Welcome to the Piano Department
About us
Our piano department, formerly known as Royal Arsenal School of Piano, makes up a large part of the music school community. We welcome students of all abilities, and enjoy tutoring both children and adults.
Lessons take place either in one of our five beautiful studios or online and we have many highly esteemed piano teachers, all passionate educators and acclaimed musicians in their own right.
We know that every child learns differently so we tailor our lessons to individual needs so that everyone can thrive under our tutorship here at the school.
Rosalind Wilks
Head of Piano
Rosalind Wilks studied violin with Gillian Findlay at Trinity College of Music, ending the course in 2009 when she then went on to study her Masters in Piano Accompaniment at the Royal Academy of Music with Andrew West. She plays violin and viola regularly with various different ensembles and bands such as Abraxas Ensemble, Sensation Band and The Lady Godiva’s for private functions and events. She has played in orchestras and ensembles all over the world, touring in China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore along with places closer to home such as Italy and France. She deputised on keys in the musical ‘Jersey Boys’ in the West End for 8 years until the show closed and performed with Gorillaz at the 02 and Birmingham Arena.
After her move to Royal Arsenal in September 2015 she set up her teaching practice Royal Arsenal School of Piano. In 2021 Rosalind and Sally Wragg co-founded Royal Arsenal School of Music and she now teaches 60 students a week. She has over 10 years teaching experience and has worked with her students from beginners through to Grade 8, with a 100% pass rate for the ABRSM exams.
Agne Vitcaite
Associate Piano Teacher
Agne holds a Masters Degree in Classical Piano Performance from the Estonian Music and Theatre Academy. She moved to London 6 years ago after graduating. Although she is classically trained, she is a very well-rounded musician and has a good understanding of jazz and popular music too. She started teaching around the time that she moved to London and her students successfully pass their ABRSM graded exams every year. She also teaches Music Theory to a high level and has a special interest in music harmony.
Agne finds it important that the whole music learning process, whether you are working towards grades or playing for your own pleasure, should be enjoyable and take place in a relaxed environment.
Nicola New
Associate Piano Teacher & Brass Teacher
Since graduating from the Royal College of Music, Nicky has combined her chamber and orchestral performance work with teaching and accompaniment.
She has taught all ages and abilities, from beginners to working musicians, within specialist music centres, schools, barracks and community settings as an instrumental tutor, ensemble leader and music co-ordinator. Nicky will be running our Early Years Classes, 'Tiny Tunes' and 'Toddler Tunes' on Saturday mornings.
Alongside being a freelance musician, Nicky has worked extensively with children and adults who have complex needs, and believes music and the creative arts should be accessible for all.
She currently works on a ward in a children’s hospital and recently completed an MSc Psychology. When she has any time off, she likes exploring new places, drawing and creative writing.
Honor Watson
Associate Piano Teacher & Music Theory Tutor
Honor studied at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, where she majored in the violin under the tutelage of Gina McCormack. Since graduating in 2009, she has enjoyed a very busy freelance career, performing extensively across six continents.
Honor has recorded, performed and toured with many artists, including Mark Ronson, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Michael Bublé, Jess Glynne, Little Simz, Ellie Goulding, Pink Floyd, The Sex Pistols, Seal, Elbow, Bastille, Sam Smith, Tom Odell, Beverley Knight, Paloma Faith, Dermot Kennedy, Sarah Connor, Roger Sanchez, Jessie J, Diversity, Rick Astley, Bryn Terfel, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, James McCartney, Jason Donovan, Alexander Armstrong and Ronan Keating.
Honor also enjoys performing internationally as a member of electric string quartet, Escala. Highlights have included performing their track Louder at The Royal Variety Show and being the first musical act to perform at the opening of the London Olympic Stadium in 2012.
An experienced and passionate educator, Honor led a variety of outreach projects and workshops for students in London and Kent whilst studying at Trinity and has since taught violin, piano and music theory both privately and in various schools over the last decade. This includes a Head of Strings post, freelance chamber music group coaching for secondary school children in the South East London area and Strings Mentor on the CLIC Sargent Summer Course.
Alison Holford
Associate Piano Teacher
Alison Holford was born and brought up in Birmingham. She read music at Huddersfield University and Trinity College of Music, studying with Sue Lowe, Anna Shuttleworth and David Kenedy. At Trinity College of Music she was principal cello in the college Symphony Orchestra and the Contemporary Music Group.
Since graduating she has pursued a busy freelance career, playing and teaching both piano and cello in London and the south-east of England. Her performing work includes: principal cello of St Paul's Sinfonia; solo cello in Splinter Cell, a contemporary music group based in Canterbury that aims to mix the most challenging and virtuosic pre-composed music with free improvisation, and collaborate with other art forms including film, visual art and dance; cellist in Bridgetower Music, a flexible chamber ensemble performing anything from piano trios to Pierrot Lunaire; and in France, principal and continuo cello of Opera de Baugé.
The piano has been a constant musical companion since Alison began formal lessons, on the advice of her cello teacher. She studied piano at Huddersfield with Paul Feehan and regularly accompanied group cello classes and other students. Since graduating, Alison has taught piano and cello from beginner to ARSM and has enjoyed seeing pupils progress to studying music at degree level.
Alison is a regular accompanist for ABRSM exams and recitals at the Harrodian School, where she teaches. She has accompanied for classes at the London Cello Club and acts as a deputy accompanist for Thurrock Choral Society.
Amanda Drummond
Associate Piano Teacher
As a multi-instrumentalist, Amanda has been working as a London based composer, session musician and stage performer for the last 30 years. She has recorded and toured worldwide and performed on TV, Radio and Live Stream across many genres with a variety of musicians such as Tom Jones, Take That, Bryan Ferry, Mary J Blige, Chaka Khan, Michael Brecker, Courtney Pine, Paul Weller, Jamiroquai, Carleen Anderson, Spice Girls, Oasis, Omar and Madness.
Although self taught on the cello, guitar, bass, saxophone and flute, piano has always been her first love and at the core of her studies and compositions. Taught by her Father from the age of four and through singing in the church choir, Amanda developed a passion for traditional hymns and psalms as well as the seasonal choral classics of Bach and Handel. At the age of 9 she took up the violin and then viola at Pimlico Secondary School (currently Academy) and the I.L.E.A funded CYM (Centre for Young Musicians), continuing her studies at the Guildhall School Of Music. In 2004 Amanda gained a Jazz Degree specialising on the Violectra, a 6-stringed electric Violin.
She is currently studying British Sign Language with the aim of teaching music to hearing impaired adults and children.
“In my teaching I like to encourage curiosity and exploration, enabling students to teach each other and themselves”
“I’ve always loved the piano, the perfect go-to for relaxation, stress relief, musical problem-solving and most of all, fun! Anyone can start at any age, why not!”
Alexander Ling
Associate Piano Teacher
Alexander is a musician and music teacher working and living in South-East London. He came from Surrey to Greenwich in 2012 to study composition and piano at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. He is now an experienced piano teacher who prepares his students for concerts, alongside ABRSM and Trinity College London Examinations. His lessons include composing, improvising and listening as part of developing technically proficient and expressive musicianship.
With the exception of a brief interlude hosting gin and whisky tastings in 2017, Alexander has worked in a variety of musical fields since graduating with honours in 2016. In addition to his teaching, he finds himself in demand as an orchestrator and arranger in film, television and theatre. He was Associate Orchestrator for Matthew Bourne’s production of Romeo & Juliet (2019), composer and sound designer for Estella Castle’s The People’s Pageant (2019, commission by the National Trust), and worked alongside Terry Davies as an Arranger on two ballets — Mrs Robinson (2019) and The Red Shoes (2020). More recently he has worked as an orchestrator on a handful of films, including A Writer’s Odyssey (dir. Yang Lu) and Munich (dir. Christian Schwochow). Alexander also performs on the piano, most recently playing Finzi’s Eclogue with Invicta Sinfonia (2021).
In spare moments, Alexander creates virtual musical instruments from nature recordings. His efforts — Fire, Stream, Wave and Rain — can be heard and downloaded free at pianobook.co.uk.
Molly Lynch
Associate Piano Teacher
Molly trained in voice and piano at the Cork School of Music, achieving a First Class Honors BMus degree. As well as performance she also specialized in conducting and music therapy. She has taught piano and voice for over ten years, in Ireland and London and is an extremely passionate teacher.
Most recently Molly played the lead role of Cathy in the West End production of The Last Five Years in an actor-musician production that centered around a grand piano. She has also performed at LA Opera, Chicago Opera House, English National Opera and the BBC Proms alongside performers such as Renee Fleming, Bryn Terfl and Emma Thompson.
Dasol Lee
Associate Piano Teacher
Dasol Lee completed Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance under the tutelage of Douglas Finch and Gabriele Baldocci. A highly versatile musician, she has collaborated with many instrumentalists, singers, composers and dancers resulting in a wide array of exciting projects.
Drawing upon her longstanding interest in ballet, Dasol works extensively as a ballet pianist at Performers College and La Sylvaine & Wendy Bell School of Dance. She has a particular interest in left hand only piano pieces and is working on her own project in this area featuring principally works by Bach.
In addition to her skills as a musician, Dasol is an avid painter and paints in both watercolours and oils and has previously worked closely with a pianist and composer to produce a multimedia exhibition at the Royal Academy of Music.
A dedicated teacher, Dasol has taught for many years with all her students achieving no less than a merit in their ABRSM exams, in both practical and theoretical components. She has worked with students of all levels and ages, from complete beginners to diploma standard.
Mikaela Livadiotis
Associate Piano Teacher
Mikaela Livadiotis is a pianist based in London interested especially in contemporary works and improvisation. She completed her postgraduate studies with Distinction under Danny Driver at The Royal College of Music in 2020 and is currently on BCMG’s NEXT professional programme as a contemporary pianist.
Mikaela has performed in venues including St John’s Smith Square, Conway Hall, The V&A Museum, Birmingham Symphony Hall and The Place. She has had masterclasses with pianists including Steven Osbourne, Wayne Marshall, Nikolai Demidenko, and Maurizio Moretti.
In 2019, she co-founded Company Concentric, a London-based circle of dance artists and collaborators. Company Concentric has undertaken residencies in the UK and abroad and premiered new work at Resolution Festival for three consecutive years. They run contemporary dance and yoga classes as well as ‘Resource Roundtables’, a series of monthly roundtable discussions supported by Arts Council England.
Mikaela has over 12 years of teaching experience and takes students of any level, catering the lessons to suit each student’s interests and requirements. She is experienced in teaching the ABRSM syllabus, with a record of all students achieving a Merit and above. She is passionate about providing a strong foundation of knowledge, including sight-reading and improvising skills, so that her students will be able to enjoy music-making for the course of their lives.
Eirini Diamandoulis
Associate Piano Teacher
Eirini Diamantouli is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge, and a graduate of the University of Oxford where she completed her masters with Distinction. Prior to her current focus on the scholarly analysis of music, she received instrumental tuition at the Royal Academy of Music during the course of her bachelor’s degree at King’s College London.
She is a keen and enthusiastic teacher with 10 years’ experience preparing young people and adults for excellence in performance and ABRSM and Trinity examinations. She is committed to cultivating a love for music in her students, working with them to realise their ambitions and become independent and well-rounded musicians.
Milly Atkinson
Associate Piano Teacher
Milly grew up on the coast in Devon, and started her musical life as a pianist. She quickly took up the violin and singing, and was a keen musical theatre performer at her local theatre. Milly’s exposure to music was through a variety of genres, and this is something she believes is crucial to music education, even when training classically.
She studied music at Cambridge University where she held a choral scholarship, and graduated in 2019. She then moved to Florence, Italy, to study opera and teach part time. After consuming her own bodyweight in pasta and ice cream, Milly returned to London and spent two years working as a freelance singer and composer. She has performed at the Royal Festival Hall and St Paul’s Cathedral amongst other notable venues, made CD recordings with Girton College Chapel Choir, and had her compositions broadcasted on BBC Radio 3 and 4.
Milly is now working as a freelance singer and music teacher, whilst studying for her masters in singing at the Royal College of Music with Dinah Harris. She specialises in teaching piano, music theory and singing. Milly has a lot of experience teaching music 1-1 and is particularly good at adapting to the student’s needs and learning style.
Victor Braojos
Associate Piano Teacher
Usually praised for his poetical, intense and original performances, Víctor Braojos obtained his BMus (Hons) at Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (Barcelona), and his Master in Piano Performance (Distinction and Concert Recital Diploma) and Artist Diploma at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Furthermore, he has completed his musical formation working with world-acclaimed performers such as Dame Imogen Cooper, Sir Stephen Hough or Paul Lewis CBE.
Top prize-winner at several international piano competitions –such as the Catalunya Piano Competition, the Barcelona Competition or the prestigious “El Primer Palau” Music Competition– he has performed in renowned venues throughout Europe and the UK, such as Palau de la Música Catalana, National Auditorium in Barcelona, London Steinway Hall or the Frédéric Chopin Museum in Warsaw.
His commitment to combine classical repertoire with contemporary music has led him to world-premiere works by some of the most renowned Spanish composers such as Benet Casablancas, Joan Magrané, Marc Migó or Josep Maria Guix. Such juxtaposition of styles is perfectly visible in his latest solo piano CD, Shreds of light (Sheva Collection, 2022).
Currently, Víctor combines his teaching role at Royal Arsenal School of Music with a busy international performing career and a Junior Fellow position at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
