Our Tutors

We carefully recruit and train tutors who share our passion for teaching and performing and will teach and inspire their students to the highest standards.

As well as being dedicated teachers, many of our team are professional players.

Performing as solo artists, in originals or covers bands or as session players with established artists, their experience in the spotlight is often a great source of inspiration for the students - They’ve usually got plenty of stories about their experiences in music to tell!

You can find out more about some of our team and the acts that they perform with by clicking on their portraits in the central column.

Criminal Records Checks

We are very conscious of both the security of our schools and the safety of our students.

We make careful checks about each tutor's suitability for the post, including an enhanced disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau.

Our Tutors

Please click to find out a little more about some of our tutors.


Chris Bell


Simon Carnell


Josh Cleaver


Oliver du Toit


Katie Hockley


Duncan Howlett


Chris Jones


Ben Kinslow


Jamie Ledger


Martin Newnham


Steven Obee


Kevin Phillips


Adam Rich


Chris Smith


Gemma Stilwell


David Trevillion


Jonny Wharton

 

 

Charles (Charlie) Moreland

Charlie has been playing guitar since the age of 8, and graduated from the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford with a BA Hon's Degree and Higher National Diploma.

He has now worked professionally for 6 years - writing, teaching and working as a session guitarist. In the last 3 years he has performed or recorded with Tina Grace (Spanish Flamenco Singer), Beverly Knight, Molly s Downes (who's recent hit 'Raindrops' hit No 1 in the US dance charts), and Katiya Borlante (X Factor finalist with girl group The Scarletz) to name a few.

He is a passionate and enthusiastic teacher, and a busy working musician - as well as teaching for SCAMPS and privately, Charlie runs his own covers outfit called 'Groove Instinct' who have played some of the country's key venues inc. Earls Court, Southampton Guildhall, The Jazz Cafe, Cafe de Paris and Dover Street Wine Bar. As well as all this, he has also played Classical / Spanish guitar in Soho's Pizza Express, Leicester Sq's The Marquee Club and other various venues in the south east.

Close

Chris Bell

‘Chris discovered his love of music early and started playing his first musical instrument at the tender age of 6. He was classically trained on several instruments, most notably the trombone and euphonium, and performed on these extensively through his teenage years in various groups - everything from brass quartets to Glen Miller style Big Bands.

At age 15 however, he found the instrument he really loves, the guitar, and it soon became clear that this was 'the one'! After finishing school, he gained an engineering degree at the University of Leeds, but couldn't ignore his true passion so went on to study full time at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford before turning professional.

A versatile player and musician, Chris is equally at home playing classical, flamenco, solo fingerstyle or all styles of electric guitar. The guitar is his main instrument, but he can happily turn his hand to the drums and keyboard, although admits that he is hideously out of practice these days on the brass instruments!

He has performed with several bands in recent years, including 'Soul Shakers', a professional function outfit playing soul, motown and funk, as well as recording sessions for artists and TV.

Close

Chris Jones

Chris graduated from the Los Angeles Music Academy, California, USA in 2006 where he was fortunate enough to study guitar with players such as Frank Gamble, Bill Fowler, Art Renshaw, Ross Bolton, Steve Fister and many other leading musicians. He was also a member of the LA Music Academy Jazz and Fusion band.

Chris is registered with and is acknowledged by the Registry of Guitar Tutors in the UK and has gained an extensive range of knowledge when it comes to teaching music and guitar to all ages and abilities.

Close

David White

An incredibly highly skilled and versatile guitarist and teacher, David has been playing for longer than he can remember. Apparently, it all started by listening to old vinyl records that migrated gradually from his parents' room to his own! Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Slade, Status Quo, Free and many of the same rock influences as well as the likes of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, George Benson and Robben Ford.

He has studied at Amersham & Wycombe College and the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford. As well as his formal training, he spent a lot of time playing at jam nights learning how to really improvise with different people and standards, and continues to be a great advocate of these kind of events for building 'real world' musicianship.

He played for a short while with an alternative rock band called Instill, has depped for many bands in his time. He recently joined a local band called Solid Juice and plays in a duo called 'Black and White', which performs in local venues in Surrey and Hampshire. As well as all this, he has played with varying members of Fairport Convention, Colin Webb and Members of Hawkwind.

As well as teaching and performing, David spends a good amount of his time supporting local bands and sound engineering for them, to help keep live music developing and thriving!

Close

John Hall

A exciting and versatile player, John is a graduate of the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, where he gained a BA (Hons) in Professional Musicianship. During his time at BIMM he was taught by world renowned tutors including: Guthrie Govan, Jamie Humphries, Steve Allsworth, and Phil Hilbourne and played with many top names in the music industry such as Ace (Skunk Anansie), Jason Knight (Reef), Rob Green (Toploader), and Paul Winterhart and Alonza Bevan (Kula Shaker).

As well as teaching, he currently gigs around the UK with pro function bands "The Big Swing" and "Funky Gorgeous" and has recorded licks for "Total Guitar", Europe's biggest selling guitar magazine. Check out more about his bands at the following sites: www.thebigswing.biz and www.funkygorgeous.com

Close

Matthew Brown

Matthew has been playing drums for over 20 years. He qualified with a degree in Jazz from Newcastle College in 2000 and has since been teaching and playing across the South East. He plays in a jazz trio as well as a function band, doing the hard slog of weddings and birthday parties.

As well as teaching for Scamps and privately he also helps to run a summer school (of Rock!) in London, runs samba and African percussion workshops and is multitalented - he also plays the organ in his local church!

Close

Owain Williams

Owain started playing music age 4 years, after hearing his father play the busker's classic "Streets of London." Joining his first band aged 13 he quickly gained a wealth of knowledge not just about the instrument itself, but about musicianship. At age 15 he joined an established hard-working blues band based in North Wales. He was the youngest member by 37 years!

Realising from such an early age that music was his passion he studied Music GCSE and A level, BTEC national diploma in Music Technology, Sound and Studio Technology at NEWI University and Contemporary Popular Music at the Academy of Contemporary Music.

He enjoys playing various instruments, and is skilled on the drums and bass as well as guitar. As well as performing, sound recording and studio technology is a huge passion for Owain, and he has recorded numerous bands, some well established, and many which have been formed by his students. He has also composed music for many situations - TV, theatre, bands and solo performers.

Close

Paul Gallagher

Paul joined SCAMPS in 2006 after completing his degree in Popular Music Performance at West London's Guitar Institute A very versatile musician, as well as teaching guitar full time, Paul is also an active performer, playing bass guitar (his first instrument) in a number of function and originals outfits around the UK.

He is also well schooled -. Before moving to London in 2003 Paul enrolled on the Access To Music's Contemporary Popular Music course in Leicester, concentrating on developing his skills on both Bass and Keyboards. This course gave him the opportunity to further the understanding of his instrument and enhance his knowledge of composition and theory.

To can find out more about one of his bands, 'Understate', follow the links: www.myspace.com/understateband , www.understate.co.uk

Close

Rob Aitken

Rob is based in Camberley, Surrey and is a versatile and committed teacher and performer.

Before starting teaching full time at SCAMPS, he worked as a resident show band guitarist for Carnival Cruise Lines for 6 years. Performing as part 10-piece band, he accompanied top class singers for concerts and shows - many musicians' dream gig! During his time on the ships, he traveled extensively around the US, Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico and Canada. He has also been involved with musical theatre, including a production at the Pleasance Theatre in London.

Close

Graham Sowerby

Graham is an energetic and enthusiastic teacher, and an extremely experienced musician. He has played extensively throughout the UK and Europe with various bands, playing styles of music ranging from reggae to rock, to drum and bass. Although live playing is something Graham has a great passion for, teaching the next generation of performers is equally important to him.

Graham gained a BA (Hons) degree from The Academy of Contemporary Music, in Guildford. Now based in Brighton, as well as his work for SCAMPS he teaches both privately and at an independent rock academy locally.

His aim in lessons is to nurture and prepare pupils for the demands of modern musicianship, by focusing on the practical skills they need, whilst still covering all the necessary theory.

Close

Adam Rich

Based in Barnet, Adam is hugely experienced - he's been playing drums for 20 years and teaching the instrument for the last 8 years both in schools and privately.

As a performer, he has been involved with many different musical projects and bands/artists during his time playing. Most notably, between 1998-2001 he was part of a band called LISP, gaining a record deal with London Records and releasing an album called "Cycles".

Today he freelances with many artists but is also part of a band called 'The Reflections'. Check out the band's web pages at www.thereflectionsmusic.co.uk or www.myspace.com/thereflectionsmusic

Close

Steve Obee

Steve, who originally hales from Sussex first started playing the piano at the tender age of 10 and took lessons in many styles including classical and jazz. He maintained his interest in music through school and went to study it at degree level, graduating with a BMus from Thames Valley University. He first discovered the guitar in his teenage years and immediately got that ‘where've you been all my life’ feeling with his first bash at 'Smoke on the Water'.

Since graduating, he has been teaching both privately and for SCAMPS for a number of years, is active on the gigging circuit and performs at private functions - Recently he has been working with function band www.soulavenue.co.uk and performed at a West end theatre supporting a dance company. He also has a keen interest in recording and spends many hours in the studio writing and producing. 

Steve enjoys playing multiple instruments and also singing solo and ensemble. He likes to let rip once in a while on his electric guitar, i.e. DAILY (his words!!), and is partial to writing and performing low key ballads and fingerstyle ditties.  He likes all styles of music but his favorites are rock, jazz and soul.

Close

Jonny Wharton

Jonny is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter originally from the countryside near Bath and Bristol. His first experience of music was early exposures to his Dad's record collection which included bands like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and Eric Clapton (his first guitar hero). He took up the piano at the age of 7 and started playing the guitar 3 years later.

Over the next few years I began to explore a diverse range of artists ranging from Nirvana to Aphex Twin, and discovered a passion for music. Growing up on a West Country farm, far from his friends in town, he spent most of his teens making music in his room and trying to master any instruments he could lay his hands on, including drums, bass, percussion and also singing.

Armed with a copy of Cubase and an experimental mind, he went about figuring out the technological side of music and later, took a Creative Music Technology degree at Brunel University to further his musical development. Whilst there, he met several kindred musical spirits! 

This path has slowly molded my creative output into its present incarnation which draws on source material ranging from synths and electronics to instrumental and environmental sounds. He tries to bring all these elements together to make something he calls "organic electronica", which I write and perform under the name Jonny Falls Over. I also write more acoustic / rock based material under the name Jung Sun.

His current projects (apart from teaching guitar and piano) include jointly co-ordinating Hamswell Festival (www.hamswellfestival.com) - a small festival of music and arts which takes place back in Somerset - and setting up the fledgling online record label, MyTea Records (www.mytearecords.com).

Close

Mark Wilson

Mark started playing the guitar in his early teens and has been performing, recording, and writing with bands ever since.  At the age of 18 he decided to study music full time and completed a Higher National Diploma Course at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford.  Following that, he moved to London to study at the Guitar Institute, gaining a BA Honours Degree in Music.

Since then Mark has gigged up and down the country in various bands, ranging from rock and blues to funk, jazz, and soul.  He now spends his time teaching guitar for Scamps, performing with function bands and recording music for his solo project, ‘Quantum Somatic.’

Close

Simon Carnell

Based in Ealing (West London), Simon is an experienced performer and has been playing for over 13 years.  He successfully completed a diploma and degree in popular music performance at Drumtech Drum & Percussion School, linked to Thames Valley University.

Based in West London, he has been involved in many musically varied projects, playing with a number of noted bands and artists throughout the UK and Europe. As well as teaching, he now freelances with a number of bands and artists but regularly plays with 'Black Circles' a rocky originals band based in Manchester, 'Lisa Crawley' a singer songwriter from New Zealand and 'Fingermouse,' a function covers band.

Close

Ben Kinslow

After beginning his musical studies by learning the piano, Ben found his passion for music completed his GCSE in music two years early. He then realised that guitar was the instrument for him and took up the instrument aged 15. More recently, he successfully completed a BA Degree in Music Technology and uses the knowledge gained through that course to hone his understanding and knowledge the guitar, his main focus.

A versatile and dedicated performer, teacher and artist, when he’s not teaching he performs regularly in a semi-pro covers band, as well as other support and session gigs.

Close

Martin Newnhamn

Martin graduated from the prestigious London 'Guitar Institute' with a degree in Popular Music Performance, and since then has been teaching and working as a session musician in and around London. He is one of our longest serving tutors and has a real talent for getting the best out his students.

In addition to his teaching at SCAMPS and privately, he plays for various bands and production companies and is heavily involved in writing, performing, and studio work.

Close

Kevin Phillips

Kevin is a dedicated and fun, enthusiastic teacher who tries to put as much energy into his lessons as possible and always makes them enjoyable for his students.

He graduated from the Nexus Academy of Music in Coventry in 2005 with an OCR accreditation in music and biblical studies. He also took the Rockschool Grade 8 exam whilst he was there, attaining a distinction.

Although he has only been playing for a relatively short seven year period, during that time he has gained a good deal of teaching experience, and has completed many recording sessions with his own band and various other artists. In addition to teaching, he performs regularly with a function band called 'The Baxter Five' who specializes in funk and soul covers.

Close

Gemma Stilwell

Gemma started playing piano and guitar at the age of 9 but drums quickly took her attention at age 10 and has been her first instrument ever since. Whilst maintaining her love for music at school and college she went on to study at Southampton University. After 3 years of playing experience with orchestras through to Jazz bands she gained a B.A in Music with first class performance marks. After a year travelling the world, Gemma started teaching full time privately and for SCAMPS in 2006.

She has performed with various bands over the years and currently performs regularly

with 9 piece Soul outfit 'Soul'd Out', has recorded an album with originals band Fuschia, and conducts and plays with a local concertband.

Close

Jamie Ledger

Jamie has been working as a professional guitarist since the age of 18 when he joined show band ‘Exhale’. After touring the UK and Europe for 3 years he relocated to West London where he graduated from the London College of Music in Popular Music Performance (BMus). Throughout his time studying, Jamie worked constantly as a freelance guitarist around London for various covers and original artists both in the studio, live and also teaching privately. Since his graduation Jamie splits his time between teaching and performing and has made numerous T.V appearances for the BBC and channel four. Jamie is currently playing for singer/songwriter Jonny Taylor, (recently supporting Jason Mraz at a sold out Hammersmith Apollo)

Close

Duncan Howlett

Duncan is a talented multi instrumentalist who started his musical journey at the age of 5, with the classical guitar which is still his first instrument. Duncan achieved much at a young age including performing in the Martin Plackett youth guitar ensemble, coming first in Colchester’s rotary music festival under 14 solo guitar class and giving his first professional music lesson at the age of 15.

Duncan studied the classical guitar at Colchester Institute, where he was lucky enough to be tutored by legendary musicians including the composer Alan Bullard. After that, Duncan developed his interests in Jazz and the electric guitar and moved to Brighton to study at Brighton Institute of Modern Music (Bimm).

Duncan now performs in a variety of musical setups including solo acoustic fingerstyle guitar, as an acoustic duo with the talented vocalist Lizzy Littlejohn and in the funk originals band The Grand Majestic. In 2007 he performed at well over 100 events including at the peak of The Gherkin in London.

 

Close

Katie Hockley

Kate spends much of her time buzzing around the South East, originally hails from Rochester and now splits her time between Kent and Hampshire. At the age of 6, she was introduced to a retired organist of Litchfiled Cathedral, the late Donald Cox, and with the enquiry “Mummy, who’s that funny man?” embarked on a varied but classically based piano tutelage that lasted well into her teens.

With a curiosity for a broad range of musical styles, she maintained her interest through school by performing regularly in musicals, orchestral events and recitals as a singer and flautist and providing piano accompaniment to the Junior Choir. In later academic years, her musical background played a key role in her Master Degree in the form of a Historical Art paper, circumnavigating Pop Culture and Musical Trends of the 1960’s. On completion of her degree, she moved to Hampshire and attended the Academy of Contemporary Music obtaining a Higher Diploma in Performance and Vocals
Kate now spends her time split between working as a piano and vocal tutor, recording as a session singer affiliated to Sniff n Break studios, and performing as a vocalist in front of a live-audience with the Solid Juice Band .

 

Close

Josh Cleaver

Josh first realized his passion for music at a young age, naturally he sought out the noisiest instrument he could find and chose the drums, however it wasn't long until a friend at primary school took up guitar and Josh decided to follow suit, much to the neighbours delight.

8 Years later Josh attended the ACM in Guildford to study the guitar before turning professional. Josh's real passion lies in jazz, and he has played in many ensembles down the years from bop to avant-garde. Josh recently played a live session of his original compositions on BBC radio and had a busy summer of gigs.

He also thoroughly enjoys educating others in music, and as well as teaching with SCAMPS, he also teaches for John Lewis Partnership and has a large number of private student of all ages.

 

Close

Chris Smith

Chris began playing the guitar at the age of 8 and whilst he cannot put his finger on a particular event or source of inspiration that lead him to choose the instrument Chris quickly realized that he had found a hobby for life, which would later turn into a career.

He has studied classical guitar through to grade 8 and beyond and chose to broaden his musical education at GCSE and A Level. Aged 15, during his work experience in a guitar shop, Chris was given an opportunity to teach guitar which he grabbed with both hands.

Taking every opportunity to perform, Chris has played at weddings, private functions, corporate events and classical recitals. He has also played electric guitar with several cover bands over the years.

Whilst the guitar is his first love, Chris is also a classically trained saxophonist and can also turn his hands to the piano.

His musical influences over the years could not be more diverse. From Tarrega and Villa Lobos to Dream Theater and Joe Satriani , Chris listens to just about anything.

 

Close

Oliver du Toit

Oliver's passion for the guitar was awakened the first time he heard GnR's Appetite for Destruction and there was certainly no going back after experiencing the finger melting fury of Metallica's Master of Puppets. Picking up the instrument at the age of 14, he took lessons in both electric rock guitar and classical until departing for Leeds College of Music in pursuit of a degree in Popular Music.

As a student, Oliver absorbed a wealth of new musical qualities, broadening to jazz harmonic theory, improvisation, and composition in which he attained a 1st as his final year major. He is also an able drummer and is known to have the odd noodle on the bass guitar. Since graduating, Oliver has established himself as a private tutor and more recently in a primary education capacity with Scamps.

Constantly developing, Oliver composes his own music in a progressive heavy rock vein and is in the process of writing, rehearsing and recording original material with a metal trio. Aside from these interests, he regularly enjoys kicking back to play funk, blues and ambient styles.

Close

David Trevillion

I was thirteen years old when I started playing the drums. I was inspired to pick up the sticks after watching Nirvana play at the Reading Festival on the television. I went on to study music at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford. I graduated in 2008 with a first class degree. I play a variety of other instruments including trumpet, guitar and piano. I currently divide my time between an electronica duo, a jazz quartet and a doo-wop covers band. I also play the role of Ringo Starr in a Beatles tribute band. Some recent performances include Koko in Camden, Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone and a stint in the south of France playing to french bureaucrats.

Close

Employment opportunities

We are always looking for high calibre tutors to join our team who share our passion for teaching, and who can inspire and teach students of all ages to the highest standards.

Any employment opportunity that SCAMPS can offer is complimented by the work of our sister company, Corporate Music Development (CMD). CMD provide, amongst other things, music lessons for adults in the corporate workplace, mirroring the work that SCAMPS does in the education sector. Many of our team work in both areas.

Our tutors enjoy the benefits of:

• Working for one of the largest fully independent music services in the UK

• The provision of a highly developed and fun syllabuses, fully accredited by the Ofqual

• Full employed status

• Full support from our head office based team who organise lessons, timetables, rotas, exam entries and all other administrative matters, leaving our teachers to do what they do best - TEACH!

Click here to see application requirements and to fill in the application form.

Join the Team