West Kent College

James Sedge
Course Leader, Access to Music Level 3A
(Drums/ Percussion, Rhythm, Music History and Contextual Studies, Rehearsal Skills)
Email: jamessedge@wkc.ac.uk
Works Monday - Thursday

James’ first major gig was “The Official Tribute to the Blues Brothers”, a European tour lasting one year in¬cluding many major venues. He went on to freelance live and studio work with many London based original bands, also playing in some of London’s top function bands, appearing regularly at venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, the 606, the 100 club, the Marquee, the Savoy, the Ritz etc. James has also appeared playing percussion and acting in the show “Amsterdam”, starring Peter Straker at the Pleasance Theatre at the Edinburgh Festival (1999), directed by Mel Smith. He is currently playing with the “David Migden and the Dirty Words” band (www.myspace.com/davidmigdenandthedirtywords). Their album “Second Hand Tattoo” was released on iTunes Oct 07. The band play what they describe as “Twisted American Roots music”, they play regular gigs at the Dean Street Pizza Express and other venues in and around London. James is now also busy playing for the Round Midnight Jazz Band, where he gets to indulge his passion for playing Latin, Jazz and Funk music. James has been teaching at West Kent College since 1999.

Jared Hazelby
Course Leader, Access to Music Level 3B
(Guitar, Music Theory, Composition, Rehearsal Skills)
Email: jaredhazelby@wkc.ac.uk
Works Monday - Thursday

Jared has been playing guitar for over 20 years. In that time He has performed with several bands and recording artists. He has appeared at some of the country’s premier performance venues including Ronnie Scott’s, The Jazz Café and radio appearances for the BBC. He currently runs his own function band and is involved in several writing & recording projects with an album scheduled for completion soon. His musical influences are many and varied and include Blues, Country, Folk, Rock & Roll, Gospel, Soul, Funk, Latin, Jazz & Rock.

David Migden
Joint Course Leader, Access to Music Level 2
(Vocals, Piano, Music Theory, Composition)
Email: davidmigden@wkc.ac.uk
Works Monday - Thursday

David Migden is a Vocalist, Pianist, Trumpet player and Songwriter who has sung on many albums in the past and has written and co-produced two albums of his own the most recent of which is entitled ‘Second Hand Tattoo’ which has received great reviews from the BBC, PLAY magazine and others. David has recorded on many sessions as a vocalist the most recent being for Guy Chambers. David has toured Europe and regularly plays in top venues in London and Kent with his band, ‘The Dirty Words’ and his duo, ‘Migden & Gibson’ and has received critical acclaim from all of the major press. David has played with Andy Newmark, Hamish Stewart and has performed along side James Brown. He has taught at West Kent College for six years and is a vital part of the music team.

Andy Vickery
Joint Course Leader, Access to Music Level 2
(Guitar, Music Theory, Musicianship Skills, Rehearsal Skills)
Email: davidmigden@wkc.ac.uk
Works Monday - Friday

Andy joined the team 3 years ago. His experience covers all the different aspects of the music industry such as work in function bands, original bands, TV productions, composing and recording. His television appearances include the David Jason production - “The Final Quest” 2005 and Nick Moran Production - “Telstar” 2007). He performed live with “Matt Berry” on Charlie Brooker’s screen play (BBC4). His composing experience includes library music albums released world wide (“Rock” on Boosey Media and “Hard Rock Extreme Metal” on Cavendish Music). He also recorded and played with legendary drummer Simon Philips (Toto, Jeff Beck, The Who) in Los Angeles, Ray Russell (Tina Turner, Paul McCartney), Geno Washington and Mo Foster. He regularly plays, records and tours for the Comedian Matt Berry (the Mighty Boosh, Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, The IT Crowd…). He has 3 UK tours under his belt with performances in 1000 capacity venues, such as London ULU, Shepherds Bush Empire and Carling Academies throughout England. He has featured in the world wide guitar magazine “Total Guitar” and was labelled as “one of the most inventive young guitarists around”. He won the Ernie Ball Guitarist of the Year award in 2006 in the Rock/Metal category. Andy also has a wide understanding of many styles such as Jazz, Soul, Funk, Rock and acoustic genres. At the age of 16 he studied music at WKC and gained a lot of knowledge that is needed as a player in the music industry. He is an approachable person and is always willing to help.

Donna Rudd
Joint Course Leader, Access to Music Level 1
(Vocals, piano, Music Theory, Composition, Rehearsal Skills)
Email: donnarudd@wkc.ac.uk
Works Monday - Thursday

Donna has been teaching at West Kent College for 4 years. She specialises in Vocal Technique but also teaches Music Theory, Composition, Sequencing and Production and Piano Skills. She has been a professional singer and songwriter for 10 years, performing around London and the South East, and in New York with music management company Morning Star. Currently she is running an acoustic songwriters night in London. She also performs regularly in a jazz acoustic type duo, a function band and solo. She is also in the process of recording an album that is soon due for release.

Glenn Dallender
Joint Course Leader, Access to Music Level 1
(Vocals, Music Theory, Composition, Rehearsal Skills, Music History, Functional Skills)
Email: glenndallender@wkc.ac.uk
Works Monday - Wednesday & Friday

Glenn was born in 1959, and has been involved in music most of his life, from performing as a boy soprano at junior school to starting his first punk band at the age of sixteen. He got his first record deal at nineteen, and has stayed involved in music ever since. He has been teaching singing from the age of twenty five, and is still an active songwriter and session musician. Glenn is an experienced special needs teacher, and runs the Open Door Music Group at West Kent College, for students interested in music who have disabilities or are unable to access Level 1 qualifications. The group performs regularly at Music Department events.

Philip Scragg
Visiting Lecturer
(Bass, Music Technology, Rehearsal Skills)
Email: philipscragg@wkc.ac.uk
Works Monday - Wednesday

Phil Scragg has been a professional musician for 25 years and in that time has worked with numerous top recording artists ranging from the sublime (Robert Plant) to the ridiculous (Norman Wisdom). He is currently playing in award winning band Sax Appeal and world music fusion band Just East Of Jazz. Phil is also active as a producer and writer.

Chris Newland
Visiting Lecturer
(Guitar, Music Theory, Musicianship, Rehearsal Skills)
Email: christophernewland@wkc.ac.uk
WorksMonday - Wednesday

Chris was born and raised in western Massachusetts. He started playing guitar at a young age, inspired by bands and singer-songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, the Stones, Cream, the Band etc. Along with these influences, he was also inspired by the contemporary blues players of the day - Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Peter Green et al., and this led to the discovery of Chicago and Southern U.S. blues artists such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King etc., and further back to the original country blues of Robert Johnson, Charley Patton and many others. Chris attended Berklee College of Music where he studied the rudiments of jazz chord/scale harmony. This has been the basis from which to explore improvisation and various styles of music. His music life has consisted of countless live performances, extensive tours, as well as pubs, wine bars, weddings and bar mitsvahs, recording sessions, private instruction and stylistic workshops. He enjoys teaching the theory and performance of modern popular music.

Joe Gibson
Visiting Lecturer
(Guitar, Musicianship Skills, Rehearsals)
Email: josephgibson@wkc.ac.uk
WorksMonday, Tuesday, Thursday

Joe Gibson has been a professional musician for 15 years. He has performed and worked with artists including James Brown, Charlotte Church, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jamie Cullum and Altered Images at venues including Cafe de Paris, 606 Club, Pizza Express Dean St. Jazz Club, Ronnie Scott's, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Edinburgh Festival.

Richard Simmons
Visiting Lecturer
(Piano/ Keyboard, Rehearsals)
Email: richardsimmons@wkc.ac.uk
WorksMonday, Tuesday

Richard Simmons has been both a teacher and a professional musician for many years. He started playing jazz piano in the 1960's, and has since toured extensively in Europe and the US. He has always favoured a broad approach to music and his playing encompasses a wide range of styles including R 'n' B, Soul, Funk, Blues, Gospel and, of course, Jazz. This versatility has enabled him to work with artists as varied as Harry "Sweets" Edison and Scotty Moore, and, more recently, Hamish Stuart: he is currently working with songwriter Graham Lyle.

Tom Mitchell
Visiting Lecturer
(Drums/ Percussion, Rhythm, Rehearsal Skills)
Email: tommitchell@wkc.ac.uk
WorksMon-Tues and Thurs-Fri

Tom has been teaching drums professionally for over 5 years. He studied Popular Music at West Kent College in Tonbridge before going on to tutor a handful of private students under the name of T.O.M Drum Tuition. He started his professional teaching career with Kent Music School in 2003, going into schools around the county to tutor pupils during school hours. Meanwhile, the number of private students kept growing so Tom decided it was time to step up the content of the lessons by writing a unique syllabus and coming up with a name for it. Drum Wise has been going strong ever since - with an average of 25 students a week and a 100% exam pass rate. Tom also lectures on the music course at West Kent in instrumental skills, rhythm classes and sectional & group band rehearsals. Notting Hill Music Group describes Tom as a ‘Great Drummer’ and Jar Music Group describe him as an ‘Awesome Drummer’. Tom has played and currently plays with a variety of bands and artists including: Spirits Of The Twelve, Playing Nervous, The Usual Suspects, Broadview, The Espers, Pictures Of Shanghai, The Blue Fusion (Supporting Rooster), Miss Whiplash, Heavy Air, Murdoch, Jon Cunningham, The GBJC Band, The BART Group and On The Frontline. Tom has also played in a number of stage shows including: Hopes & Dreams, Chimneys: The Musical, Lifes Work, The Journeyman and Santa & The Vikings.