My teaching approach: My desire is to help each student achieve their goals by making music fun & applicable to their needs and situation, directing them towards proficiency and self-sufficiency. I taught private guitar lessons and in many music stores for over 40 years, guitar courses in college for 6 years, in a performing arts charter high school for 4 years, and in elementary/middle school for 8 years. My influences are: Too many to mention, but you can start with the folksingers from the 50's to the 60's, the rock.pop, and blues players from the 50's to today. Chet Atkins, Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey, George Harrison, Er...

Noelle recently graduated from University of Auckland majoring in Classical Performance (and Psychology), under the guidance of Rae de Lisle. She is originally from Japan, where she began taking piano lessons at age four from Mayumi Iwasaki, a graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts. Here in Japan, she had successfully competed in one of the biggest regional competitions, where she obtained second place. After moving to New Zealand at age thirteen, she has had the opportunity to study with some of the most recognized pianists here — including Gillian Bibby, Catherine McKay and Rachel Thompson. Some of her highlights in piano performance inc