Music Teachers In International Schools Podcast

Tomos Nicholls  is a music teacher at  Alice Smith School  in Malaysia. Tomos began his journey in international education as a teaching assistant in Myanmar before training as a music teacher under the mentorship of  Asta Hodgson  ( who also featured on the podcast here ). Since 2021 he has been based in Malaysia, where he teaches primary music, leads large-scale cultural performance projects, an...

Lindsey Stirrat  t is an international school music educator who was, until recently, based at  St. Gilgen International School  in Austria. Her journey spans the UK (performer and peripatetic teacher) and roles across Oman, Dubai, Austria (Vienna), Switzerland and Singapore before moving to the Austrian Alps. She taught within the IB (PYP/MYP/DP) framework and helped shape a highly community-embe...

Jaime Wilkin  is a music teacher and professional learning coordinator at the  Independent Schools Foundation Academy in Hong Kong . Jaime’s journey into international music education began in the UK before a volunteer opportunity in Thailand opened the door to a series of roles across South Korea and Hong Kong. He now teaches MYP and DP Music at ISF Academy, leads the school’s concert band, and s...

Megan Highfill 's journey into international music education began in Kansas City, before a pivotal move to Egypt sparked a global adventure. Since then, she’s taught music in Indonesia, Panama, and Nepal, and now leads the  Association of Music in International Schools (AMIS)  - a non-profit organisation that supports 120 member schools through student festivals and teacher professional devel...

Originally from Ireland,  Hannah Hepworth’s  journey into international school music teaching took her through classroom roles in Catholic and state schools, a 10-month travel sabbatical, and teaching positions in China before settling in Thailand. Alongside her teaching, she’s pursuing a master’s degree focused on social, emotional, and mental health through music - with a keen interest in the po...

Pavel Lipski  is the Subject Leader of Music at  CIA First International School  in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Coming through a rigid childhood music education that saw him lose interest in music by his teens, Pavel was introduced to the guitar by a friend and found his place on stage playing Red Hot Chili Peppers songs. After studying linguistics and education and then completing a year of compulsory s...

Jeremy Van Sluytman  is teaching music at  Shekou International School , China.  Jeremy featured in a short conversation for  Episode 29  of the podcast, but we wanted to do a deeper dive on his context and approach to music teaching in international schools. Jeremy is a thoughtful and reflective practitioner who has insights on a wide range of topics. In this episode, we explore: An overview and...

Adam Gaensler  is teaching music at the  American International School of Budapest . As is typical of American-style music education, music learning in secondary school is often siloed into strings, wind band and choir. Adam's role sits alongside these traditional streams by offering students  rock, pop and electronic music ...and it's no surprise that these courses are mega popular at his school!...

Samuel Wright  is the  International Baccalaureate Diploma  Music Coordinator at the  International School of The Hague , a  CBI Trainer , Composer, Orchestrator & Author. Samuel featured on Episode 2 of the MTIIS podcast where we spoke about his background and music technology in general. We welcome Samuel back to the show a couple of years later to specifically look at his brand new book:  '...

Brad Fuller  is a music educator, scholar and jazz musician who has completed a PhD at the University of Sydney, Australia.  James Humberstone  is a music educator, composer-producer, researcher, technologist, and a Senior Lecturer in Music Education at the University of Sydney (also Brad's PhD supervisor). Brad, James and their colleague, Caitlin Sandiford, recently hosted a global symposium on t...

Fill in the survey now! Alison Armstrong  returns to the MTIIS podcast after 2 years (she featured in  Episode 9 ) to let us know how things are progressing for her and her team at  Tashkent International School , Uzbekistan and to  ask for YOUR help with a project she is working on . We know that designing a new music department space, completing renovations or getting things setup in a new schoo...

Adam Ockelford  is Professor of Music and Director of the Applied Music Research Centre at the  University of Roehampton , London. Adam and his colleagues developed the  Sound Of Intent  framework, a model of musical development that sets out how we all engage with music, from children in the early years to older people with dementia, from those with profound learning difficulties who are still le...

Desta Olds  is a  Performing Arts Teacher  at the  International School of Phnom Penh , Cambodia. Desta joins the long list of cellists that we've had on the MTIIS podcast - this is purely a coincidence of course 😅! Originally from the USA, Desta worked in South Korea and Hong Kong before joining ISPP a few years ago. Desta came to the recent  Big Gig Japan  (hosted by  Canadian Academy Kobe...

Asta Hodgson  is the Head of Music at  Prince of Wales Island International School  in Penang, Malaysia. Beginning with her formal music training as a cellist, and subsequent music teacher training focusing on Dalcroze, Asta then completed a dissertation looking at how entrainment interventions impact prosocial behaviours in early years children. This is such a cool study! Asta has so many practic...

Kerry Wickersham  is an Apple Distinguished Educator and the Head of Music and CAS Coordinator at  Sotogrande International School  in Spain. He has spent 20 years in Spain and has developed some incredible opportunities for his students. In fact, as you'll find out in this episode,  many of these opportunities have been led by his students . In this episode, we explore: Kerry's background...

"I had to revisit my philosophy...I had to rewire my brain" Anastasia Mousouli  was trained to sing and play the flute in a rigid and formal setting. It allowed her to become a professional flute player and perform in some incredible contexts. However, as Anastasia entered the international school music classroom, it became clear that some considerable unlearning might need to happen to...

Jeff Tollefson  is the Fine Arts Director at  Colegio Menor Quito  in Ecuador. I first heard about Jeff during my interview with  Jefferson Aranda for Episode 17  of the MTIIS podcast. Jefferson spoke super highly of Jeff and referred to his mentorship numerous times during the conversation. So, after a few back and forth messages via LinkedIn, it became clear that it would be a great idea to spea...

Chris McLeay  didn't really start getting 'into' music until his twenties. Music became an expressive outlet and tool for personal growth for Chris.  After completing a music education degree, some time spent working with a powerful Musical Futures program in South Melbourne (Australia), and multiple other music ed projects, Chris moved into the role of Primary Music Teacher at  Discov...

Rebecca Wade-Chung  is the current MYP/DP Music Teacher and the MYP Music Subject Coordinator at the  International School of The Hague  in the Netherlands. I met Rebecca through MTIIS regular contributor,  Samuel Wright , and knew a podcast conversation was on the cards.  Rebecca epitomises the evolution of an international school music teacher. Starting out as a pure string orchestra teacher, Re...

w/ Callahan Davenport, Adam Gaensler, Lana Skrgatic & Dylan Norcross My favourite format this year has been the multi-guest episode. I love having the opportunity to learn from people within a short timeframe! These four are no exception. In this second instalment of recordings from the AMIS Music Educators' Conference in Zagreb in November 2023, I speak with 4 international school music t...

Sam Wormald  was starting to lose passion and interest in teaching music...until she threw out an outdated exam board model and started fresh! This episode explores Sam's journey as Head of Curriculum for the Performing Arts at  Dubai English Speaking College (DESC) . It gives us all a new potential option for revitalising our international school music programs through exam board choice. It&#...

Damir Odobasic  is Head of Music at  Shanghai United International School , China. Growing up in Serbia and following a formal route to learning piano accordion, Damir came to a crossroads regarding his future. On the advice of a friend, he was encouraged to look at music teaching jobs in China. Fast-forward a few years and Damir has found his direction. A place where, as he calls it, he can &quot...

This episode was an interviewers dream. I tend to prepare every interview quite meticulously and had a solid bunch of meaty questions based on my knowledge of Eivind's work, but nothing really prepared me for the insights that flowed during this conversation! Eivind Lodemel  is the current  Head of High School Music  at the  United World College, South East Asia, Singapore (East Campus) . I me...

This was my keynote address from the AMIS Music Educators' Conference in 2022 at American School of The Hague. For those interested in a bit about my background, why I started MTIIS and some of my ideas about international schooling and music education, this one is for you. You can watch the YouTube version with all of the supporting graphics/pictures/slides on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/v...

This episode features: Melvyn Sawyer  from  International School of Düsseldorf , Germany; Lindsay Stirrat  from  St. Gilgan International School , Austria, and; Tracy Sons  from  Zurich International School , Switzerland. This episode give us wonderful insights into 3 unique international school music education contexts. I explore each teacher's background and then ask them two key questions:...