about eileen

Bio

Eileen is an experienced player and is in demand as an accompanist. Currently her interest is mainly in jazz, and she plays piano and keyboards with various big bands and small ensembles in the north west, as well as performing as a classical accompanist. She has recently taken up tenor saxophone and plays second tenor in the Hootin Annies Band, doubling on clarinet, and also plays clarinet in the group Quintology. A very recent project is a sax and piano duo with Joann Kerrigan.

Eileen has a range of teaching and performing experience including 10 years as a Lecturer at Leeds College of Music, and five years as Associate Lecturer with the Open University. As well as teaching privately, she has run many jazz workshops and taught jazz appreciation at local colleges. At the Royal Northern College of Music she has taught Musicianship, Jazz History and Jazz Piano, supervised a Jazz Piano PhD, and for many years taught jazz piano, coached small ensembles and directed the Big Band in the Junior RNCM department. Before retiring from the College recently she taught Engagement with Learning for Overseas Students.

previous work

Teaching posts: Leeds College of Music teaching comprised first study jazz piano, second study keyboard skills, jazz performance practice, jazz harmony tutorials, small ensembles, jazz vocal group.

Open University Associate Lecturer (2 music courses: AA302, AA314).

RNCM: Musicianship, jazz piano, history of jazz, PhD supervision.

RNCM Junior School tuition (comprising first and second study jazz piano, small jazz ensembles, big band director).

University of Nottingham: first study jazz piano tuition.

Classical accompaniment: includes concerts with Natalya Kompanyets-Jouri, Heather Gordon-Redfearn, Peter Alexander Wilson. Many exam accompaniments. Occasional solo recital appearances and lecture recitals.

Orchestral: piano/celeste in LCM Symphony Orchestra, Garstang Festival Orchestra, Gorton Philharmonic Orchestra.

Arranging: Barbershop quartet, jazz vocal group, small jazz ensemble, solo piano, big band, wind quintet.

Other instruments currently played: clarinet, tenor sax, church organ.

Theatre work: keyboards in shows at West Yorkshire Playhouse, London Barbican, London National Theatre, Leeds Civic Theatre, Leeds Grand, Runcorn Brindley Theatre.

TV: Yorkshire TV “Emmerdale” and “A Bit of a Do”.

Festivals include Cork Jazz Festival, Leeds International Jazz Festival, Garstang Arts Festival, Lancaster Jazz Festival, Preston Jazz Festival, Ribble Valley Jazz Festival, Southport Jazz Festival, Wigan Jazz Festival, Buxton International Festival.

MD for shows at Lowther Pavilion, Preston Playhouse, Preston Guildhall (mainly Preston G & S). MD and composer for 2 Dean Taylor Shakespeare productions. Occasional choir directing.

Big Band work includes keyboards in Easy Street Big Band, Ron Hayes Big Band, Swingtime Big Band, Brian Ward Big Band. Hootin Annies Big Band (on second tenor and clarinet).

Small groups include: various groups (duos to 6-piece) with Sue Parish, Emma Holcroft Quintet, West Coast Jazz Octet, Lucy Lockwood Trio.

Recordings: Explorations (solo piano), The Sunny Side (with Sue Parish vcls).

Instruments no longer played: classical guitar (Gd 8), classical singing (Adv Certif).