Meet Our Tutors
Andrew Doherty BMus (Hons), DipRSL.
Andrew started playing guitar at age 9 taught by his father and started teaching friends at school how to play during his teens. After being self-taught he wanted to formalise his knowledge so attended the “Ulster College of Music” in Belfast and completed grade 8 in both music theory and guitar performance followed by a diploma in performance through “Rockschool”. He then went on to complete a Bachelor’s degree in music at Ulster University with 1st Class Honours in 2016 and is currently studying a Master’s degree in music.
Andrew has played in several bands at various functions and events throughout the years and currently plays in the “Dandy Lyons” band on electric guitar, and “Neuada”, providing acoustic guitar accompaniment and solo guitar pieces.
Lauren Hutchinson. B.Mus (Hons), Dip. LCM
Lauren has been involved with music from a young age. Her interests are in voice and piano. She attained a “BA Hons. Music” at Ulster University Magee in Londonderry where she was a very keen member of the Ulster University choir. Apart from studying music she is currently singing in a band and a member of the church choir at St. Marys, Macosquin. Her aim is to become a classroom music teacher/ therapist as she loves working with young children.
STEVE IVESON B.MUS.HONS.
"Hailing from Coleraine, Steven moved to Newcastle Upon Tyne in 2004 to study on a degree course in Jazz and Popular Music. He graduated from the course with First Class honours, and subsequently returned to Northern Ireland, where he maintains a busy teaching and performing schedule. In recent years he has performed and recorded albums with many acclaimed artists, notably Kate Rusby, with whom Steven performed in Hyde Park to an audience of over 58,000 people, and also Damien O'Kane, working as a core band member on "Areas of High Traffic", which was nominated for the ‘BBC Folk Album of the Year’ award. Stevens guitar playing has been praised in major national music publications such as "Guitar Techniques" and "Guitarist" magazines."
Dr. Peter Langton. MA. Ph.D.
Dr. Peter Langton is a biologist who also teaches wind instruments. He was born in South India, went to Kodaikanal School in Tamil Nadu, then Collyer’s Grammar School in Horsham, Sussex, followed by Trinity College. Cambridge. He taught for 33 years as a Head of Biology in a grammar school in England, before taking early retirement in order to work full time on his biological research. It wasn’t long before he found himself teaching wind instruments, with two years peripatetic teaching for the NEELB, followed by the then newly established Causeway School of Music. He currently teaches flute, clarinet, saxophone and trumpet and has previously also taught tenor horn, French horn, trombone, oboe and bassoon. He enjoys making music and plays electric bass with the Limavady Big Band, horn with the Dalriada School Orchestra, trumpet whenever the chance arises, conducts the Girona Community Orchestra and sings in a number of choirs e.g. the Coleraine Community Choir and the Sing Gospel Choir, when convened. He loves teaching, has been teaching now for 58 years, and when asked the question ‘When are you going to retire’ his stock answer is ‘What’s that?’ He ‘blew in’ 19 years ago and doesn’t intend to ‘blow out’, ‘blow up’ or ‘blow away’.
Shonagh Balfour B.Mus(Hons). M.Mus. Dip. LCM
Shonagh Balfour (nee Lyons) is a classically trained operatic soprano. She attended Dominican College Portstewart and had singing lessons under Mrs Lorna Palmer during which time she earned her Diploma in Musical Theatre.
During final year in school she was chosen to be part of a television documentary under the direction of UTV Music Director John Anderson after which John selected her to be part of his vocal group, 'Voices of Ireland'. She performed with this group at the event 'Opera in the Park' at the Botanic Gardens. After leaving school, Shonagh studied under opera vocal tutor Julian Pike at the ‘Birmingham Conservatoire’. Following this, she completed an undergraduate degree at the ‘University of Ulster’ Magee in Music, specialising in Performance.
Shonagh has performed as soloist for many choir and chamber choirs including Poulenc's 'Gloria' at the University of Aberdeen and the grand opening of the Chinese Confucius Institute at Jordanstown.
Shonagh has also performed in 5 operas with ‘N.I Opera’, has travelled to China to perform at the Zhejiang University of Media and Communications, and won 'Best female vocalist' for her role as 'Emma' in the Londonderry Music Society's production of 'Jekyll and Hyde'.
Shonagh is currently working as a vocal tutor at both Causeway School of Music and Ballymena School of Music, where all her pupils have achieved great results in their singing progress and examinations.
JILL GALBRAITH Dip.LCM. ALCM. ATCL. LTCL.
Jill’s enthusiasm for music started at the young age of 5. She began with piano lessons, which she enjoyed right through to the age of 18 when she completed her grade 8. Not long after starting piano Jill had an interest in the flute and began lessons on a flute with a turned head, as her fingers were too small to reach all the keys on a standard flute. She also began learning to play the clarinet which she continued through to grade 5. Flute became Jill’s first instrument which she excelled at over the next 10 years achieving an ATCL performance diploma at the age of 16.
Jill had a passion for singing through her younger years but did not take lessons until the age of 12. After completing her music grade examinations in voice she went on to accomplish three music diplomas in voice – Dip.LCM, ALCM, LTCL.
Jill studied GCSE and A Level music and teaches all 3 of her specialised instruments at the Causeway School of Music, along with using her talents to perform at special events and weddings.
SANDRA MAILEY. B.Mus. HONS. PGCE.
SANDRA MAILEY. B.Mus. HONS. PGCE.
Music was a major part of Sandra’s life from the age of 8. She started on the cornet, followed by the piano and then the oboe at age 12. She loved the challenge of trying many different instruments but the piano and oboe were by far her best loved. Sandra was especially grateful for 2 exceptional tutors she had while studying music at university, Dr. Don Cullington on piano and Brian Overton on oboe from the ‘Ulster Orchestra”. These years of learning were to pave the path of a long and enjoyable musical journey. Sandra spent 20 years teaching music at secondary level, devoting much time to the extra-curricular activities and heading up a busy music department. She particularly loved involving every pupil to gain their full potential in whatever musical instrument they had chosen.
In 1991, Sandra introduced the first post-primary steel band to Northern Ireland. This new venture gave many pupils (who may not have had the chance to play an orchestral instrument) an opportunity to learn to play a steel pan and be part of a band. For the next 20 years the band travelled to perform at many prestigious functions and venues across N.I. Including the Royal Garden Parties. Sandra arranged many styles of music for steel pans during these successful years and took the band members on several trips to London for workshops. The highlight of the steel band years was when they entered a world competition in Barbados in 2000 at which they achieved a 3rd place.
During her teaching life she had always felt the need for a specialist music school in the area which could offer pupils private tuition on their chosen instrument.
In January 2006, Sandra set up ’Causeway School of Music’. Within 2 years of this initiative growing rapidly, she decided to give up full time school teaching and devote her efforts to C.S.M which has grown from strength to strength. It is her aim to maintain a very high standard of tuition for all the students who enrol for lessons at C.S.M
REBEKAH REID. B.Mus (Hons), Dip. LCM.
Rebekah has had an interest in music from a young age. She began learning the piano at age 7 and completed all the Trinity graded examinations from Initial – Grade 8 after which she gained a DipLCM in piano.
Rebekah enjoys playing and teaching a wide variety of genres such as sacred, classical and 20thcentury and has been teaching piano since 2014.
Alongside piano she is also a classically trained singer and loves sharing her skills with others.
Alyson Roberts B.Mus, MA, Ph.D, PGCE, LTCL
Music was a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started piano when I started school. At secondary level I added on recorder, clarinet, bassoon, guitar and violin. After school I went to Queen’s University where I studied music gaining my Bachelor of Music and a Master of Arts in musicology. While there I developed a deep interest in woodwind instruments and added flute and oboe to the instruments I played. Also during this time I was principal bassoon teacher at the Belfast School of Music.
After university I was a full time Music specialist in a Belfast primary school for four years before I went to Cologne, Germany to study for a Ph D in Musicology in the field of organology, which is the study of musical instruments. I choose the early bassoon as my research topic. I returned to Northern Ireland after successfully completing my doctorate and returned to teaching as Head of Music in a local secondary level school.
During my teaching career I was Head of Music in both Secondary and Grammar schools as well as music specialist at primary level. Finally, I added the harp, both lever and pedal, to my list of instruments. The harp now fills most of my time, teaching, performing and composing for it.
Miss Molly Simpson, B.Mus (Hons), A.R.S.M, Dip. L.C.M.
I started my musical journey at the age of 7 when I started piano lessons. As I grew older I wanted to learn more instruments to develop my knowledge of music so I started playing the clarinet and receiving singing lessons at the age of 12. Since then I have completed up to grade 6 piano, A.R.S.M Diploma in Clarinet and a Diploma L.C.M in Voice.
My music has taken me many places across the world from singing with my school chamber choir in New York’s Carnegie Hall and Belgium with the North Eastern Education Board Youth Orchestra.
With my love for music a decided to study it further at university and graduated with B.Mus (Hons) from Queens University Belfast. During my time at university I was a member of the Queens University Symphony Orchestra and the Queens University Chamber choir, which allowed me to socially develop my instruments and teach me so many skills. I also carried out work experience at the Queens University Junior Academy of Music where I learnt so many new teaching skills and gained teaching practice experience that I am now able to apply to my music tuition.
The examining boards used by the Causeway School of Music are:
Trinity College London - visit their website
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music - visit their website
RSL Awards (Rockschool) - visit their website
Trinity Rock & Pop - visit their website
London College of Music - visit their website
Fees are payable to enter the examinations. These fees are set by the examining authority
Please note the A.B.R.S.M., Trinity and L.C.M. examinations require instrumental and singing entrants to be accompanied by a pianist (Piano examinations excepted). This will incur an additional charge which is payable direct to the accompanist on the day of the exam
Please visit our contact page for more information
