Hello! My name is Hannah, and I am a current Creative Learning Ambassador for the Benedetti Foundation.

I grew up in Derbyshire to working-class British-South African parents and after a few years of pleading, I began piano lessons. Soon after, I started violin lessons and discovered how much I enjoyed playing with others as I joined my local community orchestra. My enthusiasm for orchestral playing sprung from this and continues to this day. I love the sense of community that an ensemble creates – whether that’s with just two or three others or seventy or eighty!

Whilst studying for a degree in music at Cardiff University, I took an interest in performance and music analysis and had violin lessons with Nancy Johnson in my final year. For a while, during and after my degree, I discarded the thought of a career in teaching; thinking that I wasn’t suited to it or didn’t know enough! However, after a couple of years working in administration, I jumped ship and gave it a go.

I now work as a Music Support Practitioner with the Derby & Derbyshire Music Partnership in a whole class teaching setting which involves supporting children with their learning. I love seeing how their confidence grows throughout the year and getting to know and celebrate everyone in the class. This role also means that I get to observe and learn from a variety of experienced teachers in the field.

I have been privileged to be taught by musicians who have been kind, and encouraging and imparted their knowledge generously. I want to mirror these qualities in my teaching approach whilst also teaching holistically and setting strong foundations for my students. High-quality music education for all, especially those from working-class environments is something so important to me and I would love to be a changemaker in this area.