Testimonials
Teaching
“This was good teaching. Anna kept a fast and demanding pace going throughout the lessons with plenty of references to previous and future work for context. She used her instruments to model effectively with both musical and technical points. Praise was used well and specifically so that pupils knew why they were being praised. Work was clearly set. Lessons were well structured.” – Wiltshire Music Service
“Anna always remained friendly and patient. She had effective strategies and showed a good rapport with pupils.” – ABRSM
“As a mature student, I very much like Anna’s flexible and friendly, but at the same time structured, style. The best thing is that I am enjoying myself and improving all the time… which is exactly what I was hoping for from a music teacher.” – Fidel, pupil
“Clarinet is best!” – Rory, pupil (8 years old)
Performance
“It is encouraging when three talented young professional musicians are prepared to join a local community in staging a concert to raise money for charity. At Bromsberrow Parish Church on Sunday, Ledbury-born clarinettist Anna Perry, with violinist Michael Walton and pianist Jenni Redmond did just that in aid of St Michael’s Hospice. Former postgraduate students at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, their bold programme pushed the repertoire beyond customary expectations for such events. We had Mozart, we had Schumann and we had Elgar, true, but we also had two works by French maverick composer Darius Milhaud – his effervescent Duo Concertante for Clarinet and Piano and the musically naughty Suite Op.157b for all three players – plus three movements from Stravinsky’s punchy suite derived from his theatrical work “The Soldier’s Tale”. These ‘modernist’ works were played with such sparkling wit and crisp accuracy that we felt bereft at being given only three movements of the Stravinsky instead of its full complement of five. In Schumann’s evergreen Fantasiestücke for Clarinet and Piano Anna Perry played with warm fluidity and subtle colour, while Michael Walton’s playing in Mozart’s G minor Variations and Elgar’s celebrated Chanson de Matin and lesser-known Chanson de Nuit was stylish and elegant. Throughout the concert the hard-worked pianist Jenni Redmond managed to extract enough from the church’s old upright to demonstrate convincingly her unshakeable musicianship and fitting sense of style. The evening’s enjoyment was enhanced by informative and well-written programme notes contributed by all three of these accomplished artists.” – © John Rushby-Smith, 3/8/2009