Who's Who

Bob Pepper
	Robert Pepper has worked in Music Education for over 35 years as Teacher, County Music Adviser and Conductor. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at Goldsmiths College London in 2003 and made MBE in 2006. Robert is Musical Director of the English Schools Orchestra. He is passionate about “El Sistema“ and its potential for transforming the lives of young people and their communities. Robert visited Venezuela for six weeks in 2008 to carry out research into the programme.


	Nathan Theodoulou
Nathan began his career as a teenager learning from and playing with British jazz legend Don Rendell. He has composed many works for stage, screen and radio across a variety of genres including Classical, Jazz, Latin and Pop. He has acted as musical director and conductor at venues including the National Theatre, RSC and the Barbican. Since 1999, Nathan has been composer for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) writing pieces for both the Modern and Tap faculties. He is proud to have been asked to be composer for the El Sistema inspired charity Music First. His educational works include the book Recorder Rebels. In 2006, he began working as a music education consultant for Cambridge Education @ Islington specialising in developing Wider Opportunities programmes.


Marianna Hay
	Since picking up the recorder at the age of four, Marianna studied music intensively throughout her school career attending the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music every Saturday and playing and singing in countless orchestras and choirs across the UK. Her musical education continued to degree level, studying at Oxford University from 2004-2007. Upon graduating, she joined the Teach First programme as a Music Teacher and spent three years teaching at Highbury Grove School taking on the role of Director of Music in her third year. Having left teaching in July 2010, Marianna has now been appointed Director of Development for Music First and is also setting up the inaugural Music For All National Orchestra – a partnership project between Music First, Teach First and the country wide educational program Achievement for All.


	Len Cunningham
Len Cunningham has spent virtually all of his working life teaching in London schools. He was appointed as an adviser to the ILEA in 1989 and came to work as an Islington adviser in 1990. His current role as a Cambridge Education @ Islington, School Improvement Officer for the Arts has brought him to the heart of the work of Music First. He is keen to create an interface between Music First and other music and arts initiatives and the Islington Cultural Strategy. He is the founder of the Islington Youth Theatre and he strives to promote and sustain as many creative opportunities for Islington’s children and young people as possible.

Pierce Brown
	Pierce Brown started his musical career in Australia as a strings specialist in primary and secondary education. After obtaining a scholarship to study performance and Chinese Opera at the Beijing Central Conservatorium of Music, Pierce returned home and developed an outreach programme called West Meets West which took classical music to small isolated indigenous communities in far west Queensland. In more recent years Pierce has worked directly with Hertfordshire Music Service, The University of Hertfordshire, 12 Hatfield schools and 250 students to develop the annual Hatfield Christmas Carol Concert. Pierce joined Highbury Grove School in September 2009 as the Head of Expressive and Practical Arts Faculty.

	Kirsty Wilcockson
Kirsty has played the piano, violin and sung since she was young and has been a member of many different choirs and orchestras. She studied Music at Leeds University for three years and then joined the Teach First scheme and taught at Wembley High Technology College for three years where she was promoted to Head of Music. She then moved on to being the curriculum lead teacher at In Harmony Lambeth, a project which shares the same ethos and beliefs as Music First. Kirsty is looking forward to following the Music First students' progress from primary to secondary school.

Samantha Spence
	Samantha Spence has over 10 years experience working in primary schools. She began her career as a primary teacher and soon became a Lead Primary Music Teacher. For the last seven years, she has worked as a Music Adviser with Cambridge Education @ Islington and also works as a freelance consultant with Islington’s Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) focusing on raising the achievement of students of African Caribbean heritage. Her work in Ethnomusicology has led to her exploring ways in which music can be exciting and accessible to all children and how Music and the Arts can be used in other areas of the curriculum including Maths, Literacy and Science. She studied piano and viola at the Purcell School of Music and recently completed her MA in Music Education at the Institute of Education. Her articles have been published in NAME and she has produced other educational publications including Recorder Rebels.

Carol Pepper
Carol Pepper has spent her career in primary education, working in a variety of schools ranging from challenging inner-city environments to one of the country’s leading Independent establishments. Alongside her classroom work Carol has gained vast experience organising national and international residential courses, tours and concerts in major venues for a number of youth orchestras. She has seen the growth in confidence and self-esteem such experiences encourage which has led to her interest in El Sistema and its work with more disadvantaged children. With Bob she spent six weeks researching the programme in Venezuela in 2008. Carol currently works with Music First and the Specialist Music programme at Highbury Grove School.

Who's Who

Len Cunningham