our expertise | your confidence

Our Team

We are a team of professional musicians and music educators who have been trained to a very high standard.  

We are passionate about music and teaching and we pride ourselves in working closely together as a team to support each other.  

As always, we strive to deliver excellence in music teaching.  

Amongst us, we share the expertise in instrumental and vocal teaching, performance, composition, improvisation, musical direction, music ensembles, 

professional recording, music education research, methodology & pedagogy, teacher training as well as music of different genres 

such as Classical, Pop, Jazz and the Musical Theatre.

We share the same vision which is to help each learner succeed in their own merit, both musically and non-musically.  

We know that not every pupil would want to become a professional musician but we expect all our pupils to leave us with a life-long enjoyment of music 

and are equipped as independent musicians in their own right.  

For those with the desire to pursue music as a career, we are here to help and guide them every step of their way.  

We long to build a community of music lovers and competent musicians where everyone feels happy and comfortable.

Ms Karen Kwok | Principal

Teacher of Piano, Music Theory & Musicianship

 - Te

BMus (Hons), MA, CT ABRSM, DipABRSM, CertPTC

Karen is a professional piano teacher, adjudicator, music educator and teacher trainer working in the UK and overseas. With almost 20 years’ experience teaching piano, music theory and musicianship, she has taught pupils of all ages and abilities, including Early Years.

A classically trained pianist, Karen is also experienced and adept at improvisation and conducting. With her extensive teaching experience and a strong background in Dalcroze and Kodály training, she has developed a uniquely holistic approach to teaching music. This methodology has facilitated the development of many young learners into competent and well-rounded musicians.

As the founder and director of the Excelsis School of Music, she has seen countless pupils enjoy exam success, but more importantly, she has seen them gain a lifelong love and enjoyment of music. In addition to her passion for teaching, Karen has strong interests in music education research as well as the musical theatre. Whilst at university she founded and conducted numerous choirs and orchestras, and subsequently produced and directed two bilingual musicals in London

Karen is a professional member of the European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA); the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM); and the Music Teaching Professionals (MMA). She is also an associate member of the Music Education Council and a member of Dalcroze UK

Alžbeta Turčányiová | Teacher of Singing & Piano

BMus (Hons) MMus

Alžbeta is a versatile singer and tutor of music, specialising in improvisation and jazz but equally comfortable in Classical, musical theatre and pop music repertoire. She graduated from Leeds College of Music under the tutelage of Lauren Kinsella and is stablished as one of the leading contemporary singers in Leeds, performing at an array of venues and events with the likes of Iain Ballamy, Ben Cottrell, Richard Iles, Henry Lowther, Bruce Barth and Jamil Sheriff.

Alžbeta is a hardworking, creative and intelligent musician, eager to develop and embrace new experiences. She has recently relocated to London to embark on her Masters studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As a confident and understanding music educator and an exemplary tutor for young musicians, she respects her pupils and treat them as unique individuals.

Alžbeta has won the “Best Newcomer of the Year“ at the New Faces of Slovak Jazz Awards in 2011 and subsequently awarded a scholarship to study at the Bratislava Summer Jazz School with the likes of Gabor Winand, Elsa Valle and Daniel Čačija. She also received scholarships to study at a jazz course in Pufels, Italian Alps, led by Kit Downes (Royal Academy of Music) alongside James Maddren (Guildhall School of Music and Drama) in August 2017 and the Global Music Foundation Jazz Course led by Stephen Keogh, with tuition from Bruce Barth, Perico Sambeat, Guillermo Rozenthuler and Viktorija Pilatovic.

Christopher Bland | Teacher of Piano, Flute & Guitar

BMus (Hons) MMus

College of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music.

During his time at RWCMD, Christopher studied with Sarah Newbold, Jonathan Burgess, Eva Stewart and Andrew Lane. As part of the Orchestral Performance course, Christopher enjoyed professional placement schemes with both Welsh National Opera and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He was also fortunate to be a part of many projects at RWCMD, one of which the South Wales Argus reviewed "Equally worthy of praise was the playing of the Royal Welsh College Soloists conducted by David Jones ... and Christopher Green (flute) deserve[s] a special bow."

He recently completed his postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music, where he specialised as a principal-study piccolo player, studying with Pat Morris, Helen Keen and Karen Jones.

Christopher enjoys freelancing with various orchestras across the country, including BBC Concert Orchestra, Welsh National Opera and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as being offered work with Opera North and BBC Symphony Orchestra. He is also the Principal Flute for the Thursford Christmas Spectacular show.

As a soloist, Christopher has performed concertos around the country including both Mozart's Flute Concerto in G and D and the Concerto for Flute and Harp, Chaminade's Concertino, Gluck's Dance of the Blessed Spirits and the finale of C.P.E. Bach's Flute Concerto in D minor with the Royal Academy Flute Ensemble. He was also a finalist in the RWCMD Frank Kelleher Prize, a semi-finalist in the RWCMD Concerto Competition with the Nielsen (2014) and Ibert (2015) concertos, and was awarded 2nd prize in the Instrumental Solo Competition in the 2016 Abergavenny Eisteddfod.

As a teacher, Christopher enjoys his work at three different schools across London as well as his work for The Excelsis School of Music. Before moving to London, he also worked as a Deputy Teacher of Flute and Chamber Music Coach for the Junior Conservatoire of RWCMD. He is proud to have a 100% exam pass rate from pupils of all ages and standards. Christopher has successfully prepared pupils for competitions, auditions for university applications and youth ensembles, and recently had two pupils gain places at the RWCMD Junior Conservatoire.

Christopher is extremely grateful to his teachers and the charities that have supported him throughout his musical education.

Hannah Chow | Teacher of Piano & Cello

Hannah is based in London and has played the piano, cello and alto saxophone from a young age. She has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on numerous occasions in prestigious venues such as Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Wembley Arena.

Hannah read music at City, University of London where she specialised in Popular Music and solo performance. During her time at City, Hannah studied cello with Alison Moncrieff-Kelly, and Dr. Kyung-eun Choi during her year abroad in South Korea.

Kaye Barker | Teacher of Dalcroze Eurhythmics

Dalcroze Certificate: London; Dalcroze Licence: London; BA Music (Oxon)

Kaye is a professional violinist, classroom teacher and Dalcroze teacher based in London. She was a Junior Exhibitioner at the Royal College of Music and read Music at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University followed by postgraduate study at the Royal Northern College of Music. She gained a Masters degree in Education in 2014. She was a member of the 1st Violin section of the BBC Philharmonic and then the Bridge Quartet, which toured extensively & broadcast on BBC Radio 3. She was Head of Strings for Ealing Music Service and appointed Head of Music at Gumley House School FCJ in West London in 2011. She teaches Dalcroze Eurhythmics on the String & Brass Training Programme at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and has taught at the Central School of Ballet and on the Dalcroze UK Summer Schools since 2016.

Kaye was teacher and Artistic Director of the Easter Course in 2019. In September 2019 she moved to Geneva to study full time at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze and is a candidate for the Diplôme Supérieur. Kaye was the recipient of the Jean Vincent prize (2012) and the Ingham Memorial Prize (2019). She returns to the UK in autumn 2020 when she will devote her time to teaching Dalcroze Eurhythmics to all age groups and to training adults to become Dalcroze teachers.

Noemi Foschi | Teacher of Violin & Viola

BMus (Hons) MA

Noemi Foschi was born in Spain and began viola lessons at the age of seven with Joaquin Miracle and Evelio Tieles Ferrer. At the age of 17, she went on to study in London with the renowned international soloist, professor Rivka Golani.

Noemi was the prize winner of the Band Kurtz Viola Prize at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in years 2015 and 2016. During her studies, she has been awarded numerous awards and Trinity Laban's scholarships as well as being finalist of several competitions.

Noemi has performed in various distinguished venues such as Wigmore Hall, Franz Liszt Academy, L'Auditori of Barcelona, l'Atlàntida in Vic (Spain), Pau Casals Concert Hall, Josep Carreras Concert Hall, Cadogan Hall, St Johns Smith Square, Southwark Cathedral, Royal Albert Hall and the Wembley Arena Stadium among others.

Noemi has completed her Postgraduate's Degree with Dr. Rivka Golani at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance as a scholar.

Sunshine Lo | Teacher of Piano & Harp

MMus BMus (Hons) DipRAM LRAM

Since childhood, Sunshine has been passionate about music, especially the harp and piano.  She recently completed her Masters of Music course, studying with Karen Vaughan at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and has gained her BMus with First Class Honours.  She also studied LRAM, a distinguished teaching diploma focusing on private instrumental teaching, under Paul Harris, one of the UK's leading educationalists.

As a passionate musician who played both instruments for nearly two decades, she is eager to share the joy of music to many people.  Sunshine is currently doing an outreach music fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music.   She joins the Open Academy (RAM outreach department) frequently in community projects, working with children, hospital patients, people with dementia and learning disabilities. Highlights include her instrumental playing and workshop leading at the Wigmore Hall Open House Day, City Lit Percussion Orchestra for adults with learning disabilities, Camden Cluster Festival for primary schools, and a dementia care project at the Glyndebourne opera house.

She particularly enjoys creative music workshops and has been to more than 15 primary schools to inspire children to appreciate music.  She leads musical games, encourages them to compose and improvise, and teaches them to play instruments including percussion, recorder, violin, piano and harp.

Since Sunshine wrote her first arrangement for piano at the age of eight, she has written hundreds of arrangements for different instruments.  Sunshine particularly enjoys Jazz, improvisation and hymn arrangements for harp and piano. She gave a Jazz recital at the World Harp Congress 2017, and she frequently performs her works in concerts and outreach events.  Her arrangement of How Great Thou Art has been featured in an interview with the Hong Kong Creation TV.   She serves in church bands as a keyboardist for more than 15 years and has participated in various album recordingsat a young age.  

For many years, Sunshine has been inspiring her students to experience the joy of music.  To motivate students to spend time practising technique exercises, Sunshine often writes fun studies
for her private pupils based on tunes of their choice.  She wants them to have fun when improving their skills, so she writes music tailored to their technical needs.  Her students often compose and improvise in her lessons, some of them showcased their works to the public.
 
Besides music, she enjoys visiting art galleries and theatres across the world.  She is eager to share her experiences with her students -- she believes that music is closely related to other kinds of art, and through appreciating art, her pupils can find new insights in their music making.

Sunshine is generously supported by the Drake Calleja Trust, Calleva Foundation Scholarship, St Marylebone Educational Foundation and the Help Musicians UK award for her Masters of Music course.

Zsuzsanna Szilágyi | Teacher of Piano, Harp & Music Theory

BMus (Hons)

Zsuzsanna Szilágyi is a multi-instrumentalist and a choral singer since early childhood. She plays the piano, harpsichord and the harp at professional level and is currently completing her BMus(Hons) degree at the Royal Academy of Music.

Born in Hungary to a musical family, Zsuzsanna began studying the piano and harp at a young age and went to a specialist music school in Budapest where she continued to her studies
before she came to London.

Zsuzsanna gave her debut solo piano performance with the Symphony Orchestra of Gödöllő in the Royal Castle of Gödöllő at the age of 12. Two years later, she performed solo harp with the Soli Deo Gloria Symphony Orchestra at the Italian Institute in Budapest. Since then she has been invited to perform with other orchestral ensembles with all of her three instruments. As a singer and an instrumentalist, she has appeared in venues such as the Franz Liszt Music Academy, the Palace of Arts, St Stephan’s Basilica, The Italian Institute and on Hungarian Radio in Budapest. She has performed in many different countries such as Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Italy and the United Kingdom.

During the last decade, Zsuzsanna has won multiple competitions both at national and international levels in all of her three instruments. She has also won many awards for choral performances. She took part in several recordings with choirs and orchestras such as the Hungarian Central Military Orchestra amongst several other professional chamber groups.  She has a broad interest in music and is especially inspired by the contemporary composers such as Pál Rózsa, Attila Reményi, Paul Patterson and Iason Maroulis whom she has performed and recorded a few of their pieces.

Zsuzsanna is an experienced teacher of the piano, harp and music theory both individually and in groups. As a member of a youth choir, she was often given the opportunities to help younger children gain musical knowledge and choral skills. As a child who has been trained through the famous Kodály music education approach to a high standard, Zsuzsanna is able to apply these music teaching techniques to educate her pupils according to their individual needs and abilities.

Zuzanna Wężyk | Teacher of Guitar

BA (Hons) MMus

Zuzanna Wężyk was born in Gdańsk in Poland where she started playing guitar at the age of 7 in Feliks Nowowiejski’s Music School (Ogólnokształcąca Szkoła Muzyczna I i II st. im. Feliksa Nowowiejskiego). She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree under the direction of Professor Marco Diaz-Tamayo at Mozarteum University Salzburg in Austria (Universität Mozarteum Salzburg) in 2018 and subsequently obtained her Masters degree in Composing for Film and TV at Kingston University in London.

Zuzanna has won multiple prizes in music competitions at regional, national and international levels, both as a soloist and in chamber music, including 2nd prize in the Antwerpen Guitar Festival in 2017, 1st prize in Omiš Guitar Fest in Croatia in ensemble category in 2016; 2nd prize in the 2nd Carpathian Region International Youth Guitar Competition in Budapest, Hungary in 2013.

She was a recipient of the prestigious Fahrenheit’s Scholarship (Stypendia naukowe Prezydenta Miasta Gdańska im. G. D. Fahrenheita) awarded to the best students from her hometown, Gdańsk, who study abroad. Besides playing and performing as a classical guitarist, Zuzanna is also a vocalist and creates her own songs and compositions. She cooperates with ensembles and musicians as well as organises concerts at various venues.

Zuzanna has recently completed a tour with the guitaristic platform EuroStrings - European Guitar Festival Collaborative where she had performed at solo and chamber music concerts as well as given masterclasses to young guitarists in Hungary, Italy, Spain, Romania, Sweden, and Bulgaria.

Zuzanna began teaching at a very young age and has a strong passion in teaching students of all ages. She is able to deliver lessons in English, German and Polish.