Tutors 2025

Sarah Jeffery

Sarah Jeffery is a prominent figure in the recorder world, known for her passion for both early and contemporary music. She has commissioned and premiered numerous contemporary works and has performed globally at prestigious festivals and stages. Notable accolades include being appointed ‘Recorder Professor Specializing in Contemporary Music’ at the Royal College of Music in London and receiving the Best of Classical Music 2020 award. Sarah is also recognized for her educational efforts, including online tutorials on her YouTube channel, Team Recorder, with over 170,000 subscribers. She is based in Amsterdam and holds degrees from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and Birmingham Conservatoire, under the guidance of esteemed pedagogues.

Brendan O'Donnell

Described as a “virtuoso, scholar, [and] presenter … of rare charm and lucidity”, recorder player Brendan O’Donnell performs regularly with Adelaide Baroque and Adelaide Cantata Band, alongside frequent solo outings, including his innovative program “Bird/Song” at the 2023 Adelaide Fringe Festival. For several years he performed with Munich-based Ensemble Raccanto and was a founding member of the contemporary and early music ensemble Cembaless (Germany/Austria). 

He is an experienced teacher: for 8 years, Brendan taught at various music schools in Bavaria alongside private teaching and ensemble coaching. In 2019 he tutored at the recorder course Musiktage am Chiemsee (Germany), and since 2022 has been a regular tutor at the Orpheus recorder courses. He gives workshops for the Society of Recorder Players SA and provides coaching for students and ensembles of all levels in Adelaide. Brendan also plays and teaches clarinet, saxophone and piano