Over the years I have performed on many occasions - weddings, church services, public events, and private concerts - but as with many other musicians, mostly there was no recording made. Alternatively, if there was a recording, I never heard it or obtained a copy of it.

So, now I am very pleased to be able to share three recordings with you from my years as a Bachelor of Music student at the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane.

The first - a recording of most of the flute sonatas by J.S. Bach - was completed at the home of one of Australia's leading harpsichord builders over the course of a day in 2002 using a two-manual French instrument. Some are for flute & continuo (in this case harpsichord & cello), and the others are for flute and harpsichord (in which case, the roles of both instruments are of equal importance).

The second - a recording of one of the smaller preludes & fughettas by J. S. Bach - was part of a series by the harpsichord students of Ms Huguette Brassine performed in the concert hall of the Queensland Conservatorium on a single-manual French instrument. This was my contribution to that recording.

The third - a complete recording of Claudio Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 - was performed live by a double choir and orchestra around the balconies of the Conservatorium. My role was chamber organ continuo, which meant I played in almost all of the movements. The organ was tuned to 'meantone' temperament, and all performers used period instruments. I was very proud of being able to support such musical forces working entirely from a figured bass score throughout. Personally, it was the culmination of my three years there. A short video of one of the movements is included below. In part of it you will see me (complete with spectacles and moustache) playing.

The final four video recordings were made in 2011-2012 as part of the famous 'Ximen Shamans', also sometimes called the 'Ximen Demons'. Mark Daves on trumpet and myself on piano performing some jazz standards at Ximen Elementary School, Hsinchu City, Taiwan. We worked together as English teachers and played for fun on the side. The items are : 'Call Me', 'Days of Wine and Roses', 'Dancin' Cheek to Cheek' and 'Moon River.

I'm pleased to announce a new page on 'Teacher Greg's Education Home'.

The motivation for it came from my desire to engage the many colleagues with whom I work, in a conversation about ELICOS (English Language Intensive Course of Study) and EAP (English for Academic Purposes) programs and how they operate at my institution. Like many workplaces, the pressures of just keeping on top of the teaching have meant that opportunities for genuine discussion, sharing and reflection have become rare, formal meetings have become ineffectual, and inefficiencies have naturally arisen as a result.

'TESOL forums' will be a chance to recover lost ground, to re-ignite the discussion, and to move forward in more practical ways. It will take some effort to 'sell' the idea and overcome the hesitation of others, but I'm taking the first steps while hoping this will lead them to continue the conversation.

Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history. -Joan Wallach Scott
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. -Maria Robinson

Back to front – the progression from elementary to university teaching in Korea.

Hi Jason,

I couldn’t agree more. The weird part about it is that Koreans, without realising it, actually know that teaching small children English is very difficult too. How? By providing a co-teacher who speaks their first language! You won’t find these in high schools or universities.
Teaching older students, by comparison, is a snap! By the time they get to university they’ve already had years and years of English lessons and they WANT to improve. So, there are also fewer motivational issues. This, in turn, means you don’t NEED to find ways of endlessly entertaining them.

Marisa, you will be reassured to know that a number of us here in Taiwan teaching elementary kids are over 50 and registered teachers in our home countries.

Peter may be surprised to know that we teach kids from grades 1 to 6 – so some are only 5 years old! And, at cram schools, they might be as young as 2 1/2. (Don’t worry about grammar – worry about incontinence!!!)

Anna and Barbara – spot on!

Jason, my only additions would be to say that (1) from what I’ve observed, in China a university job in EFL is often paid the same or less than a school-aged teacher, and (2) if you want to be at the bottom of the social ladder, tell people in these countries that you teach English. Just about any other subject teacher will be given more respect.

Thanks for a very stimulating discussion.
Greg.

Posted on Jason Renshaw’s Weblog by: Greg Quinlivan | May 16, 2010 at 12:42 PM