Meet your teachers

Rebecca studied Applied Music at the Canberra Institute of Technology in her native Australia and at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario.

She is a licensed teacher of Simply Music, an innovative, playing-based piano teaching method that has students playing songs from many genres, with both hands, from their very first lessons.

She has been teaching piano for over 10 years and has her Gr. 9 RCM Piano equivalent with the Australian Music Examination Board.

She is a mom of two and still loves to play and grow as a musician. A multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, she has performed live around the Hamilton/Burlington area in recent years. Her warm, supportive and encouraging nature appeals to students of all ages.

Rob attended the Mohawk College Applied Music Program and studied with some of Canada’s best musicians. Around that time, he also began a career of regular live performance and teaching the guitar.

Over his almost 30-year private teaching career, Rob has conservatively taught in excess of 50,000 guitar and ukulele lessons, a number he is immensely proud of. Many of his students and their families have remained close friends long after their lessons came to an end. Some have even gone on to professional and semi-professional musical careers themselves.

He believes what sets him apart as a guitar instructor is the empathy he shares for people of any age who are starting out to learn the guitar.

“It can be intimidating. I remember what it felt like. I really enjoy that very first lesson. I like helping people to relax, let go of their anxiety and realize their potential as a musician.”

Marie has her Grade 9 Vocal RCM, and has been song-writing, performing and recording for over 15 years. She has been teaching music for the past decade and works with students interested in performing (and writing) in popular styles, as well as those preparing classical repertoire for RCM exams or auditions. She studied piano and voice at Nipissing University and Prairie College.

Jordan Russell is a long-time resident of Hamilton, Ontario, and a life-long musician. From a musical family, he started piano lessons at 6, studied trumpet at 12, and took up drums and percussion at 14. By the age of 18, he completed his grade 9 RCM. He first began teaching as a music theory tutor and private teacher by 16.

After secondary school, he played and recorded with various bands, ensembles, and artists and continued with his love for performing and teaching. Jordan takes an individualized approach with every new student regardless of age or experience. With a strong belief that music should be fun, he encourages students to find joy in performing at any skill level.

He teaches beginner to advanced piano and is a licensed teacher of the Simply Music piano program.

Brandon is a graduate of Western University where he received a BA in Business Management. After working in sales for a couple of years, he decided to pursue his true passion: music. He is currently a student at the Mohawk College Applied Music Program, where he is studying contemporary guitar. He has studied, and continues to study, many genres including Blues, Folk, Rock, Pop, Jazz, and Funk.

Brandon is currently the lead guitarist of Toronto band Glutenhead. The band has recorded and released two EPs and has played headline shows at Toronto venues such as The Horseshoe Tavern, Sneaky Dee’s, and The Monarch.

Brandon is enthusiastic, patient, and caring, and he inspires students with his excitement and dedication. Whether you’re picking up the guitar for the first time or looking to continue your musical development and journey, Brandon has the experience and drive to help you achieve your goals. His philosophy of teaching is to inspire a deep love and passion for the instrument as well as explore the joy of creativity.

Shealagh is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based out of Hamilton. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Music in Voice from Humber College, and has her Grade 8 RCM in both Voice and Piano. She has been teaching vocals professionally for over 8 years and continues to be inspired by her students’ growth and motivation in their musical journeys. Shealagh enjoys teaching a variety of genres, specializing in vocal jazz, musical theatre, pop, folk, and classical (RCM prep).

You can find her original music under her artist name, Shealagh Rose.

Anna began taking piano lessons when she was five years old and has explored a wide range of genres with different teachers. Playing and making arrangements for songs she likes, composing her own pieces, and learning at her own pace helped to spark her love of music.

Anna earned her RCM Level 8 Theory and competed in the Ontario Music Festivals Association provincials in 2017 while attending high school. She has studied classical piano at Mohawk College in Hamilton, ON, and is currently studying Arts & Science at McMaster University. She is a licensed teacher of Simply Music, an innovative, non-traditional method that has students playing songs from many genres, with both hands, right away!

She has taught music lessons for several years and loves sharing her passion with students of all ages. Through her enthusiasm, patience, and kindness, Anna encourages her students to explore and nurture their own relationships with music.

Ruchira began her violin studies in Indian Classical music in Trinidad. She moved to Canada at the age of 10 and started her RCM studies at the Toronto Faculty of Music. After graduating from the University of Toronto, she attended the Applied Music program at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario.

Ruchira loves to teach violin and piano, especially to beginners! Lessons with her include classical, fiddle, pop, soundtracks as well as blues and improvisation. She is a licensed teacher of Simply Music, an innovative, playing-based piano teaching method that has students playing songs from many genres, with both hands, from their very first lessons.

Patrick is a graduate of Carleton University where he holds a BA in History, but his real passion has always been music, specifically the recording arts. While recording some music with Hemispheres co-founder Rob Cutting, it occurred to them that Patrick’s recording expertise could be applied to teaching people how to use the incredible technology available to every Mac/iPad or even iPhone owner and design a course to create personalized recording projects using GarageBand or Logic Pro, regardless of your level of musicianship or previous recording experience.

Maybe you are familiar with GarageBand and just need some extra guidance? Perhaps you’d like to write a song and build a track from scratch? Don’t play an instrument? No problem. Patrick will help you start making your own music!

Amanda is a graduate of the University of Ottawa, where she earned her Master’s of Music in Orchestral Performance on the flute. She is also a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University (BMUS) and Mohawk College (Applied Music).

As a performer, she is known to be energetic and enthusiastic, with a strong, extroverted musical voice. She is experienced in performing in solo recitals, chamber music and orchestra, and has been a featured performer at the National Arts Centre Fourth Stage, Chamberfest’s Rising Stars and Orford Music’s Rising Stars. Her favourite thing to do is perform in chamber groups and collaborate with other musicians.

She has her Grade 8 RCM certificate in piano and theory accreditations, and is an experienced piano teacher. She also has a strong interest and knowledge of music history which she loves to bring into music lessons.

Amanda is a self-proclaimed “flute nerd”, and is excited to share her love of music and knowledge with students. She brings a classical, technique-based methodology and her fun, supportive personality to her teaching.

Shawn Trotter, a professional musician with over 30 years of performing and teaching experience, specializes in guitar and mandolin instruction for adult and professional musicians. He recognizes the unique aspirations of experienced students and tailors his lessons to meet their specific needs.

You can expect personalized attention, expert instruction, and a dedication to helping you achieve your musical goals. Shawn is excited to work with you whether you aspire to perform professionally, compose original music, or simply continue your musical journey.

Piano player Mike Stevenson’s chance meeting with Scott “Professor Piano” Cushnie (Aerosmith, The Canadian Aces) changed everything. Becoming fast friends, Scott taught Mike blues, boogie and New Orleans jazz piano and — more importantly — how to be a pro musician on and off the stage.

Mike toured Europe’s smaller venues over two years, developing his repertoire, working on his vocal skills, and gaining valuable experience. Upon his return, Mike joined Judy Johnson’s Thinline R&B Revue and Clarksdale with Sam Carothers (The Allman Brothers, Ronnie Hawkins) and Rob Quail (The Jeff Healey Band). Reviewing Clarksdale, T.O. Nite’s John Grant wrote “Mike Stevenson’s devastating barrel house left hand and high register work is truly captivating.”

Mike returned to Europe with Ray Charles tribute artist Frank Rondell and is honoured to have played piano for many other great performers. Now Mike plays and sings with several local bands and finds himself playing the extremes of fine dining engagements, college pub nights, festivals, dueling piano bars, and various other venues and events. Mike is extremely proud of the local music scene and is grateful to all its supporters and its many talented performers.

Justin is a singer/songwriter, bass player, and guitarist with a Bachelor of Music degree from Humber College, focused on performance and production. He is also an honours graduate from the Mohawk College Applied Music program. He has received multiple awards and nominations from the Hamilton Music Awards including winner of the Bassist of the Year in 2007 and a nomination for Adult Alternative Album of the Year for his first LP entitled Black Bay Nocturnes in 2014.

He was chosen out of many applicants for a grant from the Ontario Arts Council for songwriting and recording and has numerous albums available on all online listening platforms. Justin releases music under his own name and as part of The Dunlop Brothers, whose second album Vol. 2 will be released later this year. He has also performed and recorded as a sideman for Juno Award-winning singer/songwriter Harrison Kennedy, and currently works and records with another Juno Award-winning talent, Tomi Swick.

Born in Mexico City, Luisa started her musical career in CEDART High School from the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA). She attended the upper secondary level of music at the Faculty of Music at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She also performed with several local youth orchestras and has toured within Mexico, the USA and El Salvador.

She continued her music education, taking private violin lessons with Aaron Jimenez. As a teacher, she seeks to share her passion for music and help students improve both as musicians and as people. Friendly, warm and creative, Luisa enjoys teaching all ages, from the youngest students to adults that want to learn violin in any style.

Luisa has a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, studying under Jerzy Kaplanek. She is also a Suzuki-trained teacher and a member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra.

Harmony has an Honours Bachelor of Music in jazz voice performance from McMaster University, with a concentration in Music Cognition. She is attending NYU for a Masters of Music in Composition/Songwriting, beginning in Fall 2024. This program has just an 8% acceptance rate and Harmony was hand-picked from many applicants into this competitive program to work with some of North America’s most prominent and experienced songwriters.

She has been singing, as well as playing piano and guitar for the last 13 years and teaching voice for the last 3. Harmony is a singer/songwriter who has performed with the Hamilton Philharmonic, the McMaster Cantemus Ensemble, and as well as her own acoustic works.

Harmony strives to bring her students into their own sound and fosters passion, drive, and artistry in them. She specializes in popular styles of music such as jazz, pop and R&B and has a background in musical theatre as well as classical voice.

Janko Marjanovic has a Bachelor of Music Performance (Honors) in String Performance from the University of Skopje (former Yugoslavia). He also earned a Music Education Specialist qualification at Queen’s University.

Janko has been a recitalist and principal cellist in chamber and opera orchestras and has performed on three continents. He has extensive teaching experience with students at all levels of performance, regardless of their age.

Janko graduated from the class of French cellist André Navarra, who was an accomplished student of the incomparable Pablo Casals.