Dunbar Music School CIC
Midlothian & East Lothian Business Award Community Impact, Winner 2017
Our teachers
Siobhan Grealy
Siobhan Grealy - Director, Flute, Musicianship Workshop Leader.
Siobhan began her studies at The Royal College of Music and went on to postgraduate studies at The Royal Academy of Music where she studied with William Bennett and then in France with Charles Dagnino. As a young artist Siobhan won numerous prizes, awards and competitions which launched her career as a Chamber Musician and Soloist appearing through the UK & Europe in concert halls, on televisions and on radio.
Orchestral success also followed and Siobhan became established as the foremost freelance player in London before eventually accepting a position with The London Symphony Orchestra as their 2nd Flute. As a member of the LSO Siobhan toured the world, recorded extensively both live in concert and commercially for film soundtracks such as Harry Potter. She also appeared as a chamber musician, an adjudicator, worked as part of the LSO’s award winning education team and gave masterclasses and workshops at the music colleges in London.
Siobhan’s experience as a freelance orchestral musician and then as a member of the LSO has, unusually seen her in demand as both a principal player as well as a section player and principal piccolo. Guest principal appearances include The London Symphony Orchestra, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Philharmonia, The BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, The English Chamber Orchestra, The City of London Sinfonia, The Royal Northern Sinfonia, The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and The Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
Siobhan left The LSO in 2013 and moved to Scotland which has lengthened her commute to London only slightly as the flights are somewhat faster than South West trains! She is still in demand with her London Colleagues and also now appears regularly in the commercial recording studios recording sound tracks such as How to Train your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda and Alice Through the Looking Glass
Jacqui Preston
Jacqui Preston - Director, Piano, Pre-school Workshop Leader.
Jacqui studied music education at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance and music at the University of Exeter. Jacqui has combined her love of music and teaching with a successul career in business support for education, obtaining a masters degree in human resource management and business from Westminster Business School.
Jacqui has worked in a variety of education institutions across different sectors including the renowned Guildhall School of Music & Drama and has a strong reputation in education at both management and board level.
Music and movement and development of creativity are integral to Jacqui's teaching and are at the heart of Dunbar Music School's early years music programmes.
Calum
Wood
Calum
Wood
Calum Wood - Director, Short Course Coordinator, Guitar.
Calum graduated from Edinburgh Napier University with a first class honours degree in popular music and the university award for outstanding achievement. He has gone on to become a successful composer and performer, twice touring across America and appearing at prestigious festivals including Glastonbury and T in the Park. He has recorded with some of Scotland's finest musicians and masterminded the best selling album 'Royal Oak: Best of Folk'. Calum is currently performing 140 concerts a year with The Taste of Scotland Show. Calum joins from The Academy and Music and Sound.
Liam
O'Hare
Liam
O'Hare
Liam O'Hare - drums
Liam has a degree in popular music from Edinburgh Napier University and currently plays with 'The Soul Foundation' - a 9 piece soul band based in Edinburgh, regularly performing in venues across Scotland. With students ranging from young beginners through to students in higher education, Liam has demonstrated he has a creative and fun teaching style. Liam is so enthusiastic about performing and teaching, he often writes his own teaching materials in addition to preparing students for Rock School exams and National 5 - Advanced Higher SQA exams.
Liam O'Hare - drums
Liam has a degree in popular music from Edinburgh Napier University and currently plays with 'The Soul Foundation' - a 9 piece soul band based in Edinburgh, regularly performing in venues across Scotland. With students ranging from young beginners through to students in higher education, Liam has demonstrated he has a creative and fun teaching style. Liam is so enthusiastic about performing and teaching, he often writes his own teaching materials in addition to preparing students for Rock School exams and National 5 - Advanced Higher SQA exams.
Liam O'Hare -
Liam has a degree in popular music from Edinburgh Napier University and currently plays with 'The Soul Foundation' - a 9 piece soul band based in Edinburgh, regularly performing in venues across Scotland. With students ranging from young beginners through to students in higher education, Liam has demonstrated he has a creative and fun teaching style. Liam is so enthusiastic about performing and teaching, he often writes his own teaching materials in addition to preparing students for Rock School exams and National 5 - Advanced Higher SQA exams.
Graham
Dickson
Graham Dickson - Flute
Graham is a dynamic and dedicated flute player and teacher. He graduated from The Royal Conservatoire Scotland in 2016 and has gone on to establish himself as a fine flute player, freelancing with among others, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra as well as touring and performing recitals with his Wind Quintet. Graham has also dedicated himself to studying the flute at postgraduate level with renowned pedagogue Robert Winn & Dunbar Music School Director, Siobhan Grealy, which has led to him becoming a highly sought after and successful teacher in his
own right.
Ruth
Ellis
Ruth Ellis - Clarinet
Ruth was born in Leek, Staffordshire. From the age of nine she travelled to Manchester every Saturday morning for clarinet and piano lessons at the junior department of the Royal Northern College of Music. On leaving school, Ruth became a full time student at the RNCM where she studied for four years.
Ruth freelanced in and around Manchester playing principal clarinet in both the Manchester Camerata and Northern Chamber orchestras. She also toured throughout England with the Northern Ballet Company playing for many ballets including ‘Swan Lake’, ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Coppelia’.
Ruth joined the Scottish Chamber orchestra as sub-principal clarinet in 1988. As well as playing regularly in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and all other major towns and cities during the winter/spring months, the SCO travels widely through the highlands and islands every summer. For Ruth, it was a wonderful way to get to know Scotland! Whilst a member of the orchestra, Ruth also went on concert tours abroad to many European countries, America, South America and India.
Ruth was a founder member of the Edinburgh based chamber group the Hebrides
Ensemble. She was a guest member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Ruth has always taught alongside her playing career; since leaving the SCO in 2009
she has become more involved with teaching in East Lothian, at Edinburgh Napier
University and George Watson’s College.
Graeme
Armstrong
Graeme Armstrong - guitar, folk guitar, ukulele, banjo, folk workshops
Graeme, a guitarist/ singer from Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders. He graduated from the Newcastle University Folk and Traditional Music Degree and went on to tour extensively around the world including Australia and Kazakhstan. Graeme currently performs with The Rachel Hamer Band and as a duo with folk fiddler Carly Blain and since 2018 as a member of the award winning band Talisk with whom he has performs throughout the world. Graeme teaches across many different genres whilst specialising in Traditional Scottish Music.
Joe
Hodson
Joe Hodson - folk fiddle, violin, viola
Joe grew up in Dumfries and Galloway where he began studying the violin and fiddle at a young age and quickly became immersed in a musical path including being a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. In 2018, Joe graduated from The Royal Conservatoire Scotland and has since launched a successful performing career which includes working with many of Scotland's finest ensembles in opera, ballet & jazz.
Joe is an experienced teacher who first started teaching at a young age by working alongside his teachers assisting with young students and beginners. He has led classes in classical violin as well as folk fiddle and has gone on to cement his teaching credentials through his time at The Royal Conservatoire Scotland and is much in demand as a string tutor.
Ffion
Heledd
Ffion Heledd - clarsach, concert harp, folk song
Ffion has performed and tutored the clarsach and concert harp for over 20 years and has experience teaching both adults and children both individually and in group settings. She was lucky enough to have a clarsach at home when growing up and once she was old enough to stand up and touch it, she never looked back!
Ffion is classically traineed but also immersed in the folk traditions of her native Wales and Scotland. She spent a year living in the Hebrides where she studied for a diploma in traditional music and Gaelic whilst developing her interest in composition. Ffion lives in
Dunbar & is a mum to two lively boys.
Drew
Crichton
Drew Crichton- piano
Drew began his piano studies from an early age under the tuition of his grandmother, Mary Hood. Graduating from Edinburgh Napier University in 2016 with a first-class BMus (Hons), he was also awarded the Makin Piano Prize.
Frequently performing throughout Edinburgh and neighbouring locations as a solo and ensemble pianist, Drew is also the Organ scholar at St Andrews and St Georges West church. Receiving organ tuition from the Director of Music, Brigitte Harris, he has also been a member of the choir since 2012.
Drew is an enthusiastic and experienced teacher, focusing on enjoyable lessons while maintaining strong playing technique. To create confident and competent performers, he covers numerous musical aspects in lessons to ensure complete understanding of the music. Teaching is a passion of Drew’s and he has been doing so privately within Edinburgh for a number of years.
Fraser
Harrington
Fraser Harrington - Piano
Initially graduating from Edinburgh Napier University in 2016, Fraser is currently studying under Scott Mitchell at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on the postgraduate piano accompaniment course. While at university, Fraser consistently pursued a variety of work, accompanying regularly for choirs, playing for numerous opera productions, and gaining extensive experience playing for musical theatre.
Upon graduating, Fraser moved down to Sussex to take up a full-time position in the music department of Lancing College. In tandem with the responsibilities of working in an incredibly lively and active department, he continued to pursue freelance work as and when he could, playing for shows between Brighton and London and gaining experience as an orchestral pianist. It was this juggling act between education and performing that really started to foster a love of working with young musicians and, in line with Fraser’s own experience, he is always keen to remind his students just how much variety you can have as a pian
Dan
Brown
Dan Brown - Piano
Dan Brown is a Jazz pianist in much demand as a performer and since graduating from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has collaborated with some of Scotlands finest young musicians as a member of the Tommy Youth jazz Orchestra as well as being in demand for prestigious festivals like Celtic Connections. Dan began playing the piano as a child and in his mid teens discovered a love of jazz which led to him establishing a performing career very young as he formed a quartet who performed throughout his home in Lancashire. In 2014 he relocated to Glasgow to study on the Jazz course at RCS. As well as his performing portfolio, Dan is in much demand as a teacher and also runs his own Jazz and traditional Scottish Music crossover project, ‘Dreaming of White Horses’