snapchats duets & trios published by 80 Days Publishing. I also used piano trios by Christopher Norton: Enchanted Castle, from the Microjazz Trios Collection Book 4 (Boosey & Hawkes). And one of my all-time favourite educational piano trios, Sempre Legato, written by Mike Cornick from his volume, 4 Pieces for 6 hands (Universal Edition).
When selecting music for such events, I’m mindful to incorporate extremely easy repertoire and sometimes for one hand only, if necessary. A wide variety of different players and levels appear on piano courses, and it’s always a good plan to think ‘easy music’, especially when a performance looms. I find that students generally respond well to music below their current playing level, and it makes a more effective impact, not just in the concert but also on their confidence and happiness levels, which are all important on a music course.
Both my duet and trio teams had never previously played any ensemble piano music at all and seemed pleased to learn this new skill. This type of ensemble playing improves sight-reading ability really effectively whilst exposing any weaknesses in a student’s understanding of reading and quick learning or ‘quick study’. My duet team was very young and inexperienced, but they managed to play two very short duets to a 250-strong audience at the final showcase: one of this duet team, who studies the piano with me at GYA Online, had come all the way from Malaysia to participate.
The trio team were older yet still fairly inexperienced, but they played three pieces in the concert with energy and commitment. You can hear the final rehearsal of one piece (‘Sticky Toffee Blues’ from Snapchats duets & trios Book 2), played by GYA residency students Kiyan, Lucas and Angela, by clicking on the link below.
After the success of this residency, there are more in the pipeline, and to find out about Guildhall Young Artists Online, click on the link below:
Since our return on February 23rd, the world has been plunged into a much darker place, and we appreciate just how lucky we were to have escaped the current conflict in Dubai and the Middle East: we missed it by just a few days. Fortunately, our friends and colleagues have remanded safe out in Dubai during this concerning time, and we wish all those stranded a speedy return to the UK.
Top image by Thomas Haas on Unsplash
