About Jim

I studied music at Nottingham University, graduating first with a BA (hons) in music and then with an MA in composition in 1994, also gaining first place in the university's Hallward Composition Prize. I then trained as a music teacher at the University of Central England in Birmingham. Since then I have split my work between piano teaching, teaching and lecturing and composing.

In my composing work, I have a lively interest in different forms of art, and the latter led to two research fellowships at the Royal Academy of Music, looking at links between music and visual art, and a number of commissions and projects with galleries such as Tate Modern, the RA and the Henry Moore Institute. My music has been performed internationally, including in the USA, China and Europe. I am also an Associate Lecturer at Falmouth University and a mentor for the South West Music School.

I have written quite a lot for piano (including music for 4 pianos played by one person separated by 300 miles between London and Cornwall), and my love of the many different styles of piano music informs my teaching: from classical repertoire, to Jazz, to popular idioms, and improvisation, all or any of which we can explore in lessons.

You can find more out about my work as a composer here: www.jimaitchison.org