Never before has it been so easy to take up a musical instrument and start to play. Whether you are taking up playing for the very first time at school, recently retired and always wanted to play the saxophone or coming back to playing after a few years rest, East Coast Wind is here to help.

The ECW Music Academy is based above the East Coast Wind music shop in Hornchurch. The shop itself has been responsible for supplying first class instruments to the students of Havering and beyond for many years. In addition to supplying instruments East Coast Wind also repair instruments on site and have one of the largest brass repair facilities in Essex repairing brass and woodwind instruments for many of the local marching brass bands and schools. The establishment of the Music Academy is to create a centre of learning to give tuition of the highest standard which is both convenient and cost effective to the student.

In addition to the standard instrumental lessons we also want to be creative in developing a range of non-standard lessons that focus on specific learning objectives. These will include Jazz studies, theory classes. Group lessons, etc.

Individual lessons are based on 30mins and cover the following instruments.

The cost of a lesson is £15 per half hour.

Jonathan Olford - piano,trumpet,cornet,french horn 

Hannah is our clarinet and saxophone teacher, specialising in teaching beginners the foundation for techniques. She has lived in Havering all her life, having attended the Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ school for five years she now attends the Coopers’ Company and Coborn School. She has been playing the clarinet for 8 and a half years and the saxophone for five and a half years. She has also been playing piano for 4 years. She has an informal teaching style and is very good at teaching young children. She has been a finalist in Junior Musician of the Year five times. She has achieved grade 8 clarinet, grade 7 saxophone, grade 5 piano and grade 5 theory. Currently working on a diploma on clarinet. Has played with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Rob is another local boy, having grown up in Romford. He graduated with an honours Degree from the Guildhall School of Music in 2006 having studied with John Harle and Jean Toussaint. He plays Saxophones, clarinet, flute, oboe and bassoon. Rob is very much in demand as a player, as a woodwind doubler in shows (both local and west-end) as well as playing with the soul bands ‘Souled Out’ and Backbeat Village. Rob is also a member of the ‘Sax Collective’ saxophone quartet and plays with many different big bands including the ’Passadena Roof Orchestra’, the London Jazz Orchestra and the Jeff Short Swing Band. Alongside his playing, Rob is very active in music education - working for the London Borough of Havering and Barking and Dagenham Music Service. His teaching work spans the entire age range from teaching primary school general music and african drumming, large class instrumental tuition and secondary school peripatetic teaching. Rob is at ECW on wednesday and friday afternoon/early evenings.

Iain Underhill - Guitar

Our "Saturday BOY" Andrew has lived in Havering all his life, having attended Hall Mead school for 5 years and Coopers’ Company and Coborn School for sixth form. He also studied at Havering Saturday Morning Music School for 7 years. He is currently reading Jazz Music at Leeds College of Music. He has been playing the piano since he was six, later taking up clarinet and saxophone, and has achieved grade 8 standard on all three instruments. He regularly performs within the locality of Havering and Essex, in ensembles of various sizes and styles, most notably being the Horace Stone Dance Orchestra, and a 10 piece Big Band called Decajazz. Andrew works in ECW on saturdays.

Scott Brooker -saxophone. Scott is one of the shops Jazz sax specialists. As a member of the London Jazz Collective his most recent CD Dark Humour won critical acclaim in Jazzwise magazine. Scott is an endorsing Artist for P.Mauriat saxophones and Saxrax stands.   

Ed Puddick -  Trombone