Gemma Mallinson Music

Hello! 

My name is Gemma and I am a musician and music teacher. At the age of two, my dad bought me a penny whistle to 'keep me quiet' on holiday. I had a lot of fun, but sadly, it disappeared somewhere one day and took years to reappear inside the blanket storage...

A few years later, at primary school, a teacher started a recorder group and that was that, I was hooked! If you played, you had a seat at the front of the hall next to the piano in assembly instead of sitting on the floor, so it was a no brainer. Mrs Butler was a legend and saw the potential of putting her recorder students through the exam system so I arrived at High School with recorder qualifications. About this time, I also took up the violin and piano.

 

Luckily my High School music teacher was also a recorder teacher and her son was a student at the Birmingham Conservatoire so we had many outings to see his concerts. Who knew that the recorder could be taken so seriously?

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I continued with my violin and piano lessons, working my way through grades and joining orchestras (Dudley Schools Symphony Orchestra, Midland Youth Orchestra) and Mrs Pettit gave me many opportunities to play the recorder at school too. She had private pupils and would book her own examiner to come to school every six months. To do this, she often needed to make up the numbers so she threw music at me and by the time I reached Grade 7 following this system, we agreed that I needed to actually have some proper lessons!

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Music was clearly 'my thing', I led the school orchestra, belonged to every music club going including the nationally renowned Halesowen Handbell Ringers (I eventually became musical director there too). I gained GCSE and A-Level music, particularly enjoying performing a recorder solo in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.4 at The Royal Festival Hall as part of the National Festival of Music For Youth.

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So, eventually, the Birmingham Conservatoire Recorder department became my home. I studied with the wonderful Ross Winters and legendary Alan Lumsden for four years before gaining my 2:1 in 1999. Following that, I gained my Post Graduate Certificate in Education (Primary) and became a primary school teacher.

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Since then, alongside my teaching career, I have played the recorder in duets  such as Dragonfly with Guitarist Danielle Saxon Reeves in venues such as the CBSO Centre (including a TV appearance), Orchestras (Central England Ensemble) and many versions of the Benjamin Britten Opera "Noye's Fludd". 

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I currently play the violin for the Central England Ensemble and Hagley Community Orchestra as well as the mandolin for the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra. The mandolin is my hobby instrument, originally learning it because the Midland Fretted Orchestra didn't have a mandolin player but I now enjoy playing Baroque duets on this fabulous instrument. I also own and have fun with my ukulele...

 

With over 20 years experience in the primary classroom including work with hearing impaired children and SEND, I currently work as a part time music specialist and cover teacher at a Catholic school where I play the piano, take hymn practices, play for mass and organise choirs as well as teaching music privately.

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So that's me! I consider music to be my first language and enjoy sharing the love for this subject through teaching. If you would like to be part of my story, contact me now!