Recent Graduate from the University of Manchester. - Music tutor with Elvire

I have known Elvire since September 2018, serving as course unit director for several of the course units of her MusB (Hons) Music programme at the University of Manchester.

Elvire is a highly capable and industrious student who has achieved very good results in all areas of the programme to date. Her course units cover an impressively wide range of skills, encompassing digital media as well as more traditional essay-based subjects. In her second year, Elvire gained an average mark of 65% (mid 2.1 range), gaining very good marks for Fixed Media Electroacoustic Composition (68%) , Interactive Media Composition Environments (67%) and Instrumental Composition (65%). She complemented her music courses by taking course units on aspects of contemporary culture and media, including Trust and Security in a Digital World: From Fake News to Cyber Criminals (69%) and The Making of Modern Russia (74%). Her third-year marks were in the mid to high 2.1 range, including marks of 71% for her Composition Portfolio, 68% for The Politics and Philosophy of Nationalism, and 65% for my unit on Music, Culture and Politics. Overall, Elvire gained a degree mark of 66% (Second Class, Division 1) placing her in the top 50% of her cohort. This is no mean achievement, given the exceptional quality of the undergraduates that we attract.

Elvire has a strong work ethic and takes a systematic approach to her studies. For my unit on Music, Culture and Politics she wrote an essay on the relationship between politics and violence, which I described in the feedback as ‘impressively argued with a strong use of evidence gleaned from primary sources’. She contributed confidently to classroom discussions and is a very effective communicator both orally and in writing. While an undergraduate she held positions of responsibility, including the post of Secretary for the University of Manchester Chorus, a role that entailed negotiating and refining contracts with external agencies. All in all, Elvire has a strong academic background, very good personal skills and a portfolio of relevant experience of researching topics in history, politics and criminology as well as music. She will make an excellent tutor, and I am glad to commend her to you with enthusiasm.

Elvire Perkins took the Mus.B. course at the University of Manchester during 2018-21, and graduated with a 2/1 honours degree. This is a demanding course, requiring literary, historical, creative, analytical and practical skills, and she demonstrated strong ability in all of them. I have no hesitation in recommending her as a tutor in Music.