Meet the Team
We have a very diverse energetic and creative team here at Drake Music NI – meet some of our current tutoring and research team:
Michelle McCormack
Michelle started Drake Music NI in 1992, on her return home in her final write-up stages of a PhD in Systems Design and analysis from City University London. Having completed an honours degree in music in University of Ulster, and a Masters in Music Technology at York University,
Her PhD out of City afforded her the opportunity to travel to UPIC studios Paris, STEIM studios Amsterdam, Hogeschool Utrecht and also to Vancouver where she was Composer in residence at Simon Frazer University for 6 months. No stranger to travel, the early years for Drake Music NI involved many miles for the delivery of weekly workshops and also the start of weekly activities in Dublin for the charity. With a passion for inclusion, equality and believing that everyone has the right to literally have their voice heard, Michelle has spent 30 years at the forefront of inclusive practice in NI, as a fundraiser, a researcher and designer, a trainer and also a practitioner.
Damian Mills
Damian joined Drake Music Northern Ireland in October 2013. Damian is a percussionist and community musician with extensive experience in facilitating, scoring, and teaching cutting-edge performance and carnival drumming.
He has extensive experience in scoring and teaching music for small- and large-scale percussion ensembles, and always seeks to integrate new sounds and ideas into the heart of Northern Irish drumming. He joined Queen’s University Belfast as a researcher in October 2020 in partnership with Drake Music Northern Ireland to investigate accessibility in virtual reality music environments. He is funded by a Collaborative Studentship Award from the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland. He is identifying improved ways in which digital technologies especially immersive, augmented, and virtual reality technologies can afford better inclusion of disabled musicians in music making.
Nikos Petsakos
Nikos has been a tutor with Drake Music NI since 2017. He began to work as a professional musician from the age of 17 and as a tutor from the age of 28. He can play and teach plucked stringed instruments such as: Guitar, Ukulele, Mandolin, Tenor Banjo in its three basic tunings
Greek Bouzouki three course and four course, Irish Bouzouki, Baglama, Greek lute.
He has studied, performed and taught a wide gamma of musical genres.
His basic motto as a music tutor is “It’s Easy to Learn Music”. He is dedicated to teach people the simplicity of music and help them evolve by learning music theory, a musical instrument, song writing, of all together.
Alex Lucas
Alex is a Product Designer turned academic who specialises in designing music technology hardware
interfaces. Commercial products designed by Alex include the Novation Peak polyphonic synthesiser and
Circuit Mono Station sequenced monosynth. Alex has a passion for intuitive user experience and aspires
to improve the accessibility of music technology interfaces. He is now the post-doctoral lead on the
AHRC project “Bridging the Gap”. Alex has a passion for intuitive user experience and aspires to improve
the accessibility of music technology interfaces. Alex completed an MSc in Creative and Computation
Sound at the University of Portsmouth in 2007. In 2017 Alex relocated to Belfast to take up a prestigious
AHRC NPIF (National Productivity Investment Fund) PhD studentship to join the Performance Without
Barriers Team.
Carrie Alexander
Carrie is a multi-instrumental singer songwriter who grew up in a musical family. Whilst learning to love music from a very young age, a passion grew in Carrie for sharing music with others through both performance and tutoring.
With extensive training in songwriting as well as years of experience in performance, Carrie continues to develop her musicianship in order to guide others in achieving extraordinary music skills and the ability to spark creativity within. Carrie believes that each person can benefit from the creative outlet that music gifts us and her aim is to accommodate access to music for everyone – regardless of age or ability.
Henrique Franco
Henrique ‘Blackjack’ Franco – Belfast-based audiovisual producer and drummer from São Paulo, Brasil.
With a Media dual-degree in São Paulo and Madrid, he accumulates 20+ years of experience in music, arts, media and entertainment.
Henrique is regularly seen performing with several local bands in Belfast, including his own music project Blackjack – a groove-based concept influenced by Nu-jazz, Funk, Hip-hop, Electronica and Afro-Brazilian music.
Henrique has been an associated musician with Drake Music NI since 2019, working with a range of all natures of abilities and levels.
Henrique is ahead of Drake Music NI’s media, web, PR and is currently working on weekly sessions with the Sound Memories group and the Wired Ensemble group, providing music composition and production with adults with different abilities.
Kostas Petsakos
Being involved in music from a young age, Kostas has his roots in Rock, Funk, and Greek and Irish traditional music. Being raised in Greece and moving to Belfast as a teenager helped me to form my musical identity.
It still helps me evolve, bring new influences, and sounds into my music and playing. Kostas is one of our youngest tutors onboard and he started working with Drake Music NI back in 2019. He Graduated from Queen’s university with an honour’s degree in 2022 and he is very passionate about creating new music and teaching his students new ways they can achieve that themselves.
Lucien Coole
Lucien is currently in his first year studying Music and Audio Production in Queen’s University Belfast. Outside of Queen’s, he regularly plays music with his band.
In previous years he has taken part in workshops in sound engineering with the Nerve Centre and film composition workshops alongside Screenworks NI and Score Draw Music and had work commissioned by Screenworks NI for a podcast. He is excited to take his next step with Drake Music NI.
Leo Kuzmenko
Leonid Kuzmenko is a Russian composer / sound designer and a virtual reality enthusiast. He premiered his first experimental opera at NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center in Spring 2017.
He collaborated with NYU Abu Dhabi Music and Sound Cultures research group as a developer on a couple of projects, creating innovative browsing strategies for collections of music of the Arabian Gulf region using VR. He also held an Audio Director position at the largest VR company in the UAE, Mental Images, working with clients in both the public and private sectors. He is currently doing his PhD at Queen’s University Belfast in a collaboration with Drake Music NI, co-designing immersive and accessible VR environments with/for people with dementia
Jo Colgan
Jo is a freelance pianist and has played for over eighteen years as a resident hotel pianist and for various events all over Ireland.
She tutors piano and brass instruments for children and continues to further her teaching experience with a Level 3 course in Supporting Teaching and Learning.
Jo’s improvised playing in conjunction with choreographers allowed her to explore musical intention through expression; something that is hugely beneficial as a form of communication for those with learning and physical disabilities.
Stephen murphy
Stephen Murphy, a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, producer and live performer based in Newry County Down. Graduating in ‘Music And Sound Design’ from Queen’s University Belfast in 2022, Stephen specialised in all things audio programming and object orientated programming.
Stephen also has 15 years as a self-employed session musician and is regularly seen performing both as a solo singer around the NI music scene as well as playing piano, bass and electric guitar with various local wedding bands within the NI circuit. Stephen has a great passion for entertaining and uplifting others through music be it via live performance or facilitating others to create.
Saoirse Van Merkom
Sáoirse Van Merkom is currently in her final year of Music Performance in Queen’s University Belfast. Outside of her degree she frequently performs at social events and teaches musicianship and the harp.
Looking ahead, Sáoirse aspires to delve deeper into music by venturing into the field of music therapy. With her understanding of the healing potential of music, Sáoirse aims to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others, using melodies and rhythms as tools for healing and connection.
Omar Hussain
Ever since joining The Magnet Young Adult Centre in Newry, Omar Hussain has been interested in working with those in need of support. He became the music and media representative of the centre, organising and setting up gigs for young people.
At the Magnet Centre Omar has also taught musical workshops with The Prince’s Trust and became the Chairperson of the centre, handling additional responsibilities such as conversing with The Education Authority for funding.
Playing bass guitar, guitar and synthesisers over the past ten years has allowed him to perform several gigs with original and cover bands.
Omar is graduated from Queen’s University in Music and Audio Production, which has also given him the technical skills to facilitate workshops for Drake Music NI using DAW such as Logic, Ableton and a range of digital instruments.
Sara Davis
Sara has a first class degree in music and an MSc in Autism Spectrum Disorders from Queen’s University Belfast, and a PGCE in secondary music teaching from Ulster University.
She comes from a musical family, plays piano and orchestral string instruments. She has extensive experience conducting school orchestras, ensembles and choirs, as well as teaching classes and individuals.
Sara has a passion for providing accessible music education to people of all ages and abilities. She believes that music is a universal language that can be used and loved by anyone. She is eager to break down any barriers that may put people off learning music, by considering individual desires and abilities and building on their own personal strengths.
She continues to develop her musicianship in order that she might help enable others to achieve their full musical potential.
Reuben Agnew
Reuben has been playing music since childhood, earning
recognition as a solo performer, also with his sibling’s band Cup O’Joe and England–based band Pet Yeti.
He has toured Ireland, the UK, Europe and the USA extensively. Along with performing, over the last 10 years, Reuben has been teaching guitar for students of all ages.
Reuben’s love for music and people has motivated him to pursue more tutoring opportunities. He is very excited to share and create new music with those involved in Drake Music NI
Oran McBrien
Oran is a pianist and violinist and has recently graduated from Queen’s University Belfast.
His favourite music to play is classical music but he indulges himself into other genres, specially when composing. Oran aspires to be a music therapist in the future due to his love for composition, improvisation and most importantly helping to facilitate music-making for all abilities.