Erlend Vestby

Lesson approach:

I am a keen teacher, invested in the education and enjoyment of my pupils.
As well as encouraging and guiding my students in their individual goals and interests, I have a high focus on shaping a good cello technique in order to be able to achieve an improved sound, ability and the overall satisfaction a student will get from their own playing. This is done through technical exercises and then applied to pieces so that students can understand the real life benefits of each element learnt. Naturally I tailor this to the age and level of each student.

I like to incorporate elements of music theory and background history into my teaching as I find this deepens understanding and allows for a more meaningful connection to the music one is playing. After all, our enjoyment and passion for the music we listen to and play is the most important thing. Through the development of playing technique and the understanding of the written music before us, our ability to achieve the musical phrasing and expression we seek is made possible. We will look at ways to shape the music, give stylistic variety, decipher the composer’s ideas behind the music, but also simply gain a better understanding of how the instrument itself works.

As a composition and music theory teacher, I typically teach music notation, engraving, how to build up a good melody, harmony and harmonic progressions, how to put harmony to a melody, instrumental knowledge and how to write for various instruments, as well as how to create various effects and characters in your own music and how to arrange existing music for other instruments.

No matter your aim or level of competence, my aim is to guide and motivate you towards your goal, whether that is simply to play for yourself, work towards exams or auditions, or play in an orchestra.

Experience:

I began teaching at the Sandefjord School of Music and Performing Arts in Norway whilst still a student there, teaching solo as well as ensemble groups. During my university studies in Stavanger I was employed as a cello teacher at the Kolibri Music Academy where I taught adult beginners. I was also employed by the Stavanger School of Music and Performing Arts where I taught children from age 7-18 in cello and orchestra sectionals. Often arranging and conducting music for them. In 2017, I became Jakob Kullberg’s unofficial teaching assistant at the Royal College of Music, teaching RCM students up to Artist Diploma level. I also assisted Kullberg in the development of a new book of exercises with detailed descriptions on how to accomplish various musical and technical aspects of playing the cello. Since 2018 I have been establishing a private student base, now based in Winchester, and enjoy teaching students of all ages and levels, both in person and online.

In addition to my experience with teaching the cello, I have undertaken many courses in conducting and ensemble coaching and have frequently led and coached group rehearsals, both as section principal and also for performances of my own compositions and arrangements.

Since a young age and throughout my studies, I have actively learned music theory, analysis, composition and arranging, and these skills have followed me closely as a performing cellist. I gained distinction in the composition and performance module at the Royal Northern College of Music (2014) and in the orchestration module at the Royal College of Music (2018). My compositions and arrangements have been performed in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the UK and Brazil.

About:

I am a professional freelance cellist with many years of training and teaching experience behind me having begun teaching at a young age. I teach classical cello and baroque cello as well as piano, conducting, composition and orchestration, aural skills and music theory. I have a Bachelor of Music from the Norwegian Academy of Music, a Master and an Artist Diploma from the University of Stavanger, Norway, and a Master of Music from the Royal College of Music, London, where I was an Anglo-Norse Award Holder. I have also attended a multitude of courses and masterclasses over the years. Having had such diverse training and acquired a broad musical understanding, I am passionate about curating lessons to each and every individual that can enhance their musical ability and understanding from the very beginning. I am open, approachable and easy going, and am experienced with children as well as adults, beginners as well as advanced players, and welcome anybody wishing to learn.

As a performer, I am in high demand as a chamber musician and recitalist, frequently performing with small ensembles and chamber orchestras, often as guest principal. This includes the British Sinfonia, Opera Holland Park, Brandenburg Sinfonia and Brandenburg Baroque Soloists, Florilegium, Orchestra Nova, Piccadilly Sinfonietta, Gabrieli, Gothic Opera and Ensemble OrQuesta. I have been a soloist with various orchestras both in the UK and abroad, but I mostly enjoy giving solo recitals where the music of Bach is often present, as well as exploring lesser known works. I am a Southbank Sinfonia alumnus, was on the extras list for the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra when living in Norway, and I enjoyed the professional experience scheme of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in 2022.

I am also a keen researcher. My research on historical performance practice (early 18th to early 20th centuries) is presented in the form of webinars and lecture recitals which I have held across London, including at the RCM Music & Ideas series, at the London Festival of Baroque Music and for the London Mozart Players friends. In 2020, I made a historically informed recording of the Elgar Cello Concerto with an orchestra of London freelancers based off my own research. I have also performed with the Gabrieli Players and conductor Paul McCreesh in Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius on historical instruments. We made an award-winning studio recording which was published in early 2024.