WHO WE ARE
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Our Teachers
GUITAR TEACHERS
Gianni Michelini
Instruments: Guitar, Voice, Artist Mentoring, Songwriting, Music Theory
Experience/Qualifications: Bachelor of Music (Classical Guitar Performance), Masters of Audio Engineering & Production, AMEB AmusA in Classical Guitar
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Gianni already has many accolades to his name, including Best Artist at the ABC Music Awards, Best male Vocalist (ABC Music awards), Broadcasters Choice (ABC Music Awards), APRA Songwriter of the Year, and Best Instrumental Artist In Australia at the MusicOz Awards.
ABC/ Universal Music Recording contract led to his acclaimed album "feel the music"
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Gian’s unique mixture of soul fuelled pop vocals streaked with virtuosic Spanish influenced guitar playing is what has made him stand out and given him the chance to share the stage with legendary artists Sheila E, Grammy nominated songwriter and producer Paul Pederson (Prince, The Corrs, George Benson), Ricky Pederson (John Mayer, George Benson), blues legend Eric Bibb, recently with Academy Award winner Russell Crowe and Australian music legend Marcia Hines in their music video Remedy.
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Gianni was a partner in the education arm of Abbey Road Studios and acted as Australian CEO for the Abbey Road Institute. Gianni has also been director of the largest recording studio in the Southern Hemisphere Studios 301
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Gianni has also founded and is CEO of National Music Academy Pakistan as part of his philanthropic endeavour to spread quality music education.
Specialisations: Classical, flamenco, fingerstyle, singer-songwriter, RnB, Pop, Artist Mentoring and Music Industry Specialist
Availability: Monday - Friday Newcastle Campus - Available Mon- Fri at the Newcastle Campus.
Thursday NEPS
Tom Freeman
Instruments: Guitar, Ukelele, Theory, Bass, Band
Experience/Qualifications: Bachelor Contemporary Music (Guitar Major) Australian Institute of Music
Regularly perform in many bands including:
Harry Brus Band
Mitchel Anderson
Bonnie Kay and the Bonafides
Mike Whitney Band
Wayne Pearce Band
Specialisations: Blues, Jazz, Soul, Funk, Rhythm, Theory. He also specialises in University entrance auditions, AMEB exams and gig preparation.
Availability: Wednesday’s, Thursday's and Friday’s in Newcastle
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Mitchell Cordingley
Instruments: Guitar
Experience/Qualifications: Bachelor of Music Majoring in guitar performance, Currently studying Masters of Secondary Education, Band 6 in HSC Music 1
Specialisations: Acoustic looping, Fingerstyle, Rock, Blues, Pop, Country and Jazz
Availability: Tuesdays & Wednesdays Newcastle Campus - Spots Available!
Donovan Taylor
Instruments: Guitar, Music Theory
Experience/Qualifications: Currently studying Bachelor of Music – Classical Guitar Performance at Newcastle University
2016 Acacia String Quartet Composition Winner
Tesseract Classical Guitar Quartet Member
Member of Obsolution (Death Metal Band)
Specialisations: Classical, Heavy Metal
Availability: Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday Macquarie College
Tuesday & Thursday Newcastle (Full)
Aaron White
Instruments: Guitar, Bass Guitar, Songwriting, Artist Mentoring, Music Theory
Experience/Qualifications: Bachelor of Music (Bass Performance)
Singer-songwriter and original performing artist as well as bass player for covers and originals bands.
Specialisations: Jazz, Funk, Pop, Blues, Rock
Availability: Monday & Tuesday Newastle Campus - Spots Available!
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PIANO TEACHERS
Rachel Cox
Instruments: Voice, Piano, Songwriting, Artist Mentoring, Music Theory, HSC Music
Experience/Qualifications:
- AMEB Grades in Classical Piano, Musicianship and Voice.
- Currently Studying a Certificate Teacher Of Music through AMEB, as well as continued lessons in voice and piano. Rachel also continually attends workshops, webinars and conferences for professional development and has been a speaker at Bigsound Music Conference in Brisbane and Fast Forward Music Conference in Sydney.
- Rachel is a proud member of the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing (ANATS) & the Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia (KMEIA).
- 8th Grade AMEB Rockschool Popular Music Theory - Pass with Merit.
- National Live Music Awards – Live Pop Act of the Year (Nominated)
- 2016 Vanda & Young Songwriting Prize (Shortlisted)
- 2018 Women in Music Awards – Diversity Award (Nominated)
- American Express Music Backers Grant Recipient
Specialisations:
Voice - Musical Theatre, Rock, Indie, Pop, Classical, Singer-Songwriter, Teaching young children, AMEB Exam preparation
Piano - Teaching young children, AMEB exam preparation, classical & pop piano.
Availability: Macquarie College Mondays & Tuesdays - Spots Available!
Newcastle Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (Full from 3pm, Limited Daytime availabilities)
Rutherford Friday (Limited Availability)
Newcastle Saturday Mornings (Limited Availability)
New
Kurt Taylor
Instruments: Piano
Experience/Qualifications: Bachelor of Music (Piano Performance). Masters of Education (current). AMEB 8th Grade Piano.
Specialisations: Classical, Contemporary
Availability: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday Newcastle Campus - Limited Times Remaining
Wednesday & Friday Macquarie College - Spots Available!
Harry Blenman
Instruments: Drums/ percussion, piano, rap, production
Experience/Qualifications: Studying Bachelor of music majoring in Contemporary at Sydney Conservatorium. Years of experience in various concert bands, marching bands and stage band.
Specialisations: classical, metal, blues, theory, production
Availability: Tuesday’s at Rutherford, Thursday in Newcastle, Friday’s (location TBC)
Bridget Harper
Instruments: Voice, Piano, Songwriting
Experience/Qualifications: Bachelor of Music (Songwriting Major), Masters of Speech Pathology (Current)
Currently Performing in Covers Duo
Specialisations: Singer-Songwriter/Indie, Pop, Jazz
Availability: Monday & Wednesday Newcastle Campus - Limited Spots Available
Tuesday Rutherford Campus (Full)
Bethanee Swilks
Instruments: Piano, Clarinet
Experience/Qualifications: Currently studying Bachelor of Music (Performance) at the University of Newcastle.
• Part of Starstruck Orchestra 2018 & 2019
• AMEB Piano for Leisure Grade 6 (2020)
• Trinity College London Clarinet Grade 7 (2018)
• Current Senior Member of the Marching Koalas
Specialisations: Teaching young children, pop music.
Availability: Tuesday’s Wednesday’s and Friday’s in Newcastle
Drum Teachers
Liam Tooth
Instruments: Drums
Experience/Qualifications: Bachelor of Music (Percussion), University of Newcastle. Master of Music, University of Sydney.
Specialisations: Jazz, funk
Availability: Tuesdays & Wednesdays Macquarie College - Spots Available!
Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays (Full)
Thursdays & Fridays Rutherford (Full)
Sahil Risal
Instruments: Drums & Percussion
Experience/Qualifications: At the age of 16, Sahil completed his Diploma of Drums and Percussion from Kaleidoscope Academy (Nepal). After that he started his self learning journey and since then has 15+ years experience as a professional drummer and is a decorated drummer across Nepal.
Sahil owns a famous music recording studio in Nepal, where he has many years experience of drum recording sessions and teaching students of various ages and skills, where many of Sahils students have gone onto being a part of successful bands and gaining positions in the music industry.
He also has been a hired session drummer for internationally recognised musicians such as ‘bumble foot’ ex Guns and Roses guitarist. Sahil also has ample experience in more local live gigging and performance where he plays with different bands across the Australian and Nepalese live music scene.
He has completed several international tours with his heavy rock band to the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, India, Australia and United Arab Emirates. Sahil and his band has a major online presence with 70k+ subscribers on Facebook and 700k+ views on each video clip on their Youtube channel.
Sahil’s ability to connect with students of any age and his friendly outgoing personality makes him a sought after teacher and lifelong drum and music mentor.
Specialisations: Sahil is an extremely versatile drummer and musician where he plays, teaches and self learns across multiple genres including funk, jazz, rock, metal, latin, reggae, blues and eastern classical; his skills and technique can be easily taught to any student. He also specialises in teaching extraordinary showmanship and performance, teaching complex music in a simple way and the importance of mindfulness and philosophy in music.
Availability: Spots now open Monday-Friday at both Newcastle and Rutherford campuses. Also available on Saturday’s at Newcastle campus.
Harry Blenman
Instruments: Drums/ percussion, piano, rap, production
Experience/Qualifications: Studying Bachelor of music majoring in Contemporary at Sydney Conservatorium. Years of experience in various concert bands, marching bands and stage band.
Specialisations: classical, metal, blues, theory, production
Availability: Tuesday’s at Rutherford, Thursday in Newcastle, Friday’s (location TBC)
Vocal Teachers
Gianni Michelini
Instruments: Guitar, Voice, Artist Mentoring, Songwriting, Music Theory
Experience/Qualifications: Bachelor of Music (Classical Guitar Performance), Masters of Audio Engineering & Production, AMEB AmusA in Classical Guitar
Gianni already has many accolades to his name, including Best Artist at the ABC Music Awards, Best male Vocalist (ABC Music awards), Broadcasters Choice (ABC Music Awards), APRA Songwriter of the Year, and Best Instrumental Artist In Australia at the MusicOz Awards.
ABC/ Universal Music Recording contract led to his acclaimed album "feel the music"
​
Gian’s unique mixture of soul fuelled pop vocals streaked with virtuosic Spanish influenced guitar playing is what has made him stand out and given him the chance to share the stage with legendary artists Sheila E, Grammy nominated songwriter and producer Paul Pederson (Prince, The Corrs, George Benson), Ricky Pederson (John Mayer, George Benson), blues legend Eric Bibb, recently with Academy Award winner Russell Crowe and Australian music legend Marcia Hines in their music video Remedy.
​
Gianni was a partner in the education arm of Abbey Road Studios and acted as Australian CEO for the Abbey Road Institute. Gianni has also been director of the largest recording studio in the Southern Hemisphere Studios 301
​
Gianni has also founded and is CEO of National Music Academy Pakistan as part of his philanthropic endeavour to spread quality music education.
​
Specialisations: Classical, flamenco, fingerstyle, singer-songwriter, RnB, Pop, Artist Mentoring and Music Industry Specialist
Availability: Monday - Friday Newcastle Campus - Available Mon- Fri at the Newcastle Campus.
Thursday NEPS
Rachel Cox
Instruments: Voice, Piano, Songwriting, Artist Mentoring, Music Theory, HSC Music
Experience/Qualifications:
-AMEB Grades in Classical Piano, Musicianship and Voice.
- Currently Studying a Certificate Teacher Of Music through AMEB, as well as continued lessons in voice and piano. Rachel also continually attends workshops, webinars and conferences for professional development and has been a speaker at Bigsound Music Conference in Brisbane and Fast Forward Music Conference in Sydney.
-Rachel is a proud member of the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing (ANATS) & the Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia (KMEIA).
- 8th Grade AMEB Rockschool Popular Music Theory - Pass with Merit.
-National Live Music Awards – Live Pop Act of the Year (Nominated)
-2016 Vanda & Young Songwriting Prize (Shortlisted)
-2018 Women in Music Awards – Diversity Award (Nominated)
-American Express Music Backers Grant Recipient
Specialisations:
Voice - Musical Theatre, Rock, Indie, Pop, Classical, Singer-Songwriter, Teaching young children, AMEB Exam preparation
Piano - Teaching young children, AMEB exam preparation, classical & pop piano.
Availability:
Macquarie College Mondays & Tuesdays - Spots Available!
Newcastle Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (Full from 3pm, Limited Daytime availabilities)
Rutherford Friday (Limited Availability)
Newcastle Saturday Mornings (Limited Availability)
Harry Blenman
Instruments: Drums/ percussion, piano, rap, production
Experience/Qualifications: Studying Bachelor of music majoring in Contemporary at Sydney Conservatorium. Years of experience in various concert bands, marching bands and stage band.
Specialisations: classical, metal, blues, theory, production
Availability: Tuesday’s at Rutherford, Thursday in Newcastle, Friday’s (location TBC)
Bridget Harper
Instruments: Voice, Piano, Songwriting
Experience/Qualifications: Bachelor of Music (Songwriting Major), Masters of Speech Pathology (Current)
Currently Performing in Covers Duo
Specialisations: Singer-Songwriter/Indie, Pop, Jazz
Availability: Monday & Wednesday Newcastle Campus - Limited Spots Remaining!
Tuesday Rutherford Campus (Full)
Ella Moulder
Instruments: Voice
Experience/Qualifications: 9 years Vocal Teaching Experience
Bachelor of Music (Current) Majoring in Contemporary Voice, Performer in Theatre on Brunker's Production of Legally Blonde: The Musical. Ella also has many years of experience working with students with learning disabilities and mental health issues.
Specialisations: Pop, Rock, RnB/Soul, Blues, Musical Theatre
Availability: Monday, Tuesday & Friday Newcastle Campus - Spots Available!
Wednesday & Thursday Rutherford Campus - Spots Available!
Miette Xenith
Instruments: Vocal
Experience/Qualifications:
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Awarded the Silverchair Award for excellence in performance at Newcastle High School
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Independent organisation of multiple music events. Newy Band Smash in 2015 and a charity gig in 2019
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Member of the most recent MusicNSW Young People's Committee
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Work experience with The Y in Newcastle
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Several years vocal tutoring experience
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Several years performance experience
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Bachelor of Secondary Education (current)
Specialisations: Indie, Rock, Pop, HSC music performance, teaching younger children, performance coaching
Availability: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
Bass Guitar Teachers
Aaron White
Instruments: Guitar, Bass Guitar, Songwriting, Artist Mentoring, Music Theory
Experience/Qualifications: Bachelor of Music (Bass Performance)
Singer-songwriter and original performing artist as well as bass player for covers and originals bands.
Specialisations: Jazz, Funk, Pop, Blues, Rock
Availability: Monday & Tuesday Newastle Campus - Spots Available!
DJ'ing Teachers
Peter Bird
Instruments: DJing, Electronic Music Production, Brass, Vocals, Saxophone and Clarinet teacher.
Experience/Qualifications: Music Teacher & Band Leader at Redhead Public School, Adamstown Public School, Biraban Public School,
Bachelor Of Music In Music Technology, Bachelor of Music Education (BMUS/BTEACH),
Certificate IV Information Technology,
11+ years as an events DJ & MC with Dynamic DJs
Specialisations: House, Nu-Disco, Deep House, Tech-House & Vibes, Production.
Availability: Tuesday Newcastle Campus - Spots Available!
Band Network
Grace Aberhart
Instruments: Bass, Vocals, Songwriting Experience/Qualifications: 6 years of solo performances in the Hunter.
4 years of experience playing and leading various bands and ensembles.
Participant in the talent development project Sydney (2016/2017)
Winner of Bandwidth band competition 2017
Finalist of UON band competition 2019
Finalist in Unisounds band competition 2019
Studied bachelor of music at Newcastle Conservatorium
Currently playing bass/singing in 2 bands that gig frequently in Newcastle, (Luna Menta and Bleu Collective)
Specialisations: Band mentoring, Songwriting, Bass
Availability: Band Development and Mentoring Upon Request