Artist Information: Andrew Eales

Andrew Eales is a classical pianist, electronic musician, composer, author and teacher. His private practice Keyquest Music is based in Milton Keynes, UK.

Andrew was born in Surrey in the south of England in 1966. His talent for music was recognised early, and he won a scholarship to Oakham School. He later completed his schooling at Bedford Modern School and as a Junior Exhibitioner at the Guildhall School of Music in London. By the age of 15 he had achieved a “distinction” in Grade 8 piano, Grade 8 flute and Grade 8 music theory. He made his concerto debut performing the Schumann piano concerto aged 17, by which time he had also played solo piano music by Liszt on BBC Radio.

Andrew read music at the University of Birmingham, where he gained his honours B.Mus degree and won the University’s esteemed Roland Gregory Music Prize. As a postgraduate he completed his professional training at the Royal College of Music, London, gaining his ARCM diploma and winning the Raymond Russell Harpsichord Prize in 1998. Andrew studied with some of the most distinguished teachers in the UK, including Ian Lake, Frank Wibaut and Joseph Weingarten (piano), David Ponsford and Robert Wooley (harpsichord), and Nicholas Danby (chamber organ).

Having taught music since he was 16, Andrew launched his teaching career full time in the early 1990s. His reputation quickly grew, and he was approached by the Milton Keynes Music Service where he taught and led the Keyboard Faculty for several years, before concentrating on his private teaching practice and consultancy since 2005. He also now teaches piano and keyboard at Stantonbury Campus, a large secondary school with a specialism in Performing Arts.

Andrew has worked as a consultant for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM), Trinity Guildhall examinations, the National Association of Music Educators, and the Federation of Music Services among others. He has spoken at national conferences and local events, passing on his experience and training other teachers.

As well as an accomplished classical pianist, Andrew is particularly known for his electronic keyboard method Keyquest, which has sold thousands of copies throughout the UK and beyond. While at MKMS he also devised Keyband, an exciting electronic keyboard ensemble programme which was featured in the Guardian newspaper and Music Teacher magazine.

Andrew has written widely, contributing to publications including A Common Approach (Faber Music), All Together – teaching music in groups (ABRSM), and Raising an Amazing Musician (ABRSM). Several of his pieces for electronic keyboard are published in the Keyboards Together series of publications from ABRSM and he now enjoys a growing international reputation as an educational composer and writer. He continues to focus on both solo piano and electronic music composition.

Andrew’s private teaching practice Keyquest Music offers a fully equipped music teaching studio in Milton Keynes which caters for students of all ages from young children to adults. His teaching brings together traditional and contemporary approaches, and covers a full range of music styles. He combines an emphasis on developing good playing technique, independent music reading ability, and a focus on unlocking creative potential through improvisation, composition and musicianship. He is well known for using the latest music technology as an aid to help the learning process. Andrew’s students achieve exceptional results, and many are now pursuing careers in music.

Andrew has been happily married to his wife Louise since 1992. They have two teenage children, Jonathan and Ruth.