To reach your full potential, you’ll need to be taught by great tutors. At WaterBear we have some of the best tutors and mentors in the UK today. As working professionals, the tutoring and visiting faculty team may be subject to occasional change and availability may vary. Our visiting faculty also bring a wealth of experience in the form of in-class masterclasses and Q&A sessions throughout the year.
Lucy Kinsella is a dynamic music professional with a diverse career as a songwriter, A&R, vocal coach, mentor, and independent artist. A published songwriter for Sony, EMI, Universal, APM, and Anger Music, she has five albums signed with global distribution. As an A&R for Enso Sync Library, she scouts emerging talent for development. Performing as SAFIRE, Lucy has released nine singles, earned features on Radio 1, and was longlisted for Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent in 2023. With 12 years of vocal coaching experience, her students have been finalists on X Factor, signed with Sony, and performed at Hyde Park with Robbie Williams.
Sophie Russell is a talented music producer, singer songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She is known for her work under the moniker Cherry Seraph that has earned support from BBC Introducing and other notable publications. She has performed at prominent UK venues and festivals, including The Bodega and Sage 2, and has secured multiple grants from organisations like Help Musicians x The F-List and Youth Music to develop her artist project. Recently, Sophie completed an artist residency at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music
As an associate of the Yorkshire Sound Women Network, Sophie is dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices in the music industry. She has also been involved in work with the Music Producers Guild Awards. Her expertise in Ableton Live for both production and live performance enables her to mentor and support those interested in electronic music. In addition to technical guidance, Sophie offers valuable insights on developing personal sound, image, and navigating the music industry.
Mal Troon is a professional guitarist with over 25 years of experience in the music industry. Originating from a classic rock/blues/rock n roll background, Mal was the co-founder of a band signed to major and independent labels, that toured extensively for 10 years, both nationally and internationally, and recorded worldwide at studios including Abbey Road, Olympic, Rockfield, Wessex and Avast Recording Company. Mal now works as a session musician and guitar teacher/mentor widening his genre scope to include country, folk, Americana and soul, working with various acts from Wendy James to Jim Sclavunos, from Squid to Gary Moore, from Gemma Ray to Jim Jones. Mal has also toured extensively as a tour manager for acts including Lizzo and Sea Power and as a guitar tech for acts including Sea power and Miles Kane.
With 20 years of hands-on experience across live events, venue management, tour logistics, artist development, and industry partnerships, Greg Archer has built a career rooted in supporting artists at every level. He’s worked with major names like Polyphia, Plini, While She Sleeps, and Animals As Leaders, as well as hundreds of emerging bands across genres.
From booking and managing tours across the UK and Europe to mentoring artists and coordinating arena shows and working with Live Nation, Greg brings real-world insight and a deep understanding of how the industry works behind the scenes.
Now based at WaterBear College of Music in Sheffield, he works closely with students to define, track, and achieve their goals – offering transparent, practical guidance that connects ambition with action. Connecting students with the right dots. A passionate grassroots advocate, Greg is committed to helping the next generation build sustainable, meaningful careers in music.
As a producer, Mark has worked with a diverse range of artists including Black Peaks, Delta Sleep, Toska, The Physics House Band and Rob Chapman. He has received national and international radio play, and his releases have charted around the world. Mark has also toured the UK and Europe extensively as drummer for bands Broker and InTechnicolour.
Steve Hillier is a songwriter with dozens of hits to his name. In the 1990s, he wrote eight of the nine hit singles of his acclaimed dreampop act Dubstar. Since then, Steve has worked with diverse range of artists from ELKKA to Keane, with writing credits on international hit songs from Mark Owen to Karen Mok, to Trentemøller and Flosstradamus. Steve is also DJ who has held nightclub residencies across Europe and is a university lecturer with eighteen years’ experience writing and teaching degree courses.
A music industry professional of almost 20 years, Stu’s career has taken him around the world as a touring guitarist. He is one half of the electronic rock duo Keepers Brew, guitarist in pop band Dlugokecki and an in-demand session player. Stuart specialises in fretless guitar and electronic and experimental world music. He fuses creativity with theoretical knowledge in his clinics and solo shows. Stu is also a certified Logic Pro trainer, award-winning songwriter and partner at Mutant Lab Studios. A confirmed gear head, he’s owned almost every guitar pedal there is!
Tim Arnold began his career as singer and songwriter of 90’s British art rock band Jocasta. As a solo artist, multi-instrumentalist, string arranger and producer, he has released 25 albums including the score for Iggy Pop’s film, Blood Orange. Tim was mentored by David Bowie and Kate Bush mentor Lindsay Kemp, and is widely recognised as the first songwriter to create a concept album about London’s Soho – 2015’s The Soho Hobo, winner of BBC London Album of The Year. With support from Stephen Fry and Benedict Cumberbatch, Tim created Save Soho – a coalition of performers who work to protect the future of Soho’s historic role as a national platform for musicians. Tim mentors with a holistic focus on sustaining embodiment and human connection in the digital space. This theme is the focus of Tim’s latest project Super Connected – a feature length movie set to 12 songs exploring the connection between social media, mental health and Big Tech.
Samuel Organ is a founding member of The Physics House Band, a group who have gained widespread critical acclaim from the likes of The Guardian, The Independent, NPR and the BBC. They’ve toured and performed notable shows alongside artists such as Alt-J, Django Django and Omar-Rodriguez Lopez. As a solo producer, he’s recently worked with the likes of Caroline Polachek, Donna Missal, BABii, Sega Bodega, Danny L Harle, Iglooghost and Kai Whiston. Sam also works as a live musical director developing artists live shows.
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