HSC MUSIC

“During his time at Kildare I have found James to be a fantastic role model to our students, with exceptional musical skills. His experience as a working musician allowed him to pass on valuable knowledge of the industry to our students. I would highly recommend James as both a piano teacher and performer.”
— — MEL HALE, CREATIVE ARTS COORDINATOR KILDARE CATHOLIC COLLEGE WAGGA WAGGA

James’ Experience

As an experienced accompanist, having been contracted by Kildare Catholic College Wagga from 2017 until his international departure at the end of 2023, James has helped over 100 students get the best out of their performance talents and achieve a high band result within the HSC framework. James’ work as a HSC accompanist has included piano accompanying for duo performances through to piano/keys in a band setting, band leading, musical direction, synth programming, charting and arranging.

A Simple Philosophy

Did you know that it’s entirely possible to achieve a Band 6 result in Music 1 and not have to play “Grade 8” pieces? The Music 1 course is designed for players of all levels, you are marked on the music you create, not it’s technical ability.

Your HSC performance should be an enjoyable experience. To ensure that James works with each individual student to put together a performance program that suits the unique talents of the student. We stick to a pretty simple system, we:

  1. Pick songs you enjoy - no point slaving away on a piece of music that doesn’t inspire you!

  2. Create arrangements to suit your playing ability and push you in new directions - no “off the shelf” pieces of music here, we’re going to work together to write a unique arrangement that suits your style.

  3. Work on musicality - getting high marks in the HSC is about producing practiced and polished pieces of music that highlight your own technical abilities, and show dynamics and expression.

  4. Form a diverse performance list - we want to keep you interested throughout your HSC, so we throw together a few genres. I’ve often had students play a mix of solo piano, duo’s with a singer, and as a featured performer in a band.

Personal Students

In his private studio James has worked with over 20 students one on one to achieve high band results.

James works with his students to create a diverse HSC performance list within their playing level to bring the most out of a students unique talents. He’s found particular success in working with students with no prior playing history, working to expand their abilities to achieve a polished and well graded performance.

With his experience working within the HSC framework, he is at the ready to give up to date advice, and works to ensure a student performs to the best of their ability.

CHECK OUT THESE LEGENDS!

Don’t just take our word for it - the musicians below all achieved a Band 6 result in their HSC