Fantasia Music School - Our Staff

Mary trained as a nursery/infants teacher before gaining a coveted place at the Laban Art of Movement Studio in Weybridge. There she had the privilege of being taught by Laban and Lisa Ullman. She consolidated her primary school teaching and then moved to London Inner City Education Council where she taught dance for five years in a secondary school

While raising a family, she continued to follow her passion for working with children by coaching both individuals and groups of special needs students.

After running two thriving nursery schools she and her husband, Peter Sutton, bought a preparatory school in West Sussex. Starting out with only 30 students, they developed the school to twice the size and continued to run it with great success for twelve years.

Peter Sutton was an accomplished musician and enthusiastic educator and when their daughter, Sam Sutton, put forward a plan to start a holiday music school for children, both Mary and Peter were only too pleased to support and help in the venture. Thus Fantasia Music School was born.

Mary co-ordinates administration throughout the year for Fantasia and oversees the pastoral care of children on the courses.

Colin is a conductor, composer, clarinettist and recorder-player. During eight years at Chetham’s School of Music (including two as Head of Composition) and almost fifteen as Director of Music at the University of Warwick, Colin has established a distinguished record of conducting, composing for, and encouraging young musicians in orchestras, bands and choirs.

He has founded many ensembles and conducted the National Youth Wind Orchestras of both Britain and Luxembourg. His compositions have been broadcast on national radio and television and he is currently Vice-Chairman for the British and International Federation of Festivals.

Philip studied horn and piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is currently Director of Music at Pipers Corner School in Buckinghamshire. He performs regularly on both piano and horn, most frequently as one of the founder members of the Syrinx wind quintet.

He is an active composer who has just seen the premiere of his latest show There Was a Girl… given by a local junior drama group. A member of the Fantasia staff team since 1991, Philip works in a wide range of capacities including brass tutor, accompanist and conductor.

Sam Thi was born in Vietnam and first learnt the violin from her father at the age of 5. At 17 she went to study at the Genssin Music College in Moscow, graduating with a joint degree in violin performance and teaching.

She continued her post-graduate studies at the Norwegian Music Academy in Oslo and the Guildhall of Music & Drama in London. Sam Thi has performed both in the UK and internationally. She began teaching in 1985 as assistant professor at the Hanoi Conservatoire and has since taught extensively in Malaysia and England. 

Eliza is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music. She has performed internationally as a soloist, in chamber music groups and with orchestras including The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, The London Mozart Players and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Commercially she has recorded for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, performing with artists as diverse as Bette Midler, Katie Melua, Alfie Boe and Bonnie Tyler on TOTP, Radio 2 and the Michael Parkinson Show. Eliza regularly plays for the West End productions of The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King and Oliver!, and previously for The Lord of the Rings.

Caroline is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music. She has worked as a freelance performer in solo and orchestral work, with a particular interest in contemporary music and cross art-form collaborations, and in music education as a workshop leader and trainer in a vast array of different settings including dance, theatre and film.

More recently her education work has led her to take on a school-based role as specialist music teacher and co-ordinator in a London primary school. She is currently studying for an MA in Music Education at Roehampton University.

Sean studied cello at the UCE Birmingham Conservatoire and then went on to become a founding member of both the Astaria and Amira String Quartets. He has performed at many of the UK’s major concert halls including the Purcell Room, St John’s Smith Square and Symphony Hall, Birmingham and has broadcast live for BBC Radio 4 and Classic FM.

He has premiered several works by leading contemporary composers and has worked as a freelancer for a wide range of world-renowned institutions including the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford.

Nikki began her formal musical training in 1991 when she became one of the first Salisbury Cathedral Girl Choristers. After three years singing under the direction of Richard Seal, Nikki won a music scholarship to King’s College Taunton and from there went on to Durham University, where she obtained a music degree and PGCE.

In 2003 Nikki was appointed as a music teacher at Lancing College, and in 2007 also as a Housemistress. Nikki first joined Fantasia as a student back in 1991 and is now a regular staff member.