Teacher Profiles...
Behzad was born in 1983 in Hamburg, Germany, into a family originally from Kabul, Afghanistan. Originally a drummer, classically trained percussionist, and self-taught composer, Behzad began playing the Flamenco Guitar at age 14, and the Cajon four years later. Behzad has performed in numerous Flamenco shows, notably Edwin Aparicio’s “Camino al Flamenco” and “Selected Works,” Ana Menendez’ “Pastora: Peña Flamenca I & II,” and “Bailes Ineditos” (Aparicio/Menendez). Behzad can be heard playing cajon and percussion on Don Soledad’s debut album Camino de Seda. Behzad’s specialties as an instructor are the Flamenco guitar and hand percussion.
Guillermo is a native of Sevilla and long-time resident of Northern Virginia whose musical interests include the Flamenco and Classical Guitars, the Turkish and Arabian Lutes, and Improvisational Rock Fusions. He has performed with a wide range of music and dance groups, and appeared at many of the area’s major venues (Kennedy, Lisner, Wolf Trap, Smithsonian, Arena Stage, 5th Column, 9:30 Club...). He has also taken part in musical lecture/demonstrations at hundreds of area schools. As a music writer, his published work includes a regular instructional column in Guitar Player Magazine, and features for Acoustic Guitar, Guitar Player, Downbeat, Jazziz, the Journal of Flamenco Artistry, and others.
Jim has been playing guitar for over 30 years, studying Rock, Blues (electric and acoustic), Jazz, Classical, Flamenco, and Latin music. He also has a great passion for African music. He has been teaching for three years, and specializes in acoustic Blues in the Piedmont tradition of Virginia and the Carolinas, which is quite different from the Mississippi Delta style. Jim favors a traditional method of teaching with minimal written material, preferring to have students record their lessons and learn by listening.
John has devoted himself to the guitar since the age of ten. His teachers have included John Marlow of American University, Sophocles Papas (premier student of Andres Segovia), Jose Tomas (musical assistant to Segovia), and Ray Chester at Peabody Conservatory. Mr. Rodgers has performed extensively in the Washington area for many years as a soloist and chamber ensemble player. He is President of the Washington Guitar Society, a competition coach and judge, and serves on various classical guitar committees. In addition to his work at the Chevy Chase Community Center, he has taught for many years at The St. Alban’s School for Boys and The National Cathedral School for Girls.
Julio (“Koko”) is from Ucacha in the Argentine province of Cordoba. Born into a family of musicians, Julio has always loved music, and dedicated himself exclusively to the guitar since he was a young boy. As a virtuoso of the instrument and master of its musical possibilities, he has always been in demand as a performer, composer, arranger, and musical director. He has worked with many major figures of Argentine popular music, and performed throughout Argentina, Latin America, and the United States. Widely regarded as a leading exponent of his musical specialty, Julio possesses a strong personal style, dazzling technique, and a wide-ranging knowledge and understanding of this difficult and complete instrument. A masterful teacher of many musical styles, Julio specializes in Argentine idioms like the Tango, Milonga, Chamame, Zamba, Tonada, and Aires Criollos.
Peter (Piotr), from St. Petersburg, Russia, is a graduate student of music at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he works under the tutelage of Manuel Barrueco. The young virtuoso is known for his “flawless technique” and “total command of the instrument” and has already been invited to perform at The Kennedy Center, Weill Recital Hall in New York, and Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia. After just two years of study with his first teacher, Paul Moeller, Mr. Pakhomkin became the first guitarist to win the Marlin-Engel Solo Instrumental Competition held annually in Washington, D.C. In 2007, he was chosen by the faculty at Peabody to receive the Presser Foundation scholarship award. He has attended and performed in master classes with the Assad Brothers, Raphaella Smits, Benjamin Verdery and others.
Sebastien has been playing guitar since the age of five. In addition to studying music throughout elementary and middle school, he has played in a variety of ensembles ranging from jazz to rock to hip-hop. As guitarist for the big band Annandale Jazz Ambassadors, he toured Europe and the Caribbean. As founder, singer and lead guitarist of the rock band The Attainment Fallacy, Sebastien wrote and directed all of the band’s material. More recently, he has been writing and producing music as Bliss FM, an alternative hip-hop group. With many years of Montessori and International Baccalaureate studies in his academic background, Sebastien is uniquely adept at working with our younger students. He is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree at George Mason University.