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Getting set up
We work really hard to connect everyone on the program to one of our excellent tutors. If you’re having problems getting things set up please get in touch with us at music@anpspandc.org
To be included in the school ensembles, each student must commit to a half-hour lesson per week with a tutor. We also ask that all students practice their instruments at home for a minimum of 4 sessions per week.
Tips to get practicing
It’s tough starting a new instrument, and we know that every bit of practice helps — but how can we help our children get into an enjoyable practice routine? There are no silver bullets here—what works like a dream for one will fail completely for another child. To start with, it’s best to keep practices short, regular and fun! Here are some useful articles with various tips and tricks. Your tutor will have more strategies up their sleeves too!
What can parents do to encourage their children to practise? The following practical tips are drawn from multiple studies conducted by musicians, teachers and educational psychologists. Read the tips.
A collection of strategies from music teachers, bloggers, and child psychologists to help you motivate your child to practice. Learn the strategies
This newly revised book, Practice is a Dirty Word – How to Clean Up Your Act rescues teachers, parents and students alike from the bogey of practice. The book aims to help developing musicians to “work smart” so they can enjoy their playing and realise their potential. Check out the book
Featured Tutors
Greg Ford — violin/viola
Greg Ford has been a professional violist and teacher for many years. He has performed with most of the major professional orchestras in Australia including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras and the Opera Australia Orchestra. He has performed and recorded with many international artists including Sting, Barbara Streisand, Simon and Garfunkel, John Denver and many others. He has performed in many chamber music ensembles in Australia and overseas.
Greg is a very experienced teacher of violin and viola as well as being a qualified teacher of the Alexander Technique. He currently is teaching violin and viola at Barker College (as well as ANPS) where he also teaches Alexander Technique classes to senior music students as well as staff at the school. He loves teaching violin and viola because playing music, either solo or in ensembles, gives great joy, enhances confidence and educates people to improve coordination and balance in all other activities.
Luke Davis — Brass
Luke Davis has performed with and composed for numerous bands across Sydney. After catching the jazz bug in his younger years, he is now equipped with a Bachelor of Music (The Conservatorium of Music), a Masters of Education (Western Sydney University) and a slide by his side. In recent years, Luke has gravitated towards Big Band music, performing with the Divergence Jazz Orchestra, Small Talk Big Band and even playing bass, conducting and composing with own big band, the OBA Big Band. Although he has ventured into other genres too, playing accordion with his gypsy, video game music trio known as the Nostalgia Entertainment System.
Every moment Luke is away from the stage, it’s a safe bet that he’ll be writing his latest big band piece. He is known for his meticulous approach to arranging and consistent pursuit of clarity in notation. This core principle has merged seamlessly into his teaching as he always strives to present the complexities of music in the clearest way possible. Luke enjoys this challenge in teaching and is eager to pass on the joy that music has to offer.
Heather Prowse — Trumpet
Heather Prowse is a versatile musician and educator living and working on Gadigal land. A recipient of the Sarah Waugh Scholarship from Jazz Workshop Australia, and of the Jann Rutherford Mentorship Award from Sydney Improvised Music Association, she completed her Bachelor of Music (Jazz Performance – Trumpet) at Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2017. Now freelancing full-time across multiple genres, she has performed as an associate artist with Lime Cordiale, Dobby, Sirens Big Band and Jackie Brown Jr; to name a few. She is the director of New Orleans-style party band, 343 Brass Band, and is a Musician in Residence at Annandale Creative Arts Centre.
In addition to tutoring ANPS’s trumpet students since 2018, Heather works as a band conductor and trumpet tutor at St. Andrew’s Cathedral School and Beaumont Road Public School. Heather loves watching her students’ enjoyment and appreciation of music grow each week. As an educator, Heather strives to build a firm foundation on which to develop strong technique and a love for making music.
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