Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Tutors and Staff (A to Z)

Caroline Costello

Piano Tutor

Winner of many awards and prizes, Caroline was educated at Chetham's School of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire (formerly Birmingham School of Music) and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London where she specialised in Accompaniment. Caroline’s early career was as a freelance repetiteur and accompanist based initially in...

Louise Crane

Vocal Tutor

A singing teacher at RBC for nearly twenty years, Louise studied at the Guildhall, gaining her AGSM Diploma and subsequently won awards from Clonter Opera Trust and the Peter Moores Foundation, as well as a college scholarship, to study at the Royal Northern College of Music. After a season with Glyndebourne Festival Opera...

Prof Joe Cutler

Professor in Composition

Joe Cutler has been described as ‘writing music of quirky dancing energy and humour mingled with mystery’ (Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph). For more than 20 years, he has been a distinctive figure on the contemporary music scene, often exploring the spaces between genre. His music has been performed in over 40 countries and...

Ben Davies

Cello Tutor

Ben Davies was brought up and went to school in York, followed by studies at the University of Manchester and the Royal Academy of Music. He was fortunate in his teachers, Ioan Davies, Bernard Gregor-Smith and Derek Simpson, all fine quartet cellists who studied with Douglas Cameron at the Royal Academy of Music. Whilst...

Anne Dawson

Vocal Tutor

Anne Dawson studied at the Royal Northern College of Music , Manchester (PPRNCM Dis:) after gaining a Scholarship from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. She was the winner of the John Ireland Festival Centenary Competition, the Gerald Finzi Song Award, the Prize of the City of s'Hertogenbosch - Holland, the...

Simon de Souza

French Horn Tutor

Simon was brought up in Henley-on-Thames. He studied horn with the virtuoso Ifor James at Colchester Institute , winning several prizes for chamber music, and gaining a Cert.Mus and G.Mus (CNAA) and then undertook postgraduate studies at Trinity College of Music in London. Since graduating he has developed a busy schedule...

Dr Siân Derry

Assistant Director of Postgraduate Studies (MA Musicology Course Director, Professional Performance - AdvPgDip Course Director)

Siân Derry is a Senior Lecturer in Music, and Assistant Director of Postgraduate Studies (MA Musicology Course Director, Professional Performance - AdvPgDip Course Director) at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. She joined the Conservatoire in 2015, having previously taught at the University of Manchester. Siân completed her...

Dr Kirsty Devaney

Composition Tutor and Young Composers' Project Leader

Kirsty Devaney is a British composer based in Birmingham where she completed her studies at Birmingham Conservatoire with Joe Cutler, Ed Bennett and Howard Skempton. Kirsty received the ‘Principal's Award’ and a Junior Fellowship from Birmingham Conservatoire in 2013. In 2011 Kirsty was shortlisted for a British Composer Award...

Steven Devine

Early Keyboard Consultant

Steven Devine enjoys a busy career as a music director and keyboard player working with some of the finest musicians. Since 2007 Steven has been the harpsichordist with London Baroque in addition to his position as Co-Principal keyboard player with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He is also the principal keyboard...

Christopher Dingle

Professor of Music

Christopher Dingle is a specialist in French Music, notably Messiaen and Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges , and the history and practice of Music Criticism. Messiaen’s Un oiseau des arbres de Vie (orchestration realized by Dingle), received its world premiere at the 2015 BBC Proms. Chris is Associate Director of...