Calgary Chinook - Guitar Lessons

Nikol Popovics

Carlos Cruz -B Mus (Ukulele, Bass Guitar, Guitar)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

As a versatile musician, he has devoted his life to music, teaching and performing in bands with different styles of music. Carlos Cruz has a Bachelor's degree in music education and winner of Rock recording of the year YYC Music Awards 2020. With over 10 years of teaching experience, he is eager to pass on his passion for music to all his students in a way that motivates them to meet their needs and goals. Carlos offers lessons at the Calgary Chinook store and his rate is $32 per half hour.

Dean Lauderdale - B Mus (Voice, Piano, Guitar)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Style: Musical Theatre, Pop, rock

Teaching Day(s): Tuesday

Dean holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Humber College and a Diploma in Classical Voice Performance from Mount Royal University. With over 8 years of teaching experience, Dean's passion for music and performance greatly reflects that upon his own students. He understands how important it is to discover what motivates and inspires an individual, and does so in a fun & friendly manner. Dean works with many styles of music including pop, rock, jazz, classical, and musical theater. He has been successful in preparing his students for public performance, auditions, recording projects, and recitals. Dean offers lessons at the Calgary Chinook store and his rate is $33 per half hour.

Filip Vujanovic (Guitar, Ukulele)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Filip Vujanovic is completing his Bachelors of Music in guitar at the University of Calgary under the tutelage of Ralph Maier. Filip’s music career started in high school by singing and playing guitar in several rock bands. With 9 years of teaching experience, he is committed to bring out the best in his students development and enjoyment of music and guitar. He utilizes a comprehensive approach incorporating guitar technique, music theory, harmony and history with a learning style that is intuitive, fun and adapts to the student in a unique way. Filip transfers his passion for guitar by believing strongly in the transforming effect that music can bring to each student. Filip offers lessons at the Calgary Chinook store and his rate is $33 per half hour.

Jack Comeau - B Mus (Ukulele, Brass, Guitar)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Wednesday, Friday

Jack returned to Calgary in 2005, after completing a bachelor of music degree at the University of Toronto. He has studied guitar with Jeffrey McFadden in Toronto, and Ralph Maier in Calgary. Jack also performed and recorded with the University of Calgary guitar ensemble. He enjoys teaching all ages and levels, and believes that every student is capable, given individualized instruction. Jack offers lessons at the Calgary Chinook store and his rate is $32 per half hour.

Joy Andaya (Guitar, Voice)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Hello my name is Joy, and I am a voice teacher here at Long & McQuade! I have been singing and taking music lessons from the age of six, and have grown to love the effects that music has in our lives and emotions. I wanted to pursue this passion of music into a career and am currently working towards my Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Education degree. As a private music teacher, I want to allow my students to learn what music means to them, and how sharing it will shape any person’s life. My ultimate goal is to become a high school music teacher, and to use music to get people to talk about mental health. I am so full of gratitude and recognize my privilege of sharing my music to the world!

Joy offers lessons at our Calgary Chinook location, and her rate is $32 per half hour.

Lara Taillon (Voice, Piano, Guitar, Bass Guitar)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Monday

Lara Taillon is a Canadian singer, actress, pianist, writer, producer, dancer, and teacher who focuses on finding and nurturing a student’s natural talent. Everyone has something unique to give, and she loves to find it, bring it out, and let it be heard.

A professionally trained singer, Lara has performed all her life and has taught voice, piano, dance, and drama through most of the prairies, so she specializes in building a performance. She has toured Canada in many bands, stage plays, and musicals. Lara recently won multiple competitions with her original music, and headlined the Nickelback after-party on their recent tour. She is currently the lead singer in the local band SorryNotSorry, as well as her original band, simply “Lara Taillon.” Lara offers lessons at the Calgary Chinook location, and her rate is $33 per half hour.

Peter Vesuwalla (Ukulele, Guitar)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Peter Vesuwalla has been playing guitar for 30 years, and spent 11 years on the sales floor at Long & McQuade learning the particulars of the instrument. He's a veteran of Calgary's jam scene, accustomed to improvising rock, blues, funk, hip-hop, and reggae. Peter earned his BA in Philosophy at University of Manitoba, and takes a holistic approach to learning music theory, tying it together with fields as diverse as visual arts and yoga to engineering and geometry. Peter offers lessons at the Calgary Chinook store and his rate is $33 per half hour.

Ryan Milliken (Drums, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Piano, Upright Bass)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Style: jazz, rock, Pop

Teaching Day(s): Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Ryan Milliken started playing drums and guitar at age 5. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Music from Humber College and has been teaching group and private lessons for over a decade. He believes in a balanced approach to all aspects of music literacy. Ryan teaches at the Calgary Chinook store, and his rate is $32 per half hour.

Steve Pineo (Guitar, Bass Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Saturday

Guitarist, singer, song-writer, entertainer; Steve Pineo is a multifaceted artist. Writer of hundreds of songs, his tunes have been covered by country artists Paul Brandt (Canadian
Man) and Prairie Oyster (Too Bad For Me). Steve’s songs have also been recorded by blues
artists such as Willie Mac Calder, Tim Williams and Harp Dog Brown. Steve has five solo albums, and appears on the legendary recordings by The Co Dependents, featuring the late great Billy Cowsill. Currently, Steve performs solo, or with an acoustic trio (featuring guitar, piano and tuba!), an electric blues band(who have held down Monday nights at Calgary nightspot Mikey’s Juke Joint for the last ten years), a six piece New Orleans Rhythm and Blues revue called Trick Bag, and a five piece vintage jazz ensemble called Prohibition Hall. “Steve Pineo With Horns” is a show that runs annually featuring original songs and interesting (and sometimes bizarre) covers. Steve’s Christmas Show is a Calgary tradition which sells out a week’s worth of shows at Calgary’s primo live music venue-Ironwood Stage and Grill. Steve’s loving tribute to Elvis (featuring a five piece band and vocal quartet “The Heebee Jeebees”) has played in cities and towns all over Alberta. Steve’s newest show is a collaboration with singer/songwriter Brooke Wylie called “A Night of Guilty Pleasures” where a group of Calgary luminaries pick songs they shouldn’t do. It’s a blast!

Steve is also an in demand session guitarist and vocal, string and horn arranger, and has written over thirty choral arrangements for Calgary vocal ensemble Revv 52.

Not surprisingly, Steve’s musical influences are vast and include blues, jazz, vintage rock and roll, country and western, soul, gospel and world music. His writing is influenced by everyone from Cole Porter to Bob Dylan, Merle Travis to Mose Allison. He has written songs about everything from broken hearts to Artificial Intelligence!

Steve plays guitar in four different tunings, slide guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. His shows are fast paced and entertaining, and they take you to unexpected places. A thirty year musical veteran, Steve continues to grow as an artist. He offers lessons at the Calgary Chinook location, and his rate is $32 per half hour.