I have been teaching music for over 12 years, providing instruction for guitar, violin, piano and bass. Having taken violin lessons from age 6 to 18, I call on my previous experiences as a student and use them to influence my teaching style. After studying violin for 12 years with Charl Ann Gastineau, and 2 years under Mary Kim at California State University Northridge, I understand both the excitement and joy of learning a musical instrument as well as the frustrations, and I apply this to my teaching philosophy. I work specifically well with beginners, but I also have over 22 years of musical experience to offer my more advanced students.
I currently teach over 30 private students from my home studio, ranging in age from 5 to adults. Additionally, I teach the Strings Music Program at both Weathersfield Elementary and Sycamore Canyon Elementary. In the past I have worked at Musician’s Depot in Thousand Oaks, the Academy of Music in Camarillo, and the Pleasant Valley School District Music Program.
I graduated from California State University Northridge with a Bachelor of Music degree in Media and Film Composition after having studied under Professor Elizabeth Sellers. I studied the film score compositions of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and Danny Elfman. Classes including Orchestration, Songwriting, Media Composing, Sequencing, MIDI Orchestration, MIDI Programming, Recording, and Jazz Arrannging.
My musical career began at the age of six with violin lessons. After several years of classical study, I found an interest in fiddle style music, especially Texas swing. My classically trained teacher allowed me to follow this interest, teaching me swing, jazz, and bluegrass. Along with my dad backing him on guitar, I joined the fiddle contest circuit, traveling across the state and sometimes into other states to enter the contests. By the age age of 18, I was the 4 Time Advanced Fiddle Champion at the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest, 4 Time Adult Fiddle Champion at the Oakview Fiddle Contest, Grand Champion at the Death Valley Fiddle Contest, and I recently won Grand Champion and the Open division at the Tehachapi District 3 contest.
Only so much of my creative desires could be met by the violin, and at the age of 17, I began to teach myself to play the guitar. Not long after guitar came the bass, also self taught. I played guitar and bass at church, leading the youth worship band as well as participating in the main worship service.
I have also played with numerous other successful groups, including “Pleasant Valley” and “Soundhaven”. Pleasant Valley, his family bluegrass band, toured the Western United States, headling numerous national bluegrass festivals and making several television appearances. The band, made up of Adam’s entire family, recorded a self titled album in 1998. Soundhaven, the rock band that Adam fronted, was making waves
in the Southern California music scene, with shows at the Whiskey A Go-Go and The Knitting Factory before disbanding in 2004. I currently lead the worship services at Crossroads Community Church in Camarillo.
In 2008, I married the love of my life, Rebecca Vance, in a beautiful ceremony at Calamigos Ranch in the hills of Malibu. We honeymooned in Bermuda before returning to our home in Camarillo, CA. She continues to be my muse, inspiring my music and providing support and encouragement. Rebecca is a teacher in Newbury Park.
