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Scott Cassells
Guitar
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Scott is a veteran educator, teaching since 1992. He joined Allegro Music in 1998.
Scott’s goals as an instructor are to teach the fundamentals of music through songs that
inspire his students to grow as musicians. He caters to the personal interests of each
individual’s musical taste, and provides a strong foundation of skills that will help his
students achieve their goals.
Scott started playing guitar at the age of 10, taking classical guitar lessons with Tom
Duffin, Head of Yamaha’s Music School Toronto.
In addition to graduating with Honours from Humber College's Jazz Program, Scott
has studied in California with musician/author Ted Greene, jazz
guitarist Steve Khan, and Joe Diorio. Scott has recorded and plays locally with
different groups showcasing various styles of music - rock, jazz, classical, country -
some of which have been reviewed in Guitar Player Magazine.
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Hal Rodriguez
Guitar & Bass
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Hal is an outgoing teacher who
brings a cheerful atmosphere to his classes at Allegro. He focuses on helping students
learn their favourite songs as soon as possible, so they can experience the immediate joy
of playing, but he also uses each song as a gateway for teaching the deeper workings of
music theory. In this way, the student learns to appreciate the study of music in a
practical context and develops a well-rounded foundation for continued growth. Hal also
imparts a healthy attitude towards practicing and developing technique as a necessary
means for achieving greater self-expression.
Hal is well versed on guitar and bass in many styles, including pop, rock, blues, funk,
jazz, and metal. He has studied with premier fusion guitar virtuoso Greg Howe, and
eight-time Juno nominated jazz guitarist Michael Occhipinti at the Royal Conservatory of
Music in Toronto. Before teaching music, Hal taught high school subjects and worked for a
music publisher where he gained insight into the business side of the music industry. He
actively writes, records, and performs with various musicians in the city.
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Chris DeSantis
Guitar & Bass
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Chris is an active
performer, composer and educator. He enjoys teaching students of all ages. Whether
learning the basics or in-depth music theory, Chris motivates students by catering to
their interests as well as learning theoretical knowledge that can be applied.
Chris is an experienced, creative, multi-instrumentalist who is continuing to evolve in
Toronto’s music scene today. Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Chris began playing
guitar and bass guitar at age 14 and shortly after began playing
professionally. After high school, he left Hamilton to study jazz at Capilano College in Vancouver. One year later, he returned to Ontario to
complete his degree at Humber College. While at Humber, Chris studied with some of the
finest musicians in Canada, including Will Jarvis, Rik Emmett, Geoff Young, Mike Downes,
Vaughan Misener and Pat Kilbride. Chris’s style, while deeply rooted in rock music,
combines soul, latin, funk and jazz.
For the past 8 years, Chris
has performed professionally in a wide variety of acts in countless venues. Rock, funk, pop, ska, jazz, urban, dance, latin, brazilian to traditional; he has become equally
comfortable in vast styles.
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Bill Naphan
Guitar
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Bill has been instructing at Allegro Music since 2001. He teaches flamenco,
classical, jazz and rock guitar styles. Students of all ages have benefited from his "hands-on"
(playing songs and improvising) informative
approach. Bill has a great love of guitar performing and looks forward to sharing that
passion with his students.
Bill has been playing guitar since 1993. At age 15, he
participated as featured guitarist in the North York Guitar
Orchestra. By age 18 he accompanied his teacher Juan Tomas onstage
and on television, promoting the Juan Tomas CD "The Guitar Player."
In 2000 Bill began his solo career, performing original material
with his own Acoustic Quintet.
Bill studied at Humber College with guitarists Ted Quinlan, Toni
Zorzi and Rob Bulger. He also studied classical guitar at University
of Toronto with Dr. Alvin Tung. Bill performs weekly at Bon Vivant Fine Dining and is
preparing a CD for 2009 release.
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Kurt Nielsen
Guitar & Bass
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Kurt joined the Allegro Music staff early in 2009. An engaging and supportive educator,
Kurt teaches both introductory to intermediate guitar and introductory to advanced bass.
He enjoys fostering a love of music in young people by helping them discover their own
passion for music while providing them with a solid foundation of fundamentals to build
from.
Kurt is a versatile musician with a degree in Music Performance from the
prestigious Humber College. His musical experience includes jazz and blues, musical
theatre, jingle and recording sessions, as well as performing with a variety of popular
singer/songwriters.
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Sean Sewell
Guitar
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Sean is an experienced guitarist, performer and instructor
who's been with Allegro since 2007. He has an open approach to teaching and strives to
strike a balance between having fun with the instrument and learning the fundamentals. He
takes pride in delivering a creative and enjoyable lesson.
Sean is accomplished in several
playing styles including rock, punk, rockabilly, fingerstyle blues and ragtime. He began
his music education at an early age, studying extensively with many of the top Toronto
instructors including the legendary Mose Scarlett.
Currently, Sean is gigging with Blue Mercury Coupe, a six piece Toronto supergroup
featuring players like Big Rude Jake, Cleave Anderson (Blue Rodeo, Battered Wives, The
Screwed) and Paul Newman (Doughboys, Forgotten Rebels). In addition, Sean maintains the
site FingerstyleBlues.com.
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Don Stevenson
Guitar and Bass
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Don has been teaching in the Toronto area since 1998 and he joined our team in 2004. He
is competent in a multitude of styles which include rock, metal, popular, jazz, folk,
traditional and blues. One of his goals as a teacher is to teach others to be their own
artist. His approach emphasizes technique on the instrument, enthusiasm for music and fun
for the student.
Originally from Winnipeg, Don has extensive performance experience in both Winnipeg and
Toronto. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music from York University where he studied
with celebrated teachers Lorne Lofsky, Mike Murley and Mark Eisenman. Currently Don is
working on a Master of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies/Ethnomusicology at York University.
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Charles James
Bass
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Stayed tuned for Charles's bio.
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