Our Teachers and Team

Our Teachers and Team

Our teachers came from around the globe to New York City to master and share their craft. Their world-class skills, performing experience and education are matched by a passion for helping their students grow.

Whether you are just getting started or are an advanced player reaching for the next level, your NYC Guitar School teacher will help you reach your goals! Select any teacher to instantly book a live online lesson.

Anna Leone

Anna Leone began playing guitar at age seven in her native Brazil and soon focused her studies on classical music. She has performed as a soloist across Brazil, the USA, and Finland, with TV and radio appearances featuring her repertoire of Latin American and Spanish classical music. A decorated com
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Anthony Domnitser

Anthony Dom is a Brooklyn-born session guitarist and jazz band leader who recently graduated from SUNY Purchase College’s Jazz Program at the Conservatory of Music, where he honed his craft and emerged as a standout talent in the world of straight ahead jazz and bebop. Under the guidance of his ment
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Anthony Hollock

Anthony has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, London’s West End, as well as various theaters around the US. He has received a BA in Musical Theatre from Point Park University. Throughout his training, he has shaped his voice with almost a dozen voice teachers combining all of their best methods i
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Anthony Tavarez

Anthony Tavarez is a guitarist, producer, and dedicated music educator based in New Jersey. He holds a B.M. in Music Education from New Jersey City University, where he developed a strong foundation in music theory, history, performance, and pedagogy. Classically trained on guitar, Anthony’s musical
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Aspen Jacobsen

Aspen Jacobsen is a songwriter, composer, vocalist and guitarist whose music offers a playful illumination of Folk music. After earning her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music in 2026, she served as a songwriting instructor at Interloche
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Austin D’Adamo

Austin D’Adamo is a guitarist, bassist and composer from North Carolina. He received his degree in Music Performance at Valencia College in Orlando, FL under the sage tutelage of Orlando jazz guitarist and educator Bob Holtum. Since relocating to NYC in 2017 he has played with a number of local rock
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Beau Croxton

Beau Croxton is a New York City-born singer/songwriter who has been playing for 24 years. He has performed in the New York City live music scene regularly since 2012, performing at venues including Baby’s All Right, The Sultan Room, TV Eye, Mercury Lounge and beyond. Beau began guitar classes at the
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Ben Fitts

Ben grew up with New York City Guitar School. After studying with NYCGS in camps and lessons, Ben began gigging as a professional musician at 17 and started teaching lessons soon thereafter. Ben has a B.A. from Hampshire College where he studied music composition, guitar performance, and music produ
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Ben McClintock

Guitarist and composer Ben McClintock (he/him) was born in the high desert of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Despite his early fascination with music, it wasn’t until the age of 18 that he picked up a guitar. He was immediately captivated and began a lifelong commitment to the instrument. Seeking to
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Christopher Minami

Christopher Minami is one of the finest archtop guitarists of the current generation. Minami has won national competitions, grants, tours and has shared the stage with greats such as Rodney Whitaker, Michael Dease, Geoffrey Keezer, Bobby Floyd, and Camille Thurman. A native of Florida, Minami comple
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Clayton Hopkins

Clayton C. Hopkins is a NYC/NJ based guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He studied Music Engineering, Production, Contemporary Guitar, and Composition/Songwriting at the Frost School of Music before moving to New York to pursue his original music full-time. In addition to teaching with NYC Guitar Sc
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Daisy Press

If you are longing to sing, in any capacity, Daisy wants to hear ALL about it! In her own life and the lives of her students, she has repeatedly witnessed the magic and vitality that explode into a person’s life when they are brave enough to just open their mouths and MAKE NOISE. Sing for your
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Dan Emery

Dan Emery is dedicated to bringing the thrill and pride of guitar playing to all who desire it. He is the founder of NYC's friendliest and fastest growing guitar schools, New York City Guitar School, Brooklyn Guitar School and Queens Guitar School.
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Daniel Conant

Born and raised in New York City, Daniel Conant began studying Hindustani classical music at the age of 11. During his teenage years he performed on the sitar in venues across the United States and India. Since switching his focus to the classical guitar at age 18, Daniel has become a champion for g
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David Cronin

David is an accomplished actor, creative director, and music educator originally from Woodhaven, Queens. He graduated from the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music, Art and the Performing Arts before receiving a B.Mus. in Voice Performance and Music Education from The Conservatory
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David Gonzalez

David has 2 degrees in music and has been teaching for decades. His specialty is finger style playing and his focus is Classical, Flamenco, Suzuki, and finger style arrangements of all types of music.
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David Kuhn

David Kuhn: Lead guitar, improvisation and technique “For the next 45 minutes, the song you want to learn is my favorite song in the world!” — David David is the teacher for players ready to break out of the box. That means soloing with confidence, improvising, building real techni
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Dov Beck-Levine

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Dov began learning about music before he knew how to speak (his mother taught him to harmonize in his stroller by encouraging him to sing one note while she would sing another!). He started learning to play piano at age five, guitar at six, drums at nine, and bass wh
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Dylan Charles

Dylan Charles was so excited when he got his first guitar at age thirteen, he started waking up extra early so he could jam a few chords before catching the bus to school. Only two years later he was gigging professionally in his hometown of Ann Arbor, MI.
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Dylan Fader

Dylan Fader picked up the guitar at a young age, captivated by the energy of jazz, blues, and rock. What started as a hobby quickly became a lifelong passion, leading him to study at Berklee College of Music, where he worked with Tomo Fujita, Bruce Bartlett, Tim Miller, and Oz Noy, and graduated wit
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Elaine Chu

Before she found NYC Guitar School, Elaine graduated with a degree in psychology from NYU and held a position as a Compliance Officer in options trading surveillance on Wall Street. Through her daughters' desire to learn the guitar, she joined us through our work study program and later transitioned
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Eliane Delage

Eliane Delage has been playing the guitar since the early 80's when she started learning the guitar in São Paulo, Brasil. She's been in several bands ranging in style from Funk, Brazilian Music, Hard Rock, Blues, and even Metal!
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Elias Solomon

Born in Brooklyn, Elias discovered his love for music at an early age, inspired by the Beatles. By the age of six, he was already playing guitar. He spent years performing in rock bands, focusing primarily on original music, before diving deeper into jazz under the guidance of Bob Sneider, a renowne
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Ellis Nolan

Ellis Nolan is a musician from Great Falls, Virginia, whose earliest musical memories include playing “drums” on his parents couch while “Viva La Vida” played on the TV, and learning “Oye Como Va” on guitar from his next-door neighbors. He holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Music (with Highest Distinctio
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Emilio Tostado

A Chicago native, Emilio picked up a guitar at the age of 12 with his dad at a local music store. Fueled by the excitement and energy he got from classic rock, Motown, and 90s alternative, guitar soon became a dedicated passion. Despite focusing on film at NYU, he minored in music and dedicated hims
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Eric Thachuk

Eric is joining us from Hamilton, Canada. This is his second stint making America “home”. The first was as a scholarship student at Berklee College of Music in Boston studying bass and guitar performance. His professional experience includes everything from bar gigs co-starring the weekly hockey gam
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Garrett Crusan

Garrett Crusan, a Pittsburgh-area native and multi-instrumentalist, began playing drums at the age of six after being exposed to some of their mom’s 90s grunge CDs in the six-disc changer of a Chevy Trailblazer. Their love for music grew exponentially from there. After transferring to Benningt
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George Schatzlein

George is a musician, composer, and sound engineer based in Queens, NY. He grew up in a musically active household listening to various styles of music such as rock, R&B, metal, noise, hip-hop, classical, country, jazz and bluegrass. Originally from Indianapolis, George studied Jazz Guitar at Indian
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Greg Sardella

Born and raised in the outskirts of New York City, Greg began studying music at an early age into his college years. Starting with the saxophone in grade school and later moving on to guitar, it became clear that music would be a lifelong passion. Greg moved to the city in 2010 to intern at a record
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Issac Hernandez

Our Summer Camp Director, Issac Hernandez, discovered his passion for guitar as a child when his grandfather introduced him to the instrument, starting with Mexican music. He was captivated with the guitar’s beautiful sounds and rhythms. As he grew older, his musical tastes evolved, and he became in
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Jaime Garamella

Jaime teaches singing, guitar and bass, and directs the Voice Studio here. Teaching at NYCGS since 2007, he especially loves working with beginners. He has literally written the book on singing for our Vocal Workshop group classes. Jaime studied voice, guitar, and songwriting at Berklee College of M
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Jen Elliott

Jen started out as a singer and songwriter before she found the guitar. Releasing two albums on indie label, City Canyon Records, her band toured the east coast.
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Jereena Montemayor

Jereena Montemayor was born in the Philippines and moved to California at a young age. It was here that music quickly became a central part of her life. At age 7, her dad gifted her a guitar, and inspired by Hannah Montana, she began creating webcam covers that blended her voice with the lively Fili
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Jeremy Mock

Jeremy is a musician, composer and audio engineer based in Queens, NY. Originally from Austin, Texas, he grew up in a musical household, first picking up the guitar at the age of eight years old. Jeremy earned his bachelor’s degree in classical guitar performance and audio engineering at the L
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Josh Torvi

Josh Torvi is a guitarist, teacher, and composer based in Brooklyn. Since 2018, he has maintained a busy schedule at the New York City Guitar School, where he has truly put in his “10,000 hours” teaching private lessons and group classes, hosting the school’s monthly open mic, and guiding students o
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Julian Barthold

Julian Barthold first picked up the guitar at age 11 and almost instantly discovered his passion for music. It was not long thereafter that he came to New York City Guitar School for lessons and Summer Rock Camp, which set him on his path towards interning and now teaching at NYCGS! Julian earned hi
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Katie Battistoni

Katie Battistoni holds a degree in Jazz Guitar Performance from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. She currently teaches songwriting and music theory at The New School in New York City. She is a fierce advocate of the Neil Young adage that rock and roll is here to stay, and of Thelonious
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Ti - one of our Suzuki early childhood certified teachers

Katty Mayorga

Katty Anna Mayorga began her guitar studies in Guatemala at the age of 6, concentrating in Latin American pop music on acoustic guitar. She also studied electric bass, mandolin, ukulele and banjo, but fell in love with the classical guitar. At the age of 18 she decided to concentrate solely on class
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Koby Williamson

A graduate of Mannes College's classical guitar program, Koby has been studying the guitar for 16 years, thanks to some amazing teachers! He has performed at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall and Neue Galerie...
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Kris Wong

Kris Wong is a guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and educator currently living in Brooklyn, NY. Kris holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Berklee College of Music, where he had the opportunity to perform for Megadeth, Victor Wooten, and David Davidson, amongst others. He has also worked with p
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Lance Piebenga

Hailing from Vancouver, Canada, Lance began his musical career as a studio musician in Los Angeles before setting his sights on New York City. He holds a Master’s Degree in Classical Guitar Performance from Hunter College, where he was awarded the prestigious Esther Hoffman Endowed Graduate Sc
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Lenny Molotov

Lenny is an accomplished finger picker and applies this technique to both folk and blues. You could say he wrote the book on finger picking—literally, since he is the author of the book "Finger Style Basics for Guitar", which is published by the Guitar School.
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Luke Daily

Originally from Los Angeles, Luke has been playing guitar for over 14 years and developed his passion through the power and energy of hard rock and heavy metal. Influenced by bands like Judas Priest, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, Extreme, Avenged Sevenfold, Five Fi
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Lyn Philistine

Originally from Pittsburgh, Lyn received her Equity card at the age of eight on the national tour of ANNIE and has been performing on Broadway, Off-Broadway and all across the country ever since. Lyn studied with many wonderful teachers at Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh CLO, and the Cincinnati Conserva
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Madeline Johnson

Madeline is a vocalist and educator based out of Brooklyn, NY. She developed her love of singing and performing as a child in school choir and community theatre. She later trained as a classical soprano, and also specializes in musical theatre, singer-songwriter, pop, and folk vocal styles. Madeline
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Martin Jacobs

Martin is returning to NYC Guitar School after spending a few years back in his home state of Oklahoma. 3 things brought him back to New York City — the people, Shake Shack and Brooklyn. His love for music, passion for building meaningful connections and eagerness to continue to become a bette
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Michelangelo Quirinale

An expert in all things rock, Michelangelo brings over 15 years of teaching experience to the Brooklyn Guitar School. A childhood learning the music of rock greats such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Guns N’ Roses brought him to Berklee College of Music, where he received his BM in Guitar Pe
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Mike O’Donnell

Mike O’Donnell is a guitarist and songwriter raised on live music in New Orleans and New York City. He’s dedicated his life to the guitar for over 20 years, honing a versatile playing style that blends elements of psychedelic rock, blues, bluegrass, funk, folk rock, and—above all—improvisational exp
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Miles Mindlin

Miles Mindlin is a London-born guitarist, composer, and bandleader based in New York City. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree as a scholarship student at the Manhattan School of Music. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, he has developed a dynamic and expressive musical voice rooted in
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Nate Freda

Nate started playing guitar at 11 years old and has been performing in bands ever since, first in Bethesda, Maryland and now in New York City. He first fell in love with classic rock before expanding his repertoire to include jazz and blues. Throughout this time he has played in jazz fusion groups,
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Olin Clark

“In our lessons, a lot of the time we’re learning guitar. Other times we’re really learning music and just happen to have a guitar in our hands.” — Olin Olin teaches guitar the way working musicians learn it: through songs, taken apart until you understand why they work
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Pete Matthiessen

Pete began playing the guitar when he was 11 years old. He soon began working on his calluses learning songs by Megadeth, Metallica, The Beatles, and Yes. He also made sure to attend the National Guitar Workshop every summer.
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Rob Adler

Rob has come to us in New York City from Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a young teenager Rob became captivated by blues greats Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King and decided guitar was the thing for him.
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Rose McKittrick

Rose is a graduate from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina where she obtained her degree in Music Education. She is a classically trained singer with a background in opera. Throughout her time in college she sang in the University Treble Choir, University Singers, Chamber Ensemble
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Samoa Jodha

Samoa spends most of her time making things and laughing. She has been part of NYCGS since 2009 photographing and shooting video of thousands of Open Mics, Rock Bands, and Student Showcases. When you meet her at the school, Samoa will most likely be on a ladder painting a wall. Samoa is a long time
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Shane Chapman

Shane Chapman is the lead singer and guitarist for Brooklyn Americana band anacortes who has just released their second album. When he’s not doing that, he is the guitarist and arranger for NYC’s premiere Dolly Parton cover band Doll Parts. Also as a performer, he was featured on the ste
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Tia Vincent-Clark

Tia Vincent-Clark grew up in a family of professional musicians and began her teaching career in 1999. Her patience, enthusiasm and committment to teaching are all reasons that we are thrilled to have Tia as an integral part of NYC Guitar School!
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Val Giobbi

Born and raised in NYC, Val is a guitarist and composer who began his musical journey right here at NYC Guitar School. He is currently working towards a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Studies at the City College of New York, where he continues to strive towards mastering the language of bebop and other su
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Vicky Alvarez

Vicky Alvarez is native to Asunción, Paraguay and moved to the United States in 2012. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in music with a concentration in classical guitar performance from SUNY Purchase College. Vicky’s goal is to share her music with those who need it and broaden her horizons by tra
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Vinnie DeMasi

Vincent has been a full-time musician and teacher since 1995, and is especially patient with adult beginners. He's performed on Broadway as an understudy lead guitarist in the Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp collaborative Moving Out, is currently a regular sub in the pit orchestra of Mamma Mia.
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