The Tutors
Offering a wealth of experience and interests in different musical genres and periods, the tutors for the 46th Northern Recorder Course are:
- Brian Blood
- Recorder player, adjudicator, arranger, teacher, performance coach and instrument designer, Brian has from the mid-1960s worked as a professional recorder player in France, Germany, the US, Holland, Colombia and the UK as well as on television, radio and recordings in both the fields of classical and popular music. He has been a member of the Dolmetsch Recorder Consort for over forty years. His work on the Dolmetsch Website, www.dolmetsch.com, particularly his authorship of the online music theory and history resource has been recognised with one of the MERLOT Awards for Exemplary Online Learning Resources presented at the 2007 MERLOT International Conference, held August 7-10th in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
- Paul Burnell
- Paul Burnell is a composer who has written for many professional and amateur soloists and ensembles. Recorder compositions include ‘Ember / Kindle’ for Duo Ricecare, ‘Vitus’ for descant recorder with piano or tape and ‘24 Steps’ which exists as an arrangement for recorder orchestra by Steve Marshall. Paul is assistant conductor of the London CoMA ensemble (seen on BBC4 in 2009).
- Ruth Burbidge
- Ruth studied at the Royal Academy and at Trinity. She has a wide teaching experience in school and college and has performed on harpsichord and recorder. She now teaches flute and recorder and runs Recorder MusicMail (www.recordermail.co.uk)
- Alan Davis
- Alan Davis needs little introduction to recorder players. As a performer, teacher and composer, Alan has been active on the UK recorder scene for over four decades. He has performed extensively as a recorder soloist in both early and contemporary music and in recent years has increasingly devoted his time to composition. He currently teaches the recorder at Chetham’s School of Music and in the Junior School of the Royal Northern College of Music and is a regular tutor at NORVIS and the South Bohemia Summer School for Early Music. He also continues to direct Birmingham Schools’ Recorder Sinfonia which he founded in 1979.
- Ruth Hayward
- Since graduating from Trinity College of Music, Ruth has taught recorder and flute to both children and adults. Ruth has attended the NRC for many years and has benefitted from a varied array of tutors. Among then was Piers Adams with whom she went on to have regular lessons. In addition to teaching, Ruth has performed regularly in ensembles and as a soloist. She has played several concertos with the Manchester Recorder Orchestra as well as orchestral concerts and recitals on the flute.
- Ann Marshall
- composes and arranges for recorder and saxophone ensemble; she is also a keen player of both families of instruments. She is particularly interested in making music with players with very modest technique and is a popular and supportive conductor of U3A recorder groups.
- Steve Marshall
- Steve has a background of jazz, blues and rock, although years of music theory study have tamed the beast somewhat. Steve and Ann publish their compositions under the banner of May Hill Edition (www.mayhill.co.uk), which features over 200 titles, ranging from solos to large pieces for recorder orchestra. Steve's pieces often have a contra part of above average interest, as there’s always the possibility that he will be called to play it. He is musical director of the North Cotswold and South Cotswold branches of the SRP and as an SRP visiting conductor waves the batton far and wide. He conducts various other recorder ensembles, including the Gloucester ‘Easy’ Recorder orchestra.
- Andrew Melville
- Andrew is a composer and assistant conductor of the London Recorder Orchestra in which he plays contrabass. He has composed many pieces for recorder orchestra, including Brightness Falls, Lachrimae Tango and a Concerto Grosso with three soloists (Tr, Ten, B). He runs a recorder evening class in Wandsworth, London and has conducted at the NRC and Cheltenham Recorder Festival. He is interested in a wide range of music from Machaut to minimalism, Tallis to tango.
- Janice Ormerod
- Janice Ormerod has a well-deserved reputation as a bass recorder specialist and her bass workshops are in increasing demand at SRP branches and independent recorder groups. Janice tutors at the Stockport Recorder College and directs their Senior Ensemble. She performs with the Barrowmead Ensemble and has been a member of the Great Bass section of the Manchester Recorder Orchestra for some years. Janice is Chairman and a regular conductor of the Manchester Branch of the SRP.
- Pam Smith
- Pam Smith studied piano, viola and clarinet at Chetham’s School of Music and went on to teach music in secondary schools. Pam is Musical Director of the Cheltenham & Gloucester branch of the SRP, the Phoenix Recorder Orchestra, the Exeter Recorder Orchestra and the Chamber Recorder Orchestra of the West. Pam tutors at the Cheltenham Recorder Festival and will be conducting at the inaugural Hothorpe Hall Recorder Orchestra weekend in December 2009. It is no surprise that Pam is greatly in demand as a visiting conductor of the SRP as she is a gifted tutor with that rare ability to inspire even the most modest of recorder players. Pam is the Resident Tutor at the NRC.
- Moira Usher
- trained at Trinity playing recorder, cello and piano. She is Musical Director of the Suffolk branch of the SRP and the Eastern Recorder Orchestra and is a national conductor for the SRP. She teaches recorder privately, runs music courses for adult amateurs and is a tutor on the Recorder Summer School. She runs a local community choir and writes and arranges both choral and recorder music. She has a particular interest in swing and light music.