About Sue

Teaching

Sue’s first degree (BA Hons) was obtained at Huddersfield University where she focused on performing (pianist) and musicology. She subsequently qualified as a teacher (PGCE) and moved into secondary music education. Sue taught in a number of large comprehensive schools before ultimately settling into the role of Director of Music at St Teresa’s School (Surrey), a post she held for 20 years. Although this stage of her musical career focused on classroom teaching she found time to continue her research into contemporary music for her MA.

Sue left full time teaching to focus on piano teaching in private schools and to allow more time for research. Her PhD explores the use of metaphor in the music of the British composer Thomas Adès focusing on his use of titles, painting, stories and allusions to the works of other composers as an aid to unlock a much deeper musical ‘story’ for listeners and performers alike in his compositions. This has had a strong influence on the way in which Sue encourages her piano students to explore the imaginative and emotional experience of performing and listening to music.

Sound Therapy Training

Sue has gained extensive experience in the educational and musical world and has witnessed the power of music to support and enhance lives. With this in mind she began to search for a new direction that would enable her to explore the use of sound more specifically geared towards promoting relaxation and wellbeing.

When Sue decided to pursue a more holistic approach to music through sound therapy her pastoral experience with students (Pastoral Head of Years 8 and 9), plus an extended period during which she needed counselling in order to come to terms with her own past traumas, made the possibility of training with the British Academy of Sound Therapy (BAST) the perfect starting point. Her studies with BAST combined the practicalities of playing therapeutic instruments with a system of reflection using The Cooper Sax ‘5Rs’ Model of Experiential Processing. It was tremendously revealing to observe her own personal growth as Sue worked on ways in which she could process resistance, resonance, and release in her life, and take responsibility for processing these experiences through reflection and self awareness. Sue gained The Professional Diploma in Sound Relaxation Therapy with distinction.

When Sue attended her first Gong Bath she knew within moments that this was her new vocation. Her initial studies with BAST were focused on scientific evidence and provided Sue with the opportunity to understand and appreciate the richness and value of sound therapy, and the ways in which it can help us process and make sense of our lives. Her training and graduation on the Gong Practitioners Course with Sheila Whittaker (Gong tutor for the College of Sound Healing) drew her into a richer relationship and understanding of sound where physiological and scientific perspectives team up with musical instinct and intuition to elicit deeper levels of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual responses for her clients and herself.

Sue’s Mission

Sue’s mission is to encourage as many people as possible to experience the potential of sound to induce deep relaxation. Her years of classical musical training enables her to respond to and manipulate sound instinctively and sensitively with intuition and imagination. She is able to draw out and blend subtle layers of sounds to encourage deep relaxation and to help clients find balance in their life.

Sue provides a safe, nurturing space to support this journey as she plays Chinese and European gongs, Himalayan Bowls, Crystal Bowls and a collection of other supporting therapeutic instruments.