"It’s been a year now since I left my full-time job teaching in a school – and I’ve hardly had time to breathe!  Life seems to be a non-stop roller-coaster ride of writing and composing, teaching, presenting classes and workshops, adjudicating and examining, performing and so-called consultancy work. It’s exhausting but tremendously enjoyable. I often find myself in a different part of the country every day of the week!

In addition to work in the UK, I’ve also been invited abroad a number of times in 2002.  My first trip was to Malaysia and Singapore in April to give workshops on two of my favourite (!) subjects – the teaching of sight-reading and scales.  If the paperwork sorts itself out, I shall subsequently be giving some clarinet masterclasses at the Moscow Conservatoire. Later in the year there will be another visit to South East Asia and then a trip to New Zealand, with Richard Crozier from the Associated Board, to speak at a big conference. 

So I’m not finding too much time for my new interest in cooking - though I recently managed my first Chicken Dansak!  But this new regime does allow me to meet some wonderful people who really understand the immense joy of teaching – that, for me, is still the most exciting and fulfilling aspect of my musical life.

His publications for Faber Music include the very successful clarinet tutor Clarinet Basics; the albums of teaching pieces The Really Easy Clarinet Book, The Really Easy Sax Book, Going Solo: Clarinet, First Repertoire and Concert Repertoire for Alto Saxophone, and Flute All Sorts and Clarinet All Sorts (just released in the new Trinity Repertoire Library); the Graded Studies series for wind instruments; the two extensive series Improve Your Sight-Reading! and Improve Your Scales!, each comprising graded volumes for many different instruments that have proved such a boon to young players preparing for their exams – and to their teachers! (For pianists, there is a supplementary series Perfect Your Sight-Reading!)  Also available are five concertos for young instrumental players and secondary school orchestra entitled Buckingham Concerto."

Paul Harris 2004