About
Teaching music, one pupil at a time
Ugo is a secondary school music teacher with Qualified Teacher Status, plus a composer and performer. He has spent more than two decades working across every corner of music education — from the classroom to the concert hall to the home studio. Ugo teaches KS3 and KS4 music (GCSE Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas plus BTEC), including theory, performance and composition (utilising digital tools like Logic Pro, GarageBand, Bandlab, Audacity, Musescore, Flat.io, Noteflight, Synthesia and Chrome Music Lab).
Schemes of work taught have ranged from African drumming to Minimalism. Learners have included SEN, EAL the gifted and talented, with lessons built and adapted around whatever helps a particular pupil engage.
Along the way, Ugo redesigned school music curriculums to widen instrumental learning beyond the keyboard, built peer-assessment systems that help pupils give each other real feedback, and started bands, orchestras and choirs that have gone on to perform at school concerts and productions.
Ugo hold performer’s diplomas in piano from Trinity College London, the London College of Music and the Associated Board, and has taught piano privately since 1998 — helping pupils prepare for graded exams and, just as often, simply enjoy playing.
Since 2019, Ugo has composed original scores for a run of children’s audiobooks, including The Scruffapillar by J.D. Okoro. Ugo also coordinated music for a London church for over a decade, arranging, performing and leading rehearsals for services, weddings and community events.
Whether it’s a classroom of GCSE students, a private piano pupil, or a story that needs its own soundtrack, Ugo brings the same thing to the work: patience, curiosity, and a belief that music should be something one does, not just studies.
Experience
A career spent in the classroom and on stage
- 2020 – 2021PGCE Secondary Music, University of East LondonFull-time teacher training with placements at St Martins School and Lammas School, covering Samba, African drumming, protest music and GCSE pop/rock analysis.
- 2012 – PresentMusic & Events Coordinator, Trinity at Bowes Methodist ChurchSelecting music for services, leading choir and band rehearsals, and performing at weddings, funerals and community events.
- 1998 – PresentPrivate Piano TeacherOne-to-one and small group tuition for children and adults, with a strong record preparing pupils for graded exams (ABRSM and Trinity).
Compositions
Composer for children’s audiobooks
Since 2019 Ugo has written original scores and sound design for a run of children’s audiobooks, working from a home studio with Audacity and various audio interfaces.
The Scruffapillar
A rhyming children’s story by J.D. Okoro, narrated by Deborah and Rowan Dodsworth. I composed the soundtrack and sound effects that run through the audiobook.
Sir Newt the Brute
Original score and sound design for the children’s audiobook, composed and produced independently.
The Great Worm Heist & The Rat That Flapped
Two further titles in the same series, each with a fully original soundtrack.
Videos
Performances
Black Coffee
Sia (Titanium) + Without You (David Guetta) Piano Mashup
Qualifications
Training & certification
- City & Guilds Level 3 Award in Education and Training (Music Leader)2017
- Diploma in Piano, Associated Board (ABRSM)2002
- Performer’s Diploma in Piano, London College of Music2001
- Associate of Trinity College London, Performer’s Diploma in Piano1997
- BA (Hons) Digital Arts2001
- PGCE Secondary Music, University of East London2021