Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Tutors and Staff (A to Z)

Dr Andrew Hamilton

Composition Tutor

Andrew Hamilton was born in Dublin in 1977 and studied in Ireland, England and The Netherlands. His composition teachers included Kevin Volans, Anthony Gilbert and Louis Andriessen. Awards include first prize in the 2001 Opera Prima Europa competition in Rome and the 2002 prize at the 8th International Young Composers Forum in...

Lionel Handy

Cello Tutor

As a scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music, Lionel Handy won all the prizes for cello and chamber music, including the prestigious Moir Carnegie Recital Diploma prize and Principal's Prize. He was awarded first prize in the Muriel Taylor Competition by Jacqueline du Pre and with several other important scholarship...

Matthew Hardy

Percussion Tutor (Timpani)

Matthew Hardy studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with ‪ Steve Barnard, Chris Stock and Phil Girling, graduating in 2010 and winning the Gemma Sharp Memorial Award. Matt has been Principal Timpanist of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra since January 2018, having previously held the position of...

Sally Harrop

Clarinet Tutor

Sally studied music at the Birmingham Conservatoire with Janet Hilton, John Fuest and Colin Parr. As BBC Radio 2 Young Musician of the Year 1991, she has broadcast on Radio 2 on several occasions as soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra, including a concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London. Sally has since then made...

Anna Hashimoto

Clarinet & Eb Clarinet Tutor

Anna Hashimoto made her London concerto debut at the age of 15 playing Weber with the English Chamber Orchestra at Barbican Centre. She has since been invited regularly as a soloist with the orchestra, most recently in Norfolk in the presence of HRH Prince Charles. She was the winner of the International Clarinet Competitions...

Sophie Hastings

Head of Drum Kit, Rhythm & World Percussion

Sophie Hastings studied at the RNCM in Manchester and graduated in 1998. Since then, she has performed with many professional orchestras, TV and touring shows playing drum kit, Latin and orchestral percussion. The orchestras include the City Of Birmingham Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal...

Ulrich Heinen

Cello Tutor

Ulrich Heinen was born in Ittenbach, near Bonn in Germany. He studied at the Cologne Conservatoire under Siegfried Palm and at the Juilliard School of Music, New York with Leonard Rose. He won several national and international competitions, notably the prestigious Rostropovich Competition in La Rochelle (France). After...

Gail Hennessy

Baroque & Classical Oboe Tutor

Gail Hennessy was born in Wisconsin in the USA, and studied modern oboe at the University of Louisville before taking up a position as cor anglais player in North Carolina. There she encountered a baroque oboe for the first time, and fell in love with its sound. This, together with her empathy for baroque music, led her to...

Nikolaj Henriques

Bassoon Tutor

Nikolaj Henriques is Section Leader Bassoon of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Nikolaj did his BA in Music at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, studying with Audun Halvorsen and Sebastian Stevenson. He then moved to Germany to continue his education at Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts with...

Andrew Herbert

Percussion Tutor (Orchestral)

Andrew was born in Northampton and began his musical journey in the Northamptonshire County Music Service. Initially taking lessons on drum kit, he decided to study percussion under the guidance of Alan Suttie, former timpanist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. After accepting a place at Music College, Andrew went on to get a...