John O'Leary

John O’Leary

is a professional saxophonist and music educator with over 15 years of performing and teaching experience on piano, saxophone, clarinet, and flute. He received his Bachelors of Music from Florida State University and obtained his Masters of Music from the Manhattan School of Music both for jazz saxophone performance.

During his time at MSM, he studied directly under many jazz legends and was fortunate to perform in some of the biggest jazz clubs in New York City. Over the years, between playing on cruise ships for a year, and moving between NYC, Miami, and Atlanta, John has had a lot of amazing musical adventures: from teaching summers in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, to playing lead alto for an international Broadway Tour, to holding a weekly Bossa Nova Brunch in South Beach Miami, and touring Canada with a NYC-based funk band. He’s got plenty of stories to tell, and more importantly, many life lessons to share!

As an educator, John is influenced by his work as a contemporary musician with conservatory training. Because of his education and varied performing experience, John puts the focus on practical, real-world techniques that are rooted in traditional methods. This way, you’re not only learning all the “classical” skills like reading music, analyzing theory, and technical mastery; you’ll also develop your ear so you can play without sheet music, you’ll learn about songwriting and improvisation so you can write your own music or jam with others, you’ll study current music styles/trends, so you can understand not only the foundations of music and how to play your instrument, but how to play music like today’s top performers, and how to have all the tools necessary to do anything you want musically!

INSTRUMENTS.

Band Coaching, Clarinet, Composition, Flute, Music Theory, Piano, Saxophone, Songwriting, Woodwinds, Audition/Performance Prep.

STYLES.

Jazz, Rock, Pop, Blues, Funk, R&B, Soul, Brazillian, Classical

REQUIREMENTS.

Students all ages & abilities welcome!

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TESTIMONIALS.

"His teaching style balances fun and productivity perfectly"

- Jessey

“‘John Woodwinds’ was a great mentor. He taught me a lot about saxophone, jazz performance, and theory."

- Louis

"He was fun, helpful, and renewed my interest in music"

- James

"John is an amazing teacher who has helped me hone in on my skills on tenor sax and build confidence in playing jazz music and improvising."

- Jess

"I loved working with John because he made me feel confident and excited about music and my passion for jazz"

- Rebecca

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Alek Gayton

Alek Gayton

has been playing music for as long as he can remember. Learning music through his family's music collection and playing on his grandmother's piano. By the time he was old enough to play drums he had immersed himself in all things music, playing in ensembles at school and forming his first band in the 7th grade, playing shows in the local punk rock scene.

Since those early experiences he has been performing and recording professionally, earning his B.A in Music from Eastern Washington University and his M.M in Jazz and Improvised Music from the University of Washington.

Over the last decade Alek has performed locally and nationally with a wide variety of artists. His flexible playing style has led to a wide range of performance opportunities, including playing with Le Grotto, Delvon Lamar, The Bob Curnow Big Band, Ernie Watts, Mike Stern and the Seahawks Drumline. These opportunities have led to performances at notable events such as Monterey Jazz Festival's Next Generation, South by Southwest, The New Orleans Jazz Festival, MNF on ESPN and several US and West Coast tours. His drumming can be heard on the Erina song Home, which is featured on HBO’s Cherish the Day.

As an educator, Alek possesses the flexibility to teach to each individual student. Every student has different interests and goals. He believes in giving students the opportunity to explore and create on their instrument, while focusing on strong fundamentals. He additionally puts emphasis on learning songs and playing along with music, while learning about the history of the band or artist with his students. (Alek loves music history!)

INSTRUMENTS.

Drums (kit), Melodic Percussion, Digital Composition, Piano, Percussion, Audition/Performance Prep, Band Coaching

STYLES.

Soul, R&B, Jazz, Pop, Folk, Rock

REQUIREMENTS.

Students 7 and up — all skill levels & abilities welcome!

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TESTIMONIALS.

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Guy Strauss

Guy Strauss

has over 20 years of professional experience as a touring musician and session drummer for various major label and independent artists. He has been an educator for over 15 years, teaching private lessons as well as music classes at Academe Of The Oaks where he serves as the Music Department Chair. Guy shares his passion for music and his real world experience of being an active working musician with his students. Lessons focus on independence, technique, notation, rudiments, musicality and song based learning. 

As a performer Guy has appeared on film soundtracks and has played internationally opening for acts such as Elvis Costello, Muse, Cheap Trick, The Fray, The Wallflowers, The Cranberries, Blur and many others.

Guy holds an Associate of Arts Degree from Miami Dade Community College, and completed the certificate program at Drummers Collective in NYC. He has studied with many prominent drummers including Steve Rucker (University of Miami Professor , and Bee Gees drummer), Mike Clark (Herbie Hancock), Marvin ‘Smitty’ Smith (Tonight Show Band).

Guy’s goal is for lessons to be fun, educational and practical. His students will learn about rhythm, counting, reading standard notation, technique, independence, time keeping skills, dynamics, feel, song form, ear training and general musicianship. We will explore these concepts through written exercises, rudiments, books, and of course by playing along to songs. Once the student has developed a solid foundation, the focus will shift to more of the students personal musical interests and goals.

INSTRUMENTS.

Drums, percussion, piano, music production and band coaching.

STYLES.

Rock, pop, funk, R&B, jazz, blues, and world music.

REQUIREMENTS.

Ages 7 and up, all skill levels.

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William Sandberg

William Sandberg

is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. He can always find a way to make music with whatever is available, whether it's an instrument or not (though he has a lot of instruments too). Whether a violin, a cereal bowl, or the sounds of summer cicadas, it's all an instrument to him. He's a fan of musicians like Chris Thile, Imogen Heap, Hiromi Uehara, Motoro Faam, Muse, Prokofiev, Andy Akiho, and so many more!

William graduated with a Masters in Music in Composition from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He is an active composer and performer and has stumbled into performance opportunities in Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei, as well as intentionally in the continental US. He especially loves collaborating with other musicians and sharing in his passion for music with everyone he meets. He likes to tell stories with his music, starting from a core emotion. He loves to listen to his listeners' interpretations of his music, creating their own stories from his music based on their own experiences.

William wants to inspire a love of music and encourage exploration and experimentation in each of his students. He started violin when he was 5 years old taking lessons from a strict Russian teacher because his mom told him to. This granted him a strong technical foundation. However, when he was given an electric guitar at the age of 15, he discovered his own love for music. William's goal as a teacher is to provide the structure and technical skills he learned from his classical training; not as restraints, but as support in guiding his students' on their musical journeys.

INSTRUMENTS.

Electric and Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Piano, Violin, Viola, Cella, Electric Bass, Ukulele, and Voice

STYLES.

Folk, Rock, Jazz, Indie, Pop, Metal, Classical, and Contemporary

REQUIREMENTS.

Students of all ages & abilities welcome!

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Archie O'Neal

Archie o’neal

owns too many basses. How many basses can one person possibly need? One, sure; two, why not; but four? Such a bass hog! Save some for the fishes. And the worst part is that he also spends so much time playing and teaching drums/percussion, guitar, piano, mandolin, accordion, and clarinet that he can't even play his basses all the time. Think of all those beautiful instruments collecting dust while he fritters away his time on the other instruments. What a waste! But until Archie grows several more arms, that's just the way it's going to be. 

Archie grew up listening to the Beatles and still does, sometimes, but also gets down to Tigran Hamasyan, Fiona Apple, System of a Down, Michael Franks, Debussy, and much more. He has written, recorded, and produced many albums himself and with bands, and one of his favorite listener responses to his music is: "But... why?"

The most important thing to Archie as a teacher is that his students enjoy playing music and feel both comfortable and inspired to pursue any musical interests that catch their ears. He is a music theory nerd, so with students who are interested in the whys, he fosters discussions of how what they're playing now relates to what they've played before and music as a whole. With students who just love playing, he poses new challenges every lesson and tries to give some sense of direction in developing technique (while also sneaking a little theory in).

INSTRUMENTS.

Piano, accordion, mandolin, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, upright bass, electric bass, band coaching.

STYLES.

Rock, Jazz, Pop, Metal, Bluegrass, Funk, Folk

REQUIREMENTS.

Students of all abilities, ages 6 and up.

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Laura Benjamin

LAURA BENJAMIN

is a teacher of piano, voice, and guitar with Eclectic Music and has been involved in music education in various capacities for the past 15 years. She holds her undergraduate degree from Yale University with a major in history, but music has always been her passion; her most formative involvement in college was with her pop a cappella group Out of the Blue. Laura has taught piano, voice, and guitar lessons for many years, specializing in the intersection of singing and playing; many of her students are aspiring performers who learn to sing and accompany themselves. When not teaching young musicians, Laura spends her time raising her 4- and 6-year-old boys and playing music with her husband in their duo “LB Collective” or with their full band; she also enjoys running, biking and playing volleyball.

Laura tries to meet her students where they are at, so they can work together to figure out goals and strategies for attaining those goals. She really enjoys working with students who enjoy playing and singing, either piano or guitar. She is also willing to teach a chordal approach to instruments, especially for singers who really want to learn to accompany themselves effectively, although she will also try to throw in some solid music-reading and theory as well.

INSTRUMENTS.

Piano, Voice, Guitar, Band Coaching.

STYLES.

Singer/Songwriter, Pop/Rock, Musical Theatre, Jazz, Country, Beginner Classical.

REQUIREMENTS.

Students all ages & abilities welcome!

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