James Wyatt

Keyboard player/Musical Director for George Ezra, Lianne La Havas and Eliza Doolittle.

Leslie is one of the most naturally gifted piano players I have ever met.  Anybody would be lucky to have him teach them!

 

Joshua Ballance DPhil

My lessons with Leslie were always a delight! Fun, engaging, and inspiring, he developed my skills not only as a pianist but more broadly as a musician. My development over the years I studied with Leslie was very well-managed, with repertoire chosen to stretch and interest me. Whatever the piece, whether Beethoven, Boulanger, or Joplin, Leslie had a remarkable skill for communicating the essence of the music and the appropriate style. I’ve since gone on to pursue a career in music: I studied music academically and I’m now a conductor, and both those pursuits have been exceptionally well-supported by the pianistic grounding I received from Leslie.

Find further information about Joshua's career here.

Marcus Collier-Wright

Leslie taught me piano in London for about 5 years between the ages of 13 and 18, helping me to advance from grade 4 to grade 8 in that time, culminating in receiving a distinction in my final grade 8 exam.

I greatly enjoyed my time with Leslie, as he has the invaluable ability to adapt the style of his teaching to his student's needs and is able to find the perfect balance between fun and effective learning. In my case, Leslie recognised that piano was first and foremost a hobby for me, and gave me the freedom to explore my own ideas and wishes without pushing me in any direction I did not want to go, yet at the same time he stressed the fundamentals of technique so that I still learned properly. As a result, I always relished our weekly lessons and was motivated to learn new repertoire and explore new music. Leslie's experience as a music examiner was also highly helpful to prepare for my exams and was a major contributor to my results.

I ended my lessons with Leslie when I moved away for university, but piano has remained an important part of my life. At university, I joined and eventually became president of the University Piano Society, helping to organise concerts, jam sessions, and lessons for other interested students, and since university I have continued to play regularly in my free time. This continued passion for piano I owe in no small part to Leslie, whose friendly, encouraging, and engaging teaching were perfect to foster my enjoyment and love of piano playing as a hobby. I would strongly recommend him to any prospective student interested in learning piano both as a hobbyist or professionally.

Luis Erol John

I started a piano course with Leslie at the end of 2013.  He taught me all about music theory including scales, key systems and rhythm: I learnt about the ingredients of music.  Piano lessons were all about discovering and communicating the mood of a piece, and I began to appreciate the importance of detail in the score.  Leslie showed me how to structure my practice with the aim of achieving fluency and confidence in performance.

Leslie is a skilled and inspirational teacher, and with his support I gained a place at Goldsmith's University to study on their BMus course.

Ross Fernandez

I started playing piano from the age of three and a half and worked through my examinations - as you often do - churning out solid ‘passes’ every other year or so. It was not until the age of 16, as I embarked on Grade 8, when I transferred over to having Leslie as my teacher.

Leslie transformed my whole attitude and understanding not only of the piano and piano music, but the skills I took from his lessons helped shape the way I have approached other areas of my professional, personal and musical life.

Leslie introduced me to how to truly read and interpret music; how to tackle something that seems so enormous into manageable chunks of equal importance; how to dissect music under a microscope and sift through it with a fine comb, paying great attention to the detail but with one eye always on the bigger picture.

He taught me how to try to turn two hands/ten fingers into a whole orchestra; how to breathe and use my body to bring out the subtleties; and how to try and fill a room with a variety of energies. Through music, he taught me how to problem solve, work through obstacles and take informed decisions; how to think critically and analytically; how to channel my emotions and balance out my mood; how to hone my creativity; and how to practice.

I achieved a distinction at Grade 8 and felt like I came away from that process having a better understanding of what levels one can reach if you continuously raise the standards you - and those around you - set yourself.

Leslie’s piano lessons are varied and he adapts to all abilities, backgrounds and personalities. I have friends and family members who were taught by Leslie and I know they would echo my comments.