Dr Patrick Olsen
Assistant Professor of Music (Education)
College of Integrative Studies, Singapore Management University.
Degrees
- PhD Education University of Cambridge.
- MA Music Performance – Irish World Academy of Music & Dance.
- BSc Psychology – Open University.
- BM Contemporary Writing & Production – Berklee College of Music.
Lecturing Qualifications
- Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA).
- Teaching Associate Programme (TAP) from the University of Cambridge.
Experience
– Lead lecturer for Aural Skills as well as the author of the diploma curricula and workbooks.
– Lead lecturer for the popular music Ensembles and Performance Workshops diploma.
– Artistic Director of the LASALLE Rock & Indie Festival.
– Director of student recitals.
– Curriculum designer and lead teacher for the Pop and Jazz EMP-MEP music camps in collaboration with Singapore’s Ministry of Education (2020–2024).
Faculty of Education
– I supervised undergraduates in the Critical Debates in Education module (2018-2020).
Faculty of Music
– I supervised undergraduates in Clare College and Homerton College in the subjects of Music Analysis (18th & 19th centuries) and an Orchestration for Jazz Ensemble (2018-2020).
– I established and developed a college jazz music programme. Highlights are the founding of the Homerton Jazz Orchestra and the creation of student-managed weekly performance events (2016-2020).
– Developed and taught curriculum for an elective on Improvisation for musicians studying traditional Irish music.
– Taught flute lessons to undergraduates.
From 2004-2014, I taught weekly instrumental music classes in Ireland (woodwinds and guitar). Most of my teaching practice was based in schools focusing on instrumental music tuition including The Croagh School of Music (Limerick), The Irish Harp Centre (Limerick) and The Academy of Music (Tullamore).
– National exams: I prepared hundreds of students for Irish Leaving & Junior Certificates (i.e. equivalent to the UK A-level & GCSE music).
– Graded music examinations: I prepared hundreds of students for instrumental and theory exams (TCL, ABRSM, LCM) in many genres (classical, rock, jazz & folk) on guitar and woodwinds (flute, saxophone & Irish tin whistle).
History Works
– I collaborated and wrote research-informed music for with History Works, an innovative media production company in Cambridge, with the goal of teaching music to children about their local history through fun songs, 2016-2018, (read the blog post).
Irish Chamber Orchestra’s Sing Out with Strings
– Helped initiate Sing Out With Strings, a programme that provided music-making experiences to primary schools in disadvantaged areas with regular interaction from members of the Irish Chamber Orchestra (2005-2007).
Primary Music
–Awarded funding from the Limerick County Council to bring separate rural schools together to build mutually-beneficial combined music programmes (2008-2010).
– Organiser and lead teacher of the Popular and Jazz music camps (EMP-MEP) in collaboration between LASALLE and Singapore’s Ministry of Education (2020–2024)
– Two years of leading summer-immersion programmes enabling students from prestigious Chinese universities to live and study in Cambridge colleges (2018-2019).
– Senior Project manager of the two-day Cambridge | China Forum, 10/2018 & 2019, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK.
– Senior Project Manager of the Cambridge Sustainable Tourism Conference, 04/2019 University Arms, Cambridge, UK.
– Organised the Music Science and Education Research Exchange, bringing together music researchers from Cambridge’s Faculty of Music and the Faculty of Education 05/2016.
Awards and Commissions
The Barton Prize
A prestigious annual award for being ‘the graduate student who has made the most outstanding contribution to Homerton College life over the past year’. This prize was earned for establishing and directing Homerton Jazz and the College’s regular live music events and musically-themed evenings (2016).
The Jean Rudduck Memorial Bursary
Awarded at the end of my first year at the University of Cambridge in recognition of outstanding quality and potential of my PhD research (2017).
Homerton College Student Representation Award
This was given for distinguished representation of Homerton College beyond the University of Cambridge. This award is usually given to elite athletes so my receiving it for music was a very rare distinction (2016).
– Song commissions from History Works for ‘Creating My Cambridge’ education projects (2016-2018).
– ‘Two Images of Roderic O’Connor’ chamber work commissioned by Limerick Arts Council, Ireland (2013-2014).
Artist in Residence with CoMA Limerick at The Hunt Museum, Ireland. Compositions included Lebkuchen, Marienplatz (2011-2013).
– Artist in Residence at The Belltable Theatre, Limerick. Compositions included ‘Voyage for Clarinet’ (2009-2011).