The Glasshouse

Josephine Montgomery, a violinist from Northumberland, studied at Chetham’s School of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She plays violin 1 with the string quartet Aurora Strings and has performed with the BBC Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra, and The Royal Shakespeare Company. Passionate about music education, Jo is Strand Leader for In Harmony and Foundation Strings at The Glasshouse. She has studied and qualified in the Kodály Concept of Music Education and loves teaching using this style. Jo strives to make learning music fun, experiential, and inclusive, using games, singing and engaging activities to inspire children. She is dedicated to ensuring all children, regardless of ability or background, have access to high-quality music education.

Ed studied music at the University of Birmingham before returning to Newcastle upon Tyne to do a MMus degree in performance and PhD at Newcastle University. Edward performs regularly with Royal Northern Sinfonia, Scottish Ballet, Opera North and St Endellion Festival Orchestra as well as giving solo and chamber performances around the North East. As a member of the ‘Crude Tarmac’ quartet he records, arranges, performs and tours with a variety of artists and bands including Field Music, The Unthanks and Paul Smith. Ed also enjoys devoting time to teaching, at The Glasshouse where he leads the Step Up Strings programme and teaches for the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT).

Ele has been working as a freelance cellist and teacher in the northeast for over 20 years. After training at the Junior Academy Department followed by Royal College of Music, she worked in an orchestra in NZ. On returning to the UK she continued to work in performance and education. Ele plays in a string quartet performing regular concerts throughout the north, and is involved with much varied freelance work. She has trained with Kodaly specialists in the El Sistema pedagogy amongst other programmes, and her teaching work involves running ensemble from primary school string orchestras and choirs to music college / university enntrance and everything in between. Ele also accompanies, and teaches piano and guitar.

Anna holds a BA in Folk and Traditional Music from Newcastle University, including a year at The Sibelius Academy, and an MA in Music Production and Audio Cultures from The University of York. She developed her practice as part of the musical inclusion traineeship at The Glasshouse. She studied an MA module in performance coaching at The Sibelius Academy, where she gained a wealth of knowledge in efficient practice techniques, performance preparation and managing performance anxiety. She is also an active performer and composer who has worked with critically acclaimed artists such as Salt House, and was Artist in Residence at The Glasshouse in 2022-2023.

Brione graduated from the University of Chichester in 2016 with a BMus in Performance. Since then, they have enjoyed a varied career in both teaching and performing, working with students of all ages and engaging in diverse musical projects. Their passion for the power of music led them to qualify as a music therapist in 2023. Now blending performance, education, and therapy, they strive to make music accessible and meaningful for all. Whether on stage, in the classroom, or in therapeutic settings, they are dedicated to inspiring and supporting others through music’s transformative potential.

Chiara is a Graduate of the Newcastle University Folk and traditional music degree and alongside upper-strings tutoring has embarked on an MMus degree MMus focused on the traditional music of southern Italy, exploring her heritage. Before specialising in folk fiddle, Chiara received specialist training in classical technique and loved playing in a variety of orchestras in Berkshire where she grew up; she now performs regularly, drawing on styles from Canada and Scotland, and blending folk and classical influences. As a teacher, Chiara encourages musicality, creativity, and strong all-round musicianship, helping students build skills and a lasting connection with their instrument.

Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, Chris has been playing the Tenor Horn from the age of 10 and became a member of Make Music Young People at The Glasshouse, studying Brass and Double Bass. Whilst on the CAT programme, Chris also joined the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. In 2016 he moved to Wales to study at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where he studied with Owen Farr and Dr Robert Childs. Arranging music is a great passion of Chris’, his first work was premiered in 2015 at The Glasshouse. Since then he has arranged music for the International Tenor Horn and Flugelhorn festival, various brass ensembles and more recently for orchestras. Now back in the North East, Chris enjoys playing in musicals, local brass bands and teaching teaching brass and strings at The Glasshouse.

Frances graduated from Leeds Conservatoire in 2017 where she studied classical singing, having previously studied on the CAT programme at The Glasshouse. Following her undergraduate degree, she completed a PGCE and has since enjoyed forming her love of teaching and music together. Though classically trained, she loves folk, musical theatre and pop, and her wide music taste is reflected in her teaching style. She is also developing as a choral conductor through Step-Up Singing and Quay Voices, and has attended workshops with Alice Farnham. Frances joined the Glasshouse team in September 2022, as a vocal tutor for Foundation & Step-Up Singing, and Quay Voices. She has since taken a string tutor role as well, and has joined the In Harmony team.

Hannah completed her undergraduate studies in Music at Newcastle University in 2013 before embarking on a career as a freelance teacher and violinist in the North East. In 2015, Hannah joined the Swedish National Orchestral Academy in Gothenburg where she trained for two years as an orchestral violinist with Øyvor Volle and Marja Inkenen-Engström. Whilst in Sweden, she taught alongside Venezuelan conductor, Ron Davis Alvarez, on several El Sistema projects and, upon returning to Newcastle in 2017, she joined Sage Gateshead’s In Harmony Newcastle Gateshead programme. Hannah is very active as a performer and plays regularly with a variety of ensembles, as well as teaching violin and viola in schools and music centres in the area.

Jennifer loves sharing her passion for music with her pupils, she particularly enjoys including composition in her teaching to encourage creativity and understanding of music theory. In addition to her work at The Glasshouse, Jennifer enjoys teaching cello and singing at schools in North Tyneside, as well as conducting children’s choirs. Jennifer was awarded a Certificate for Music Educators by Trinity College London and has undertaken conducting training with Alice Farnham. When not teaching, Jennifer plays cello with orchestras in the region and sings soprano in the Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia. She also performs with a variety of chamber ensembles.

Although originally from Durham, Jo studied in London and gained a first class degree at Trinity College of Music and a Masters of Music at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, as well as a PGCE in Early Years from the Institute of Education. Since then, Jo has had an active and varied freelance musical career, working with orchestras such as the European Union Chamber Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and London Concert Orchestra, as well as concerto and chamber music performances. She currently teaches cello at various schools throughout the region as well as at the Glasshouse ICM. When not performing or teaching, Jo can be found running or baking with her children.

Megumi is an American living in Newcastle and has been playing classical violin and piano since the age of six. She is a graduate of Los Angeles High School for the Arts (LACHSA). She has had many wonderful experiences performing in various settings including orchestral, chamber, and soloing as a freelance musician in Los Angeles. In addition, Megumi has experience in music arrangement and composition. She has played in a range of venues, including Walt Disney Concert Hall. Megumi has been teaching at The Glasshouse since 2024 and has been teaching privately in North Shields since 2019.

Originally from Japan, Nao pursued her studies in violin playing at Tokyo Geidai where she obtained her Bachelor of Music. She then studied at The Royal Academy of Music and at the Haute École de Musique de Genève. Whilst and after her study in Switzerland, she has performed in various ensemble projects and in professional orchestras. Nao has started her teaching career after moving to England, where she enjoys sharing her passion in music with a wide range of ages and levels. She currently teaches at The Glasshouse, at local schools, as well as in private. She is also an approved violin teacher at Durham University Music Department. Besides her teaching activities, Nao is also an active player in gigs and concerts around the North East.

Born in Corbridge, Peter began cello lessons aged eight at his local school in Ashington. He studied under Alexander Baillie at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. Peter enjoys a varied career performing and recording all sorts of music on the cello and electric guitar. He especially enjoys arranging music for the many ensembles he directs as well as conducting youth orchestras. His favourite band is Radiohead and adores the composers Shostakovich, J.S.Bach, Thomas Newman and Debussy. Peter teaches at The Royal Grammar School and Kings Priory, Tynemouth. He is a keen mountain biker, loves renovating property and has two Cocker Spaniels called Milly and Maya.

Originally from the US, Talia received BMus and MMus degrees in cello performance and music education from the University of Oregon and Ohio State University, where she studied at one of the preeminent string pedagogy programmes in the country. In addition to performing professionally as an orchestral cellist and chamber musician, Talia has taught strings privately for twenty years and has served as the orchestra director at schools in the states of Oregon, Ohio, and Hawaii. She was also a member of the strings faculty at the American Conservatory of Paris in France and worked in arts administration for the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestras, the Hawaii Youth Symphony, and the In Harmony programme at The Glasshouse. Talia is passionate about making music education meaningful and accessible to all.

American Violinist and violist Eldon Bradfield holds a BMus in performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and enjoys an eclectic career that spans multiple genres and ways of thinking about music. Whether touring Europe with Japanese post-rock band MONO or arranging traditional Greek tunes with their multicultural folk band mother tongues, Eldon seeks to remind audiences and players of their shared humanity and create sustainable creative communities through performance, outreach, and teaching. Eldon is also a huge enthusiast and promoter of the music of Ernest Bloch, an unrepentant lover of old Bach recordings, and adores a good cryptic crossword.