Meet the Team
IN HARMONY
IN HARMONY
Administration
Claire Smith
Role/s
Course Director
Instument/s
Piano
About
Claire is a South African-born Music and Dance Teacher. After completing formal studies in Music (Bachelor of Music degree) and Dance (AIDT Dance Teachers Associate) she moved to London 30 years ago and never looked back.
Claire has taught at the Merton Music Foundation as well as directing Music at a large Merton Primary School and really enjoyed getting the pupils involved with choir, orchestra and ensembles of all kinds.
For many years she has run a thriving piano studio, with a particular focus on young beginners and adult students. Claire finds it especially rewarding to help adult returners, often after a break of many years, come back to the piano and regain their confidence.
Learning the cello for fun in her mid-30’s opened up for Claire the wonderful world of chamber music. As an adult learner herself she went on her first Holiday Music Course in 2011. The high standard of the course tuition, together with the generous encouragement and sense of fun, got Claire hooked on the joys of playing both piano and cello with others, in all sorts of combinations from duets to octets.
In the world of Dance, Claire enjoys performing and choreography, teaching mostly contemporary, jazz and tap classes for all age groups.
Her creative interests lie in live collaboration with dancers, musicians and artists in various multi-media projects and events.
Antonella Pintus
Role/s
Administration
Instument/s
Cello
About
Originally from Rome in Italy, Antonella works in technology management. An adult learner, she started playing the cello in her late thirties. Antonella has been an enthusiastic Holiday Music participant since 2019.
Hannah Olbrich BMus
Role/s
Administration
Instument/s
Cello, Piano, Violin, Flute
About
Hannah Olbrich (administrative assistant) studied cello and piano at Chetham’s School of Music and subsequently at the Royal Northern College, where she also worked as Library Assistant for some years.
As well as being an enthusiastic and regular participant at Holiday Music for many years, she has contributed numerous ideas on ensemble repertoire and also enjoys putting together some of our very complicated course schedules. As well as the cello and the piano. she also plays the violin, the viola and the flute, and is a member of several amateur orchestras around Manchester.
More recently she has successfully completed courses in coding and in data analysis and hopes to work in this area in the near future.
Body
Fionuala Power
Role/s
Yoga, Wellbeing Coach
About
Fionuala has been teaching Yoga & Mindful Movement for over 25 years. She is passionate about sharing the benefits of both & believes they enhance all aspects of being a musician & performer!
Frankie Papadakis
Role/s
Dalcroze
Instument/s
Piano, Violin
About
Frankie enjoys teaching Kodaly and Dalcroze music classes and piano at Stringendo Music School, music at Copenhagen Primary School and piano privately. She is a regular tutor at Holiday Music. She has recently graduated from UCL with an MSc in Psychoanalytic Developmental Psychology with Distinction and is working as a child counsellor with vulnerable children at Copenhagen School.
Frankie taught Kodaly musicianship classes and string ensemble classes at Junior Guildhall, and was deputy head of North London Colourstrings where she taught piano, musicianship, junior choir, beginners’ string ensembles and music kindergarten for many years.
Frankie firmly believes we are all innately musical given the right environment. She believes that Dalcroze classes enable students to express themselves freely through sound and movement, and thus experience music holistically engaging the body, mind and emotion.
Frankie has experienced the huge benefits of attending Kodaly and Dalcroze classes personally. She has also witnessed the enormous musical benefits her three daughters received from learning Kodaly and Dalcroze techniques from a young age at Junior Guidhall and Procorda. She regularly participates in Paul Robert’s annual piano summer school in France. Frankie is married and has a very lively jackapoo. She enjoys wild water swimming, pilates and dog walks with friends.
Piano
Danielle Salamon ARMCM GRSM
Role/s
Musical Consultant, Piano Coach
Instument/s
Piano
About
After 28 years of sterling work, Muriel Levin retired from directing Holiday Music, and Danielle took it over from 2018.
Danielle is an experienced recitalist, as a solo player, as a song accompanist and as a chamber musician. She is a past winner of the Mozart Memorial Prize and has been staff accompanist to the BBC Young Musician competition and to the Dartington Summer School. For several years she held a post at the University of Sheffield as Convocation Pianist in Residence, performing frequently with the Lindsay String Quartet and teaching many excellent students.
Danielle is a well established London piano teacher, with a particular interest in the training and development of gifted young pianists. For many years she has taught at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and more recently also at the Purcell School. She also mentors other piano teachers and other interested adults and has run an enthusiastic Piano Group (of adults) since 2001. She has also presented several weekend courses on the lives and works of famous composers. She has been an examiner for the ABRSM and a festival adjudicator.
Both in 2009 and 2012 she undertook tours in Australia and in New Zealand where she gave lecture recitals on various aspects of piano technique and repertoire, as well as masterclasses.
Danielle is currently engaged in a Mozart Piano Concerto project in London, and is hoping to complete the entire series. Twelve concertos have already been successfully performed with the remaining concertos to be completed.
Catherine Dubois
Role/s
Piano Coach
Instument/s
Piano
About
Catherine trained at the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music under such notable teachers as Franz Reizenstein (piano) and Sidney Griller (chamber music).
In addition to an extensive teaching career, including for many years at Harrow School and at the Purcell School, Catherine has had much experience on the concert platform, mainly by choice as an accompanist and chamber musician. She was for approximately 30 years pianist of the Deakin Piano Trio, with whom she recorded, broadcast and toured widely. Currently Catherine continues her work as private teacher and piano accompanist.
Beatrice Nicholas
Role/s
Piano Coach
Instument/s
Piano
About
Beatrice Nicholas is a British concert pianist performing solo and chamber music internationally. Her solo recitals have been noted for their culturally rich and ethnically diverse programming, often combining classical and jazz together. Beatrice has performed at the major classical music venues including the Wigmore Hall, Southbank Center, Kings Place, Snape Maltings, Edinburgh Queen’s Hall.
Her latest release Black and Classical, throws a spotlight on classical music by black women and has been described as a ‘stunning record’ by Bandcamp. She has enjoyed collaboration with oboist Nicholas Daniel, composers Lola Perrin, Matthias Sparlingher and recently appeared in the Hollywood movie The Beekeeper playing music by Federic Chopin. Beatrice is also a member of the Chineke! Chamber Ensemble; an ensemble of principal players from the Chineke! Orchestra, Europe’s first professional orchestra of majority Black & ethnically diverse musicians
As well as a concert pianist Beatrice is a composer who has received commissions from Nottingham Chamber Music Festival, Dark Design Graphics Company and was featured composer for Black History Month 2021 at the British Classical Foundation where she premiered Flight for solo piano. Her 2021 release Psalmus, which was featured on BBC Radio 3, transforms a twelfth century plainchant into a modern cinematic sound for cello and harp. Her 2023 album release Arrangements for Cello and Piano transforms traditional piano music by Schubert and Brahms into new chamber music works for cello and piano.
Nadia Lasserson B.Mus(Lond), ARAM, GRSM, ARCM (multi-piano session)
Role/s
Piano Coach
Instument/s
Piano
About
Nadia is an experienced performer of lieder, chamber music and concertos. She has recorded the rarely-heard Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin and Piano and the Schubert Notturno with violinist Peter Fisher.
She performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and Piano Concerto no 2 in Bb with the European Doctors’ Orchestra (founded by her husband Dr. Michael Lasserson ten years ago) in the Cadogan Hall and in Bangalore. She recently performed Mozart’s Coronation Concerto, her seventh in a project to play them all. Nadia teaches at the Royal College of Music and Trinity College of Music Junior Departments in London and at JAGS girls school and privately.
A firm believer in the value of ensemble playing for pianists her publication “Piano Needn’t Be Lonely” a guide to over 400 pieces of Chamber Music and Multipiano Repertoire – is now in its third edition. She is the Organising Secretary for EPTA (European Piano Teachers Association), founded by her mother, Carola Grindea, 40 years ago.
Richard Calder
Role/s
Resident Pianist
Instument/s
Piano
About
Richard Calder (LTCL) studied piano with Muriel Levin and George Hadjinikos. An experienced chamber musician and improviser, Richard has been a vital member of the Holiday Music team for many years now. He is available to form ensembles with course participants at an advanced level.
Strings
Nicky Akeroyd
Role/s
Orchestra and String Coach
Instument/s
Viola
About
Nicky studied violin and viola at the Birmingham School of Music after two years of lessons with Sidney Griller at The Royal Academy of Music.
Her first 3 years of professional playing were with the BBC Midland Radio Orchestra under Norrie Paramor until it was disbanded in 1980. Since then she has enjoyed a varied freelance career. Nicky loves chamber music and indulges in weekends of good food, good wine and wonderful quartets – the record number played in one weekend so far is 24!
After 10 years of playing with the ESO she left to pursue her love of baroque music, playing mainly with the English Baroque Soloists, The Sixteen, The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and the Academy of Ancient Music where she enjoyed tours not only to Europe but also the USA, South America and the Far East.
Now, very happily semi-retired in the Cotswolds with her partner Ruth, Nicky conducts the local choir and manages several small string ensembles.
Ian Pressland ARCM LTCL
Role/s
Cello Coach
Instument/s
Cello
About
My cello / musical life started at school and in the County Youth Orchestra in Hampshire it included two years at the Winchester School of Art in a special music education experiment which selected a small number 6th form music students from across Hampshire to be based together at the Art School. This was followed by 4 years at Trinity College of Music.
After starting my playing career with some West End Show Playing I was lucky enough to combine a job in the BBC Concert Orchestra with a post at Pro Corda where I coached and helped to manage the chamber music and the organisation. Following this period I was asked to manage and play in the London Festival Orchestra where we pioneered specialist music education schemes, built and ran our own venue and produced and recorded a series of CDs. Later I went on to set up my own arts organisation which amongst other things ended up running the London Chamber Orchestra and during this time I was asked to join the Rasumovsky Quartet where I was a member for about 15 years.
Throughout my musical life I have maintained what I consider to be a really important relationship with teaching and coaching and it is this area of work which now takes up most of my time. Much of this work is focussed on adults but also takes me into other areas such as coaching youth orchestras, conducting and adjudicating. I have a good number of lovely students and a post as a Tutor at ELLSO (East London Late Starters Orchestra) which offers me some my most rewarding and interesting work with adults who have chosen to take on the challenge of learning a string instrument.
John Crawford
Role/s
Violin Coach
Instument/s
Violin
About
John has had a long career as a performer, teacher and coach. He was a member of the BBC symphony orchestra for 10 years before teaching gradually became his main interest.
He has held positions at the RCM Junior dept, the Purcell school, the Keski Pohjanmaan Konservatorio in Finland and Trinity Laban conservatoire where he is still active. He also is a sought after teacher of the Alexander technique and has worked with many musicians seeking for more ease and comfort in their playing. He is still active as a performer, leading the Forest Philharmonic, Camden Symphony and Ernest Read orchestras, with all of which he has had regular concerto appearances. He is particularly interested in how unseen underlying attitudes to playing affect freedom and comfort.
John also coaches regularly on the National Youth String orchestra courses, European Youth summer music and this year he has been invited to coach on a Pro Corda chamber course. He has given many courses and workshops worldwide on freedom and comfort for musicians, most recently in Bulgaria.
Lucy Waterhouse
Role/s
Violin Coach
Instument/s
Violin
About
Lucy Waterhouse, born into a family of musicians in London graduated from Cambridge University before finishing her violin studies at Guildhall and finally Indiana University in USA.
Eager to travel more after performing worldwide with the ECYO (European Community Youth Orchestra) Lucy took a job in the Arctic North of Norway, before living in Oslo. Back in London, Lucy has enjoyed an extremely varied free-lance career playing in and touring with many of London’s orchestras including the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, London Mozart Players, City of London Sinfonia, English National Opera, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
As a chamber musician she has performed with the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, extensively with Tango Volcano – the band she started in 2001 and more recently with Almagro Ensemble. Lucy teaches violin and chamber music at Junior Trinity, coaches yearly at NCMC (www.ncmc.org) and is involved with Apollo Music Projects, bringing live music into Primary Schools in Hackney & Tower Hamlets.
She is a founding member of Highbury Opera Theatre and lives in Islington with her Norwegian husband and daughters.
Pamela Moody
Role/s
Cello Coach
Instument/s
Cello
About
Pamela completed a 4 year performance course in cello and composition at Trinity College of Music in London. She was awarded the Gertrude Norman Prize for Chamber Music and the Chappell Composition Prize.
Over 40 years, Pamela has taught the cello and coached Chamber Music, mainly at North London Collegiate School and Harrow School, and for a few years at the Junior Department of Trinity College of Music. She recently made a well earned retirement from school teaching, but continues to teach privately.
Florica Grigoras
Role/s
Violin Coach
Instument/s
Violin
About
Born and raised in Romania, Florica won The QEQM Scholarship and the Martin Musical Fund Award as a student of the RCM London, at the age of 20. Her performing career started at seven years old, a few months after picking up the violin. Florica started teaching soon after she turned 15. Her first student, Diana Jipa, is now one of the most respected violinists in her native Romania.
In London, Florica performed as a soloist and chamber music player. She worked with the LSO, RPO and Ensemble Modern. She remembers fondly playing under the baton of Lorin Maazel and Yan Pascal Tortelier as a soloist and Sir Colin Davis, Seiji Ozawa and Bernard Haitink as an orchestra member.
As a child she followed a strict discipline of practising and won competitions and awards. Florica’s love of music continued developing and deepening, after arriving in the UK. Whilst teaching remained her profession, she continued playing with and for friends, for charity and for fun, within and outside professional circles.
For over seven years Florica has been practising yoga daily as well as teaching it. Yoga means joining, merging, unity, integration. As a yoga practising violinist, Florica is now thrilled to consider herself a professionally amateur musician, thus joining the growing community of players and singers who play, rehearse and join together to perform simply out of love for music, regardless of age, background, or grade.
Florica is raising two children who read books, invent games and love plants. She enjoys the challenge of growing an edible garden, playing Capoeira and is looking forward to completing a professional course as a Personal Trainer.
Voice
Hilary Fisher
Role/s
Vocal Coordinator
Instument/s
Piano, Voice
About
Throughout her performing career – as an oratorio soloist and cabaret singer with Cavatina and Flamin’ Dames – Hilary has taught singing both to solo singers and to amateur groups. She led classes at Goldsmiths College, The City Literary Institute, The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Laine Theatre Arts and Richmond College. A particular pleasure was teaching at Summer Schools: Little Benslow, Summer Music at Eastbourne College and the Irish Summer School in Dublin.
For many years she was Music Director for the Champernowne Trust annual Summer Course. This year she returns to South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell for their classical singers’ day. She teaches privately in South West London. Hilary Fisher – longer biog After leaving The Royal Academy of Music, Hilary formed a quartet called ‘Four Soloists’ with whom she sang as a soloist in oratorio concerts throughout the country.
She also founded a trio, ‘Cavatina’ for whom she wrote a children’s show, The Magic Music Bus and a classical cabaret about Rossini’s retirement, Sins of My Old Age which toured extensively to schools and theatres from the Channel Islands to The Shetlands and Ireland to Suffolk. After two shows, Trio Grande, and Trio Grande Goes Green which included a commission from Gary Carpenter, Hilary wrote a one-woman comedy show, A Chorus of One directed by Keith Warner.
Latterly Hilary teamed up with soprano Helen Whittington to form Flamin’ Dames which toured widely until 2017. Throughout her performing career Hilary has taught singing both to solo singers and to amateur groups. She lead classes at Goldsmiths College, The City Literary Institute, The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Laine Theatre Arts and Richmond College.
A particular pleasure was teaching at Summer Schools: Little Benslow, Summer Music at Eastbourne College and the Irish Summer School for singers in Dublin. For many years she was Music Director for the Champernowne Trust annual Summer Course. This year she returns to South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell for their classical singers’ day. She teaches privately in South West London.
Raphaela Papadakis
Role/s
Vocal Coach
Instument/s
Voice
About
Raphaela was born in London to a musical family and could sing before she could speak. She performed her first solo aged four singing Once in Royal David’s City, and hasn’t stopped since.
After studying English at Clare College, Cambridge, she won a full scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she continued to win prizes and awards including 1st prize at the National Mozart Competition.
For the past decade, she has enjoyed a busy and varied career as an operatic soprano, singing principal roles and covering at opera houses such as the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne, Garsington and the Berlin Staatsoper, performing recitals across the globe from Carnegie Hall to the Beethoven Woche in Bonn, working as a consort and choral singer with acclaimed groups on international tours, and recording for film, television, and radio.
During the pandemic, she trained as a primary-school teacher, which gave her new-found confidence in her skills as a leader and educator. She now has a thriving private studio teaching singers of all ages and abilities, and leads choirs in schools and outreach settings.
Her philosophy is – anyone can sing. It’s her mission in life to inspire others to enjoy singing and music as much as she does.
