New for 2024
Meet the composer
We are delighted to announce that our "Meet the composer" this year is Alan Bullard.
Our adjudicators for 2024
JENNY THORNTON (speech and drama classes)
Jenny trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama gaining awards for Character Acting and for Most Promising Teacher. Jenny has led the Performing Arts Teams in large Comprehensives, been an Assistant Principal for Edexcel, LAMDA examiner and now enjoys running her own Performance Centre with ages from 4 years to adults delivering drama, dance and musical theatre and writing. Her play called “Gone” gained a Commended when performed at The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond as did her play “Young Love”. Her most recent teaching experience is working in a state school as a peripatetic teacher as part of her “Outreach” programme. She was delighted when LAMDA chose two of her pieces for their acting anthology. Jenny is looking forward to visiting Maidstone Festival and making it a very enjoyable and positive experience for all concerned.
“Drama is a life skill that changed me from a stuttering introvert to a confident individual. We can give our children no better opportunity.” Jenny Thornton
Jenny trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama gaining awards for Character Acting and for Most Promising Teacher. Jenny has led the Performing Arts Teams in large Comprehensives, been an Assistant Principal for Edexcel, LAMDA examiner and now enjoys running her own Performance Centre with ages from 4 years to adults delivering drama, dance and musical theatre and writing. Her play called “Gone” gained a Commended when performed at The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond as did her play “Young Love”. Her most recent teaching experience is working in a state school as a peripatetic teacher as part of her “Outreach” programme. She was delighted when LAMDA chose two of her pieces for their acting anthology. Jenny is looking forward to visiting Maidstone Festival and making it a very enjoyable and positive experience for all concerned.
“Drama is a life skill that changed me from a stuttering introvert to a confident individual. We can give our children no better opportunity.” Jenny Thornton
NANCY LITTEN (piano classes)
Nancy entered the Royal Academy of Music at age 16 on an open piano scholarship, winning prizes while there. She also studied violin to a high level, freelanced as an orchestral player, and led a string quartet. She has performed as a soloist, chamber music, and orchestral player, on both instruments and as a piano accompanist. Teaching has been in primary, secondary and specialist music schools, privately, and on courses. She has co-authored three violin tutors in the Playing with Colour series, and her arrangements of favourite piano pieces for piano trio (piano, violin, and cello), Classical Vienna and Romantic Vienna were published in 2020.
Nancy has advised ABRSM and Trinity exam boards on electronic keyboard, had a series of keyboard tutors, Keyed Up, published by Alfred UK, and has written many compositions and arrangements for exam syllabuses (ABRSM, Trinity, MTB). She has been an ABRSM examiner since 1998, involving much travel in the UK and abroad. She has been an adjudicator with The British and International Federation of Festivals since 2014 and serves on the Adjudicators’ Council, including assessing new adjudicators. Her most recent publication is Piano Postcards, published by EVC music: 12 colourful original pieces with a travel theme for intermediate level pianists.
ROY ROBINSON(strings classes)
Prize-winning and joint first study viola player and pianist, Roy trained at the Royal College of Music under the tutorage of Frederick Riddle and Angus Morrison. He holds the complete suite of performance and teaching diplomas on his two main instruments, as well as performance diploma on violin. He won the Leslie Alexander Viola Competition - the highest award available at the RCM - and holds an MA; he also has a background as an organist, conductor and published composer.
Roy has spent most of his career combining teaching (largely as Director of Music in independent schools), performing as a solo and duo recitalist, orchestral player, accompanist and conductor, examining internationally and adjudicating. He has taught academic music to A Level, his main instruments to diploma level and violin to RAM Exhibitioners. He has organised and directed numerous orchestral and singing courses and festivals for children, trained and directed choral societies and has a number of published works for violin and small jazz groups.
He is an extremely busy ABRSM grade, diploma and jazz examiner. He has toured extensively all over the world, including examining in German. He recently consulted for ABRSM selecting and co-selecting the graded viola exam syllabus; he has also presented teacher meetings abroad.
As an adjudicator member of the British and International Federation of Festivals, Roy is in demand at some of the UK’s largest music festivals. He not only enjoys adjudicating his specialist areas but also the complete range of classes; he is listed as GEN in the Federation handbook, which means he is qualified to adjudicate all disinclines in music.
Away from music, Roy can often be found driving one of his classic cars, gardening, playing croquet or baking cakes!
ROSANNA WHITFIELD (wind classes)
Rosie’s experience as a performer, teacher, examiner and presenter, teamed with an innate love of music, underpins her drive for music in education. Her ability to captivate audiences and inspire young musicians to achieve their dreams stems from a belief that music can change lives.
As an experienced adjudicator for The British and International Federation of Festivals, Rosie is called upon to adjudicate in the UK and abroad and has forged long-standing links with specialist music schools and festivals across the world.
As Director of Music at Whitgift School, Rosie devised numerous projects and regularly presented interactive concerts and masterclasses to thousands of primary school pupils.
Developing the prestigious Whitgift International Music Competition in 2013, she continues to support and mentor young musicians hoping for a career in the profession.
Rosie was appointed as Head of Junior Guildhall in January 2020.
NICOLA-JANE KEMP (singing classes)
Nicola-Jane has taught several generations of singers at Clare College, Cambridge and her pupils of all voices have advanced to post-graduate study at all the major UK conservatoires. Many are regularly to be heard at Glyndebourne Festival, Royal Opera House, BBC Singers, Netherlands Opera and German opera houses. Most recently, a former pupil is a founder member of the new BBC Radio1Extra hotly-tipped boy band for 2024 – No Guidnce. In 2015 she became Head of Singing at Eton College. As a principal soprano, opera work has included Music Theatre Wales, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and BBC Radio 2. Concert work has taken her to the South Bank, Barbican, St John’s Smith Square in London and to the Middle East. She is an ABRSM Grade/Diploma examiner, has taught for The London Youth Choir, National Youth Choir and Rodolfus Choral Courses. Whilst formerly teaching at St Paul’s Girls’ School, she and Heidi Pegler co-edited the award-winning series ‘The Language of Song’ (Faber Music), a resource for learning to sing in foreign languages. She is a Council Member of the Association of Teachers of Singing (Chair 2020-2022).
ALAN BULLARD (meet the composer)
Alan Bullard grew up in London and studied with Herbert Howells and Antony Hopkins at the Royal College of Music, and with Arnold Whittall at Nottingham University.
He has been writing music all his life, specialising particularly in music for education and for choirs. His educational music includes the Joining the Dots sight-reading series, the Scale Explorer series for piano (both ABRSM) and, jointly with his wife Janet, the Pianoworks series (OUP), and many other pieces and arrangements for a wide range of instruments and publishers.
His choral music, both sacred and secular, has been performed in many venues in the UK, the USA, and elsewhere. Many of his choral works are published by Oxford University Press, and he is the editor of, and contributor to, the four volumes of the Oxford Flexible Choral Series. His works are recorded on CD by such ensembles as Selwyn College Choir, Kings College Choir, The Sixteen, and are regularly broadcast in the UK and the US.
He holds an ARCM from the Royal College of Music, a BMus from London University, an MA from Nottingham University and a DU (Honorary Doctorate) from Essex University, and he lives in East Anglia.
Here is a list of Alan's music:
Alan Bullard: educa-onal music for solo instruments.
Piano
Original compositions - collections
Party Time on Holiday (ABRSM)
- World Atlas (out of print but may be available again soon)
- Aspects of Blue (Edi-ons Musica Ferrum)
- Pianoworks (by Janet and Alan Bullard) – original pieces and arrangements (OUP – 9 volumes)
- Joining the Dots – a sight-reading course but with longer pieces at the end of each book (ABRSM, 8 volumes)
- Scale Explorer – pieces based on scales again with longer pieces at the end (ABRSM, 5 volumes)
- The Janet and Alan Bullard Piano Series (Colne Edition)
- Twelve or Thirteen Preludes, Book 1 (Prelude no. 8 is currently Trinity Grade 7, Prelude no. 9 is currently ABRSM Grade 7 – published separately or complete by Colne Edition)
Arrangements or original compositions can be found in the following books
- Mastering the Piano – Lang Lang (Faber)
- Piano Mix (ABRSM)
- Piano Star (ABRSM)
- Piano Time (OUP)
- The Graded Piano Player (Faber)
- Piano Inspiration vol. 1 – Isata Kanneh-Mason (ABRSM)
- Various ABRSM exam books
Recorder
Original compositions – collections
- Recipes (Forsyth)
- Hat Box (Forsyth)
Arrangements included in Time Pieces for Recorder (ABRSM)
Flute
Original compositions – collections
- Fifty for Flute (ABRSM)
- Party Time for Flute (ABRSM)
- Circus Skills (Clifton Edition / Stainer and Bell)
Arrangements included in various ABRSM exam books.
Original compositions – collections
• Circus Skills (Clifton Edition / Stainer and Bell)
Clarinet
Original compositions – collections
• Circus Skills (Clifton Edition / Stainer and Bell)
Arrangements included in various ABRSM exam books.
Saxophone
Original compositions – collections
- Circus Skills (Clifton Edi-on / Stainer and Bell)
- Weekend (ABRSM)
- Sixty for Sax (ABRSM)
- Final Whistle (with Chris Gumbley and James Rae) (Gumbles Publications)
Arrangements included in various ABRSM exam books.
Bassoon
Original composition
French Horn
Original compositions – collections
• Circus Skills (Clifton Edition / Stainer and Bell)
Trumpet
Original compositions – collections
- Circus Skills (Clifton Edition / Stainer and Bell)
- Party Time! (ABRSM)
Trombone
Original compositions – collections
- Circus Skills (Clifton Edition / Stainer and Bell)
- Colneford Suite (Boosey and Hawkes)
Percussion
Guitar
Original compositions – collections
• Joining the Dots (a sight-reading course but with longer pieces at the end of each
book - ABRSM, 5 volumes)
Violin
Original compositions – collections
• Joining the Dots (a sight-reading course but with longer pieces at the end of each
book - ABRSM, 5 volumes)
Arrangements included in various ABRSM exam books.
Viola
Arrangements included in More Time Pieces for Viola (ABRSM) Cello
Original compositions – collections
- Party Time (ABRSM)
- Lunar Landscapes (ABRSM)
Arrangements included in various ABRSM exam books.
Double Bass
Arrangements included in Time Pieces for Double Bass (ABRSM)
Voice
Vocal arrangements included in the ABRSM Songbook and Songbook Plus series (ABRSM), and in the Oxford Solo Song series (OUP)
For further details of all Alan Bullard’s music, please visit www.alanbullard.co.uk
Class Dedications
The Helen Turner Class in the piano section was brought about when a friend asked Maidstone Music Festival to help her find a way in which to commemorate her mother. She suggested providing a cup, but it was decided that a more worthwhile way to honour her mother’s memory would be to name a class after her. Her mother loved piano music, especially that which could be described as "easy listening”, so the popular music class was renamed.
We are now able to offer this opportunity to anyone who would like a class dedicated either to themselves or to a loved one. For £250, a class will be dedicated to the person of your choice for 10 years. After this time, you will be given the opportunity to renew this if you would like to do so.
For more information, please email the Festival Chairman, Sue Greenham info@maidstonemusicfestival.org.uk
We are now able to offer this opportunity to anyone who would like a class dedicated either to themselves or to a loved one. For £250, a class will be dedicated to the person of your choice for 10 years. After this time, you will be given the opportunity to renew this if you would like to do so.
For more information, please email the Festival Chairman, Sue Greenham info@maidstonemusicfestival.org.uk