MAYZMUSIK - Key Persons
Andrew is a local lad who has enjoyed a colourful list of roles with local theatre companies. He treads the boards several times a year with companies in both musical theatre & straight plays, and he played Cinderella's Prince when VIG performed Into The Woods; a role which saw him take home a few awards!
As well as running the Academy office a few days a week, Andrew also works in advertising for local newspapers.
Job Titles:
- ALCM - Vocal Coach & Musical Theatre Tutor
Kelsea spent the best part of a decade in our studios, both as a student where she studied for her GCSE in dance & her Musical Theatre Associate Diploma (among many other qualifications), and as a dance teaching assistant.
Kelsea then flew the nest to train at Emil Dale Academy to study Musical Theatre and now, with a first class degree in hand, she is home & back with her Mayzmusik Family.
Kelsea has taken on many different musical theatre roles in her career, including being dance captain in Little Shop Of Horrors in her final year at EDA.
Job Titles:
- Academy As a Vocal Coach
- ALCM - Vice Principal
Emma joined the Academy as a vocal coach in 2001 and is the founder of our musical theatre group "VIG Theatre Company" and the academy's choir "Voices". After 10-years as Principal, Emma stepped into the role of Vice Principal in 2019 so she could spend more time with her little family.
Job Titles:
- ALCM - Vocal Coach & Musical Theatre Tutor
Kelsea spent the best part of a decade in our studios, both as a student where she studied for her GCSE in dance & her Musical Theatre Associate Diploma (among many other qualifications), and as a dance teaching assistant.
Kelsea then flew the nest to train at Emil Dale Academy to study Musical Theatre and now, with a first class degree in hand, she is home & back with her Mayzmusik Family.
Kelsea has taken on many different musical theatre roles in her career, including being dance captain in Little Shop Of Horrors in her final year at EDA.
Lisa-Marie joined the team at MPAA in 2001 as a woodwind teacher and was promoted to Vice Principal in 2009, then Principal in 2019.
By far our most multi-talented tutor at the academy, she now teaches woodwind, guitar, bass, GCSE & A-Level Music, ballet, tap and GCSE & A-Level Dance. We really don't know when she sleeps!
The brains behind our annual Summer Showcase, Lisa-Marie has often been a driving force in the expansion of the academy, heading up the creation of our dance department 11 years ago. She came on board with our musical theatre department "VIG Theatre Company" in 2001 and has since achieved the tremendous accolade of directing the group's "Best Production" NODA Award winning performance of Avenue Q.
Originally trained as a jazz saxophonist, Lisa-Marie expanded her training to dance as a young teen and worked closely with the Marion Pearce School of Dance in Newport as part of her teacher training. She is an Associate of the London College of Music and a Certified Coach for the British Dance Arts Federation.
Married to Dave, Lisa-Marie has most recently been working alongside a couple of local theatre companies as their choreographer - a passion she indulges whenever she can.
Her proudest achievements include performing at the renowned Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club alongside jazz legend John Critchinson at the tender age of 18, and achieving a record mark at her ALCM Jazz Saxophone examination where she was examined by no less than the chief examiner of the London College of Music!
Pictured here in a suit (a VERY rare occurrence for him!), Pip has been a guitar & bass teacher at the Academy since 2001. Pip grew up on a farm in Somerset but never quite took to the family business. As a teenager he was bought a guitar and thus began a lifelong relationship with music.
In his late teens, Pip left Somerset for London and became a session musician for several recording studios, both writing and performing for bands such as Spooky Tooth, Mott The Hoople & T-Rex. Some of the most famous pieces he performed on include T-Rex's "Ride A White Swan" and Mott The Hoople's "All The Young Dudes". Pip was never a huge fan of Marc Bolan, finding him very difficult to work with both in the studio and live gigs, but highly respected him as a musician.
In his early twenties, Pip met and married May. In his thirties he moved to Wales to be nearer her family and they opened a recording studio where they met and worked with bands such as the Manic Street Preachers (before they were famous!). They closed the studio when their children came along, and Pip returned to his career as a computer programmer & lecturer - something he had done alongside his music for many years. Working at several colleges over the course of his lecturing career, Pip was particularly proud of being instrumental in the creation of Coleg Gwent's Rock & Pop BTEC course.
Pip began teaching guitar as a side career 3 decades ago and has proudly seen students go on to the iconic Guitar Institute in London. He was also incredibly proud to come up with a technique of teaching a young disabled boy to play guitar using just bar chords back in the 90s and delighted the student's family by playing Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" at full blast on electric guitar at his funeral when he sadly passed away.
In his spare time outside of the academy, Pip has a passion for fair social housing and was the chairman of the tenant's forum for Monmouthshire Housing Association for several years. He also worked closely with the Welsh Assembly Government on legislation ensuring tenant's rights in social housing and won awards for his work.
Still a talented writer and actor, Pip has composed several rock operas over the years, one of which was performed at the Myth & Magic convention in 1989 and also at the opening of Garden Festival Wales. He continues to write when inspiration takes him.
Siobhan comes to us from London where she has been teaching piano for 10-years.
Siobhan also has a degree in Film & Media, plus she plays cello! A truly creative mind.
Mum to twins, Siobhan's musical family relocated to Abergavenny in 2020 & she is hugely proud that her girls attend the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama on the weekends, in addition to their regular secondary school work locally.
Ty is a hugely talented drummer who has earned his stripes as a performer, session musician & recording artist for well over a decade.
Having studied Popular Music at The Atrium in Cardiff (University of South Wales), Ty is a multi-talented performer of the highest calibre & we are delighted to welcome him to the Mayzmusik Family. He is also a gifted vlogger & video editor.