From Russia With Love - December 2005

A new music school in Shrewsbury is offering a revolutionary combination of the best in Russian and English teaching methods in a bid to reach pupils at a deeper level. Rachel Crow spoke to husband and wife team Christopher and Maria Giles, the pioneers behind the Shropshire School of Classical Music. Photography by Adrian Jones.

I had piano lessons for a short while when I was ten years old and would definitely turn up every week to somewhat unceremoniously and inevitably out of time, bang out the set pieces dictated by the examination board in order to work my way up the grading structure. I never got any higher than grade one, principally on account of the fact I was bored to tears by music I was forced to play. But when at home I enjoyed having free reign to play what I liked and learned by ear a number of relatively easy to play favourites my mother would pick, pieces I could feel and inject some passion into, including Beethoven’s Fur Elise and Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. I stopped lessons after a year because I was completely uninspired by what I was being taught. That is in no way criticism of my teacher who had nurtured many, gifted students to grade eight. But the structured form of learning wasn’t for me. Therefore upon speaking to Christopher and Maria Giles, I wished I could have turned back the clock and been ten years old once more.

The Shropshire School of Classical Music, which only started in September and is based at the Kingsland Grange School, takes a new approach to the teaching of music by introducing elements not normally included in music lessons in this country. The idea came about, explains Christopher, over time and having seen the standard of music pupils in Russia.

“I was astounded by the quality of playing in Russia when I visited. I remember sitting in on one piano lesson that Maria was teaching, which may have confused some people on a degree course, but this girl was only thirteen or fourteen.

The standard is so much higher in Russia and only the crème de la crème get to perform.”

Christopher met Maria, who is of Russian descent, in 2002 when they were both studying music in London. He was completing a Masters degree in performance studies at Goldsmiths University of London following a bachelors and Maria was studying English anthems as part of her PhD in musicology. Maria had first-hand experience of the standard of music education in Russia having studied piano from the age of five and then trained as a pianist and musicologist at the Special Music School for gifted students in Kazan. She went on to attend Moscow State Conservatoire where she obtained a Masters in the theory and history of music and then completed a three year postgraduate course in Musicology. So, coming from such a background she could spot where there was room for improvement in the English system, although, as Christopher says, it would not have worked if they had merely lifted, wholesale the Russian Curriculum and teaching methods.

The education system in Russia is amazing and it’s all free. The standard of teaching has a lot to do with the difference in culture and the experiences they have been through. They have the ethos that everyone should have the same opportunities, so if they show a talent then you can go to a special music school which is what we are building our school on. But we have adapted it to the British system, as the method of studying in Russia is far stricter. That’s not to say we are intent on only producing top notch performers. All we ask is that the pupils have an interested in learning.

So what is so different about their method of teaching? Well, for a start they believe that every pupil should be able to play the piano and, at present, that is the only instrument they teach at the school. “Everyone in Russia plays the piano if they play other instrument” Christopher points out “it is a fundamental instrument to learn. For instance, if you’re looking at a piece of music the piano part will give more away about the harmony of the piece. You can accompany and do so much more with the piano. It opens up so many doors.”

Piano is not currently a fundamental instrument to play in the UK. Many children will learn other instruments without knowledge of the piano. Some piano students go on to compose without ever having played an instrument at all. Christopher notes: “You can know the theory and not be able to play, though this is not something we would encourage.”

Pupils of the school attend instrumental lessons two times a week, which are taught by Christopher, Maria and Olga Lewis. Olga is also Russian and studied at Gnessins Special School for gifted students in Moscow, qualifying from the Academy as a concert pianist and teacher.

“The importance of the pupils attending twice a week, as opposed to just once makes a big difference to their speed of learning. They only come once a week invariably spending most of the next lesson recapping on what they’ve done before. But parents have already commented on how fast they’re learning” Christopher tells me.

But in addition to the piano lessons, the pupils who range from age five to eleven also have two theory and aural lessons, one music listening, one history and one choir lesson a week. The first two have been plucked from the Russian curriculum, and the choir tradition from England.

“The music listening and history lesson is all about the appreciation of music. We talk about the different aspects of musical styles and structures. You don’t pick up on the emotions in a piece of music if you don’t understand it. For instance, it’s important to know that Mozart’s Symphony in G minor was written when he had personal difficulties. It helps to perform it effectively and get the emotions across” Christopher explains.

The aural training lessons only really exist in the English system for board training exams. “If you are making enquiries with music teachers, most won’t be able to include aural training because it’s not their specialism. But it’s important to spend time training the ear” Christopher notes, which is where, in particular, Maria’s skills and training come into play. “We have to get the theory and aural training texts from Russia because you can’t even get them over here” he adds.

They don’t require their pupils to take the Associated Board Examinations although can help them to do so if they wish. All they require is that pupils perform one major concert per term.

The school’s first concert will be held at The Gateway in Shrewsbury on December 17, where the boys and girls will perform pieces they have learned over the last couple of months. In this way, the children have something to look forward to. Christopher admits “The situation with the English system is that they have set examination pieces and no element of choice. So what have children got at the end of it other than an exam?” The pupils at their school, however, do have an element of choice in what they perform. “One girl desperately wants to play Tchaikovsky’s Sugar Plum Fairy, which is quite technically difficult for someone of her age, but she loves it, so we’ve said she can do it” Christopher notes.

And that is what the school is about; nurturing an interest and enjoyment in playing music, rather than just learning by rote. For this reason they also place a lot of emphasis on performance techniques.

“I’ve seen people stop in the middle of a concert to turn the page and not bow at the end” Christopher observes. “Just as with an actor appearing on stage, the delivery is all important. Without good delivery, a performance can fall flat on its face.”

The school is hoping to get a certificate of recognition for their teaching methods although it will be a long process. That shouldn’t, however, hinder any pupils wishing to pursue their musical studies. “It’s not absolutely necessary to have a certificate or exam” Christopher explains “As long as some listens to then play. When I went for the interview for my first degree it was with a professor who had more letters after his name that I could count, but he just asked me to play something.” The pupils attend lessons after school on Tuesday and on Saturday from 9.30 till 1pm. But they don’t teach solidly for this time and recognise the importance of building blocks of free time to assist the process of learning. That’s not to say Christopher or Maria have much free time for themselves. Christopher is also Musical Director at Kingsland Grange School where the headmaster and others thought it was an excellent idea.