I began playing guitar about 15 years ago and have made music an integral part of my life since Day 1. While working towards my degree in Music Composition at U.C. Riverside, I began teaching as a means to earn extra money. After graduating in 2007, I began teaching full time. Over the past several years I have professionally released 2 full length records and 1 E.P., have toured the U.S., New Zealand and Australia, was featured in AllMusic Guide (in which my album received a 4 star rating), have performed at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX on 2 separate occasions, and have licensed songs to MTV, VH1 and Universal Pictures. Though gigging, writing and recording keeps me busy, teaching has remained the one constant, and nothing brings me greater satisfaction than sharing the joy of music with my students.

Trained and educated (MM) in Russia and USA, over 20 years experience in teaching. Individual approach to the course development based on student personality, goals, skills.

Major instruments are piano, classical guitar, accordion.
Student must have own instrument and desire to learn!

I am a guitarist, composer and teacher specializing in classical guitar and Latin American music. I have loved music for all of my life and my primary expression of that love is playing guitar. I currently teach private guitar lessons, lecture at San Bernardino Valley College and work as a freelance performer in the Inland Empire and greater Los Angeles area.

I began my study of music at the age of thirteen when I taught myself how to play folk, rock and blues guitar. Though, to be honest, I didn't just teach myself. I had many friends who played guitar who would show me songs or correct mistakes in the songs I had learned from the internet. I remember thinking that music had a special ability to bring people together, and I became determined to understand what exactly it was that gave music that power. I began my formal study of music at Foothill College in Los Altos, California where I studied guitar, music appreciation and music theory. In 2002 I transferred to the University...

My journey with music began in 2004. I started playing guitar and piano while attending College of the Desert. The guitar led me to take several music classes, including guitar ensemble and piano. I soon transferred to Cal Poly Pomona to pursue a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 2005. While attending Cal Poly, I declared a Double Major in Music Performance (Guitar Emphasis) since I enjoyed it so much. I began studying guitar under Dr.Yates (UCLA) and Dr. Gravelle (UCLA). They both inspired me to take the instrument seriously. During my 6 quarters of Private/Studio lessons with Dr. Gravelle, I began learning challenging pieces of different genres (jazz, classical, and bossa nova). Each quarter I would perform in front of a panel of professors for a grade. I also performed throughout Performance Seminar classes. My other performance experiences include: Cal Poly Pomona Concert Choir, Guitar Ensemble, Citrus Pop/Rock Ensemble (Pianist), MIDI Band Ensemble, Salsa Ensemble,...

As a 15 year old teen I was headed no where. I had no interests, and was failing my freshman year of high school.This is when I started playing the guitar and fell in love with music. As I studied under my dad who was a professional musician my mind started to open up. My attention span grew. My problem solving skills and comprehension improved to such a degree that my grades went up to the honor level in my sophomore year. I graduated with a 4.0 so I preach and stress the importance of learning a musical instrument.
I got into teaching only 4 years after I first picked up the guitar and immediately found that it was what I wanted to do for a living. Oh sure! Playing in bands is fun and I do play in 3 different bands at the moment, but I enjoy seeing my students grow in and with music most of all. I teach acoustic and electric guitar as well as the bass guitar and have 20 years experience as a professional musician. I have been teaching exclusively in the High Desert area for...

Originally from Wisconsin, I was a music student at UW LaCrosse before coming to LA to attend Musician's Institute in Hollywood,(GIT) where I graduated with honors and was awarded a USA Custom Ibanez guitar. I remained in LA working in numerous bands spanning a wide variety of musical styles including blues, rock, country, surf, and even Persian music! With "The California Girls", an all female surf band, I opened for "The Beach Boys" , "The Safaris", "Jan and Dean", "Steppin Wolf"; toured the US playing theaters, fairs, casinos; and played overseas for the troops in Bosnia, Kosovo, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Iraq, Afghanistan, Norway, Germany, the Pacific Islands, and Diego Garcia. Most recently I was a member of the Greg London band, an impressionist with whom I performed in Leicester Square in the West End of London, at Harrah's Reno and the Las Vegas Hilton for extended runs. I fill in with "ThundHerStruck", an all female AC/DC tribute band and recently did a tour to...