ABOUT RMC

Aimée Kavanagh has always had a love of music. She was in RTE Cor Na Nóg for seven years until the age of 14. She graduated with a BA Honours degree in Commercial Modern Music from BIMM institute in Dublin specialising in vocals. She was also a songwriter during her time where she performed her own songs at several of the Live and Lyrical concerts and and was the house band keyboardist for the college.

Aimée has achieved an ARIAM diploma from the Royal Irish Academy of Music in teaching piano.

She has taught piano and singing for years and can teach beginners to advanced.

She has performed in all major venues and festivals in Ireland, including Electric Picnic, Independence and IMRO Cork Music for best new talents to watch.

She is currently in a the same band that is rebranding and about to debut soon but is working hard behind the scenes.

Her love and passion for music can be seen through her gentle approach to teaching and she is extremely supportive of all her students. She is currently teaching Piano and Voice.

Avril began studying piano at the age of ten. She completed all her grades with the Royal Irish Academy of Music and also went on to attain her teaching diploma from this highly regarded college. She has attended many master classes in teaching from the renowned John O’Conor in the Royal Irish Academy of Music where she also achieved a certificate in group teaching under the new RIAM Cara Awards evaluation programme. She is currently studying with the Royal Irish Academy for a diploma in performance. She has studied guitar in group settings and individual lessons. She also holds a diploma in Montessori Education where the ethos centres on the child’s holistic development, allowing them to “develop at their own pace and in their own way”.

Avril has taught music throughout the years alongside her career as a Montessori Teacher. Music in all its forms was an integral part of her Montessori curriculum and many of her students went on to study music at second and third level.

Avril is now teaching piano full time and continues to draw on her Montessori experience to enhance her music teaching. Her primary aim is to foster an innate love of music in her students (learning for life), while preparing them for exam grades and performances.

She hopes her own love for music will continue to shine through her teaching.

Bob originally studied violin in junior school, and switched to bassoon in secondary school. He achieved distinction in Grade 8 and was a member of the British Youth Wind Symphony (same year as Annie Lennox, later of Eurythmics)
A passion for jazz saw him take up the saxophone, flute and clarinet. He has played for many years on a semi-professional basis with a variety of jazz, rock and soul bands, including his own for which he arranged the music. He moved to Ireland to work in the pharmaceutical industry in 1997 and went into music and teaching full time in 2008. Since then he has taught privately, in specialist music schools and for Music Generation Offaly/Westmeath. He also worked with the Athlone Youth Orchestra and Sinfonia, a collaboration with Maynooth University.
Many of his students have achieved impressive exam results, both RIAM and ABRSM. Others play purely for pleasure. Whichever route students prefer, Bob is keen and able to help them reach their goals. Students range from national school age to retired. It’s never too late or too early (providing your hands are big enough for the instruments!)
Bob continues to play jazz with Laois based quartet No Coast and the Midlands Big Band from Athlone. He also works with a variety of bands ranging from wedding pop and rock to Afrobeat!
Instruments taught
Saxophone
Flute
Clarinet
Bassoon
Recorder

Brian Walsh is a Dublin-based drummer and percussionist. He began studying music theory and piano at an early age, and turned to drums in 1997, later studying with renowned teachers, Conor Guilfoyle and Seán Carpio. Brian has performed in many music venues, theatres and festivals in Ireland, mainland Europe and North America and his playing has been broadcast on television and radio in Ireland and UK.

Brian arranged and performed drums, percussion, and piano for Inni-K's studio album, ‘The Hare & the Line’ (2019) and also drums and percussion on ‘The King Has Two Horses Ears’ (2015). In recent years, Brian has collaborated with theatre groups, and performed at Dublin Fringe Festival and Live Collision festival.

Brian has been teaching drums and piano at Rachel's Music Centre since 2016, and is also a fully qualified teacher of ITM Alexander technique.

Website:

Rachel Armstrong (Owner) B.Mus, MA in Music Technology, H.Dip in Ed

Rachel’s Music Centre (RMC) was created in 2010 in Rathfarnham by Rachel Armstrong, whose story with music began nearby as she took up piano at an early age. Rachel’s fascination with music saw her continue her studies at third level, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from UCD, and a Masters Degree in Music Technology from DIT (now TU Dublin). As Rachel’s teaching practice continued to grow, she pursued training specific to music education, earning a Higher Diploma in Education from Trinity College Dublin.

Since Rachel began teaching music in 1998, she has gained experience teaching piano, choir, orchestra, music theory and Junior and Leaving Certificate music in a variety of schools. Rachel also has experience of teaching abroad, working with children’s music groups while living in France from 2008 to 2010. She has always been keenly interested in discovering the ways in which students learn, and how best to support students through their learning process. Through her teaching experiences and continuing research, Rachel today teaches and leads Rachel’s Music Centre with a sound basis in flexible and effective contemporary music education practice.