Who’s my teacher?: 

Rob

Rob Bentley (Guitar) graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Berklee College of Music and began his masters at the University of North Texas.He has taught music for 15 years and has played in 26 states and six European countries. He is the co-founder and musical guru of Don’t Stop Rockin’. He actually lives and breathes rock. He once rid his attic of Raccoons by putting his amp up there and jamming nothing but AC/DC riffs for an hour. He might be available for hire if you have a rodent problem, just sayin’.

 

 

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Jose Galeano (Drums, percussion) is a drummer, percussionist, singer, composer, songwriter and all round completely fantastic bloke. As a Grammy nominee (2009) and WINNER (2011) with the totally Rockin’ Austin based Grupo Fantasma, he comes to us with a lifetime of musical experience. “Mr” Jose as he is known by thousands of families in Austin, has been teaching children gymnastics for the past 17 years and is an educator of the highest caliber. He is now excited to pass on his drum, percussion and musical knowledge to a whole new generation of drummers.

 

 

 

CharlesChuck Anastasiou (Guitar and Bass) has been an in-demand guitar instructor for the past 15 years, possessing a unique teaching style with an ability to relate to students of all experience levels and ages. Having studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Chuck has had extensive training in areas such as ear training, arrangement, solo/group performance, theory, musical technique, composition, and music history. He graduated with a BA in Music Performance and studied with Mick Goodrick, Jon Damian. Rick Peckham, and Hal Crook, among others.

 

 

 

DerekDerek Tarnow (piano, guitar, bass) has been teaching and performing in the Austin area for close to 10 years. He has been Rockin’ since he was a child, beginning with Piano. His piano lessons were formal and he won several awards during the course of his studies. His imperative to rock eventually led him to learn the guitar which became his musical focus from about 6th grade on. In college he was accepted for private study of jazz and classical styles on guitar and piano. Derek’s musical journey eventually landed him at Texas State University where he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Music in Jazz Guitar Performance. Notable performances in college include performing with Kurt Elling and Chris Vadala in New York as well as performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. In his professional life Derek has performed in various styles including Rock, Pop, Country, Jazz, Blues, Soul and Classical. Groups he has worked with have performed on local TV morning shows, The Texas Bucket List, opened for Dale Watson and headlined Luckenbach. You can currently catch Derek performing with Classic Country/Western Swing band, The Merles as well as band-leading/arranging for the fabulous show choir, River City Pops. Derek likes to encourage his students to spend time with their fingers on keys or frets by finding what inspires them to do so. His teaching goal is to help students discover what makes them love music, while laying a foundation for wherever their musical journey may take them.

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Lizzy Eidson (Voice, Piano) earned her Bachelors in Music from the University of North Texas, where she majored in Jazz Studies, with voice as her primary instrument. She loves singing and playing all styles, but has been Rockin’ around Denton with a Blues/Soul/Rock band, where she was the lead female vocalist. She has been teaching both piano and voice to children and adults of all ages for the past several years and is looking forward to bringing her talents and experience to DSR. Lizzy focuses a lot of her free time on songwriting, and loves to help students in their own writing, she thinks it’s wonderful to see a student be proud of something they have created and strives to help make that possible!

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Richie Heussner (Voice and Piano) is a vocalist, pianist, guitarist and songwriter. He received his BM from Midwestern State University, where he majored in Vocal performance and began a Masters at Southwestern Baptist. Richie has fronted multiple bands, and toured much of the Midwest and east coast as a singer song writer, and has opened for notable bands like, I See Stars, Forever the Sickest Kids, Runner Runner and more. Richie is passionate about music, and when he’s not teaching, he can be found practicing or playing out at one of Texas’ great venues. As a teacher, he strives to feed his students passion for music, and help it grow into a life long venture. He promotes healthy and efficient technique, so you’re free to rock without limitations!

 

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Tom Ray first (guitar, bass, uke, drums) picked up the guitar at 13 years old after hearing the band Deep Purple and has been & Rockin’ ever since. His musical influences and teaching styles cover a broad cross section, from shredding to Jazz, Rock and Blues and everything in between. He has been teaching Rockers of all ages for the past 10 years and we are delighted to have him join DSR in January 2017.

Tom’s musical interest brought him to the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory (Ohio) where he increased his repertoire under the instruction of Loris Chobanion, attaining his Bachelor’s degree.

Tom proceeded to teach guitar at the Aurora School of Music (Ohio) where as a leading professor for four years, he taught over 50 students of various ages and levels in classical, rock, and jazz guitar. After the tenure at the Aurora School of Music, Tom moved to New York to pursue a career in music. He has performed in solo recitals tons of gigs and recordings with many local bands, recording artists, and pit orchestras.

Tom will be able to help all of his students achieve their musical goals on guitar, bass or uke in any style. Tom also teaches drums from a beginner to intermediate level.

Thomas (voice, piano, drums) began studying piano at age five with the principal accompanist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, adding trumpet and drumset to his studies through his youth and adolescence. While his childhood instruction was steeped in classical music, he nonetheless developed an unshakable feeling early on that it was Time to Rock.

After majoring in Theater at Yale University, Thomas moved to New York, initially to pursue a professional acting career. But his love for music soon drew him to the Collective School of Music, where he studied drums and piano for two years before becoming one of the youngest members of their faculty. While working at the Collective, he continued to further his musical studies at the Juilliard School, and led and performed in bands of every style imaginable.

Thomas has taught students of all ages, from introducing young beginners to the keyboard to leading senior citizens in weekly ensemble classes. He is enthusiastic about meeting students wherever they may be in their musical journey, and he’s excited to develop performance repertoire based on each student’s specific musical interests.

Since moving to Austin in 2011, he has been working as a producer and composer of commercial music and media. He has also released two albums by his own band, Mount Pressmore, and regularly performs with them and several other projects. He’s thrilled to be joining DSR, and to play a part in the development of each student’s unique musical voice.

 

Interested in joining the team? Please email your resume and cover letter to rob@dontstoprockin.com