Anna Dvorak

ANNa DVORAK

is a teacher of Voice, Piano, and Playground with Eclectic Music and also happens to be our Executive Director. Anna has been with Eclectic Music since 2018, you have probably received an email or ten from her. In addition to her work behind the scenes, she is appears frequently as a professional actor on the great stages of Atlanta. She is a graduate of the University of Florida where she received a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre.

Anna specializes in Musical Theatre voice and performance. She believes that healthy singing is beautiful singing. She works to cultivate an understanding of vocal anatomy and proper use. Anna also believes in the power of positivity and hard work. She encourages her students to be committed, engaged and informed musicians that lead with their passion for music. And that is where she loves to begin; their passion. “Joyful music learning and performance begins with whatever the student is enthusiastic about.” She loves to use teaching techniques that are silly. One of the best practices, she says, is to get the student out of their heads, to start having fun and learn to not take themselves too seriously.

INSTRUMENTS.

Voice, Playground, Piano, Audition Prep, Performance.

STYLES.

Musical Theatre, Pop, Jazz, Country.

REQUIREMENTS.

Students all ages & abilities welcome!

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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!

CONNECT.

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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Andy Zabinski

Andy Zabinski

is an energetic performer and enthusiastic educator with over a decade of experience. He holds both a bachelor's and master’s in violin performance as well as a master's degree in music composition. Andy is a natural born educator who deeply cares about each person in his studio. 

In his lessons, Andy carefully zeroes in on what resonates with the learner. He strongly believes that a positive relationship between teacher and student is just as important as the material being studied. Andy balances hard work with fun, keeping students engaged and interested!

When Andy isn’t teaching, you can find him refining his cooking skills and studying astronomy. And fun fact - he once performed with Taylor Swift on TV!

INSTRUMENTS.

Violin, Fiddle, and Mountain Dulcimer.

STYLES.

Classical, Rock, Blues, Pop, Jazz, Bluegrass, and Country.

REQUIREMENTS.

Students of all ages and abilities welcome!

CONNECT.

TESTIMONIALS.

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Rachel Ofotokun

Rachel Ofotokun

is a composer and pianist from Lilburn, Georgia. Rachel comes from a musical family and has been engaging with music and composition since age 6, starting with piano lessons and adding cello to the mix in middle school. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music composition and African studies from Emory University. Rachel enjoys classical, experimental, pop, jazz, gamelan, and afro-influenced music. 

Lessons with Rachel are incredibly flexible and goal-oriented. She focuses on building (and reaching) long and short-term goals based on a student's desires and working as a team to achieve them in the most fun way possible! Rachel believes music lessons should be an outlet and safe space where students can spend time pursuing something they want for themselves. As is our mission at Eclectic Music, Rachel works to decolonize the music classroom. 

Outside of the studio, you can find Rachel crocheting, tending to her plants, redecorating her apartment, and sipping tea. She looks forward to making empathic connections with her students!

INSTRUMENTS.

Piano, Playground, Cello, Songwriting, Compositon, Digital Composition, Music Production, Music Theory.

STYLES.

Classical, Experimental, Pop, Rock, Jazz.

REQUIREMENTS.

Students all ages & abilities welcome!

CONNECT.

TESTIMONIALS.

Coming Soon!

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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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TESTIMONIALS.

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Ethan Heyenga

Ethan Heyenga

has spent most of his life making music, since he first touched his family's upright piano at the age of four. Growing up as an only child with two dogs and an endless parade of cats for company, he would amuse himself for long periods of time by improvising scores to imagined films or listening to his parents' CD collection, where Bach and Beethoven bumped elbows with the Beatles, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan and Miles Davis.

He often tricked his first piano teacher into playing a piece for him once to demonstrate, listening and learning by ear- he didn't like reading music, and found it easier to learn that way. He would also change notes in pieces he knew, wondering what it would sound like if it were done differently. In middle school, he picked up the saxophone, discovered jazz, and found a new outlet for the creative impulse in improvisation.

A teenage love affair with jazz led to Berklee College of Music and six years spent in Boston, rehearsing and gigging with brilliant musicians and teachers, studying jazz and Celtic music and beginning to write and produce songs. Since leaving Boston in 2017, Ethan has finished five EPs of his own and helped his students record and release a combined three EPs, plus ten or so singles.

Ethan believes that improvisation and composition are essentials for all musicians- analogous to speaking and writing for natural languages. A system of education that fails to develop those capacities in musicians is almost worthless- the same as teaching children to do nothing but recite essays and poems. If the idea is to set someone up for a musical life, they need to be able to follow their ears and express their own ideas.

With that in mind, Ethan aims to help each student develop a project-based practice that includes all four arts of music- improvisation, composition, arranging and performance/interpretation- and the "fifth art," listening. The idea is for each student to become a creative, thoughtful and self-sufficient musician who can fold music into their life and their life into their music- a defender of humanity- and to smile and laugh the whole way through.

INSTRUMENTS.

Guitar, Saxophone, Piano, Songwriting and Voice

STYLES.

Jazz, rock, pop, folk, classical (piano), the various "indie" styles

REQUIREMENTS.

Students ages 6 and up

CONNECT.

TESTIMONIALS.

"I have studied saxophone, jazz piano/theory, and songwriting with Ethan for over 2 years, and he is the best music instructor I've ever had. He cares so much about his students and helps us thrive. Not only is Ethan my teacher, he is a friend and a mentor."

-Isabelle, student (age 17)

"It is not hard to find a teacher who teach your child music notes, piano hand position, and all the theories. But it took me a long time to find Ethan who also teaches my child to feel music, express his feelings through music, and how to enjoy having music in his life."

-Chelsea, parent of Remy (age 6)

"Of all the instructors I have ever had, there has never been one that I felt cared about my growth as a musician as much as Ethan. Not only did he help my growth as a saxophonist, but myself as a musician and enjoyer of music as an art. He helped me find what I wanted to sound like and the music I wanted to make."

-Ethan, student (age 18)

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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!

CONNECT.

LISTEN.

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LaTonya Peoples

LATONYA PEOPLES

teaches violin for Eclectic Music. She was born and raised in Topeka, Kansas and began taking violin lessons at the age of five. At the age of sixteen she became a certified Suzuki Violin Instructor giving private lessons, and later graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Music Therapy from Howard University. LaTonya is a violinist, vocalist, DJ, songwriter, and the owner and operator of the Lpeop Recording Studio, LLC. where she writes, produces, and records music to be licensed for Film, TV, and video/gaming projects.

LaTonya has recorded and produced four original albums displaying a wide range in styles of music, including original songs, Jazz, Rock, Spirituals, Pop, Country, EDM, Dubstep, Singer/Songwriter, and Folk. She can be heard as a Violinist/Vocalist on recordings by India Arie, Co-Resonance (a pop/classical fusion string quartet), Ken Ford, Doria Roberts, JJ’s Swimming, and Left Eye Productions/TLC. And her music has been licensed by Love and Hip Hop, 'How Black Mothers Say I Love You', by acclaimed Playwright Trey Anthony, and most recently, my vocal rendition of Wade In The Water was featured on ABC's hit Television Series 'Scandal' - Season 6 / Episode 3. 

In addition to her recording career, she has perfomred in ensembles opening for Gladys Knight, Michelle NDegeocello, Angelique Kidjo, and Alice Walker; and has performed with such organizations as Sister Harriet, Sistagraphy, KMC, ZAMI, Charis Books, ALCI, and The Feminist Women’s Health Center. She has toured with UniverSoul Circus, visiting 26 major cities as a featured Violinist and Vocalist, was a featured performer with the LA Women's Fest, and traveled to Osaka, Japan to perform for the Kansai Music Conference. LaTonya has been featured on BET’s Jazz Central program with Hue, a Jazz Trio and has been heard on National Public Radio's Wade in The Water Series featuring Sweet Honey In The Rock, produced by Author Sonja Williams.

LaTonya has given workshops and in-services on Songwriting, Jazz Improvisation, and Music Therapy, as well as classroom teaching experience as an Orchestra Director. She has also worked with several populations including Special Education, AIDS, and Psychiatric Patients as a Music Therapist. She is just the type of Eclectic musician who fits the Eclectic Music teacher bill and in addition to her eclectic musical styles, she keeps the mantra "Search for acceptance within yourself." close to her educational philosophy.

INSTRUMENTS.

Violin.

STYLES.

Classical, Jazz, Songwriting, Spirituals, Pop, Rock, Singer/Songwriter, and Folk.

REQUIREMENTS.

Students all ages & abilities welcome!

CONNECT.

TESTIMONIALS.

Coming Soon!

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TIME TO LEARN MORE!