Practice

The engine room of Chetham’s

The Practice Department is the engine room of Chetham’s. It comprises two sets of staff members: the Practice Assistants and the Practice Administrators. They are both essential contributors to the Practice Team, which is overseen jointly by the Heads of Practice, Mrs Daniella Meagher and Dr Kristine Healy. Members of the Practice Team work together in the belief that by developing a physically and socially sustainable approach to practice, young people can set themselves up for a healthy and fulfilling musical life.

Practice Administrators

Practice Administrators are responsible for making sure that students are safely where they need to be during their timetabled practice sessions. They help students to access their online Music Journals and their school timetables, keep the practice rooms organised and equipped, support students when they need a little extra encouragement, and communicate with other departments in the school to ensure that every student is cared for. They also keep the New School Building safe outside of school hours in the evenings and on weekends.

The Practice Administrators are a broadly skilled group of people. You might see them around the school in other roles from time to time, for example, helping with ABRSM exams, accompanying students to external concerts, or supporting rehearsals and activities during Music Course. Many of the Practice Administrators are also musicians, but some of them have completely different life experiences. They are all at Chetham’s because they care about young people and music-making.

Practice Assistants

Practice Assistants work individually with Lower School and Middle School students 11 every week. They are also available to Sixth Form students, who are welcome to come and start a conversation whenever they need some practice allies! While the Tutor role is often about the ‘what’ of learning an instrument or voice, the Practice Assistant role focuses on the ‘how’, so a student’s Practice Assistant may not always share their instrumental specialism.

Practice Assistants support students by helping them to develop practice strategies, manage their time well, reflect critically on their practice process, and learn how to direct their own learning journeys. When they are not working alongside students, you will find them in the Practice Assistants’ office plotting solutions to practice problems together using their extensive combined knowledge and experience in performance and pedagogy to offer students bespoke support.

Practice Assistants collaborate with the Instrumental and Vocal tutors by contributing to the online Music Journal, and sometimes by dropping in to individual lessons. The Practice Assistant team exists to nurture Chetham’s students’ processes of musical development by helping them explore and expand their capacity for independent learning.

Heads of Practice

The Heads of Practice share the responsibility of looking after their wonderful team and connecting their work with the rest of the Chetham’s community. They have both worked at Chetham’s for many years, in musical as well as pastoral capacities. Mrs Meagher is a violinist who performs regularly in a variety of musical genres and communities, and she is also a Violin Tutor at Chetham’s. Dr Healy is a flute player whose interests include music performance studies, the scholarship of pedagogy and education, and artistic research. They love working with young people and welcome opportunities to think alongside them about what it means to be musical.