TUTOR SPOTLIGHT: Alexander Botha

Alexander is a friendly, multi-instrumental tutor teaching piano, keyboard, and trombone at our Great South Road Music School.

He joined us in 2021 and holds a Bachelor of Music in performance at the University of Auckland. Alexander enjoys composing and loves sharing his passion for music and helping pupils explore different musical styles and grow their skills.

Over the break, we caught up with him to hear more about his musical journey, inspirations and his experience performing at the world-famous Berlin Konzerthaus.

LEMS: what got you into playing music and teaching?!

LEMS: How would you describe your teaching style?

Alexander: When I was 11 years old, I watched a movie called Amadeus. The movie is about Mozart’s life and I was very inspired by his amazing piano skills and humour. After that, I started taking piano lessons in Howick and thoroughly enjoyed playing all throughout high school and to now. Having graduated with a Bachelor of Music majoring in performance, I am very excited to utilise the skills I learned and help students be the best they can be.

Alexander: I have a friendly and supportive teaching style. I want my students to not only enjoy learning an instrument, but learn valuable technical skills that will keep them playing for a long time. I mainly teach using Piano Adventures and teach a range of different styles of music, including jazz. Just recently starting to teach Trombone as well, It’s been a fascinating journey of learning as well as teaching.

LEMS: Could you tell us more about representing New Zealand at the Young Euro Classic Festival?

Alexander: Yes, at that time I was 15 and a year 11 student at Selwyn College. The Auckland Youth Orchestra held a tour to several countries around Europe, including Croatia, Germany and Slovenia. Having this experience at an early age solidified my playing ability on the trombone, and it helped broaden my horizons as I had never been out of New Zealand before that time. Representing New Zealand at the festival was a highlight of the trip, as the orchestra played at the famous Berlin Konzerthaus, with amazing acoustics. Being in the seats that many other famous orchestras were in was an awesome experience and I’m sure the audience enjoyed the pieces we played.

LEMS: What do you get up to when you're not teaching at LEMS?

Alexander: I mainly invest my time in composition projects, playing at musical theatre gigs or doing photography. I also like to play for groups around east Auckland, such as St Andrew’s Big Band and more recently, Manukau Concert band. As for photography, I’ve been enjoying taking photos of Auckland city and I recently went on a trip to Japan and South Africa, where I took photos ranging from the busy, narrow streets of Tokyo to a wildlife park in Addo