Teachers

Joe – piano teacher

Joe is a classically trained pianist (ATCL: distinction), accompanist and piano teacher living in Brighton. He used to work as an academic researcher in philosophy but is very happy to have returned to his first love of music full time and is frequently to be seen cycling around the city for lessons and rehearsals! He also enjoys all kinds of accompanying, developing partnerships with singers and instrumentalists, running a small vocal group, and playing in a flute, cello and piano trio. He performs regularly as both soloist and accompanist in concerts, particularly for lunchtime concerts at Brighton Unitarian Church.

As a piano teacher Joe aims to make learning stimulating but as stress-free as possible, with a focus on the physiology of playing, finding constructive ways of practising, and listening closely so as to learn to produce a variety of colours and tones from the piano. He teaches at all levels from beginners to post-grade 8, children and adults, either via exams or just focusing on pieces.

Mike – piano and studio production teacher

Mike is a grade 8 pianist who spent twenty years working as a keyboard player in a band that toured the world. These days he runs his own recording studio in Brighton where he works as a producer and sound engineer. 

He has taught piano, keyboard and music theory to scores of children and adults over many years, and is always engaging and friendly. He is happy to work in classical or contemporary genres and can help pupils develop improvisational skills alongside a more traditional approach. As an experienced studio musician and engineer, he can also offer tuition in productions skills and recording techniques, including the use of the latest audio technology.

Ed – piano teacher

Ed studied piano at the Royal College of Music and is also a former All-Britain Solo Accordion Champion. He can be heard playing accordion on the film soundtracks to Shrek, Lord of the Rings and Hugo and also has appeared on TV with the Strictly Come Dancing Band. Ed currently teaches piano at Westminster Under School.

He has experience of preparing students for ABRSM exams ( practical and theory ) but is also happy to help pupils who just want to play for pleasure. The main aim is to have fun whilst making music.  He teaches from home but is also willing to visit your home.

Clare – piano teacher

Clare is a classically trained Grade 8 pianist, with over 10 years piano teaching experience.

Clare’s teaching style is relaxed, patient and encouraging. Her lessons are catered to match each individual’s musical aims, and she is experienced in both preparing students for ABRSM exams as well as motivating students to play simply for their own pleasure. 

Clare achieves teaching success with structured yet above all fun lessons…and she loves nothing more than helping people to enjoy playing the piano as much as she does! 

Phil J – piano and music production teacher

Philip is a Grade 8 classically trained pianist with 15 years experience of teaching. He studied from age 5 – 16 at the prestigious Childs Piano Forte School where from an early age he performed on national television and won numerous county competitions.  As a teacher Philip has a 100% pass rate for ABRSM examination entries and teaches beginners right up to Grade 8.  He teaches on a brand new fully reconditioned 1930’s Bluthner Grand at his Piano school in Preston Park and also offers beginner tuition from his home in central Brighton and music production and engineering services from his music studio in Hove.  He is now signed to one of the leading drum and bass labels worldwide and has produced music for pop acts such as ‘Fleur East’.

Alice – piano teacher

Alice is a piano and keyboard teacher with a BA Hons in Music from the University of Chichester (2011) and over 15 years of playing experience, achieving distinctions in all ABRSM Jazz grades. She teaches a wide range of styles from Jazz and Blues to Rock, Pop, Funk, film scores and Classical music. She has been a member of numerous Rock and Jazz bands performing in gigs and weddings around the UK.She believes that it is important to stay motivated with genres and pieces students enjoy.

In a first lesson she asks if there are any songs her student has always wanted to play, giving them something to work towards. Being able to play a piece you love is the most rewarding part of learning an instrument.

Alice’s most common feedback is that she is very good at putting students at ease, making sure to have fun and use positive reinforcement so as to keep up morale and motivation. People learn in different ways and it is important to bear this in mind.

Alice began her teaching career in Surrey and has moved to the vibrant city of Brighton to immerse herself in the creative culture.

Zhanna – piano teacher

Zhanna was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She started to play the piano at the age of 7 and after finishing music school graduated from Saint Petersburg Mussorgsky Musical College with a Diploma of Music School Teacher and Accompanist.

After 5 years of study in St Petersburg State Pedagogical University named after Herzen she successfully qualified as a Teacher of Music and Music Education Methodologist in 1995, after which she worked in different music and art schools in Russia.

Zhanna moved to Brighton over five years ago and continues teaching piano in both English and Russian languages.  She uses well –established Russian school traditional teaching methods, focusing on hand positioning, posture and beautiful melodic sound.

Zhanna believes that everyone can learn to play the piano if they have patience and enough time to practice.

Anthony – piano and music tech teacher…

Anthony is a professional performing musician with an MA (Distinction) in Music & Sonic Media, and Grade 8 piano. Constantly learning, he is now working towards a performance diploma on piano, and teaching himself the saxophone. In addition, Anthony has a BSc (1st) in Computing Science and a good understanding of composition and music production software. He teaches in a fun and enjoyable way, whilst ensuring that good progress is made. The majority of Anthony’s many clients come via word-of-mouth recommendation.

Tom – piano teacher

Tom is classically trained on the piano. After graduating in May 2017 from Chichester University with a BA in music performance, piano & vocal teaching have been a huge part of his life.

With aspirations to write orchestral scores for the film industry, in his spare time Tom enjoys exploring various paths of inspiration. He recently joined the music leaders program allowing him to work with many types of diverse pupils while visiting local primary schools in the area. Tom enjoys guiding pupils and watching his students progress whilst maintaining strong roots in music theory. He has a lively, fun and enthusiastic manner… which makes his especially suitable for young children.

Sam G – piano teacher

Sam is a classically trained pianist teaching out of his home in Woodingdean.  After gaining an ATCL diploma in 2016 he moved into teaching full time and has a growing student base.  Students are welcome to learn with Sam at his home where he teaches on a Yamaha GC1 grand piano… or at their own home if they’d prefer.

The focus of Sams lessons are teaching the student how to become comfortable at the piano, how to practice efficiently, and most importantly how to create and realise an artistic image in the pieces they play.

Laura H – Hove piano teacher

Laura is a friendly, approachable and patient piano teacher for beginners who has been playing the piano for 13 years.  She has achieved her grade 8 piano and grade 5 theory with ABRSM and has recently graduated from the University of Chichester with a 2.1 in Music Performance.  Laura is the pianist in her wedding trio Forcina Trio so has had plenty of experience performing classical, pop and other genres in many different settings.  She finds working towards making and performing music very rewarding and loves sharing such experiences with her own pupils.

Laura is very excited to be living in Brighton to continue her teaching and build up relationships with new pupils!  She especially loves working with children but is happy to help anyone at any age to learn the piano. Laura is committed to working with her pupils in a fun and hard-working manner to help them achieve their best, and she can’t wait to meet you!

Luke – piano teacher

Having recently graduated from King’s College, Cambridge, Luke is an experienced pianist having played in many classical, jazz, musical theatre and pop settings.  Luke achieved a distinction in dipABRSM piano performance in 2014, and also holds a diploma in clarinet performance and grade 8 theory. Luke has a broad range of experiences in music education and outreach, which range from tutoring students in music theory and composition to leading singing workshops in community projects. His broad musical background and his own eclectic musical education aids his flexible approach to music tuition, which draws on students’ individual musical interests while providing them with solid technical foundations.

Peter – piano teacher

‘I passed my Grade 8 piano exam in school and continued to study piano performance alongside composition at the University of Surrey. I have been teaching full time in schools for the last two years so I have considerable experience teaching students ranging from absolute beginners up to Grade 8 level and have coached many students through grade exams. I also enjoy teaching pop music and am a singer and guitarist myself so am always keen to jam along with my students.

I believe it is very important to learn music you want to learn so I base my lessons around each individual student’s preferences while taking into account their strengths and weaknesses and what specific aspects of their playing will benefit most from special attention. Grades can be a great way to inspire and challenge students but I don’t consider them essential – as long as a student is inspired to practice at home every week then swift progress will surely follow!’

Nathalia – piano teacher in Brighton

Nathalia is a piano teacher in Brighton.  She started her musical studies at 7 years old.  Her main musical practices are through piano (classical and popular) and keyboard, but he has also studied viola, recorder, she plays a little bit of guitar and has experience in choir.  She is also a composer and she has very diverse range of influences of practice and creation.

Nathalia has experience in teaching instrument, theory, harmony and children’s musicality.  She’s played in different kinds of musical groups, including for choir, and has prepared instrumental groups for presentations and composed scores for theatre.  She graduated in music (piano) from UNESP (Paulista State University) – one of the main universities of São Paulo – and she had her BA thesis on Music and Cinema published by the university.  She took composition courses at great institutions and now she is taking a Masters Degree in Music and Sonic Media at the University of Sussex.

Nathalia believes in developing students’ creativity and independence by giving them tools that enable them to develop their musical language in a particular way through Theory, Technique, Harmony and Perception Teaching. Practice and theory are not different things, if taught in an accessible way they connect to each other and help the students to develop their learning.  Nathalia believes a student’s interest in their instrumental journey can be greatly enhanced if other interests, passions and everyday life are intertwined with their music.

Piano teacher in Brighton.  Testimonials… http://www.cassam.co.uk/testimonials

Massimo – piano teacher

Music has been a constant source of joy and fulfilment throughout Massimo’s life.  He has played the piano from an early age and completed his studies in Italy.  In England, he has focused on the study of historical keyboard instruments (harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano) as well as on matters of performance practice at postgraduate level.

Massimo regards music as one of the highest expressions of humanity for its ability to delight, nourish and move both the performer and the listener.

‘I love making music, whether as a soloist, as an accompanist, in a chamber music setting or as an orchestral player, but I also cherish the challenge to transmit my passion for it to students of all abilities and to aid them to discover the great wealth of repertoire that the piano has to offer. It always strikes me how musicians have a profound understanding of their own and others’ human nature, which is refined through practice, understanding and shared playing experience. I simply could not imagine living in a world without music.’

Harriet – piano teacher

Harriet is a piano and trumpet teacher living and studying for an MA in Brighton. She studied both instruments at the RCM Junior Department for 4 years before studying Music at the University of Manchester 2016- 2019. Harriet has received a variety of rewards including performance scholarships from Eileen Rowe Musical Trust and The Ealing Music and Film Festival Senior Scholarship. Her philosophy with music is to make it as accessible and FUN for as many people as possible.

Rie – piano teacher

Rie has over 20 years of teaching experience for different age groups, from beginners to Grade 8+. Until recently she has been teaching at an international primary school in Brussels for the last 14 years.

She aims for all her students to become independent learners and believes that lessons should be a positive and enjoyable experience for pupils. Her teaching is imaginative and pupils are encouraged to express their own musical ideas from the beginning. Although she is a classical pianist by training, she helps students to explore different genres and styles of music.

She studied piano in Tokyo and holds a LRSM diploma in piano performance. She has been regularly performing with the chamber music society in Brussels. She also attends piano teaching courses and lectures to keep her teaching fresh and updated. In her spare time she attends African percussion workshops, jazz workshops and enjoys singing in a choir.