Adam's M. says, "It is very hard to narrow to just a couple of things, there are so many! My son never had an instructor like him... He is extremely well educated in music, music theory and composition. He focuses on hand placement, before it's something that needs correction, but for my son who is twice exceptional (Gifted & Special Needs) he has persisted and successfully corrected his hold. This was something teachers in past didn't focus on and worked hard, but couldn't correct. Gregory charges a very fair rate for what he offers and 2 MA level degrees he holds, both in music and education! When he saw things not going well, he offered my son to quit, which made my son think it over, refuse to quit and make efforts to focus and be more serious! Before we arrived at this point during COVID19 months and prior to the shut down, if one method didn't work, he'd try to reach my son through another. At one of the lessons, he noticed Adam had desire to compose, so he switched to composition for a bit, in order to develop trust and win my son's listening ears again. Right before COVID19, Adam started to improve on violin hold, but we had to go in lockdown mode. This extraordinary educator quickly became my son's daily anchor/clock as if. If we had Gregory that day and Adam got to compose, Adam would listen better and feel more hopeful, less anxious. Gregory then realized Adam had gaps in music theory and he took as long as Adam needed to 'drill' the knowledge in until Adam (ADHD Combined Type 3) would retain it. All through out he consulted with the parent (or parents) about what works, what doesn't and asked the parent what else the parent thought might work. I have seldom seen this in my past 3 years trying to pay my son's violin and piano lessons. I'm serious when I write that what Gregory was able to do in months, others couldn't complete in years with my wilful, happy, go lucky, anxious, yet musically ambitious child. I highly recommend him for online lessons and once COVID19 ends for in person ones too! He is an example of what each teacher should be, but often they just aren't. If your child needs shorter, but daily lessons, he will do such a schedule. If you only need audition exam prep, he'll tutor you for that, if you need 45 mins or an hour, less times a week, he'll adjust to fit needs of student and parent... He teaches children and adults... Seriously, I still can't believe I found someone this knowledgeable and professional for such fair price, well bellow music school rates and minus any organizational politics! This is why we love it at Johnston Violin, Music Theory and Music Composition Lessons!" Read more
