Meet the Music Staff

Our talented Music team look forward to welcoming you to Stockport Grammar School.

Mr Michael Dow (Director of Music)

Director of Music, Mr Dow, studied at Christ’s College Cambridge, where he held a Choral Scholarship and was Principal Conductor of the Cambridge University Symphony Orchestra for four years. He has taught previously at Chetham’s School of Music and Caterham School and has been Director of Music at Stockport Grammar School for 18 years. His main performing interest is as conductor. He has conducted numerous choirs and orchestras across the Northwest such as Stockport Symphony Orchestra, Cheshire Sinfonia, Manchester Chorale, Northern Baroque Orchestra and Bowdon Parish Church Choir. He has also sung regularly as a bass with the Daily Service Singers. He loves all different styles of music and, in addition to conducting choirs, bands and orchestras, greatly enjoys musically directing shows. At SGS these have included musicals such as Chicago, Oliver, Annie, Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof, Godspell and Wizard of Oz. He has helped to lead a number of music trips and tours, which have included visits to Germany, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Italy, Holland and several parts of the UK. He also loves accompanying pupils on the piano, teaching pupils of all ages and sharing his passion for music with as many pupils as possible.

Mrs Joanne Matthews

Originally from Glasgow, Mrs Matthews studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before completing a PGCE in Music with Specialist String Teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music. With a keen interest in pedagogy, she has continued her studies throughout her career, including certificates in Kodály education and postgraduate studies in Music Education at the Royal College of Music. She has taught at SGS since 2013 and has worked with all year groups, from Nursery to the Upper Sixth. Mrs Matthews loves the variety of working with musicians of all ages and encouraging everyone to achieve their musical potential. She is a great believer that an active involvement in music can enrich everyone’s life, and she enjoys enabling all children to access music at their level. She enjoys a huge range of music from all genres but especially enjoys 20th century symphonic works by composers such as Sibelius and Shostakovich, and also modern, folk-inspired artists such as ‘The Unthanks’ and ‘First Aid Kit’.

Mr Stephen Newlove

Mr Newlove studied music at the Polytechnic of Huddersfield before completing a Masters degree in composition and analysis at the University of Hull. He is a professional singer and conducts an adult choir in his spare time. He joined Stockport Grammar School in September 2020. His love of music stems from the time when he was a chorister in a church choir and so choral music from all musical eras has featured prominently in his life. He has a particularly passion for English choral music from the Renaissance and Twentieth Century as well as the music of J.S. Bach! Imparting knowledge of music is a thrill and seeing pupils develop into the next generation of musicians is a real privilege.