Welcome to Upper Primary Music! 

My family has always shared a love for music. My maternal grandmother was my first music teacher. We would visit her after church every Sunday for organ lessons when we were young, and she would often take me to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform. 

I started playing the clarinet in Grade 5 and loved it so much that my brother helped me learn the saxophone in Grade 6 so that I could join the middle school jazz band. A year or so later I began flute lessons as well just for my own enjoyment. I toured Europe for the first time with my high school jazz band and that is what ultimately led to my life abroad today.  

I studied Music Education at Northern Illinois University and Salzburg College. I also received my Orff Schulwerk training at DePaul University and am certified through the American Orff Schulwerk Association. I am grateful for the blessings and adventures that music has brought to my life. I look forward to sharing my love of music and cultures with the HKIS community.

Hi, I'm Mr Woods! 

I fell in love with music at a very early age and have dedicated my life to playing the piano and saxophone. 

My journey in music began with the Organ. I would spend every waking hour practicing and performing for my friends (once I had finished all of my homework - obviously). Around the age of 10, my parents bought a piano for the house and I began to study classical piano. A couple of years later, I saw a really shiny, shimmering saxophone in the music shop. I couldnt resist picking it up and taking it home. Alongside the piano, the saxophone became one of my favourite instruments from this day on.

I studied music at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (UK), the Paris Conservatoire of Music and Dance and later completed my Masters of Music at the Manhattan School of Music (NYC).As a performer, I've collaborated with multiple Grammy award winning artists such and have toured extensively throughout Europe and has performed in some of the world's top venues and festivals in Brazil, the USA, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Israel and Russia.  

I'm really excited to be in Hong Kong and look forward to working with the next generation of musicians here at Hong Kong International School.