Michael Sidaway

It was an absolute pleasure and a privilege to be taught piano by Andrew Fletcher from 1987-1992. His expert tuition guided me through Grade 2 to Grade 8 and beyond to Advanced Certificate. I achieved several distinctions along the way which I attribute to Andrew's attention to detail, his superb knowledge of the Classical Music Repertoire with its different styles, his expert technical teaching methods, and his extraordinary ability as a solo recitalist and performer in his own right, enabling him to demonstrate the many difficult techniques. But perhaps most of all, Andrew had the unique ability to bring out the very best in a pupil, and the rare gift of conveying real musicianship, teaching you to feel the emotion behind a piece and play from the heart. All this was done in a very kind and patient manner. I believe it's these qualities that set apart the good teachers from the great ones. The ones that make a big impact on you, the one teacher that you remember from your childhood that inspired you. Andrew had all these qualities in abundance - he was certainly a great teacher, and a huge inspiration. Andrew inspired me and shaped me musically, giving me confidence and belief in my own ability, sometimes to perform pieces which I thought at first might be out of my range, or perhaps too challenging. He pushed me and made me into a much better pianist and all round musician. In addition to piano tuition, Andrew gave me several sessions in Music Theory and Harmony. This was in preparation for Music 'A' Level, and was invaluable in helping me achieve an 'A' grade and go on to study Music at Leeds University. It was also pivotal in giving me a clearer understanding of harmony and chord progression, and helping me to 'hear' the music on the score, and knowing what it sounded like before I played it, and also useful for playing piano by ear, and songwriting. I'm very fortunate to make a life out of music and performing. And I'm sure that I wouldn't be quite the same accomplished musician I am if it wasn't for Andrew. I'm extremely proud to say that Andrew Fletcher was my Piano Teacher. He guided me and helped me musically, and I will always feel grateful, happy and very lucky that he played such a big part of the important early years of my musical upbringing and development. Very recently, I was re-united with Andrew after sixteen years. I'm happy to say that he is still the same warm, charming, kind-hearted person. I was also lucky enough to see him perform an Organ Recital at Christchurch Priory Church. Quite simply an amazing performance. Andrew Fletcher is the best teacher a pupil could ask for. He is an extraordinary performer, and a very charming, charismatic guy. I can't recommend him highly enough.