Furthering Talent: making a difference

Here is some recent feedback from families:

I’m so proud of him. He is my own Billy Elliot of the music world. He has practised for ages tonight. You can really tell a difference from when he first started.
Mother of A (violin, Manchester)

I think doing the exam today has made her musically confident. She’s got the bug. She’s home now and taking it upon herself to teach herself the keyboard. 
Mother of N (violin, Staffordshire)

I am so proud that I passed the exam!
N, as above

I just thought you’d like to know that L received a merit for her Grade 1 clarinet exam last term. The certificate has been framed and put on the wall and her whole family went out to celebrate together.
Natasha Bautista, Local Furthering Talent Co-ordinator, Brighton.

Here is some recent feedback from teachers:

Both students are from Brighton and learning keyboard:

“M has been a pleasure to teach this term. In the short space of 10 lessons he has progressed very quickly, and learnt a great variety of pieces. We have looked at pieces by the Beatles, Beethoven, and pop artists such as Adele. He has learnt the first part of Fur Elise with both hands, having a natural flair for coordination, rhythm and good tempo. He is always keen to listen to a variety of styles of music, and talks enthusiastically about the music he enjoys. He has some creative flair for improvisation which I started to introduce in the last 5 lessons, working on concepts such as 12-bar blues. He is always punctual, polite and modest, and I enjoy watching his confidence grow as he continues to achieve in his piano playing. I am looking forward to the next term of lessons. He is eventually working towards taking an exam with ABRSM, perhaps in the autumn term of this year.”

“A has been a brilliant pupil this term. She is exceptionally bright and bubbly, always smiling and excited about the lessons. We have worked on a variety of styles already, covering classical, jazz and blues, and pop, since she enjoys many genres of music. She particularly enjoyed learning the Harry Potter theme and Imagine by John Lennon. In the short space of 10 lessons, she has started learning at least 4 pieces with both hands, learnt scales and improved theory, and started to improvise around simple patterns such as 12 bar blues in the major and minor key. I’m really looking forward to the summer term, and perhaps working towards taking Grade 1 by the end of the year.”