GROOVE ACADEMY
Volunteers
Over the years we have had a fantastic group of adult volunteers (most being parents of Groove Academy members) and older, more senior members who have become mentors within the group. They have all volunteered their time, services, expertise, enthusiasm, energy and commitment.
We'd like to thank you for all the support you've given us over the years and we know that the Groove Academy members, past and present owe you thanks for all the hard work you have put in.
We also have to mention the many parents who support our work in a more informal way, ready to help with food, clearing up, driving to events, etc.
If we've forgotten anyone, please let us know so we can apologize and put you where you belong - on this page!
If we've missed out on any amazing developments or info or you have a link you'd like us to add showcasing your work, please let us know.
YoussefB
is a singer/song-writer and heads up Tyger Lily, a local Southwest London band.
He joined Groove Academy at just ten years old.
Ten years later, Youssef is a music mentor, working with our students and passing on his knowledge and passion for music to a new generation of Groove Academy members.
Allan Mabb
was one of our first adult volunteers. He found us a venue for our very first Groove Academy session and then organized for us to meet at Riverside Vineyard Church in Feltham for six months before moving to the Hampton Youth Project.
Allan took a break from Groove for a while but is now back, bringing years of experience to Groove.
He is a guitarist and enjoys passing on his knowledge to our young people both at the sessions and in giving private guitar lessons.
Oisin Flynn
was twelve years old when he joined Groove.
A bass player, he is studying music at BIMM (British and Irish Modern Music Institute).
Oisin is in to heavy metal and plays bass for Vendetta, a young Southwest London band as well as various bands and setups down in Brighton where he is studying.
Elliot Linsey
joined Groove as an eleven year old.
A multi-instrumentalist, he is studying music at the London College of Creative Media.
He plays jazz in various ensembles at university and his theoretical knowledge is a real plus to our young people.
Bill Bulford
is our longest serving volunteer.
He is an engineer with the BBC, and our Technical specialist and Sound engineer extraordinaire. If Bill can't fix it, it's not worth fixing. Bill now has an advisory role, but still gets involved for big events.
Siobhan Crowther
is the family worker at Teddington Baptist.
A real people person, she brings joy and laughter to any situation.
Martin Haskell
has had a long and successful career as a sound engineer and producer.
He has received numerous accolades and awards for his work over the years and he continues to work in audio restoration, mastering a very broad range of music for CD.
We were fortunate that when his son joined us Martin worked alongside Bill to take care of our sound and technical requirements.
Bob Hughes
As a landscape gardener, with a large van and trailer, Bob often gave of his time and energies to take equipment, instruments and chairs to a variety of venues for us.
Ned Kershaw
from the record industry to VP of a large mobile media company, Ned was very popular with everyone, young and old alike.
He used his considerable musical skills to nurture and support the young people he worked with.
Brian & Kim Rodericks
volunteers from day one, they brought the energy and commitment needed to help us get Groove Academy on it's feet, tackling anything that needed doing.
Hannah Rodericks
was with us for a few years, getting involved with events and performances.
She also assisted in various administrative duties during her time with us.
Alison Ward
volunteered with us for a while, assisting during events and performances.
Andrew Morris
volunteered for us for a short period, helping with events and performances.
We even managed to get him to perform a song on stage.
Matt Nicholas
our longest standing member, joined Groove Academy in 2004 at just ten years old. His three younger siblings followed suit, joining as they reached membership age.
Matt works as a creative at Sky involved in trailers, jingles and ads.
He now mentors our young people, bringing his energy and dramatic flair to the academy.
Joanna Leila
is a guitarist and singer/song-writer. She joined Groove at thirteen years old. She is now studying business at University College London and is a reviewer for Music News. She has also interned for Continental Drift, Decca Records and The Basement Door.
Joanna brings her flair for songwriting and acoustic sounds to the young people at Groove.
Cathal Flynn
joined Groove at fourteen years old. He brought along a ukulele but quickly picked up guitar.
He is currently studying an MSc Computer Game Programming at the University of Derby.
In his spare time he performs at open mic evenings in and around Derby.
Aren Riedlinger
joined Groove at eleven.
His main instrument is guitar but he plays a mean bass, can tinkle the ivories and play drums.
He works for a local music shop where he is doing an apprenticeship in the repair of instruments and is planning on taking up studies in this field in the new academic year.
Chelsea Ramsay
has worked with our vocalists, both individually and in a group setting.
She particularly enjoys working on harmony singing.
She has regularly accompanied our students on piano/keys, and also accompanied one of her singing students who had to perform a song for her Music GCSE.
Press link for more information on Chelsea.
John Phillips
is a freelance moving pictures editor.
He worked on our latest Music video, 'Nothing Compares with You' bringing his expertise and creativity to the project and teaching us lots of things we didn't know about editing.
Ann Riedlinger
is a fashion designer whose creations can be found in a whole host of well known high street shops including River Island.
When we put on 'The Aimless Wanderings of Peer Gynt' she designed all the costumes and headed up a team of Groove Academy mums who, under her expert guidance produced a fantastic wardrobe of clothes.
Samira Laasli
born in Morocco but living in London, Samira volunteered her services as a hairdresser, and make-up artist .
She also taught some of our students how to belly dance Moroccan style for our production 'The Aimles Wanderings of Peer Gynt'.
Louise Drosdzol
lectures at Kingston College in the field of Media and Film.
She is a violinist and has worked with a number of our singer/song-writers, particularly in the genre of folk music.
Jonathan & Matt Rodericks & Chris Hill
Groove academy members / young mentors, these lads inspired the younger members, and brought a lot of fun into the group.
No Picture
Anna Mitchell
Music educator, previously Head of Music at both Woking and Brooklands Colleges,
Anna volunteered with us during a couple of our performances, bringing a wealth of experience with her.
Claire & Michael Rodericks
were involved in volunteering with us when we first launched Groove Academy, helping with events.
Michael also brought his DJing skills to performances a highlight being our first Groove Concert, Agents Under Cover.