Piano Teachers
Michelle Griffin
Head of Pianoforte Studies
Bathurst campus
Michelle Griffin grew up in the Bathurst region. She studied piano with Jennie Menzies before being accepted at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music in 1998, where she studied piano with Gian-Franco Ricci. She graduated in 2003 as a Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours, majoring in Piano Performance and Musicology. She began studying voice with Maureen Lewis in 2005 and gained her A.Mus.A diploma in 2011.
Michelle currently teaches piano and voice at Mitchell Conservatorium, Scots All Saints College and St Stanislaus College. She has toured Europe and Asia as a member of various musical ensembles, and has been a featured guest pianist for the Australasian Liszt Society.
Locally, she has performed with theatre groups such as Carillon Theatrical Society and is a regular performer at the Local Stages Cabaret Kite series. She has also performed with ensembles such as the Macquarie Philharmonia, Bathurst Chamber Orchestra and Cantora. She also works extensively as a choral director and accompanist throughout the Bathurst region.
David Hood
Bathurst campus
David started learning trumpet and piano as a child. He has a Bachelor of Music degree in trumpet performance and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in history from the University of Adelaide. He also has a Master of Music degree majoring in conducting from The Pennsylvania State University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree majoring in history from the University of Adelaide. From the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB), he has a Certificate of Performance in Singing. As a trumpet teacher and player, he has many years of teaching experience in public and private schools and has played trumpet with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. As a singing teacher, David taught for four years at Tamworth Regional Conservatorium of Music and joined Mitchell Conservatorium in 2018. He also teaches piano and accompanies at student recitals, Eisteddfods and AMEB exams.
Carolyn Miller
Bathurst campus
Carolyn has been a music educator for over 30 years. She has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and a Licentiate degree in Singing and an Associate degree in piano.
Her music experiences have been varied over the years. She has taught classroom music, composed two musicals and directed their performances,conducted school bands, choirs and vocal groups, accompanied students for their performances and privately tutored many students in piano and singing. She also performed extensively as a classical singer. She has been employed by several churches as a Worship Pastor and has a Bachelor of Theology degree. Currently she is composing piano solos for the intermediate performer and is engaged in the project of recording them professionally.
She is an encouraging and diligent teacher who not only focuses on technical aspects but is also aware of the physical, cognitive and emotional aspects that affect the overall musical performance.
Hannah Nixon
Forbes campus
Hannah teaches brass and piano at our Forbes campus and has completed AMEB Grade 7 examinations on piano, trombone and euphonium. She also runs a number of Early Childhood Music sessions in Forbes and surrounding areas, and is the conductor of the Forbes Town and District Band.
Hannah is passionate about children experiencing music, not just for their educational development but also for their mental wellbeing.
Hannah is married with two little girls, and when she is not conducting, playing music, or teaching, she likes to ride motorbikes with her girls and to bake!
Bathurst Campus
Karen commenced musical training at the age of seven. During her adolescent years, Karen pursued AMEB studies achieving an A in eighth grade pianoforte and undertaking an Associate Diploma at age 17 years.
Karen has worked professionally in the music industry from the age of 18 years. She joined the Naval military band in 1994. She trained at the Defence Force School of Music in Melbourne developing secondary instruments, flute and piccolo. She obtained grade 3 qualification as a service musician in 1989, and was recognised as a solo performer on the piano. In 1992, she was one of the first female musicians to be assigned to the fleet band serving on the HMAS Jervis Bay.
In 1994, Karen left the military band to pursue a pioneering Diploma Course in Music Therapy. She was the first of three students to undertake this course in Australia. Karen specialised as a clinician working with adult congenital disability, autism and dementia for the following 13 years.
In 2009, she pursued a Bachelor of Nursing degree, undertaking a two-year fast track course and achieving academic recognition with the University of Tasmania.
In 2011, Karen relocated to Mudgee, NSW, to consolidate her nursing training and career.
Since this time, Karen has balanced her nursing and musical life, continuing to play the piano locally.
BA Ed, BA Soc. Sc. (Psy), DipMus and AMusA (Voice)
Bathurst Campus
Bethany is currently completing a research based Master of Music /Music Education through Sydney University.
She has many years of teaching experience in ensemble, classroom and studio contexts, and performs on harp (pedal and Celtic/lever), voice and piano across the Blue Mountains and Central Western region as an accompanist, and in orchestral and solo settings. She also is accredited as a classroom teacher for the Department of Education.
Bethany has experience conducting and coordinating various ensembles including concert band, string ensemble, harp groups and vocal groups, and is the deputy conductor of the Allegri Singers, Bathurst. Bethany is regularly involved in community theatrical productions as an instrumentalist, musical director and cast member.
As a pedal harpist, Bethany has contributed to orchestras such as the Australian Doctors’ Orchestra and the Macquarie Philharmonia Orchestra.
Her particular expertise as a classroom educator (accredited at the level of Proficient Teacher), and capacity to adjust delivery of curriculum to suit individual learning needs, has enabled Bethany to assist other teachers with developing effective pedagogy, and assisted her role as a sessional academic at Charles Sturt University. Her current Masters research involves investigating the impact of group harp learning on students’ self–efficacy and self- concept. She has a passion for making music more accessible to students by continually developing and re-developing teaching practices that enhance both student potential and well- being.
L. Mus. A, A. Mus. A (AMEB), Perf. Cert (Trinity)
Lithgow Campus
Lyn is a teacher of Piano, Singing and Theory in the Blue Mountains and beyond. She also is a choral music director.
Lyn has many years of teaching experience with students of all ages and stages. While she prefers the AMEB system for students wanting to sit for graded exams, and received an AMEB award for over 350 exam students, she is equally happy with those who play or sing for a hobby.
Each student is a unique person and Lyn‘s teaching style affirms that. She relates well to students with disabilities, both physical and mental.
Lyn is kind, compassionate and has a great sense of humour. She enjoys bushwalking, gardening, animals, the ocean and earth sciences.
Gaye Thomas
Band, Woodwind, Brass, Piano and Bass Guitar
Lithgow Campus and LGS
Gaye’s musical studies began at an early age with piano, brass and recorder lessons. In high school she studied flute, saxophone and clarinet. She studied classical flute at tertiary level at the NSW Conservatorium of Music with Jane Rutter. Since then she has followed her passion for Latin music, performing and recording Brazilian, Latin American Folk, Tango, and more recently flamenco music.
Her extensive teaching experience includes Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Mackay), Mitchell Conservatorium (Bathurst), state and private schools as well as her home studio. She is currently teaching flute at Thomas Hassall Anglican College and at St Patrick’s School in Lithgow. From Term 3 2023, Gaye will teach in the Lithgow Small Schools program.
In addition to teaching and performing, Gaye was artistic director of a recent successful concert series in the Blue Mountains featuring local and internationally acclaimed artists.
Bathurst Campus
Karen commenced musical training at the age of seven. During her adolescent years, Karen pursued AMEB studies achieving an A in eighth grade pianoforte and undertaking an Associate Diploma at age 17 years.
Karen has worked professionally in the music industry from the age of 18 years. She joined the Naval military band in 1994. She trained at the Defence Force School of Music in Melbourne developing secondary instruments, flute and piccolo. She obtained grade 3 qualification as a service musician in 1989, and was recognised as a solo performer on the piano. In 1992, she was one of the first female musicians to be assigned to the fleet band serving on the HMAS Jervis Bay.
In 1994, Karen left the military band to pursue a pioneering Diploma Course in Music Therapy. She was the first of three students to undertake this course in Australia. Karen specialised as a clinician working with adult congenital disability, autism and dementia for the following 13 years.
In 2009, she pursued a Bachelor of Nursing degree, undertaking a two-year fast track course and achieving academic recognition with the University of Tasmania.
In 2011, Karen relocated to Mudgee, NSW, to consolidate her nursing training and career.
Since this time, Karen has balanced her nursing and musical life, continuing to play the piano locally.
BA Ed, BA Soc. Sc. (Psy), DipMus and AMusA (Voice)
Bathurst Campus
Bethany is currently completing a research based Master of Music /Music Education through Sydney University.
She has many years of teaching experience in ensemble, classroom and studio contexts, and performs on harp (pedal and Celtic/lever), voice and piano across the Blue Mountains and Central Western region as an accompanist, and in orchestral and solo settings. She also is accredited as a classroom teacher for the Department of Education.
Bethany has experience conducting and coordinating various ensembles including concert band, string ensemble, harp groups and vocal groups, and is the deputy conductor of the Allegri Singers, Bathurst. Bethany is regularly involved in community theatrical productions as an instrumentalist, musical director and cast member.
As a pedal harpist, Bethany has contributed to orchestras such as the Australian Doctors’ Orchestra and the Macquarie Philharmonia Orchestra.
Her particular expertise as a classroom educator (accredited at the level of Proficient Teacher), and capacity to adjust delivery of curriculum to suit individual learning needs, has enabled Bethany to assist other teachers with developing effective pedagogy, and assisted her role as a sessional academic at Charles Sturt University. Her current Masters research involves investigating the impact of group harp learning on students’ self–efficacy and self- concept. She has a passion for making music more accessible to students by continually developing and re-developing teaching practices that enhance both student potential and well- being.
L. Mus. A, A. Mus. A (AMEB), Perf. Cert (Trinity)
Lithgow Campus
Lyn is a teacher of Piano, Singing and Theory in the Blue Mountains and beyond. She also is a choral music director.
Lyn has many years of teaching experience with students of all ages and stages. While she prefers the AMEB system for students wanting to sit for graded exams, and received an AMEB award for over 350 exam students, she is equally happy with those who play or sing for a hobby.
Each student is a unique person and Lyn‘s teaching style affirms that. She relates well to students with disabilities, both physical and mental.
Lyn is kind, compassionate and has a great sense of humour. She enjoys bushwalking, gardening, animals, the ocean and earth sciences.
The image in the header is detail from a sketch by Johann Nepomuk Hoechle showing Beethoven’s studio in Vienna a few days after the composer’s death in March 1827.