Teachers

Ruana Xerri-West joined Music Shakers as a Teacher in 2015, and first started attending our classes in 2013 when her daughter was just 2 weeks old. She earned a BA Hons Drama & Theatre Arts from the University of Birmingham, and directs Signs and Sounds, which offers children's classes in British Sign Language. Ruana was a Trainer with NAPPI UK Limited, a Youth Volunteer Team Manager with the UK National Deaf Children's Society, Musical Director with the Rainbow Voices Choir, and Youth Drama Worker with The Leaveners.

Emma Watson has a BA Hons in Drama and English from the University of East Anglia and a PGCE in Drama from Middlesex University. She spent 5 years as a drama teacher working with 11 – 16 year olds before stopping to bring up her three children. She attended Music Shakers with her son until he went to school and, as they brought such joy and fun to her own family over several years, she is now leading Music Shakers classes in Cotteridge.

Fiona Howe joined Music Shakers as a Teacher in 2010, and earned a BMus Hons from the Birmingham Conservatoire where she studied piano performance, Kodàly, Orff and Dalcroze. She has been involved with various educational projects throughout Birmingham including the CBSO “notelets” workshops and Early Years Cluster Programme as well as projects for Sound Futures. Alongside her work in early years music Fiona taught piano and violin privately and for the Aston Performing Arts Academy and Academy West Midlands. She now lives in Scotland.

Sarah Baker led Music Shakers classes until 2016, and produced and arranged all our CDs. She trained at the Birmingham Conservatoire and is an accomplished musician and piano teacher with a specialization in singing and making music with children. In 2012 she became the Vocal Composer in Residence at Birmingham Music Services. She set up Baker Tunes, and produced Tuning The Tables, a collection of original songs written to help children learn all the times tables using catchy tunes.

Marcella Erskine founded Music Shakers in 2006. She obtained a Master’s degree in Social Work from Hunter College, NY, where she specialized in group and community work. She trained in dance at Colorado State University while obtaining a BSc in Psychology, sang in choirs in Denver, and taught music at Denver Cooperative Preschool. She provided music workshops to adoption services, playgroups and schools across Birmingham, and participated in early childhood music workshops including Music Leader Musicality Matters and the Early Ears 4 program. She has taught at One World Montessori School in Edmonton, Canada since 2017.