For more than 35 years, Carlton North Primary has offered students an outstanding Instrumental Music Program.
The Instrumental Music Program aims to help parents provide their children with an opportunity to learn a musical instrument within the school community.
The program offers Instrumental Music Lessons on a range of instruments with qualified and experienced instrumental music tutors.
The program also offers School Music Groups that are designed to complement the instruments offered by the Instrumental Music Program with qualified and experienced music conductors.
Learning a musical instrument consolidates students’ learning and promotes the development of important aspects of personal management including: self-confidence, executive brain function, memory, social skills, team building and wellbeing. Please see the following 4.5 minute TED-Ed by Dr Anita Collins showing how playing music makes “fireworks go off all over your brain”.
Please see below for the bio and introductory video from each of our music tutors and music conductors.
Music Enrolment
The Carlton North PS Instrumental Music Program enrolment form (Google doc link) below for 2024 is open.
Please be mindful that priority for before school and after school lesson times will be given to families who have completed their enrolment by the due date.
To enrol your child in the 2024 Instrumental Music Program, please submit one form per student, using this link
Instrumental Music Lessons and School Music Groups will commence in the first full week of Term 1, 2024.
Late applications may not be considered.
Any questions, please ask Rachel Snedden – Music Administrator
Contact:
9480 1747
BIOGRAPHY
My name is Ceri Hills and I really enjoy teaching woodwind instruments (clarinet, saxophone and flute) in the fantastic Instrumental Music Program at CNPS! I also conduct the School Band. I have taught flute, clarinet, saxophone, recorder and music theory for many years both in Melbourne and in the UK. I completed a combined Bachelor of Music and Arts in 2003, and then went on to complete a Diploma of Education in 2007. I started teaching at CNPS in 2003.
I am a classically trained flautist, although my musical interests also extend to collaboration with artists in the contemporary improvisation and electronic music genres. In addition, I am passionate about the importance of music in early childhood, and have collaborated with a friend to create an album of kids’ music, in 2016. In the future I hope to gain experience as an early childhood music educator, alongside my woodwind teaching.
It is a pleasure to be part of the wonderful community of music-makers at CNPS!
Ceri Hills
Dean Matters, Drummer/Musician and qualified teacher (BA mus)(Dip Ed) is passionate and dedicated in music education and performance. Dean has taught 1000s of students over a 20 year teaching career in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary institutions. He began teaching at CNPS in 2004. Dean has performed with most of the top Blues and Roots artists such as Geoff Achison, Shannon Bourne, Phil Manning, Chris Wilson, Andrea Marr and Jimi Hocking to name a few. His professionalism, passion and talent for playing each song with feel and authenticity has Dean working regularly with many different local and international artists, and shows.
‘I fills my heart with joy assisting and witnessing students achieve their goals and musical aspirations’
Dean Matters
Jean Proude is a jazz voice WAAPA graduate with a postgraduate diploma of psychology from James Cook University. She began playing guitar at age 11 and has gigged since the age of 14 as a soloist, in duos, bands, orchestras, choirs and acapella groups. Having gigged full time for over 12 years around Australia, her most notable performances include the Perth International Jazz Festival, Adelaide Guitar Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival, the AFL corporate boxes for Fremantle Dockers and Port Power, Jazz Ellington Perth, Maylands Street Festival, Fremantle Beer Festival, and Port Lincoln Tunarama. She now regularly performs all around Melbourne with contemporary covers.
Teaching voice, guitar and piano from ages 6 and up, Jean also has a passion for the benefits of music from a mental wellbeing perspective. Her approach focuses on the amazingly fun journey of engaging with music, and the empowerment of learning new skills and interacting with music.
My name is Kate Connor and I have been teaching violin at Carlton North since 2011. I teach students individually and in groups and also run the String Ensemble on Friday lunchtimes which also includes several guitar players. I love watching the students become steadily confident in their instrument and especially love seeing the pride and excitement of the students at the various performances we have organised throughout the year. I teach a variety of styles – folk, classical, bluegrass and world. I have been a violinist in various ensembles including contemporary improvisational string quartets, Celtic groups, acoustic folk and rock bands and gypsy ensembles over the last 25 years. I was a founding member of popular local band Adana who released two CDs and played at many festivals I was also a member of Disaster Plan, who produced five CDs and the Shljivovitz Orchestra, a seven piece authentic Balkan folk ensemble, playing melodies from the Balkans including Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Macedonia. I have been a guest musician on CD recordings and performances for many Melbourne artists including Kim Salmon, Lilith Lane, Charlie Marshall, Major Chord, Tobias Hengeveld, the Dead Salesmen and Cam Butler. I played and recorded with Bill Callahan (Smog) on his Australian tour and have toured Europe with Black Pony Express. I have also performed music for a number of live theatre productions as well as scoring my own music for several of these productions. My current projects include Ross Mclennan and his World Sympathique , the Devil Goat Family String Band, a bluegrass outfit that has been gigging extensively for several years, Andy Baylor’s Banksia Band and The Maya Dreamers (experimental pop).
Kate Connor
Hi, my name is Peter Sinis and I began teaching guitar here at CNPS in 2014. I studied music at the University of Melbourne where I completed a Bachelor of Education and prior to this, I completed an Advanced Certificate in Music Performance (Jazz and Popular). I have taught both instrumental and classroom music at various schools and I have performed as a guitarist at weddings and corporate functions where I have specialized in playing rock, jazz and music from different cultures. I now spend most of my free time composing music where I have enjoyed seeing my popular songs and educational scores being published in Australia and overseas.
My previous employment has mostly been teaching music to secondary school students as a classroom and instrumental teacher. My duties have included conducting various stage bands and jazz bands, and I have prepared students for performances and national competitions. I also teach guitar privately and at Merri Creek Primary School.
My hobby is playing chess, and on Saturdays you will find me at my local chess club. I hear there are some excellent players here at CNPS so if anyone is up for a game… it’s your move!
Peter Sinis
My name is Rachel Snedden. I have been the recorder tutor at Lee Street since 1995 and have seen generation after generation of wonderful students develop their skills in making music and have a great time doing it! Since 2005, I have also been Musical Director, which means that I have helped run the IMP at CNPS, mostly with planning, enrolment, timetabling and organising the performances.
Apart from teaching at CNPS I also teach at Merri Creek Primary and MLC. I have some private students of high-school age and direct RECORDICA, a high-school aged recorder group. I also conduct the Melbourne Recorder Orchestra, a group of 30, mostly retired people, who love making music together on all the different sizes of recorder.
I began playing the recorder when I was seven, having lessons at school in England. My parents found a place for me to continue playing recorder in a group when I returned to Melbourne. I continued playing recorder all through primary school and into high school, when I began recorder lessons again. I played recorder for VCE Music and went on to study recorder for my BMus from Melbourne University. By the time I was half-way though my BMus I had started working at CNPS as the recorder tutor!
After teaching for ten years, I set about writing my very own series of recorder tutor books, the Rainbow Recorder Series (RRS). The books take students from beginner level to AMEB exam level in seven stages. Many recorder students from CNPS sit recorder exams. Learning to play the recorder in lessons is complemented by ensemble playing. Playing in an ensemble with your school friends gives particular meaning to your music making. When students have enough musical skills playing the first five notes and various rhythms, they are invited to join the Junior Recorder Ensemble. In this group we learn how to play together and in parts and, especially, how to keep the beat. Students continue to develop their skills in lessons and when they graduate to the RRS Blue Book they are invited to join the Senior Recorder Ensemble. In this group we play more complicated music and some students play on different-sized recorders. Students also learn to play the treble recorder from the RRS Indigo Book. Some students learn to play the bass recorder from the RRS Black Book of Bass. This Senior Recorder Ensemble has participated in the Monash youth Music Festival (formally Waverley Music Eisteddfod) since 1999. It is a great honour to represent the school at a ‘state level’ music event. We also very much enjoy playing at the Fete, the Winter Soirée, Assembly and the Summer Soirée.
I look forward to the next 25 years of making music at CNPS!
Rachel Snedden
INTRODUCTORY VIDEOS
Ceri Clarinet https://youtu.be/FxpsLH7rnwA
Ceri Flute https://youtu.be/c8WY3t9Zfyc
Ceri Saxophone https://youtu.be/OVE32Mp6bZc
Dean Percussion https://www.dropbox.com/s/6sq4a54cr14cpne/CNPDrumlessons2021V2.mp4?dl=0
Kate Violin https://drive.google.com/file/d/197BhUR3CeKlFG_BFxFe22pMVAL3LJeHB/view
Peter Guitar https://drive.google.com/file/d/11uMZ2YiSFueLnLyGwwJn9cYFbzIM8iKL/view?usp=sharing
Rachel Recorders https://youtu.be/QLDTKQHjWjQ