Monica Wilkinson

Based near Edinburgh, Scotland, Monica enjoys a varied career in music education. She is Part-time Lecturer in Dalcroze Eurhythmics at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) in Glasgow. She has a thriving practice of violin and beginner piano pupils, and provides workshops and training in Dalcroze for a wide range of organisations including Dalcroze UK, Sistema Scotland, local authorities and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Since 2019 Monica has been on the staff of NYSO (National Youth String Orchestra).  She is Director of NYSO Sinfonietta, the newest NYSO orchestra which is for talented 7-9 year olds.  https://www.nyso.uk

In Autumn 2022 Monica delivered a series of classes for those living with Parkinson's and their carers.  The project was run by Queen Margaret University and was delivered at the Wellbeing Suite at St Columba's Hospice in Edinburgh.  

Monica also runs and delivers projects. In 2017 she led an intergenerational pilot project for Scottish Opera, Spinning Songs, with singer Andrew McTaggart. In 2016 she produced Ring Time: a new piece for movement by Sally Beamish. Through highlighting the connections between music and movement, this project raised profile of Dalcroze in the UK and beyond. (For more information about the free Ring Time Education Pack, contact Monica.) Films about these two projects are available in the gallery section.

In 2013, she ran Discover Dalcroze with the Music Centre at University of St Andrews. This weekend of workshops and lectures introduced Dalcroze to over 70 people.

In 2015 Monica was proud and grateful to receive an award from Katherine McGillivray's Get A Life Fund. This enabled her to take a year out of teaching music in primary schools and develop her freelance career. As a consequence, she was appointed to the new role of Lecturer in Dalcroze at RCS where she is teaching on the B Ed course. Through RCS, and fully funded by the Scottish Executive, she is also developing a course for Early Years teachers to enable them to teach literacy and numeracy through music and movement.

In February 2018 she led a children's workshop based on Schubert's Trout Variations as part of Susan Tomes' Winterplay Chamber Music Festival. Always keen to learn new skills, Monica was awarded the Diploma in Jazz with Richard Ingham at University of St Andrews in 2019.  

Qualifications

Mus B Hons (Manchester University)

PGCE in Music with Specialist String Teaching (Manchester Metropolitan University and Royal Northern Colege of Music)

Dalcroze Licence (Dalcroze UK)