Our Teachers
We pride ourselves in delivering high quality music education. Our teachers are highly qualified and experienced professionals and specialists in their musical discipline. Collectively they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our school and have studies at some of the UK's most prestigious UK based musical establishments. All of our tutors are dedicated to the success of their pupils and many of our students go on to complete ABRSM examinations, compete in local competitions and perform in concerts.
Nicole Tonner (Director)
BMus, PGDE
GTCS Registered
Nicole started her musical training early through participation in West Lothian NYCoS from age 7 as well as receiving piano and trombone tuition in primary school. At the age of 14, Nicole went on to study trombone and voice at the Junior Conservatoire for four years and held principal positions in many youth orchestras and brass bands internationally including NYBBS, European Youth Brass Band and Edinburgh Youth Orchestra. Nicole studied trombone performance at Birmingham Conservatoire with scholarship before transferring to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and graduated with a Bachelor of Music Degree in 2009 receiving tuition from some of the UK's most prestigious orchestral musicians. Deciding to pursue a career in Education, Nicole completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE Music) at Strathclyde University before accepting a post as a secondary music teacher within Dundee Council. Throughout her study and career she has performed in a variety of different settings and with a wide array of ensembles and regularly freelances as a trombonist in the Dundee and Angus area. Nicole has worked with children of all ages and abilities and has experience of delivering brass workshops, early years music sessions, music workshops for WIZ KIDZ and was a former teacher for NYCoS Dundee Area Choir. She has also delivered early and primary music education workshops to Dundee University BEd and PGDE students. Nicole pursued a life long dream of opening a music school and established Music Lessons Angus School of Music (2018) and Music Lessons Dundee (2020) which now delivers music lessons and classes to over 150 children a week.
Eoin Tonner
(Director)
BMus (Hons)
Music has been a big part of Eoin's life since birth, with two musical parents, he was surrounded by instruments and singing on a daily basis. At the age of 3, Eoin started piano lessons and went on to win various piano prizes in the younger age group classes at the Arbroath Festival. When Eoin was 9 he started brass lessons in school before gaining a place to study trumpet and piano at the Junior Conservatoire of Scotland at the age of 13. In 2009, Eoin commenced his studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with Scholarship in Trumpet and Orchestral conducting. During his study he was awarded numerous prizes for his trumpet playing and conducting. In 2014, Eoin accepted a post as a Brass Instructor with Dundee City Council and currently is a Brass Instructor and Music Teacher for the High School of Dundee. He regularly freelances as a trumpeter and conductor both in the UK and Europe and is currently the Musical Director of the Award Winning Brass Band Sachsen in Germany. Eoin is also currently studying a Masters in Education (MEd) at UHI alongside his current roles and is working towards registration with the GTCS.
Gill Simpson
Dlp Mus. ALCM
A native of Dundee,Gill started her teaching career in Angus after Edinburgh Napier,having studied with Miles Baster,Roger Foxwell and piano with Margaret Murray McLeod. She taught at Brechin High School and surrounding primaries in the area, before accepting the first full time string post at the High School of Dundee,where she currently teaches, directs Sinfonia, the Chamber Orchestra and various string ensembles. She has been the Musical Director of a variety of educational projects in Europe,Canada and America combining Classical and Scottish music, as well as projects in Juilliard in New York,and writing for the Strad magazine. She plays with Scottish Sinfonia in Edinburgh, and records with BBC Radio Scotland as a string player, keyboard player and vocalist,having made her debut recording at age 13. Her pupils have gained many awards throughout their playing careers as Classical/Scottish violinists,including the coveted Glenfiddich Championship,under 12 to Senior Championships, as well as holding the title for 8 consecutive years in Ensemble Championships in Scotland. Gill is an adjudicator,and is an examiner for Scottish Fiddle Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland,and for the past 11 years has taught early years Violin/Viola,and Chamber music with senior pupils at Edinburgh Young Musicians. She currently has pupils in the NYOS programme,EYM Orchestras and Edinburgh Youth Orchestra. She is a former Classic FM Music Teacher of the Year in Scotland and Runner Up in Great Britain.
Abhisri
Chaudhuri
BMus (Hons) Student
Abhisri has loved performing from the age of 4 and has experience in a range of musical genres, including Classical, Musical Theatre and Jazz. She studied at the High School of Dundee where she gained ABRSM Grade 8 Distinction in piano, singing and saxophone. When she was 15, she was awarded the ‘Nora. C Leggat Prize for Pianoforte’ by the ABRSM. She also received the Premier Quaich for the Best All Round Instrumentalist and was named District Rotary Young Musician. For her singing, she won the John Leng Silver Medal and was cast as ‘Golde’ in a production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. She went to Chetham’s summer school for pianists where she received masterclasses from world renowned pianists; including Dina Parakhina and Leon McCawley. In 2018, Abhisri secured a place at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where she now studies under the mentorship of the highly sought-after pianist, Professor Fali Pavri. During her studies, Abhisri has represented the RCS in multiple showcase concerts as both a pianist and singer, where some of her own arrangements have been performed. She has completed jazz and accompaniment modules and regularly accompanies her peers in exams and competitions. She has participated in workshops and received masterclasses from highly acclaimed pianists, such as Anthony Byrne and Professor Sinae Lee. Abhisri is an active performer around Dundee and Glasgow and has played at events such as the NHS Organ and Tissue Donation Memorial and the Prince and Princess of Wales Annual Charity Hospice Ball.
Hannah Smith
BA (Hons) Popular Music
Hannah is a keen and outgoing musician with experience of working within the music industry. Hannah holds a BA (Hons) in Popular Music Performance from the University of the Highlands and Islands. Hannah has experience of working with YMI (Youth Music Initiative) devising and delivering songwriting workshops in schools within Angus. She has also tutored both privately and within council music services, as well as playing in a range of different venues both in cover bands and with original material. More recently she has focused on writing and producing her own material and has released her own produced singles and is currently working towards releasing an EP. With a particular interest in contemporary music, she enjoys writing and composing her own material on guitar and piano. She has been part of the teaching team with MLA since April 2019 offering lessons in guitar and ukulele and leading our ensemble classes.
Judith Richmond
BMus (Hons)
Judith is a Tenor Trombone 2:1 graduate of the Royal College of Music London,2018. Her brass career started in primary school in Dundee and she soon became passionate about playing, winning local competitions as well as Dundee Young Instrumentalist and Dundee Rotary Young Musician of the Year in 2012. She also played with the Carnoustie and District Youth Brass Band which successfully won the Scottish and National Youth Brass Band Championships the same year. Alongside this, Judith took piano lessons from the age of 8 and passed her grade 8 ABRSM exam in 2012. During her undergraduate studies, Judith was taught by world renowned professors, played in masterclasses and took part in side by side schemes with the Philharmonia Orchestra. She helped run music workshops in various venues aimed at young people, elderly people and those with dementia which she found very rewarding. Last year after graduating, Judith stayed in London, playing in a range of ensembles and performing in concerts such as Stormzy’s set at Wireless music festival and local symphony orchestras in London. During the day, she taught brass instruments, piano and theory across a wide range of educational settings such as schools, workshops and music centres.
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Hannah Gibson
BMus (Hons)
M.Mus
Hannah was born in Scotland in 1991. From an early age she had an interest in music and took piano lessons with Judith Wilkes, followed by the organ with Stuart Muir at St Paul’s Cathedral, Dundee. In 2009, she joined Royal Birmingham Conservatoire's prestigious organ department on a scholarship. During her time there she won the Birmingham Organists’ Association Leonard Gibbons Fund Competition and was a finalist in the Northern Ireland International Competition in 2011. The same year, she was awarded a place to study at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, studying principally with Pier Damiano Peretti. Hannah graduated from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in June 2013, having studied under Henry Fairs and Daniel Moult for the duration of her undergraduate degree. Subsequently, Hannah was appointed Musical Director of St Barnabas, Worcester, combining this post with teaching at the Queen Elizabeth Humanities College in Bromyard, Herefordshire. In September 2014, she returned to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on a scholarship and completed her Master of Music degree with Distinction. From September 2015-2017, Hannah was appointed the College Organist of Mount St Mary’s College, Sheffield, a post combined with teaching the organ, academic music and assisting in the running of the music department. She is now based in Fife and Dundee and has recently been appointed the Organist and Choirmaster of Newport-on-Tay Parish Church. She is also member of the Education Subcommittee for the Friends of the Caird Hall Organ.
Rosie McDonald
BMus (Hons)
DipABRSM
Rosie McDonald is a Scottish soprano who is a recent graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, studying vocal studies (2019). As a classical singer, Rosie has performed in choirs in events such as Bach’s St Johns Passion (2015), Britten’s Spring Symphony (2017) and Bach’s Magnificat (2018). She was a part of the RCS Chamber Choir for 4 years singing in concerts alongside The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and The Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Rosie has also performed alongside Scottish Opera in the chorus of Prokofiev's Fiery Angel (2017) and has performed in the UK’s staged premier of Jake Heggie’s opera, Dead Man Walking (2019). Her other performances include being one of the Gossips in Britten’s Noye's Fludde (2013), being part of Scottish Opera’s Connect Chorus in The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (2016) and performing the role of Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (2019). Rosie has completed piano skills and accompaniment modules as part of her degree, accompanying her peers in exam settings. She has also helped to devise and deliver workshops alongside the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for Primary and Secondary students across Glasgow and Edinburgh and she has taught music in Nursery and Primary Schools for the past 4 years. Rosie has achieved her Diploma in Vocal teaching from ABRSM and is a vocal and piano teacher at Music Lessons Angus and Dundee.
Jill Lingard
0-5 Class Leader
Born and brought up in Edinburgh until the age of 11 then moved to Arbroath. During her school years she was part of the school choir and thoroughly enjoyed this; she still enjoys singing to this day. Jill worked for DC Thomson & Co Ltd in Dundee for 26 years in a variety of departments including the Learning and Development team. Jill is proud mum to two daughters Ellie (18), who has profound and complex needs and Dara (5). For seven years, Jill was the Chairperson of a charity connected to Strathmore Centre, a respite center for children with disabilities. Jill is trained in Makaton - a commutation tool and uses this to communicate with her daughters and children in her class. Jill has also completed a HANAN Program for Parents which focuses on early language intervention for children with language delays as well as courses provided by her local social work team including challenging behaviour. Jill, and her husband, are currently going through the process of being assessed for Respite Fostering. Along with being assessed there are in-depth courses Jill has/will have to complete which will add to her already vast knowledge in how to care for vulnerable children. Jill is a huge fan of the Kodaly Method and has had a lot of experience practising this over the last 18 years through singing games, play and fun with her own children as well as attending formal music classes. Jill believes that music education should begin as early as possible, especially in the early years, and that rhymes and songs used should start with familiar children’s songs. Jill loves being creative, making people smile, but most importantly, having fun and we are delighted to have her delivering our MLA Baby and Toddler Music Classes.
Shona Morgan
BA (Hons) PGCE
GTCS Registered
After graduating with Bachelor of Music honours degree from Edinburgh University, Shona worked for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and as a volunteer in Guatemala with World Exchange, before completing her PGCE in primary and secondary music education. She spent 10 years in Sheffield working as class music teacher in secondary schools, before relocating to Glasgow which she worked for Nycos as a Kodaly instructor in primary schools. During this time she undertook training in teaching Kodaly at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, and completed the advanced musicianship course at the British Kodaly Academy summer school. She has also worked for many years with the National Youth Choir and National Girls Choir as a choral coach and, for three years, was director of the National Boys Choir Junior Corps. She has also been Director of both the Angus and Dundee Nycos area choirs. As an MD, Shona has worked with Edinburgh Music Theatre, Sheffield Operatic Society and ‘Music in the Round’ at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre. More recently, she had taught pre-school and early years music at Edinburgh Young Musicians. She is currently Teacher of Music at the High School of Dundee and, having taught piano privately throughout her teaching career, is now very much looking forward to joining the team at MLA!