My love of music
I was captivated by music from an early age, hearing Dad play his records of Classical music and hearing him play the piano. I was 5 years old before being asked if I wanted to learn to play the piano. Yes, yes, yes, I replied delightedly, wondering why it had taken them my whole life to ask! However, I had to wait another 2 years before receiving tuition so in the meantime I improvised, composed and got into bad habits with fingering!
I was fortunate enough to attend primary and secondary schools where music was encouraged and I learnt recorder, clarinet, viola and percussion as well as taking piano lessons. I was taken regularly from a young age to orchestral concerts played by London’s finest orchestras and even became a member of the London Philharmonic Club allowing me to watch rehearsals and meet my heroes! My love of music was further enhanced by six exciting years at the Junior Guildhall School of Music on Saturdays where my passion for composition and orchestral music developed further.
Ann Grayburn - Training and Qualifications
At 15 years old after achieving grade 7 I started learning privately with a very gifted teacher who was a tutor in the senior piano faculty at the Royal College of Music. He taught me how to listen and all that I now know about piano technique; how it is needed to realise our musical goals. He taught the ‘Viennese School’ of playing where efficiency and economy of movement for maximum impact is nurtured.
I took the Associate of the Royal College of Music piano teaching diploma before reading music at the University of York (BA Hons) and then trained to be a class music teacher at the College of Ripon and York St. John, York, (Post Graduate Certificate of Education). I was one of the first to gain the new Dip ABRSM in piano performance introduced in December 2000.
I am a member of the Independent Society of Musicians and on their register of qualified music teachers.
I am also DBS checked
My work as a Professional Musician
Most of my career has combined teaching the piano and academic music. Besides being a visiting piano teacher at Marlborough College and at home as a private piano teacher in Cardiff, I am a piano accompanist for exams and concerts. I taught piano at Wells Cathedral School for 26 years and until 2003 A’ Level music at St. Brendan’s Sixth Form College in Bristol. I was also Head of Music for four years in a comprehensive school in Bristol. In September 2023 I became the piano accompanist for the Ynysowen Male Voice Choir in the Welsh Valleys.
Sharing the Love of Music
In 2006 I set up and organised a Piano Club for adults in the Bristol area so that playing the piano and the love of music could be shared. Playing the piano need not be lonely! The Bristol Piano Club is still thriving today with a membership of nearly fifty people of all ages and levels. I moved to Cardiff six years ago and continue to enjoy teaching, playing the viola in a local amateur orchestra, piano accompanying, playing duets or two-piano works with colleagues and attending orchestral concerts and piano recitals.