Faculty
Helen Hines
Helen Hines is a Suzuki education specialist, and the Director of the 'Violin with Helen' String Academy. Helen is currently a PhD candidate in Music at the University of Edinburgh, looking at the future use of technology in instrumental lessons. As well as working as a post-graduate TA for the Edinburgh Futures Institute, she also teaches music and her own designed course on Digital Literacy to secondary school students for the charity The Brilliant Club.
The Violin with Helen String Academy is based in North Reading, Berkshire, U.K., and provides students across the country with a comprehensive music education through a vision of excellence.
Teaching is based around the Suzuki philosophy, and students are encouraged to reach their potential in a warm and nurturing environment. Mrs Hines has taken extensive Suzuki training in the USA (SAA) and UK (BSI). Helen holds an MA (Distinction) in Instrumental Teaching from the University of Reading, and violin teaching diplomas from Trinity College London (ATCL Distinction) and the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music (DipABRSM).
Helen regularly teaches at workshops worldwide, and has a number of published articles on violin pedagogy. Helen's students have been members of the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain, regional youth orchestras, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Royal College of Music. They also hold a number of music scholarships, regularly place highly in regional and national competitions, and routinely achieve the highest results in their ABRSM and Trinity music exams.
Director, Violin Teacher
Hayley Tull
Hayley Tull began learning the piano at the age of five and the flute at the age of seven. She accompanied choirs under Gwyn Arch as a teenager and continued to perform with instrumental soloists when she moved to Japan in 1993. She played the flute and piccolo with a professional orchestra whilst in Tokyo. On her return to the U.K., Hayley taught the flute and piano at Berkshire Maestros where she also accompanied choirs, exams, competitions, recitals and masterclasses, including for Andy Findon and Wissam Boustany.
Having worked as the Assistant Director of Music at Cheam School in Newbury, Hayley now teaches at The Abbey School in Reading where she continues to accompany exams, auditions and concerts. Most recently, she has had the pleasure of accompanying in the televised woodwind final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year. In addition, Hayley plays for the Reading Male Voice Choir and is the Principal Flute in Slough Philharmonic.
Collaborative Pianist