Michael Winwood was born and grew up in Halesowen. From his earliest years he showed a fascination with the piano and loved singing. His initial piano instruction was begun by his father, Charles. But the real musical influence in his life was his rather august grandmother, Ruby Winwood (née Rayner), who had been a serious and gifted contralto singer in her youth. She occasionally performed with her brother, Leonard Rayner, the renowned concert pianist and teacher.
At the age of nine, Michael was sent to the Leonard Rayner Piano School to meet and be taught by the great man, which he did until Mr Rayner’s death a few years later. Miss Ruth Cooke then took over the school where Michael remained a pupil until his late teens. It was during these years that he absorbed the principles of the ‘Rayner Method’. Under Miss Cooke’s training, Michael was pronounced to “have the touch” – a special quality of Mr Rayner’s playing.
Throughout his youth, Michael continued to play the piano every day. Extending his musical horizons, he also took up the violin and much enjoyed performing with the school orchestra and singing in the school choir.
During his teenage years, Michael took up painting rather seriously. He had always drawn pictures as a child, indeed – “no scrap of blank paper was safe from my crayons – not even the flyleaves of a parent’s book!” Together with his school friend, Paul Langford, Michael drew, painted in oil, and they even made a bit of money selling their work. The income helped to finance their love of horse riding and, working as local stable hands, it gave Michael and Paul many opportunities to ride.
Michael’s education began to flourish with more interests, particularly history, English literature and architecture: “never a dull moment for me!”
During his 20s Michael took another turn and tried his vocation to the priesthood. He first went to Oscott College, Birmingham, and later to the Brompton Oratory in London. The life proved too restricting and he gave up before completing the training. Michael said: “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world – an astonishing life. I sang nearly every day but missed the piano dreadfully. The education was the most intense and interesting of my life, especially philosophy and history.”
When Michael returned to Birmingham, he trained for his Education degree at Birmingham University and the newly built Catholic Newman College. There he was taught by a wonderful piano teacher, Wim Roose. As a student pianist himself, Wim had been taken to play for Leonard Rayner – a small world indeed. Michael says, “Here I really developed my piano playing along with the rigorous joy of singing lessons with Andrea Callidine and, later, the opera singer, Robert Milner. I also got a lot of practice and thus learned a great deal about concert performance.”
Michael’s first teaching job was at the Archbishop Grimshaw School in the music department, which was rapidly growing at that time. Michael says, “I loved teaching from the word go; I liked the pupils, formulating lessons in the classroom that worked well, and the serious skill of keeping good-disciplined control to get the best out of them. There was much freedom in those days to develop the curriculum. Sadly gone, alas. The staff were also very supportive. A great time to be in teaching. I cultivated one or two stars as well and was eventually made Head of Department.”
Michael left classroom teaching in 1990 and took over the Leonard Rayner Piano School from Miss Cooke when she finally retired at a great age. “I was delighted to take over, it was like coming home. I felt able to bring my experience of school – the order and organisation, discipline, and flexibility to keep pupils engaged. There are also quite a few more up-to-date teaching methods that I have been able to incorporate, which work well. It makes learning a lot easier than it used to be. Our exam results have been consistently impressive too for the last 35 years! I think there are a few stars out there who look back with pleasure on having been taught at the LRPS. I still get very nice texts, messages and visits from past pupils, which is rather touching.”
The School continues to flourish at Michael’s home in Harborne Lane, Selly Oak, where he lives, a widower now, with three cats - Rupert, Boris and Bertie – and still regularly riding his beloved horse, Brodie, who lives a life of luxury in the Wyre Forest in Shropshire. Michael says Brodie “rides like the wind and jumps like a champion!”
