Teaching
Adrian Adlam draws on a wide teaching experience which began when he taught the violin at the Luxembourg Conservatoire while still in his teens. Over the years he has built on this experience by coaching youth orchestras such as the Symphony Orchestra of the Guildhall School of Music, the Hampshire Youth Orchestra as well as string ensembles and quartets in England, Germany and Spain. As Head of Strings at Winchester College he taught a wide range of pupils through the whole ABRSM Syllabus as well as multiple post Grade 8 diplomas. He has held open workshops in England as well as in Spain where he was invited by the celebrated violinist Ara Malikian to hold a master class in La Palma.
He has conducted many of his own pupils in concertos by Beethoven, Bruch, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Khachaturian and others. He counts many successful professional musicians among his former pupils. However, he is equally proud of those who have gone on to specialise in other fields, while retaining an enthusiasm and passion for music.
Profoundly believing that the art of teaching is a process of sharing and passing on experience, he has sought to enable pupils to gain performing experience by performing alongside them both as a violinist and as an accomplished pianist. As an able pianist, he has performed on the piano a large selection of the violin repertoire with his pupils ranging from the Violin Sonatas of Beethoven and Brahms to those of Franck, Debussy and Janaček.
He is just as enthusiastic to coach an experienced and advanced musician as he is to work with beginners. Indeed he believes no self respecting teacher should shy away from teaching the elementary technique of violin playing. His first violin teacher was Louis Francini who had himself been a pupil of Louis Krasner, the celebrated American violinist who commissioned Alban Berg to compose his violin concerto. Louis Francini’s father had been himself a pupil of the celebrated pedagogue Sevčic.
Adrian Adlam joined the class of Leon Ara at the Brussels Consevatoire, following which he completed his studies with the great ex Soviet virtuoso Boris Goldstein in Würzburg and then Jens Ellermann in Hannover. He ascribes to each of these principal teachers the varied benefits of a broad approach to the technical difficulties involved in mastering the violin.
Above all he believes that his experience performing as a member of the London Symphony Orchestra in such close proximity with some the finest violinists of the 20th century from Milstein to Kremer via Vengerov, Kavakos, Perlman, Midori and so many others has enabled him to draw on a wealth of experience in order to instruct, stimulate and inspire a new and younger generation of enthusiastic violinists.
If you are interested in having a lesson with Adrian Adlam or would like to become one of his pupils please use the button below to enquire.
Testimonials
“Adrian has been paramount in forming me as a violinist and musician. Not only is he a masterful violinist, able to surmount the greatest challenges of the repertoire with dazzling ease, but he is also able to explain the work and process that lies behind such achievement. His experience of working with and leading international orchestras is evident in his teaching and communicating; here is someone who understands what it takes to play an audition, or to perform a concerto in front of a camera.
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“I can heartily vouch for Adrian Adlam both as a professional violinist and as a mentor. My memories of his musical tutelage is filled with fondness, as he nurtured my musical maturity and instilled into me a genuine passion for music during my formative teenage years. He was instrumental in my preparation for the successful audition at the Royal College of Music.
He has a fantastic record of training pupils of all ages and abilities to an exceptional standard in both one-on-one and orchestral settings; I would recommend him to anyone wishing to be inspired with genuine musical passion.”
“I learned a lot over the five years I studied with Adrian Adlam. He taught me not only many of the subtle techniques required to play the violin, but also how to understand and interpret much of the music we play and listen to. One of my fondest memories was performing the Khatchaturian violin concerto with Adrian Adlam himself conducting the orchestra. He also introduced me to chamber music, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing with other musicians under his tutelage. Adrian Adlam is able to draw on a vast experience of performing, and he conveys this to his pupils with a passion which I feel has also taught me to to have fun every time I pick up the violin!”
“Adrian is an inspirational teacher who finds the right balance between improving technique and the development of musical ideas. He has a thorough and wide knowledge of the repertoire and chooses pieces which challenge and inspire, while also enabling the student to achieve a good level of performance.”
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Adrian Adlam is not only an inspirational violin teacher, but also an outstanding violinist and pianist. Throughout the five years I studied with him he acted both as a mentor and indeed friend. I am truly indebted to him for his support and care during my time at Winchester College. I shall particularly always treasure performing the Beethoven violin concerto under his inspiring direction.”
“Some of my fondest memories growing up were evenings spent playing through pieces the night before a concert in an empty hall with Adrian listening and teaching from the back row.
I first met Adrian when I was 11 years old and in the 14 years I have known him he has been my violin teacher, mentor and through all of it, my friend.
As a teacher, Adrian shares so much of his passion and time with his students and I have met very few teachers in any field of study who have matched him in this regard. Not only did I learn from him the technical aspects of playing the violin, upon which he places great attention to detail, but I also learnt, especially through his example, what it means to be an artist. I have since come to know that many are able to teach a system or a technique but very few are able to inspire something within you. It is truly a quality in a teacher that is profoundly rare and precious. Despite now pursuing a different career path, I often still find myself reflecting on things Adrian has said to me in the past or that I have observed of him in his own playing and dedication to his craft. Indeed, his influence on my life is immeasurable.”