Musicianship
Musicianship is a vital partner to instrumental tuition in attaining a deep and rounded understanding of music; it's a more 'grown-up' form of our music kindergarten and teaches music theory in a practical and enjoyable way, including using many games in the earlier years. It typically leads to a theory exam at Grade 5: although this isn't required, that level represents a minimum body of knowledge that all musicians should learn in any case and that they will need for higher instrumental exams (Grade 6+). Learn more about our Musicianship teachers below!
Agnes Tatar
Head of Musicianship
Singing has always been a big part of Agnes's life. Although she studied choir-leading in College in Budapest, she felt that being part of a choir just suited her much more than conducting one. Currently, she sings as a Soprano with Londinium Voices and the Elysian Singers.
Apart from managing the Musicianship Department at NLC, she also works for Trinity College London. In her free time, Agnes enjoys attending classical concerts and rock gigs. She owns a canal boat, so one day you might spot her chugging along the Regent’s Canal…
Diana Torti
Diana is an Italian singer of jazz/contemporary music. Her passion for singing started as a child and over time, she developed experience in mainly jazz, medieval music and Italian bel canto.
She graduated in Jazz Music at the Music Conservatory of Frosinone, Italy and has extensive performing experience including concerts, recordings and international festivals in England, France, the Czech Republic and Italy. As a vocalist, she has collaborated with many outstanding composers such as M° Ennio Morricone and M° Luca Francesconi.
Her unique duo with guitarist Sabino de Bari bases its work on original compositions, jazz standards and improvisation (a musical aspect she enjoys the most). They have been recording albums and performing since 2006.
Diana’s skills as a high-level singing teacher combine with her professional training as a psychologist to enable her help and encourage her students to realize their creative potential. She has been exploring the relationship between voice and identity and since 2020 she has been working in the field of "Performer Psychology".
Diana moved to England in 2015, joining The North London Conservatoire in September 2016, teaching Musicianship. She has a passion for tasty food and likes to cook very special dishes to enjoy with her friends.
Gosia Kuznicki
Violin & Musicianship Teaching, Concert Management, Orchestra Tours, and External Events
Gosia Kuznicki was born in the UK to Polish parents and has travelled all around the world as an educator in search of the best Kodály methodology specialists and Colourstrings practice to expand her as a musician and teacher. She is a Violin, Viola and Kodály musicianship teacher as well as a chamber music and orchestral coach at the North London Conservatoire.
Having specialised in the Kodály method, she has taught at the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and is involved in other organisations that aim to help musicians, some alongside Viktoria Grigorieva and striving to bring music to as many young people as possible. This includes being invited to teach on the Jersey International Masterclasses and Pro Corda Chamber Music courses.
Gosia is a leader of several chamber groups and symphony orchestras in London. She has played and broadcast in the UK and has recorded for several artists, including a CD ‘Celebrating Jon Lord: Live at the Royal Albert Hall’.
In her spare time she has learnt how to surf on the waves of Saunton Sands in North Devon with her partner Craig Jarvis, who also teaches at the North London Conservatoire. As an avid fan of Kundalini yoga, she frequently attends yoga retreats in sunnier plains!
Hannah Blumsohn
Hannah Blumsohn grew up in Sheffield and studied modern and Baroque oboe at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
She plays with various ensembles around the UK, including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, English Touring Opera, Florilegium and the London Film Music Orchestra. In 2022 she went on tour to Bolivia playing Baroque music alongside Bolivian musicians. Her Baroque chamber group, Bellot Ensemble, is a Brighton Early Music-featured Young Artists Ensemble for 2023-2024.
Hannah joined The North London Conservatoire in 2019 and has worked in both the Kindergarten and Musicianship Departments. She also teaches oboe, music theory and Kodály musicianship/kindergarten in other schools and privately. She has worked as a mentor for the National Children's' Orchestra and has run workshops for the British Double Reed Society. She is currently a musician for the Wigmore Hall “Chamber Tots” concerts.
In her spare time, Hannah enjoys tap dancing and knitting (her NLC classes get to see her knitted animals, which match the Colourstrings songs!)
Ladislav Ondercin
Ladislav Ondercin’s love of music (pron. Onderchin) began with the organ and has expanded over the years to include piano, singing, and teaching. What started as a personal passion has become a lifelong vocation: sharing the joy of music with others and helping students of all ages discover their own musical voice. He believes that making music is one of the most powerful ways to foster creativity, confidence, and connection.
He studied at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary, a place deeply rooted in the philosophy of Zoltán Kodály. Immersed in its vibrant musical environment, Ladislav had the privilege of studying solfège and music theory with some of the top people in Hungary. He also studied choral conducting with Dr. Árpád Tóth and Dr. Anna Fűri, as well as attending masterclasses with Dr. László Norbert Nemes. Daily choral singing, musicianship training, and collaboration with teachers and peers from around the world profoundly shaped his approach, showing him how the Kodály method nurtures understanding and joy—music learned with both mind and heart.
Building on his studies in Hungary and at the British Kodály Academy, Ladislav has developed a teaching approach centred on musicality, curiosity, and human connection. He has taught musicianship in schools, choirs, and community settings, adapting the Kodály approach for different contexts (e.g., piano teaching), including research into Slovakian children’s songs and teaching materials.
Whether leading a class, conducting a choir, or working one‑to‑one, his goal is always the same: to nurture a love of music that lasts a lifetime. Music brings joy, builds community, and enriches every part of life—and it is this belief that continues to inspire everything he does.
Taryn Surratt
Head of Choirs
Taryn Surratt is a high-mezzo from Houston, Texas. She comes from a family of choir directors and found her love of opera early on after watching a production of Britten's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at the age of 10.
She grew up singing in choirs, playing French Horn and the mellophone for the school band, struggling her way through piano and playing every sport she could.
She received her Bachelors in Music Education from Stephen F. Austin State University, where she also ran for the school's track and cross country team at the D1 level, specialising in Steeple Chase.
Taryn moved to London to get her Masters in Vocal Performance at the Royal College of Music and now freelances as a singer and teacher in the London area. She has a special interest in contemporary opera as both an artist and poet/librettist.
Taryn currently plays baseball for the London Mayhem and is learning to pitch. She also speaks German like a kindergartener and has a poetry book in the works.
Theo Vinden
Theo Vinden is a professional conductor and cellist, currently conductor of the Keele University Orchestra and Assistant Conducting Professor at the London Performing Academy of Music. Formerly, he was Conducting Fellow of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra in Texas and interim Director of Orchestra at the University of Texas Permian Basin, while completing his doctorate at Texas Tech University.
Prior to going to the U.S., he was Director of the Chamber Choir at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Academy, Hungary and completed his Masters Degree in Kodály Pedagogy and Choral Conducting. This followed his conducting studies in Russia (St. Petersburg Conservatory) and the U.K. (Royal Northern College of Music/Manchester University ‘Joint Course’ with cello).
As a cellist, Theo has appeared as soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra and freelanced with professional orchestras in the U.K. and U.S., including Opera North, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra.
Zsuzanna Szanyi
Zsuzsanna (Zsuzsi) Szanyi is from Hungary. She started her musical studies in Kecskemet, Zoltan Kodály's birth place.
Later on Zsuzsi sang in choirs, which helped find her way and she decided to pursue a musical career. She first studied Choral Conducting in Debrecen in Hungary and after university continued her studies in Amsterdam where she coached two amateur choirs weekly.
In 2014, Zsuzsi moved to London and since then has been teaching Musicianship and Choir at The North London Conservatoire, among other things.
Besides music, painting is her other passion where she can express her artistic view in a different way. Zsuzsi has a one-year-old son, who loves singing, too.