Langford

Aidan Holt (Guitar, Bass Guitar)

Online Lessons:

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

Aidan is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who recently completed a diploma in music performance at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Aidan has always enjoyed sharing his love for music, and first began teaching guitar in 2019. While Aidan studied classical voice in school, he specializes in rock and metal guitar.

Aidan teaches guitar and bass guitar at our Langford location.
Aidan's rate is $32 per lesson.

Christine Carlson (Piano)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday

Christine Carlson is a piano teacher with over 20 years of teaching experience who specializes in teaching young children, and emphasizes creative learning for pre-school to adult students. Incorporates ‘chording’ in private lessons for contemporary music skills. She is a registered instructor of the Music for Young Children® method for holistic learning, and adapts teaching styles to individual student needs and learning styles. She incorporates Faber & Faber and Alfred method books for foundational learning emphasizing solid foundational skills before introducing the Royal Conservatory of Music graded system.

Christine is a graduate of the University Victoria, and holds a Diploma in Associate of Music from Vancouver Island University and Royal Conservatory of Music Certifications, including the Intermediate Piano Teaching Certificate and Elementary Specialist Certification.

Cleo Yong (Violin, Viola)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Monday

Cleo Yong has been teaching musicians of all ages and abilities since 2015. With a bachelor’s degree in Violin Orchestral Studies from UVic (2022), she is currently pursuing an MA in Musicology from the University of Victoria. As part of her music education, Cleo studied and performed both the violin and viola. Cleo enjoys guiding her students in their musical learning adventure and sets achievable practice goals to maintain steady improvement.

Cleo teaches violin and viola at our Langford location.
Cleo's rate is $32 per half hour.

Doug Farr (Guitar, Piano, Bass Guitar, Flute, Ukulele, Harmonica)

Online Lessons:

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

Doug Farr started playing in Victoria in 1981 as a Bass player. Doug played once at Jazz fest and he’s been gigging around Victoria on chromatic harmonica, piano, guitar and vibraphone. He has been teaching keyboard instruments as well as electric bass, guitar, flute and harmonica since 1982. Doug is very excited to be teaching at Long and McQuade.


Doug teaches guitar and piano at our Langford location.
Doug’s rate is $30 per half hour.

Dylan Cheshire (Drums, Piano)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

Dylan completed his BA with Honors in Music (Jazz Specialization) and Education degree at Laurentian University.  

Whether it be performing, producing, or teaching, Dylan is always eager to share his passion for Music. After completing his BA with Honors in Music (Jazz Specialization) at Laurentian University, Dylan completed his BA in Education and acquired his Professional Teacher's Certificate from Laurentian.

Concurrent education, enabling his certification to teach in the British Columbia Public School System. In the time since then, Dylan has spent the last 5 years teaching private music lessons for Piano, Guitar, Drums, and Bass. With over a decade of playing experience,
Dylan has had invaluable experience playing a variety of instruments in both University Jazz Combos, and touring bands. Whether it be Piano, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Mandolin, or even Harmonica, Dylan excels at sharing his passion for music; teaching the fundamentals of Music, Performance, Sight Reading, Improvisation and Theory.

Dylan teaches  Drum, Guitar, Bass guitar, Piano, Ukulele at our Langford location.
His rate is $30 per half hour.

Ethan McGrath (Guitar, Bass Guitar, Saxophone)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

With 10+ years of guitar experience and a post-secondary education in music from the Victoria conservatory, Ethan offers instruction in rock, jazz, blues, funk, and classical styles, as well as music theory and harmony. Passionate about tailoring lessons to each student's unique goals and interests, Ethan fosters a supportive and creative learning environment. Ethan also offers alto saxophone lessons for beginners.

Ethan's rate is $32 per lesson

Galyna Smirnova (Piano, Guitar)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

Galyna Smirnova holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Music and Music Education with honours from Ukraine, where she also taught at the college and university level. She has extensive experience teaching piano, voice, and guitar to students of all ages, both in group and private settings. Galyna’s classical training is complemented by her passion for contemporary and popular music, and she enjoys helping students explore a variety of styles. She believes in a personalized, encouraging approach that builds confidence and musical fluency. Galyna is fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian, and also speaks conversational French, Italian, and Spanish.

Galyna's rate is $33 per half hour

Jelena Zivic (Button Accordion, Piano Accordian, Piano, Voice)

Online Lessons:

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

Jelena is a forerunner in the world of accordion players, as well as an accomplished piano and voice teacher. She has an extensive performance history, with major performances across Europe, Asia, and North America as a solo performer. Jelena understands the importance of tailoring lessons to the needs of individual students, and is comfortable teaching people of all ages and levels.
Her rate is $34/half hour for voice/piano and $37/half hour for accordion.

Jordan McDonald (Drums)

Online Lessons:

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

Jordan McDonald started his musical career at a very young age and has been investing his life into music since 2010. With a wide variety of musical experiences and instruments under his belt, Jordan loves to apply his vast knowledge to his lessons, exploring countless genres and drumming styles. His experience with Drums, Piano, Singing, Music Theory, and Music History allows Jordan to share anecdotes and experiences through the many worlds of music. Jordan believes in focusing on the students’ interests, while also building a deep understanding of the drumming rudiments and fundamentals.

Jordan teaches drums at our Langford location.
Jordan's rate is $32 per lesson.

Julia Jakubo (Guitar, Drums)

Online Lessons:

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

Julia Jakubow is a young multi-instrumentalist, producer, and audio engineer based in Victoria, B.C. She has been working as a performing musician since the age of 13 and has played with several local artists and bands in venues all around British Columbia. After graduating with special honors in the Audio Engineering and Music Technology Diploma Program at Douglas College, Julia moved to Vancouver Island where she continued her studies at the University of Victoria Political Science program. Music came into Julia's life at a very early age when she began taking piano lessons. Once she built a solid structure and understanding of music theory and composition she progressed to learning guitar, bass, and ended up finding her true passion in the drums. Her dedication to the drums has led her to many exciting musical projects for companies networks such as Netflix, The Recording Academy (Grammys), CTV Ottawa, CTV Saskatoon, and CHCH Morning Live.

Julia teaches drums, guitar, ukulele and piano at our Langford location.

Julia's rate is $30 per half hour.

Oriana Tierney (Piano)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Oriana has her grade 10 piano Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) and brings her extensive background in music instruction and an innate ability to connect with students. Oriana is acutely aware of her students’ unique personalities and their individual needs, and will develop a finely tuned plan to enrich and educate so that students can reach their highest potential.

Oriana teaches piano at our Langford location.
Oriana's rate is $33 per lesson.

Oscar Robles (Guitar, Drums)

Online Lessons:

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

Oscar Robles Díaz is a versatile musician and music educator that has been teaching at Long and McQuade since 2015. Originally from Mexico, he studied Classical Guitar in Mexico City’s Autonomous University (UNAM). Since 2008, he has been residing on Vancouver Island, Canada. He has toured extensively throughout Mexico and Central America, Western Canada and as far as Taiwan, and also worked as a recording artist.  

As an endorsee of Touch Guitars (Germany), Oscar’s live performances are featured on the official YouTube channel for this innovative instrument. A skilled multi-instrumentalist, he offers one-on-one instruction on guitar (acoustic and electric), bass guitar, Chapman Stick, ukulele, and drum kit. Oscar has a unique and customized approach to teaching, helping students find their unique musical voice and providing the tools to connect with others through a shared language of music. He is adept at teaching and performing a wide range of styles, including Classical, Rock, Funk and Pop, to name a few, and even a bit of Flamenco.

Oscar teaches guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, Chapman Stick, and drums at our Langford location.
Oscar’s rate is $33 per half hour.

Pablo Diemecke (Violin, Cello)

Online Lessons:

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

Pablo Diemecke is a concert solo Violinist-Concertmaster and Teacher in Mexico, USA and Canada.  

Grammy Award Nominee.

Concert violinist diploma from the Conservatory in Mexico; Concertmaster in many orchestras including Victoria Symphony, guest concertmaster with the Regina and Vancouver Orchestra.

Attended workshops in Mexico at the Conservatory and Universidad Veracruzana. In Washingthon DC with Robert Gerle and Sergiu Commisiona. Ann Arbor, Michigan with Gustav Mier. Videos by Joseph Gingold and Dorothy Delay teaching. And Pablo keep actualizing himself.

Style: Classical style to any other popular music.

Pablo teaches Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Piano at our Langford location.

Pablo's rate is $30 per half an hour until end of Dec, $32 per half an hour starting in Jan 2026.

Steve Sutton (Guitar, Bass Guitar, Ukulele, Upright Bass, Trombone)

Online Lessons:

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

STEVE SUTTON, (B.A., Dip. Mus.) is a Vancouver Island based, Professional Bassist and Guitar Teacher who has performed locally, in Vancouver and in California. Steve was born and raised in Nanaimo and began his musical journey in the School District 68 music program playing the trombone and the classical guitar. Later, Steve attended Malaspina University College's Music Program, (now Vancouver Island University), focusing on bass guitar and double bass. He graduated in 2002.

During the summer of 2003 he attended the Victoria Conservatory summer jazz workshop where he studied with jazz greats Neil Swainson, Misha Piatogorsky and Don Thompson. In September 2010 he attended a Ukulele workshop in Sonoma California, training with Hawaiian Ukulele Master Kimo Hussey.

Steve teaches guitar, bass guitar, double bass, ukulele and trombone at our Langford location.
Steve's rate is $32 per lesson.