Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Tutors and Staff (A to Z)
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Gareth Twigg
Bassoon and Contrabassoon Tutor
Gareth Twigg is Principal Contrabassoon of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since 2009. Under the tenure of Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko, highlights include recording the complete Shostakovich Symphonies for Naxos, and playing the solo Contrabassoon part to ‘Never Smile at a Crocodile’. ...
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Nathaniel Vallois
Senior Violin Tutor
Nathaniel Vallois is Senior Violin Tutor at the Birmingham Conservatoire and is on the violin and chamber music staff at the Purcell School of Music. Besides his teaching and concert activities in the U.K., he is regularly invited to perform, broadcast and give masterclasses abroad (U.S.A, China, France, Italy, Germany, Spain,...
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Iwan VanHetten
Visiting Tutor
UK based trumpeter, keyboardist, musical director, composer / songwriter and producer Iwan VanHetten has worked & toured with artists including Sister Sledge, Candy Dulfer, Paco Sery, The Pointer Sisters, Jools Holland, Jimmy Haslip, Will Kennedy, Russell Ferrante. He is one of a rare breed of musicians who have stellar...
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Helen Varley
Tenor Horn Tutor
Helen Varley is solo horn of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, well known as the band from the film ‘Brassed Off’, and plays in concerts and competitions across the UK. Helen is the specialist tenor horn tutor at Birmingham Conservatoire and Junior RNCM, and has previously held similar posts at Chetham’s School of Music and...
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Errollyn Wallen
Composition Tutor
Errollyn Wallen is an award-winning composer and lyricist. Her works include symphonies, ballets, operas and chamber music. Recent large-scale commissions include two works featuring the London Symphony Orchestra for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games – PRINCIPIA, for massed choirs and orchestra, and...
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Nicholas Wearne
Visiting Tutor
Nicholas Wearne is a prize-winning organ recitalist who has performed in venues which include Suntory Hall, Tokyo; St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York; and at Cathedrals in Berlin, Canterbury and Washington. He combines his playing career with the post of Organ Tutor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where he enjoys...
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Chamari Wedamulla
Research Assistant
Chamari Wedamulla is a PhD researcher in music education at Kingston University. Having worked as a music teacher in mainstream and special needs schools in the UK and in Sri Lanka, her research focuses on interdisciplinary, intercultural and inclusive music teaching practices. Her current research areas include studying the...
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Dan West
Bass Trombone Tutor
Bass trombonist Dan West has established himself as a busy & versatile musician since moving to London in 2005. Dan performs & is often recorded with London’s top orchestras, has played on major Hollywood soundtracks, and from 2015 until 2020 was trombonist in the West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the...
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Pauline Wetherell
Alexander Technique Tutor
Pauline studied singing at the Welsh College of Music and Drama and at the Royal Academy of Music. Career highlights include Buxton Festival Opera, a BBC recital, and creating the role of Eugene Dessenne in A Foreign Field by Eric Wetherell in 2010. As a singer herself, Pauline works to help performers find freedom and...
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Amanda Whiting
Jazz Harp Tutor
With a Classical degree in Harp and Masters in Jazz, Amanda Whiting is pioneering Jazz harp in the UK. After supporting a concert with Jamie Cullum and consequently recording with Dannii Minogue, she has gone on to headline at Edinburgh Harp Festival as well as tour internationally with Matthew Halsall and the Gondwana...