Guitar and Bass Teachers
and other fretted instruments such as ukulele, banjo, and mandolin
Michael Andrew
Guitar • Bass
Michael Andrew
Guitar • Bass
Michael studied at Berklee College of Music and has 20+ years of teaching experience, including at the Pingry School and in private instruction. He is an active singer-guitarist-performer and resident of Basking Ridge, NJ. He enjoys teaching singer-songwriter styles, American Standards, Beatles, Folk & Blues picking, Rock, Jazz Band, and Country. Michael also helps prepare students for auditions and entrance exams.
Ron Beagen
Guitar • Bass
Ron Beagen
Guitar • Bass
Ron caught the guitar bug early in life and the rest is history. His lifelong love of guitar led him to study at William Patterson and with jazz greats Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and Bucky Pizzarelli. He also studied privately with Mickey Vest for 3 years, and with legendary jazz guitarist and teacher Harry Leahey for 6 years. Ron has performed in oldies bands, big bands, wedding bands, and even heavy metal bands. A guitarist of many colors, he is a bona-fide trained bassist and a virtuoso on the Chapman Stick/Warr Guitar, a unique instrument that allows the player to use both hands on the fret board. Ron has been teaching privately for over 40 years, radiating a passion for guitar that is only seen in someone who knows and loves the instrument at great depths. One student says, “I never thought I could love the guitar so much until I took lessons with Ron.”
“Many of my students have gone on to professional careers as music educators and working musicians. And after so many years, I still love this job!”
Dave Castillo
Guitar • Ukulele • Bass
Dave Castillo
Guitar • Ukulele • Bass
David began his formal studies in music at Arts High School. Under the teachings of Joao Kouyoumdjian, he went off to study with Lily Afshar at the University of Memphis and Celil Refik Kaya at the New Jersey City University. Aside from having extensive studies on the classical guitar, he is an active guitarist performer in Jersey City. He enjoys teaching Classical Guitar, Blues, R&B, Jazz, and Rock music. David also prepares students for auditions.
Michele Fiorindo
Guitar • Bass • Ukulele • Mandolin
Michele Fiorindo
Guitar • Bass • Ukulele • Mandolin
Michele studied at Kean University. He has accumulated over 20 years of teaching experience as a public school educator, in private instruction, and as the leader of guitar program at the Arts School in Newark. He teaches many genres, his favorites being classical, jazz, rock, blues, country, and Brazilian music. Michele teaches a variety of fretted instruments at Elefante Music.
Josh Friedman
Guitar • Ukulele • Bass
VIRTUAL ONLY
Josh Friedman
Guitar • Ukulele • Bass
VIRTUAL ONLY
Josh graduated with a degree in Classical Guitar Performance and a minor in Music Technology from Mason Gross School of the Arts. He studied with guitarist Jorge Caballero and attended masterclasses with faculty from the University of Southern California, Mannes School of Music, and the University of Texas, such as William Kanengiser, Michael Newman, and Evan Taucher. He has been teaching guitar for the past five years to students of all ages from beginners to advanced. When he is not performing or teaching, he is developing his skills in recording technology at Sound on Sound Studios. Joshua has been a guest performer at SHI Football stadium and the Rutgers Athletic Center and is an active pit musician and chamber musician where he arranges music for a variety of ensembles. In 2018, he was the first to record the part of Thea Musgraves “Postcards from Spain” as part of WAM!’s (Women in art music) initiative to play underrepresented art music by women. In addition to teaching privately at Elefante Music, Josh instructed Beginner Guitar group classes.
Matthew Jardim
Guitar • Bass
Matthew Jardim
Guitar • Bass • Ukulele • Mandolin
Matt Jardim is a guitarist and music educator with 32 years experience teaching music in the public school mostly teaching high school guitar. Upon graduating from Rutgers University’s Jazz program where he studied with Ted Dunbar and Kevin Eubanks and performed with visiting artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Slide Hampton, and Kenny Burrell, Matt went on to earn a music education masters from New Jersey City University. Matt’s high school guitar ensembles from both Mountain Lakes and Elizabeth have performed at county and state teens arts festivals and the State Theater in New Brunswick. Matt performs regularly in a variety of styles and groups such as the Epic Soul Band, Yacht Rock Gold and as a member of the New Jersey Guitar Orchestra. Matt’s original music can be heard on all streaming platforms. His most recent recording is entitled Rapid Ascent.
Paul Krautheim
Guitar
Paul Krautheim
Guitar
Paul studied at the Berklee College of Music and has taught privately for over 20 years. Paul is co-leader and guitarist with the Swing Guitars Quintet est. 2005. He toured with Evil Teens Records’ group Pen Pal and performed at CBGB’s, The Knitting Factory, Brownie’s, the Crossroads Theater, and many other New York/New Jersey venues. Prior to teaching, Paul worked for MTV for four years.
Josh McNally
Guitar
Josh McNally
Guitar
Josh McNally has over a decade of classical guitar experience and a BA in Psychology from the University of Delaware. He is the son of two professional musicians and learned compassion for music from a young age, making him an ideal teacher for any beginning student. Josh has additional experience writing, recording, publishing, and producing music utilizing the digital audio workstation (DAW) called FL Studio. Josh specializes in teaching classical guitar techniques and pedagogy, and believes that if a person learns classical technique, they can play any style of music with ease.
Anthony Sanacore
Guitar • Bass • Ukulele • Mandolin • Banjo
Anthony Sanacore
Guitar • Bass • Ukulele • Mandolin • Banjo
Anthony studied at the New School and Piero’s School of Music. He was taught by prominent guitar figures Jack Wilkins (Jazz studies at the New School and Manhattan School of Music) and Kevin Gallagher, an award-winning classical guitarist and professor at Columbia University. A versatile guitarist and rocker at heart, Anthony was a member of Young and Fabulous and No Future and performed at Woodstock as well as the Kiss Expo. He played over 300 shows in the New York area at acclaimed venues The Lion’s Den, CBGB’s, The Scrap Bar, Mother’s, Obsessions, Connections, Love Sexy, and the Birch Hill Nightclub. Anthony is also proficient in jazz and classical guitar and teaches bluegrass styles on banjo and mandolin. He has over two decades of teaching experience.