Pickering - Composition Lessons

Jerry Ko (Guitar, Composition)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Friday

Jerry is a teacher, composer, arranger, and performer who aims to spread the joy of creating and listening to music. He completed his Master’s in jazz composition at the nationally renowned University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in May 2023, and his BA in Music (First Class Honours) at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, where he was the recipient of the Prof. Jack O'Donnell Scholarship (2020). In addition to jazz, Jerry also plays rock/hard rock, pop, and classical. Some of his favorite bands are Coldplay, Green Day, Maroon 5, Linkin Park, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. His classical guitar study included ABRSM Level 3, and he teaches up to RCM level 8. As an educator, Jerry enjoys working with students with diverse interests and backgrounds, and he loves connecting with both young kids and adults through music. Working as a graduate assistant at UNC, he helped students in jazz and arranging courses, and to prepare for events in the jazz department. Jerry is also an award-winning composer. His pieces have been recognized by the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC), where he presented at the New Music Workshop Symposium in May 2022, and the first online New Music Workshop in October 2022. His arrangement of “The Scientist” by Coldplay has been recognized by the Downbeat Student Awards in 2023. His compositions and arrangements were regularly featured in concerts by the top big band, studio orchestras, and vocal jazz ensembles. In addition to the guitar, Jerry is also a classical pianist whose musical passion is to create unique sounds using the language of jazz and Western classical music!

Jerry’s rate is $30/30min lesson

Neal Davis (Guitar, Ukulele, Bass Guitar, Upright Bass, Theory, Composition)

Online Lessons:

Teaching Day(s): Monday, Wednesday, Thursday

Neal Davis is a graduate of the Humber College Jazz Performance program. He is a busy performer on Upright and Electric bass playing most styles of music. He teaches all levels from beginner to advanced on Guitar, Ukulele, Bass Guitar, Upright Bass, Theory and Composition. He has toured extensively across Europe and North America and has performed at many of the worlds top Jazz and Music Festivals. He is also busy in the Studio music scene playing on many recordings for clients as diverse as Sony Music Canada, Universal Records, Global TV, CBC, CTV, Discovery Television, ABC, History Television, TV Shows such as Saving Faith, Design for Living, The Young and the Restless and Movies for Dreamworks Inc. Neal is in demand as a educator having given countless workshops and masterclasses for Teachers and Students alike for the Durham District, Toronto District and York Region School Boards, Humber College, Jazz School University of Lucerne Switzerland, Royal Danish Academy of Music Copenhagen, Jazz School Basel Switzerland.

Neal's rate is $30/30min Lesson