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****** Community Open Evening 24 Sept 5pm to 7pm ****** Y7 Meet the Tutors (Online Meeting) Thursday 8 October ****** Post 16 Open Evening 1 Dec 5pm to 7pm
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Music Teachers of the Year 2026

Congratulations to Tim Boulton from Penzance, winner of our Visiting Music Teachers & Private Tutors Music Teacher of the Year Award!
Tim is Director of Cornwall Youth Orchestra, Penzance Junior Strings and Truro Youth String Orchestra, as well as running other ensembles and working as a private music tutor.

He also founded ‘Music Ability’, which provides Music Therapy and Education to local children from all backgrounds, with bursaries available for those who might not otherwise be able to afford music lessons.

Tim has established at least five youth ensembles and string orchestras, creating a clear pathway for young musicians to progress from one ensemble to the next. His orchestras perform locally and at prestigious annual events in Birmingham and the Royal Albert Hall.

Read about all six of our Music Teachers of the Year 2026 on classicfm.com.

MusicAbility CIC was founded by Tim & Ruth Boulton, bringing together decades of experience in music therapy and music education.  MusicAbility strives to remove barriers for any young person who might benefit from its services, including offering bursaries to young people who might not otherwise be able to access lessons or therapy.

Tim is director of Cornwall Youth Orchestra and together with colleague Emma Stansfield runs a network of youth string orchestras (Penzance Junior Strings, Band of West Strings and Truro Youth String Orchestra) allowing young people a pathway to develop valuable group skills alongside their individual lessons.  The main focus of MusicAbility's education work is to allow young people to develop reliable technical foundations early on, so that they can fulfil their musical potential and flourish in the future.  MusicAbility lessons offer students supportive encouragement alongside attention to detail.  You can see a short video about the ensembles here.

MusicAbility CIC frequently partners with the Cornwall & IoS Music Hub and the national charity Music For Youth and Tim is Outreach Consultant for IMS (Prussia Cove). 

MusicAbility's partner charity has recently restored a Regency building in Parade St. Penzance, now known as MusicAbility Centre, which houses two purpose equipped music therapy rooms and other teaching spaces.  The charity also provides a residency for one of the UK's top younger generation professional string quartets, The Elmore Quartet, who spend up to 6 weeks a year in West Cornwall, giving concerts to thousands of young people every year and supporting school curriculum delivery, free to schools.  The Elmore Quartet have almost certainly visited your school in the last 2 years.

For enquiries about music tuition, music therapy or the Elmore Quartet residency, please email [info@musicabilitycic.uk]info@musicabilitycic.uk