Alumni
Biography
Erin Sawicka began playing piano at the age of six and was inspired to make it her career following a chance meeting with a Canadian pianist at the age of sixteen. Having trained as a classical pianist, graduating from Trinity College of Music with a Masters in piano in June 2008 and previously graduating with a Degree in Music from Birmingham University in 2003, she also gained her ATCL diploma in solo piano at the age of sixteen and went on to be awarded the title of “Vale of Glamorgan Young Musician of the Year” in 2005.
In order to further develop her skills as a classical pianist, she attended “Chethams International Summer School and Festival for Pianists” (2004-2007) and received scholarships to attend the “Birmingham International Piano Academy” (2005-2006) where she had the opportunity to play in public masterclasses for renowned concert pianists such as John Lill and Martin Roscoe and been given one-off lessons by concert pianists such as Yonty Solomon, Noriko Ogawa, Dina Parakhina and Murray McLachlan. She currently studies under Hilary Coates.
She has grade 8 qualifications in singing, flute and music theory and extensive experience performing with the Cardiff County & Vale of Glamorgan Orchestras and Choirs. As a member of the Welsh National Youth Opera, she had the opportunity to perform works such as Bach’s Magnificat in D and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.
Function Pianist
In addition to classical music, she has a great love and enthusiasm for jazz, musical theatre and popular songs. This broad and extensive repertoire has allowed her to meet the demanding requirements of bookings at weddings and other functions, including funeral services.
Most recently she has been receiving regular bookings from the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich for weddings, business dinners and food tasting sessions, and from the French Embassy, performing for various events at His Excellency the French Ambassador of Great Britain’s Residence. She has also been booked by Selfridges in Oxford Street and Peter Jones in Sloane Square to play within the stores for events and to enhance the shopping experience. Examples of other bookings include playing for weddings at Eltham Palace, playing background music for a private party in Kew and an anniversary dinner in the King William Restaurant in Greenwich.
You may either request specific music you would like her to play or, alternatively, she is happy to spend time with you to help select the appropriate pieces of music to match the ambience you are seeking to capture at the occasion. She can also provide you with a detailed list of her current repertoire on request. If you are interested in booking her, she has a Demo CD to demonstrate her performance skills and provide you with examples of the breadth of her repertoire or else have a listen to her playing on the downloads page.
Repetiteur and Accompanist
She has a great passion for repetiteur work and accompanying. Whilst studying for her music degree at Birmingham University, she acted as rehearsal pianist for the University’s Guild Musical Theatre Society and Chamber Choir, for classical productions such as Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Handel’s Messiah and musical theatre productions such as Sweet Charity, On The Town, Carousel and Bugsy Malone. Most recently she has been involved in playing for a production of ‘The Witches of Eastwick’ at the Kenneth More Theatre in Ilford, accompanying the Epsom Male Voice Choir and playing the piano for ballet classes at the Margaret Howard Theatre College and Lewisham College. She believes that her singing training and practical experience with the Welsh National Youth Opera have proved invaluable in accompanying vocalists. In Trinity College and outside, she continues to be in demand as an accompanist for recitals, auditions, competitions and assessments as well as for vocal and instrumental graded examinations.
If you are interested in engaging her in either capacity she is happy to discuss her ability to meet your specific requirements.
Ballet Pianist
I have always been passionate about excelling in every aspect of piano playing that I put my mind to, and playing for ballet classes has been no exception. Over the last two and a half years since graduating from music college, I have come to deeply understand the world of the ballet dancer and the skills and subtleties required in accompanying them. I have assembled a large repertoire of pieces to accompany every type of ballet exercise and class. This includes not only classical style pieces, but jazz, musical theatre and pop classics too, which the students seem motivated and enthused by and which give the class a positive, inspirational and energised atmosphere in which to work. My skills have been further developed by attending the adult amateur ballet classes at Central ballet school. This has allowed me to physically understand the qualities of the different types of movement used in ballet and how my playing can support and enhance this.
Having worked with ISTD examiner Vivienne Saxton and currently working at The Centre Performing Arts College where students undertake ISTD examinations, I am familiar with both the grade and vocational syllabuses from pre-primary to Advanced 2 and have experience of accompanying for exams, including DDI teaching examinations.
If you are interested in employing me as a pianist for your classes or exams, or wish to discuss further please get in touch via the contacts page of the website.
Teacher
Whether students wish to play for personal enjoyment or as a career I am very committed to my role as a piano teacher, delivering the lessons with enthusiasm, encouragement as well as patience, finding great joy in seeing them progress and helping them to achieve their full potential. To enable them to flourish as confident and independent learners, I teach theory of music alongside the practical aspects, as well as focusing on sight-reading skills. However, all lessons are adapted to suit the individual’s needs and interests.
I am very familiar with the ABRSM examination board system, entering pupils for both theory and practical exams if they so wish and although I teach with classical music foundations I encourage pupils to play other music they like too, such as jazz, musical theatre and popular. I teach both children and adults and encourage all new students to have a trial lesson first so that they can decide whether my teaching style is for them or not.
I continue to challenge the content and style of my lessons and gain further inspiration by attending courses such as the Chethams Summer School for Pianists, observing world-renowned teachers in one-to-one lessons and masterclass situations, having one-to-one lessons myself and reading literature.
I travel to pupils homes (currently in the Greenwich/Blackheath and Hammersmith/Chiswick areas). I am a member of the Musician’s Union and CRB checked through other jobs. You can also find me on www.musicteachers.co.uk as well as www.thetutorpages.com.
If you are interested in employing me as a teacher or wish to discuss further please get in touch via the contacts page of the website.
Erin Sawicka began playing piano at the age of six and was inspired to make it her career following a chance meeting with a Canadian pianist at the age of sixteen. Having trained as a classical pianist, graduating from Trinity College of Music with a Masters in piano in June 2008 and previously graduating with a Degree in Music from Birmingham University in 2003, she also gained her ATCL diploma in solo piano at the age of sixteen and went on to be awarded the title of “Vale of Glamorgan Young Musician of the Year” in 2005.
In order to further develop her skills as a classical pianist, she attended “Chethams International Summer School and Festival for Pianists” (2004-2007) and received scholarships to attend the “Birmingham International Piano Academy” (2005-2006) where she had the opportunity to play in public masterclasses for renowned concert pianists such as John Lill and Martin Roscoe and been given one-off lessons by concert pianists such as Yonty Solomon, Noriko Ogawa, Dina Parakhina and Murray McLachlan. She currently studies under Hilary Coates.
She has grade 8 qualifications in singing, flute and music theory and extensive experience performing with the Cardiff County & Vale of Glamorgan Orchestras and Choirs. As a member of the Welsh National Youth Opera, she had the opportunity to perform works such as Bach’s Magnificat in D and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.
Function Pianist
In addition to classical music, she has a great love and enthusiasm for jazz, musical theatre and popular songs. This broad and extensive repertoire has allowed her to meet the demanding requirements of bookings at weddings and other functions, including funeral services.
Most recently she has been receiving regular bookings from the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich for weddings, business dinners and food tasting sessions, and from the French Embassy, performing for various events at His Excellency the French Ambassador of Great Britain’s Residence. She has also been booked by Selfridges in Oxford Street and Peter Jones in Sloane Square to play within the stores for events and to enhance the shopping experience. Examples of other bookings include playing for weddings at Eltham Palace, playing background music for a private party in Kew and an anniversary dinner in the King William Restaurant in Greenwich.
You may either request specific music you would like her to play or, alternatively, she is happy to spend time with you to help select the appropriate pieces of music to match the ambience you are seeking to capture at the occasion. She can also provide you with a detailed list of her current repertoire on request. If you are interested in booking her, she has a Demo CD to demonstrate her performance skills and provide you with examples of the breadth of her repertoire or else have a listen to her playing on the downloads page.
Repetiteur and Accompanist
She has a great passion for repetiteur work and accompanying. Whilst studying for her music degree at Birmingham University, she acted as rehearsal pianist for the University’s Guild Musical Theatre Society and Chamber Choir, for classical productions such as Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Handel’s Messiah and musical theatre productions such as Sweet Charity, On The Town, Carousel and Bugsy Malone. Most recently she has been involved in playing for a production of ‘The Witches of Eastwick’ at the Kenneth More Theatre in Ilford, accompanying the Epsom Male Voice Choir and playing the piano for ballet classes at the Margaret Howard Theatre College and Lewisham College. She believes that her singing training and practical experience with the Welsh National Youth Opera have proved invaluable in accompanying vocalists. In Trinity College and outside, she continues to be in demand as an accompanist for recitals, auditions, competitions and assessments as well as for vocal and instrumental graded examinations.
If you are interested in engaging her in either capacity she is happy to discuss her ability to meet your specific requirements.
Ballet Pianist
I have always been passionate about excelling in every aspect of piano playing that I put my mind to, and playing for ballet classes has been no exception. Over the last two and a half years since graduating from music college, I have come to deeply understand the world of the ballet dancer and the skills and subtleties required in accompanying them. I have assembled a large repertoire of pieces to accompany every type of ballet exercise and class. This includes not only classical style pieces, but jazz, musical theatre and pop classics too, which the students seem motivated and enthused by and which give the class a positive, inspirational and energised atmosphere in which to work. My skills have been further developed by attending the adult amateur ballet classes at Central ballet school. This has allowed me to physically understand the qualities of the different types of movement used in ballet and how my playing can support and enhance this.
Having worked with ISTD examiner Vivienne Saxton and currently working at The Centre Performing Arts College where students undertake ISTD examinations, I am familiar with both the grade and vocational syllabuses from pre-primary to Advanced 2 and have experience of accompanying for exams, including DDI teaching examinations.
If you are interested in employing me as a pianist for your classes or exams, or wish to discuss further please get in touch via the contacts page of the website.
Teacher
Whether students wish to play for personal enjoyment or as a career I am very committed to my role as a piano teacher, delivering the lessons with enthusiasm, encouragement as well as patience, finding great joy in seeing them progress and helping them to achieve their full potential. To enable them to flourish as confident and independent learners, I teach theory of music alongside the practical aspects, as well as focusing on sight-reading skills. However, all lessons are adapted to suit the individual’s needs and interests.
I am very familiar with the ABRSM examination board system, entering pupils for both theory and practical exams if they so wish and although I teach with classical music foundations I encourage pupils to play other music they like too, such as jazz, musical theatre and popular. I teach both children and adults and encourage all new students to have a trial lesson first so that they can decide whether my teaching style is for them or not.
I continue to challenge the content and style of my lessons and gain further inspiration by attending courses such as the Chethams Summer School for Pianists, observing world-renowned teachers in one-to-one lessons and masterclass situations, having one-to-one lessons myself and reading literature.
I travel to pupils homes (currently in the Greenwich/Blackheath and Hammersmith/Chiswick areas). I am a member of the Musician’s Union and CRB checked through other jobs. You can also find me on www.musicteachers.co.uk as well as www.thetutorpages.com.
If you are interested in employing me as a teacher or wish to discuss further please get in touch via the contacts page of the website.
Erin Sawicka:
Winner, Music in the Vale
Young Instrumentalist of the Year in 2005
Winner, Music in the Vale
Young Instrumentalist of the Year in 2005
Erin with the other age group winners in 2005
