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Louise Southwood is our Music Theory and classical guitar teacher here at the Delta Community Music school.  We had a short interview with her earlier this month as a part of our “getting to know your teacher” series here at DCMS.

1) How old were you when you started playing the guitar?

I was eight years old when I first started playing the guitar. There was an old classical guitar in the attic and my next door neighbour was a guitar teacher so it seemed like a good idea to start lessons!

2) What do you like best about teaching?

Teaching can be an incredibly rewarding profession. The best moments are when a student has listened to your advice, gone home and practiced and come back to their next lesson and played to the best of their ability. The pride and satisfaction in the achievement is the same for the student and the teacher.

3) What was one of your favorite moments performing in public?

One of my favourite moments performing in public was when I returned to Bermuda where I lived and taught for seven years. I performed in the annual Bermuda guitar festival which I had I helped organize during my stay there. The audience was full of old friends and past students, and I think I performed better than I ever had before because the atmosphere was so special.

4) Who is your favorite composer

My favorite composer has to be J.S Bach. He was a genius who wrote such complex and emotionally moving music. He didn’t write for the Classical guitar but many of his works have been transcribed for the instrument and sound fantastic on it. My particular favourite is his Chaconne from his second violin Partita…it is a monster to play but well worth the time and effort!

5)  I know you have been teaching for our school for the past few years, and working and living here in the Vancouver area, but where else have you been working or teaching as a musician?

At the start of my career I taught and performed in London ( in the UK where I am from). I worked at a number of top private schools….even one which Prince William used to attend! And as mentioned earlier, I taught in Bermuda for seven years. It was a brilliant experience as I taught the guitar full time to students of all ages and abilities. I also performed regularly as I was only one of two Classical guitarists in the country. I can’t remember the number wedding ceremonies on the beach I performed for!

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