Henry B.W.
About the teacher
My name is Henry and I would love to teach you about the world of Nordic folk music. I am originally from New Zealand and studied a Bachelor of Classical performance on the violin at the New Zealand School of Music.
I then followed my passion for Nordic folk music and studied at Skurups Folkhögskola in Sweden, and then studied the Nordic Master in Folk Music. This degree involved studying Swedish folk music at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Danish folk music at the Syddansk Musikkonservatorium in Esbjerg, Finnish folk music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and Norwegian folk music at the Ole Bull Academy in Voss.
I am now graduated as a Nordic Master, and perform with bands throughout the Nordic’s and New Zealand. I am based in Esbjerg, and have several years experience as a music teacher, teaching students of all levels age 5 and up in individual lessons and ensembles.
I am eager to support you in your development to becoming a great Nordic folk musician. It is the fun, stress-free, and community driven nature of folk music that drew me into the genre and I would love to share that approach to music with you.
About the lessons
I am prepared to teach students with an interest in folk music that play any instrument. I teach violin and viola from the beginner level and recommend that students on other instruments have some experience on their instrument before beginning lessons with me.
At the core of Nordic folk music is dance music. We will spend much of our lessons learning dance tunes by ear and developing a powerful dance groove in your playing. Folk improvisation will also play a central role in the lessons. In my masters research thesis I created a number of methods for developing ones improvisation skills, and we will use them to improvise and compose in the Nordic folk style.
The lessons will follow your interests and we will work together to find music that makes you excited to pick up your instrument.
The central learning areas will be:
– Repertoire
– Folk music technique for all instruments
– Musical expression and performance skills
– Notation and music reading
– Improvisation and composition
– Nordic folk music history
– Techniques for healthy and sustainable playing on your instrument
– Beginner to advanced technique (for violin and viola)
My main teaching language is English. I am not fluent in Danish but the lessons can be conducted in Danish if you wish.
Write me a message if you’re interested or have any questions.