A harpist from Helensburgh has been featured by UK’s professional body for musicians as an example of how to move to online teaching.
With classroom contact cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, students and teachers across the UK are having to find new ways to work remotely.
And advice on this transition by Pippa Reid-Foster has been featured on the Incorporated Society of Musicians’ website, with seven easy steps to setting up and teaching online.
Pippa, who teaches harp, piano and whistle, said this week: “It’s been a pretty smooth transition to teaching online luckily, as at the start I was feeling very overwhelmed.
“The response from my students has been fantastic, they love it.
“My youngest is five and a half years old and oldest is in her mid 70s, everyone is giving it a go without too many hiccups and they are surprised at how well it works.
“I am exhausted though, you need to concentrate a lot more, 16 students a day is going to be a definite challenge over the next few months.”
A graduate of the Royal Scottish Conservatoire, Pippa was due to tour Finland and the UK this summer alongside Finnish kantele player Eva Alkula, but this has been postponed because of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Now she is working on her second solo album, following Driftwood Harp which was released in 2016.
Her composition Murmurations (above) was premiered in the Distil Showcase concerts in 2018, when she performed alongside renowned ensemble McFall’s Chamber.
She was nominated for tutor of the year at the MG Alba Scots Traditional Music Awards in 2017 and was a finalist in the Princess Margaret of the Isles Memorial Prize for Senior Clarsach (UK) last year.
Below: Elements II by Pippa Reid-Foster.
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