Visiting Music Tutors

Pipe Major Bryan J Robinson is the current piping instructor at Ampleforth College and Director of the School’s Pipe Band, having held the post for twenty five years. He has taught over 200 Pipers and Drummers during this time.  Originally from Dumbarton, Scotland, he started piping at the age of ten in his local Pipe Band, becoming the Band`s Pipe Major at the age of just twenty one.  He moved to Glasgow to join one of the top grade Pipe Bands and thereafter joined Polkemmet Pipe Band, winner of the Scottish and European Championships and runner-up at the World Championships.

Previously he has been Pipe Major of the City of Newcastle Pipe Band who compete actively in contest around the      country and are currently one of England’s foremost Pipe Bands.

Students young and old at various schools in the North East have benefited from his ability to motivate and inspire, and he has influenced the musical journeys of many Ampleforth pipers and entertained many audiences at Ampleforth events around the country.

Nicola Hicks joined Ampleforth College as Head of Strings in 2017. Her duties include teaching violin and viola to an excellent standard, ensuring the String Department is strong and productive, directing Pro Musica (the string orchestra), and coaching chamber music ensembles. In addition to teaching at Ampleforth College, Nicola enjoys a multifaceted career maintaining a thriving private studio of students in London, performing as a freelance orchestral and session musician, and mentoring and tutoring for youth ensembles such as Chineke! Junior Orchestra and Sistema England.   

As a viola player, Nicola has performed regularly in chamber ensembles and orchestras internationally. Nicola’s orchestral engagements include performances at the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Concertgebouw (Netherlands) with the Chineke! Orchestra, Symphony Hall with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and Lincoln Center (New York City) with the Penn State University Chamber Orchestra. Nicola’s chamber ensemble, the Simple String Quintet, won the 2014-15 Southard Music Competition at the University of Northern Colorado and performed at numerous prestigious events including a concert at the Lone Tree Arts Center (Colorado). 

In addition to the Western classical canon, Nicola has explored experimental compositions that combine instrumental performance with electronics, visual arts, and graphic scores. Having recently rediscovered her own enthusiasm for composing, Nicola is toiling at several new writing projects.

Nicola’s interest in teaching was sparked and fostered during her own studies in both UK and USA. Her primary professors were Dr Louise Lansdown and Dr Timothy Deighton, both of whom inspired and encouraged her musical journey. Nicola graduated with Distinction and Excellent, respectively, from her master’s degrees at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Pennsylvania State University. Nicola spent three years as a Viola Teaching Assistant at universities in the USA and has delivered presentations at the 2nd Annual Colorado Viola Celebration and the Rocky Mountain Viola Society Viola Day. 

Neil is an experienced all-round musician having played in a variety of contexts, both live and in the studio. The bulk of his work is in musical theatre - most recently with the UK & international tour of hit musical 'Wicked'. As well as being chair-holder on many shows, Neil has been a dep in the West End and on major UK tours such as 'Wicked' (2014/15 Tour & West End)​, 'Cats' (Tour & West End)​, '9 To 5' (West End), 'Rock Of Ages' (Tour), 'Matilda' (Tour), 'Ghost' (Tour), 'The Bodyguard' (Tour), 'The Wedding Singer' (Tour) and 'Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat' (Tour). He continues to play on various productions across the country and is also regularly involved with some smaller amateur productions. He was also the guitarist for the UK Premier of 'Xanadu - The Musical'​ at the Southwark Playhouse, London.

Neil started teaching professionally in 2002 and since then has seen several pupils go on to study at some of the country's leading music colleges and conservatoires, such as the Royal Northern College of Music, Leeds College of Music, the Academy of Contemporary Music, and BIMM. As well as maintaining a busy performance and teaching schedule, he also works as an examiner for London College of Music.

Alice Maslin is a graduate of the University of Oxford where she read music and was also a choral scholar at Lady Margaret Hall. Since graduating she attained a LTCL diploma in piano performance with distinction, and has pursued a career as a freelance pianist, piano teacher and accompanist. At the age of 13, she was awarded the Lloyd Hartley Prize for achieving the highest mark in Grade 8 piano in the Leeds region. Then at the age of 16, she was fortunate to be accepted as a private pupil of Martin Roscoe, international concert pianist and acclaimed piano teacher, with whom she studied for 6 years. Alice subsequently studied piano accompaniment with John Gough, Professor of Piano Performance and Accompaniment at the Royal Northern College of Music, and has also participated in many piano masterclasses, most notably with Michael Roll, Angela Hewitt, Kathryn Stott, Noriko Ogawa and Phillipe Cassard.  

Alice has a rapidly expanding private piano teaching practice, and has taught at Ampleforth College since 2019. Whilst at Oxford, she was employed by the Music Faculty as an official accompanist and is now a visiting accompanist at the Grammar School at Leeds, and official accompanist for the Harrogate Competitive Music Festival. She has also accompanied at Leeds College of Music for concert, vocal ensembles, auditions and masterclasses; recent highlights being a public vocal masterclass given by Royal Academy Professor Yvonne Howard at the Venue in Leeds and recitals at The Otley Courthouse and Wakefield Cathedral.  

Catherine Hewitt studied the French Horn with Derek Taylor at the Royal Academy of Music where she gained a 1st Class BMus.Hons Degree in 1997.  Having worked as a freelance French Horn player from the age of 15 in local orchestras in Kent, she joined the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Orchestra of the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1998 as Third Horn and progressed up to Principal Horn in 2002 until 2005.  During her career she has been fortunate to be able to work with many major orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Opera House, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.  Since becoming a parent in 2006 and moving to Yorkshire a few years later, Catherine has worked mainly as a French Horn player with local orchestras in the Ripon and Harrogate areas and is currently a Brass teacher at several schools including Ampleforth College and Terrington Hall.

Pietro Lusvardi graduated from the “Conservatorio di Musica” of Como in Italy where he gained his degree and postgraduate diploma in music. He started working with a number of orchestras including Pomeriggi Musicali (Italy), touring with Sinfonica Orchestra of Cluj Napoca and Filarmonica Oltenia Craiova (Romania).

In 1997 he founded the award-winning jazz avant-garde ensemble Gatto Marte. The ensemble, over two decades, has published ten albums, composed and performed live the scores of numerous silent films and toured Europe and the USA.

Pietro has also composed and published four albums for solo double bass: “Progetto Contrabasso”, “Animali Rari”,“The Lost Concerto”, and “Racconti sul Lago”.

In 2000 Pietro moved to California USA and worked with the Monterey Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, Bay Shore Lyric Opera in Capitola and Ensemble Monterey, as well as performing solo double bass recitals featuring his original compositions.

Since coming to the UK in 2004 Pietro has been commissioned to write the opera “Colombo Tutto Tondo” by Teeside University which has been performed in England and Ireland, music for ballet by Tees Valley Dance, and a Concerto For Double Bass and Orchestra by the Hull Philharmonic Society, which he performed in 2011 with the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra and in 2013 with the Teeside Symphony Orchestra.

Pietro also began working with orchestras, and chamber ensembles including: BBC Philharmonic, Northern Ballet, National Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble 360. He also has a busy teaching schedule including pupils at the University of York, Durham University, Ampleforth College, and Hymers College. 

Born in the London Borough of Barnet, Isabel studied bassoon at Trinity College of Music and The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. During this time she was a member of the Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

From 1999 to 2002 Isabel was sub-principal bassoonist with the Cyprus State Orchestra for three years before moving back to the UK and settling in York. Since then she has lead a busy life freelance playing and teaching bassoon, flute, oboe and recorder. She has taught at Ampleforth since 2009 and also teaches at St Peter’s and Bootham School in York, Queen Mary’s Topcliffe, Harrogate Grammar and at the University of York. She is principal bassoon with the York Guildhall Orchestra, the Academy of St Olave’s and two wind quintets. In recent years Isabel has become involved in Early Music and she has performed regularly with the York Waits since 2015 on curtal, shawm, bagpipes, recorder and crumhorn, including trips to the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway.

A native of Liverpool, Richard began bashing pots and pans at home before embarking on formal percussion lessons at the age of 11. Whilst studying for a BA(Hons) in Liverpool he also attended the Stevens International Marimba Conference at The Eastman School of Music - USA.

Postgraduate study followed in Manchester at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he was awarded Distinction in both the Postgraduate Diploma and Master of Music degree.

Since leaving music college, Richard has enjoyed a busy performance career working with musicians ranging from Vladimir Ashkenazy to Deep Purple. He regularly works with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé, Manchester Camerata and Royal Northern Sinfonia. Music has taken Richard throughout Europe and Asia and he has performed many times at the BBC Proms. 

In 2016 Richard was elected a Member of the Royal Society of Musicians.

Matthew was born in Portsmouth and started singing as a boy chorister at All Saints Portsea. At the age of 16 he won a scholarship to study under David Hurley and Margaret Philpot on the Hampshire Specialist Music Course and then went on to win a scholarship to the Royal Northern College of Music. The highlights of Matthew’s concert work include Bach’s B Minor Mass and St John and Matthew passions, Handel’s Messiah and Solomon, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Purcell’s Ode to St Cecilia.  Matthew recently performed with Ballet Rambert and in a concert of early music as a member of the Deller Consort. He is also no stranger to operatic roles, having played Ottone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Guilio Cesare in Handel’s Giulio Cesare. He is proud to have performed on a number of different recordings with the Hyperion, Regent and Naxos labels. In recent years Matthew has returned to Cathedral singing, heading first for Wells Cathedral before moving to Yorkshire with his wife and young family. He now sings at Ripon Cathedral, is vocal coach to the choristers of Ripon and York and has presented singing masterclasses at many other northern cathedrals.  

Matthew has an M.A. in Solo and Ensemble Singing under Robert Hollingworth at The University of York, and has recently started his own music events company, High Row Music.

One of the foremost English sopranos of her generation, Sarah Fox was educated at Giggleswick School, London University and the Royal College of Music. A former winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and the John Christie Award, she is also an Honorary Fellow of Royal Holloway College, London University.

Roles at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden include Micaela in Carmen, Asteria in Tamerlano, Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Woglinde in Der Ring des Nibelungen. Other highlights include Asteria in Munich and Barcelona (opposite Domingo), Zerlina at Glyndebourne and in Cincinnati, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro for Glyndebourne and Mimi in La bohème for Opera North; additional roles include Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes, Servilia in La clemenza di Tito, and Ilia in Idomeneo.

Her prestigious concert career has taken her worldwide with engagements in Dallas, Denver, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, Tel Aviv and Tokyo as well as tours throughout the UK and Europe. She works with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, CBSO, Colorado Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra,  Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Salzburg Camerata, Vienna Tonklunster Orchestra and the Hallé, under conductors including Elder, Hickox, Mackerras, Manze, Petrenko and Rattle. She has appeared several times at the BBC Proms, the Three Choirs Festival and at London’s Wigmore Hall ​where she sang as part of their 120^th Anniversary Celebrations in 2021. Sarah has performed with John Wilson and his Orchestra, is a regular guest on BBC Radio 2’s ‘Friday Night is Music Night’ and has sung with Rufus Wainwright in Europe and Hong Kong. Recent highlights include Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne in Milan with Roberto Fores Veses; a tour of Maher's 2^nd Symphony in Spain with Robert Trevino; and Vaughan Williams's Sinfonia Antartica at the Bridgewater Hall with John Wilson.

Her discography includes the title role in the world premier recording of Parry’s Judith (Chandos); Aminta/Il Re Pastore (Classical Opera Company), The Cole Porter Songbook, Poulenc Songs and Mahler’s 4^th Symphony (Philharmonia/Mackerras) all for Signum Classics; Mozart’s Requiem (London Mozart Players) for Convivium Records; Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem (Colorado Symphony Orchestra/Litton); two volumes of the complete survey of Parry’s English Lyrics for Somm; and Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony (RLPO/Andrew Manze) for Onyx.

Lindita is a graduate of the Tirana Academy of Fine Arts, Albania. She has found her musical vocation as a teacher, exploring the pedagogy of piano studies, and has a wide experience of piano teaching from beginner to diploma level. She is a professional member of EPTA (the European Piano Teachers’ Association), taking her students through ABRSM or equivalent graded syllabi with impressive results.  

She takes pride in tailoring her teaching to the individual needs of her students, making sure that they enjoy their music making, whether for examination or for fun, and drawing on her experience to help overcome challenges.  

Alongside her Ampleforth pupils, Lindita currently teaches at Cundall Manor School, York Arts Education and Terrington Hall School.