About Me - Anna Stone
I am a graduate of the London College of Music and graduated in 1998 and I also have a Recital Certificate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama which I was awarded I 1997. Whilst studying at the London College of Music I was taught recorder by Piers Adams who is one of the world’s most famous recorder players and I was taught the flute by Philip Rowson and Rainer Schulein. Whilst at the London College of Music, I won the London Mozart Players Prize and the Bromley Memorial Trophy. Shortly after graduating I was awarded the St Andrews Recital Musician of the Year.
I have been a private music tutor in Norfolk since 2003 and enjoy both teaching and performing, although I spend more time teaching and I perform when I have the time to do so. I work with students of all ages and abilities. During my 21 years of teaching, I have had many successes including two students who have continued their music studies to degree level. I had a flute student who continued her studies at Trinity College of Music in London who recently graduated with a First Class Honours Degree, and a piano student who was awarded a full scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music in London and he commenced his studies in September 2021. I have also had 2 students who have won a place in the National Children's Choir of Great Britain. I am currently working with a paraplegic student who is learning the piano and I am in the process of arranging for him to have a piano that will be specially adapted for him to play.
My Experience
I have always enjoyed singing and whilst at college, I was a member of the East Norfolk Youth Choir conducted by Daphne King who was my inspiration for learning music from a very young age.
On joining the London College of Music, I sang as part of the college choir which was conducted by John Chapman (Director of Music) and I was also honoured to sing under the directorship of Ken Burton, Composer, Conductor and Performer. My singing has taken me from strength to strength and I have had a few lessons for my own personal development learning advanced technique and coaching from Ben Thapa, formerly of the opera group G4. Ben has helped me to gain even more confidence and he has offered me some advice in terms of my coaching of my vocal students to prepare them to give prizewinning performances.
Students Successes
In November 2021 and November 2022, two of my students auditioned and were awarded a place in the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain and I have more students auditioning for places in the NCCGB. The students who currently sing with the National Children's Choir of Great Britain are really enjoying working with other young singers and professional conductors and singing coaches. This is an amazing opportunity but takes a lot of hard work in order to prepare a prizewinning performance. Gaining a place in a prestigious choir like this is hard work and the student also needs to work at sight singing and aural skills when preparing for auditions.
Over lockdown and since lockdown my students have been awarded multiple Distinctions, Merits & Passes in both their online and face to face exams. Recorded exams involve recording one long video and submitting it to Trinity College London for marking. The face to face exams are held at Norwich High School for Girls and The Belfry Centre in Overstrand in Norfolk.
Student Successes
In 2019 I had a student who scored 100% in her ABRSM Grade 5 Theory exam and in 2020, I had a student score 100% in his Grade 7 piano exam. These are the highest marks awarded in the country.
In 2018 one of my piano students was accepted for the Aldeburgh Young Musicians Platform and he stayed with them for 3 years until he turned 18.
My students were awarded third prize in the Beccles Young Vocalist of the Year award in February 2019. In February 2020 another of my students was awarded the title of Beccles Young Vocalist of the Year and this competition went no further than local level due to Covid-19.
Singing Success
In 2018 I had a singing student who won the Beccles Rotary Club Young Vocalist of the Year award which qualified her to take part in the District Finals for Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire which she also won.
She then qualified to go forward to the Rotary Club Regional Finals of the Young Vocalist of the Year competition in April 2018 representing Norfolk & The East of England.
Other Successes
I regularly enter my students into the Beccles Rotary Club Young Musician/Vocalist of the year awards and the Norfolk County Music Festival. Both of these competitions are good rehearsal platforms if students are taking an exam, as it gives them the opportunity to get some professional critique on 1 or 2 of your pieces before taking an exam. This can be very helpful as it can mean the difference between a pass and merit or merit and distinction marks when taking the exam.
Other successes include students who took part in the St Andrews Festival in Gorleston and won the Senior Recital Musician of the Year in 2012, and the Junior Recital Musician of the Year in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015. They were also awarded the Harold Taylor Memorial Trophy, Senior Keyboard Trophy, Junior Piano Trophy, St Andrews Senior Woodwind Trophy and the Junior & Senior Recorder Trophies on several occasions.
My Charity Work
I put on concerts in 2010 and 2011 to raise money for charity in aid of the James Paget Hospital Sandra Chapman Unit where cancer patients are treated & Star Throwers Cancer Charity in Wymondham.
In this particular instance we were raising money in memory of a parent of a flute student of mine who sadly lost his battle to cancer of the esophagus in February 2010 and raised in excess of £3000.