Frances has been teaching violin/fiddle at Nomad Beat since 2010 and has a specific interest in Traditional Music, but is open to teaching a variety of styles. She is happy to prepare pupils for Traditional Fiddle Exams and school exams.

Frances plays in a ceilidh band with Robbie Tatler and Nick Jenkins (two other Nomad Beat tutors).

She enjoys bringing music to all age groups; she runs toddler music groups, singing workshops and singing with elderly people in care homes.

Nick Jenkins started playing the violin from the age of 8 and progressed into embracing traditional Irish music in adult life, though his repertoire includes music from all over Europe as well as some Early Music. He has performed with numerous bands in the South of Scotland over the past 15 years on Violin, Viola and Mandolin and is a seasoned Ceilidh musician.

Nick started teaching at Nomad Beat in 2015. His teaching focusses on traditional Scottish & Irish techniques and introduces students to certain Balkan tunes and styles. He can also teach up to Grade 4 Classical Violin.

Laura studied classical violin performance with Francis Cummings at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduating with a BMus Honours degree in 2021.  She also has a DipABRSM in violin performance and a DipABRSM in violin teaching.  

Laura started playing violin at 6 years old passing ABRSM grade 8 with distinction when she was 14.  Shortly after that she started teaching and enjoys helping students to achieve their full potential. 

She is happy to teach beginners to advanced level and can assist with all the ABRSM grades (1 to 8) up to diploma level.

Laura mainly focusses on classical violin but is able to teach other genres.  She is interested in developing the technical and musical ability of her students in an encouraging and relaxed manner. 

Robbie Tatler is a guitar tutor, but is also proficient in bass, ukulele, piano, drumming and singing! He is often to be found performing with a number of bands locally; whether it be playing double bass in our traditional music group Celtic Beat, or singing and playing guitar with his own original rock band The 62

I am an active musician with a keen interest in but not limited to the acoustic guitar, whether that be flatpicking or fingerstyle in a variety of genres. I am an experienced teacher and have taught at primary schools and Merlin Academy of Traditional Music previously to Nomad Beat. I have released two solo roots/folk style E.Ps to date that were met with positive reviews. My teaching approach is flexible and tailored to the goals of each student. 

Henry has worked as a professional musician for over forty years. This includes national and international tours and recording projects both as a band member and a session musician.

He gave up touring in the 90’s to work as a tour production manager for a major London based music company. Throughout which he continued with session work and live performance.

In 2001 he returned as full time musician and resumed touring.

He was invited by founder Alison Crawford to become an instrumental tutor at Nomad Beat when it opened in 2010.

Ian started playing the drums at eleven years of age, and enrolled in the Lester

Pennman drum school in Glasgow from fifteen to nineteen. He then Joined the

Glasgow Musicians Union big band and played support to many bands and groups including The Tremelos, The Animals, the Dutch Swing College jazz band.

His teaching method is as follows, for beginners, basic reading of music and rudimentary exercises, for more advanced pupils ,playing along with music in all styles etc .rock, jazz, swing, latin, marches. He works in conjunction with the local

school and helps with pupils who intend taking intermediate exams, higher

and advanced higher.

Valencia McRobb is a classically trained pianist and piano teacher.

Valencia began studying piano at the age of 9 at the Joseph Medina Riga 1 Music School in Latvia Riga. After the music school she studied at the Rimsky-Korsakov Music College in Belarus. While a student there she had a series of solo, concerto and chamber music concerts and won several prizes for the best solo performance. Her repertoire included composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Schuman, Debussy, Brahms and much more.

Valencia continued her studies in the UK and received a BA (Hons) degree in Music Performance at Abertay University with a distinction on her final exam recital.

She offers a coordinated approach to piano instruction for beginner, intermediate and advance students and adults. Her teaching practice is based on Russian and British methods of piano schools. Students can receive a well-rounded music education studying different repertoire of the student’s choice from classical, jazz and songs. Students can participate in ABRSM piano exams.

Having started playing bass at age 10, James has been an active musician ever since. A composer as well as a working musician, James has released and performed his own music throughout Scotland.
Currently studying music at Napier University, James has a solid understanding of the modern musical landscape. With a particular interest in rock-based genres, he aims to help his students harness their creative potential while focusing on their preferred bands and styles, and always ensuring that playing music is a fun and rewarding experience.
James can teach bass guitar to any level, and guitar up to grade 5.

Aishling started her singing career with TOP choristers at the age of 10. She continued to sing in various choirs around Peebles and sang in local musicals at the High School and Innerleithen.

From Peebles she went on to study at Stevenson College Music Box gaining a degree foundation in Classical Music Performance and later completing a HND from Edinburgh College in the same discipline. Aishling then went on to study at Napier University.

Aishling has been a member of the National Youth Choir of Scotland and performed with them on several occasions including the BBC proms in the Royal Albert Hall. She still performs regularly at events and concerts.

Aishling is happy to teach all ages, styles and levels and teach theory to Grade 5. She has successfully helped students with their school music exams, and entered students for ABRSM exams with a 100% pass rate.

Jenny graduated from Kingston University in 2019, with a BMus (Hons) in Music. During her time at university, she worked with community music groups in Edinburgh, which inspired her to do more work in that field. Since then, she has volunteered with a variety of music organisations in Peebles, such as Peebles Players, Halyrude choir, and Music in Peebles. Peebles Players gave her valuable experience of working with people with disabilities and celebrating their achievements. Jenny started working as an administrative assistant for Nomad Beat in May 2021, and has had in-house and Drake Music training for Breaking Sound Barriers. Jenny will also tutor some of our other music groups.

"Hi my name is Erin and I’m a singer songwriter from Selkirk! I am a self taught guitarist with basic skills in piano and ukulele also but my main instrument is my voice! I believe that music can be used to improve mental well-being and self esteem as well as confidence whilst also learning new skills."

Erin has undergone Breaking Sound Barriers training with Nomad Beat and Drake Music. She runs inclusive music sessions for people with learning disabilities and has several years experience in this field.

Based in London for 40 years, I spent my professional career as a freelance clarinettist with the major UK orchestras and Opera Houses, and as a session musician for films and television.

I have also performed in Russia ,Italy, France and the USA.

Throughout my career I have taught at every level.