Tutors 2025

Sarah Jeffery

Sarah Jeffery is a prominent figure in the recorder world, known for her passion for both early and contemporary music. She has commissioned and premiered numerous contemporary works and has performed globally at prestigious festivals and stages. Notable accolades include being appointed ‘Recorder Professor Specializing in Contemporary Music’ at the Royal College of Music in London and receiving the Best of Classical Music 2020 award. Sarah is also recognized for her educational efforts, including online tutorials on her YouTube channel, Team Recorder, with over 170,000 subscribers. She is based in Amsterdam and holds degrees from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and Birmingham Conservatoire, under the guidance of esteemed pedagogues.

Hannah Coleman

Melbourne-based recorder player Hannah Coleman is a dedicated music educator, and passionate performing musician. She has performed with leading ensembles including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Ludovico’s Band, Genesis Baroque, Plexus, Opera Victoria and Bach Akademie Australia. As a chamber musician, she performs with recorder ensemble The Recorder Co-op. She recorded Nigel Westlake’s soundtrack for the film Paper Planes, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, released on ABC Classics and has broadcast for ABC Classic FM, 3MBS, and Radio 4 NL. Hannah teaches recorder to students of a variety of ages locally and online, tutors regularly at recorder workshops across Australia and teaches classroom music at a school in Melbourne's west.

Alicia Crossley

Alicia Crossley is an ARIA nomimated Australian recorder virtuoso. She performs a wide variety of repertoire from renaissance dance tunes to contemporary electro-acoustic works with a particular interest in bass recorder repertoire.

In 2010 Alicia completed her Masters of Music (Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under the instruction of Hans-Dieter Michatz. Since then Alicia has won several competitions and awards including the Don Cowell Memorial Trust Recorder Competition, the Australia Council’s ArtStart Grant, and the Fine Music 102.5 Kruger Scholarship. In 2011, Alicia released her debut solo CD Addicted to Bass featuring seven newly commissioned Australian works for bass recorder, followed by her second solo CD Alchemy in 2015, which was nominated for Best Classical Music Album by AIR. In 2018 Alicia released her third CD Muse with the acclaimed Acacia Quartet, which was nominated for Best Classical Album by ARIA. Recently, Alicia released her fourth CD Bass Instincts, featuring compositions that showcase the instinctual musicality, versatility and virtuosity of the bass recorder.

An experienced recorder player, Alicia regularly performs throughout Australia and has toured in the USA and New Zealand. She has presented works at a number of festivals and conferences includingSydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, Four Winds Festival, Tilde New Music Festival, Electro-Fringe, Metropolis, Aurora Festival, Vivid Festival, ACMC, Electronic Music Midwest, and SEAMUS, and has performed with Pinchgut Opera, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Bach Akademie Australia, Salut! Baroque, The Sydney Consort, and The Marais Project. Alicia is also a member of the unique and vibrant ensemble Duo Blockstix.

As passionate supporter of Australian Art Music, Alicia has collaborated with some of Australia’s composers to create new works that showcase the versatility of the recorder, and has presented the world premiere of more than 30 new works for recorder. Alicia also appears as a featured soloist on the soundtrack for the 2018 movie Stormboy, and features in Series 2, episode 13 of ABC’s ArtWorks.

Brendan O'Donnell

Described as a “virtuoso, scholar, [and] presenter … of rare charm and lucidity”, recorder player Brendan O’Donnell performs regularly with Adelaide Baroque and Adelaide Cantata Band, alongside frequent solo outings, including his innovative program “Bird/Song” at the 2023 Adelaide Fringe Festival. For several years he performed with Munich-based Ensemble Raccanto and was a founding member of the contemporary and early music ensemble Cembaless (Germany/Austria).

He is an experienced teacher: for 8 years, Brendan taught at various music schools in Bavaria alongside private teaching and ensemble coaching. In 2019 he tutored at the recorder course Musiktage am Chiemsee (Germany), and since 2022 has been a regular tutor at the Orpheus recorder courses. He gives workshops for the Society of Recorder Players SA and provides coaching for students and ensembles of all levels in Adelaide. Brendan also plays and teaches clarinet, saxophone and piano