Clea is a trained and qualified teacher (PGCE - secondary music). She studied Music in the Community as part of her undergraduate degree (BMus) and subsequently qualified with a Masters (MSc) in Music in the Community.

 

She combines her teaching skills with her musical expertise to devise and deliver a broad spectrum of projects in both the UK and abroad.

 

Her experience includes:

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• Leading and training a team to deliver music sessions in the war-torn region of the Balkans in the 1990s. She has returned to the region every year since working with children and adults with additional needs.

• Co-founding the Mostar Sinfonietta - a cross-cultural orchestra for professional musicians living in and around the city of Mostar, Bosnia. 

• Creating a music hub in Edinburgh, which runs classes for children on the autistic spectrum. The hub also offers activities and events for the whole community with a focus on accessibility.

• Co-creating and managing the very popular programme for very young listeners and their carers - Recitals for Wrigglers!

• Writing the Children's Messiah outreach project for the Dunedin Consort. She led their musicians to deliver the workshops and presented their concert at the Queens Hall in Edinburgh. 

• Mentoring on the Aldeburgh Young Musicians programme.

• Working for the charity Hear My Music - who promote autonomy for young people with autism and complex needs through participant-led music making.

• Working for the charity Edinburgh Direct Aid, which supports work in areas of natural and man-made disasters across the world.

• Working in Lebanon and Ukraine with those suffering from PTSD and other challenges resulting from conflict. As well as working with injured soldiers and children with additional needs, Clea talks to young musicians and teachers about how they can use their skills to rebuild aspects of their communities. 

• Supporting the Shillong Chamber Choir in India with their outreach project teaching young string instruments.

 

Clea is proud to work regularly as a colleague of Professor Nigel Osborne, a pioneer in the field of music in the community, Angela Kennedy, clinical psychologist working with artists, and with many professional musicians, scientists and educators to push the boundaries in this quickly developing area of work.