Welcome to the String Department
About Us
Our string department, formerly Royal Arsenal School of Strings, consists of students learning violin, cello and guitar. We welcome students of all abilities, and enjoy tutoring both children and adults.
Lessons take place in one of our five beautiful studios and we have gathered a team of highly esteemed string teachers, all passionate educators and acclaimed musicians in their own right.
We know that every child learns differently so we tailor all of our lessons to individual needs so everyone can thrive under our tutorship here at the school.
Sally Wragg
Head of Strings
Sally was awarded her music degree at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where she was recieved a TCM scholarship, giving her an outstanding standard of classical training. She has performed alongside artists such as Sam Smith, Jess Glynne and Olly Murs and has made television appearances on shows such as Sunday Brunch and Loose Women. She performs regularly in theatre shows and with orchestras in the UK and overseas.
Sally is committed to passing on her love of music to younger generations and enjoys seeing students progress under her tuition. She has been teaching both adults and children for over a decade and is dedicated to seeing the musical community in the Woolwich area thrive.
Chris Hedges
Cello Teacher
Chris began playing cello when he was four years old and learnt with Sue Lowe from the age of seven. He performed regularly during his time at school, and in 2013, he gave the Young Artist recital for the Minehead and Exmoor Music Festival. He has also participated in masterclasses with Steven Isserlis, Louise Hopkins, Pierre Doumenge and Adrian Brendel.
Chris studied music at the University of Cambridge between 2015 and 2018, and was presented with the London Girton Association Award at the beginning of his final year. He gave regular solo recitals and also enjoyed playing principal and co-principal cellist in a multitude of orchestras, including the University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. This gave him the opportunity to work under such world renowned conductors as Sir Mark Elder, Sian Edwards and Paul Daniel.
Chris recently completed his Masters at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Tim Lowe. During his time at Guildhall, he was co-principal cellist of several orchestral projects, performing in the Barbican under conductors such as Thomas Søndergård and Roberto González-Monjas, as well as playing in a variety of chamber ensembles. He is currently working as a freelance musician, combining teaching and performing, as well as playing with the Ignis Piano Quartet, a chamber group formed during his time at Guildhall.
Marie Anne Bruccheri
Associate Violin Teacher
Born into a musical family in France, Marie Anne started playing violin at
an early age. She studied at the Conservatoire de Nancy, France, graduating with the prestigious Premier Prix de Violon, Chamber music and Music Theory.
She has performed with many artists such as Emeli Sande, Lana Del Rey, Rod Stewart, Florence and the Machine, Eminem as well as tours with Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds and Elvis Presley's Las Vegas band in some of the most prestigious venues in the world.
As an accomplished classical player she is also involved with many strings quartets on a freelance basis and also has a deep love of improvisation and jazz.
Qualified violin player, violin teacher and chamber musician, Marie Anne is a self-directed enthusiastic educator with a passionate commitment to creating positive learning environments and making a difference in students’ lives.
Yuliia Samarska
Associate Violin Teacher
Ukrainian-born violinist Yuliia Smarska was driven to succeed from a young age and has won several regional competitions. Having gained honors during her final exams at Stravinsky Musical College in Lutsk (Ukraine), Yuliia was accepted by Lysenko Lviv National Music Academy (Ukraine).
After graduating with excellence, Yuliia started to work as Principal Violin in Chernivtsi State Philharmonic Orchestra in Ukraine. She has welcomed offers to perform with well-known European orchestras. Yuliia has always had a particular affiliation with chamber music and has successfully performed in chamber ensembles around Europe and Asia, as well as on luxury cruise lines.
Yuliia is a devoted educator who has taught students of all ages and levels. She loves working with students from diverse cultural backgrounds, and is committed to providing a nurturing learning environment for her students to help them achieve their musical potential and goals.
Yuliia is excited to join the Royal Arsenal School of Music to continue her commitment to music education.
Maksym Kravchenko
Violin Teacher
Maksym Kravchenko is a Ukrainian violinist. Since childhood he has been musically talented, as he also plays guitar, viola, and piano. As a student, he demonstrated his power as a composer, where some of his written compositions were repeatedly performed at concerts throughout Ukraine and abroad.
Maksym has performed with orchestras around the world, including the Chernivtsi Philharmonic Orchestra in Italy, Kharkiv Symphony Orchestra in Spain, the Kyiv Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall (NYC), and National Symphony Orchestra of Great Britain in Saudi Arabia.
Maksym has been teaching piano and violin, for nearly 10 years working with students of varying ages and levels of musical accomplishment, from early childhood through college level. He carefully crafts his lessons to each students’ needs, passing on his love of music to his students in an inspiring and engaging manner. He brings a unique flare that is both motivating and highly successful in helping his students achieve their goals.
David Black
Guitar Teacher
David comes originally from Bangor in North Wales and began playing the guitar at the age of 10. In 2000 he graduated with first Class Honours from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and in 2004 he completed an MMus at the Royal College of Music, London.
David now lives in South East London and is busy performing solo, as one half of the Albach Guitar Duo and with contemporary music group rarescale. David also plays the lute and, in addition to the classical guitar, has taught electric and steel-string guitars for over 20 years.
Recent performances have taken him to San Francisco, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Lima (Peru), Aarhus (Denmark), Long Island Guitar Festival (USA), Greenman Festival (Wales) and recordings for BBC Radio.
David currently teaches guitar at Dulwich College, Eltham College, Blackheath High and St Olave's School and has also written a study book for Quercus publications.
David plays a guitar by luthier Kenny Hill.
David Rollins
Guitar Teacher
David has taught guitar professionally for 35 years and is a long time member of The Registry of Guitar Tutors.
He has worked with many leading musicians and industry professionals including South African Artist Jonas Gwangwa and top NY drummer John Favicchia. His credits include performances at Wembley Stadium, Hammersmith Carling Apollo, 100 club, Jazz After Dark, The Spice of Life, Cambridge Rock Festival, The Crawdaddy Club , Support tours with Paul Young and Psychedelic Furs and worldwide album releases. In recent years he has worked as a session player for the excellent Eastriver Production Studios and as a sideman for a variety of artists.
David is also a prolific composer. His original music has been signed and released by production music companies for use in the television, film and multimedia industries.
Luke Tyrrell
Guitar Teacher
Luke Tyrrell is an award-winning classical guitarist from Wokingham, England. He holds a first-class honours degree in Classical Guitar Performance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and is currently studying towards a master’s degree under the tutorage of Maestro Graham Devine.
Luke has appeared as a soloist at many prestigious venues around the country, including headline appearances at Helly’s International Guitar Festival, Greenwich Guitar Festival, St. James Piccadilly and The Spanish Embassy. Whilst still an undergraduate he was honoured to win the Allison Stephens prize for plucked strings in 2020.
At the core of all of Luke’s performances is the goal of highlighting under-appreciated and under-performed works in the hope of sharing their stories and those of the composers too.
With hundreds of hours of teaching under his belt, Luke has taught all genres of guitar to students of every level, young and old. Central to his teaching methodology is the belief that all students should be treated as individuals, and lessons, resources and repertoire should be tailored to each students needs. With this in mind, Luke is always keen to find new ways of approaching technique and to create personalised arrangements and activities for his students.
Ed Bruggemeyer
Violin Teacher
Ed’s 20 years of professional performance experience has been varied. Trained at Trinity College of Music, London - where he was awarded the Mehroo and Byram Jeejeebhoy prize for violin - classical music has been the foundation for other styles of performance.
Alongside the more familiar classical worlds of orchestras, quartets and recording sessions, Ed’s work with groups such as Bebeto, Bowjangles and Pluck– all originating from street performance, has taken him into the cabaret circuit and on to tours in many places around the world. It has also created opportunities to learn and develop a career as an actor.
Ed’s experience of teaching violin has been in a variety of London schools. In addition, he has been found leading and assisting performance workshops in countries such as Ireland and Norway, as well as locations closer to home.
Picture - Tom Bowles
Elona Laurie
Associate Violin Teacher
Elona is a graduate of Trinity College of Music where she was awarded the Mehroo and Byram Jeejeebhoy Prize for Violin and a Leverhulme Orchestral Mentorship Scholarship to continue her studies with Gina McCormack and Walter Reiter (baroque violin) and to complete a mentorship scheme with the City of London Sinfonia.Elona now enjoys a varied musical career, performing with orchstras, on shows and as part of a string duo that regularly takes to the sea. Based in London but the violin taking her all over the world; Australia, Alaska, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan & South Africa are just some of the places that she has had the privilege of working most recently.
An avid chamber musician, Elona loves playing with the Blackheath String Quartet. She also plays in some slightly more obscure ensembles, some involve both dancing and playing the can-can simultaneously, others groups require wearing many, many sequins. Recent interesting venues that she has performed at include the Tower of London, under the blue whale in the Natural History Museum and in a muddy field for the National Eisteddfod.
Elona is a passionate music teacher with over 15 years of experience teaching young beginners to adults of all abilities. With a focus on joy and meaningful interaction through music, Elona will happily help you reach your goals.