Meet our Lessons Team!

Tristan Shinnick was born and raised in Austin, TX. After graduating from Westlake High School, he went on to study at the University of North Texas in Denton. He graduated with a degree in Jazz Guitar Performance and has now been a teacher for 15 years.

He enjoys teaching all ages and skill levels. As a performer, he plays acoustic and electric guitar and particularly enjoys fingerpicking on both.

FUN FACT

Tristan enjoys movies and comedy.

Originally from Glasgow, Scotland, Alistair received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Theory & Composition at Concordia University Texas (2018) and his Master’s in Music Composition from Texas State University (2022). He has been teaching for 10 years, specializing in early-intermediate piano, guitar, and musical composition. Alistair started playing music in middle school after hearing The Who, and Eddie Van Halen. After receiving a hand-me-down bass guitar from a family friend, he was hooked. From that point forward he tried to play every instrument and style he could get his hands (and ears) on.

Alistair’s favorite aspect of being a music teacher is encouraging musicians to be creative and strive to express themselves through an instrument, all while demystifying musical theory concepts. Alistair has been inspired by countless musicians including but not limited to Jeff Buckley, Joe Hisaishi, Aaron Copland, and Tim Minchin. More recently Alistair has been focusing intently on progressive heavy metal artists such as Periphery and I Am Abomination.

FUN FACT

Alistair enjoys both reading and drawing comic books, and solving Rubik’s cubes of various sizes.

Born and raised in Austin, TX, Kevin began playing music in 8th grade when he started learning bass guitar. By his junior year, he was playing both bass and guitar in a number of different bands. He went on to study at Texas State University, and has now been teaching guitar, bass, keyboards, and ukulele for 10 years.

Kevin is inspired by classic country music, soul and R&B, traditional gospel, blues, and rock & roll, and considers himself fortunate to have been mentored by a variety of musicians, from youth leaders to touring pros. He is an active performer around the Austin area in several bands, and in recent years has enjoyed leading an annual live tribute show commemorating The Band’s concert/film “The Last Waltz.”

Kevin loves to teach because he discovered that it is a way that he can both give and receive joy in equal measure. He feels that music lifts the soul!

FUN FACT

Kevin and his wife are avid disc golfers- they play with friends and family every Sunday and enjoy checking out new courses when they travel.

Jason is a native of southern California and has been performing and teaching professionally for over 20 years. He holds multiple degrees in classical, jazz, film scoring and electronic music from the University of California Santa Cruz and the University of California Los Angeles. His teaching focus is on electric and acoustic guitar, piano, electric bass, mandolin and ukulele–specializing in rock, classical, jazz, blues, folk, and country. He enjoys teaching music literacy, technique, musicianship, songwriting and theory. Most of all, Jason aspires to make learning a new instrument fun and exciting.

Jason started playing guitar when he was 10 years old. He became inspired to learn music through hearing classic rock bands on the radio, seeing music videos on MTV and live concerts his parents took him to as a child.

Jason has musical influences from rock, pop, jazz, classical, world, film and electronic music. Some artists that have inspired him include; Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Radiohead, Nirvana, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Stravinsky, Bartok, Ennio Morricone, Bernard Herrmann, Ravi Shankar and Aphex Twin.

FUN FACT

Jason enjoys other activities including reading, traveling, swimming, camping, skiing, golf, tennis, ping pong, scary movies and spicy food.

Originally from Florida, Dale has been playing guitar and bass since he was 14 years old. He went on to study at Florida Atlantic University, where he earned his degree in Commercial Music.

Dale has been active in his local music scenes since about 2010, playing in a variety of rock, blues, country, and jazz bands. He has also toured the US and Canada, including performances at House of Blues Chicago and BB King's Blues Club in Memphis.

In addition to performance, Dale has been teaching private lessons since 2010. He teaches guitar, bass, and beginning piano. While he is comfortable teaching a variety of genres, he has a particular passion for classic rock, blues, jazz, and traditional country and their intertwining histories.

Dale loves to teach and is excited to help beginning students build strong fundamentals and empower advancing students to take their next steps!

Heather started playing violin at 9 years old in Vancouver, WA, where she grew up. She took Suzuki lessons, played in the school orchestra, and even performed with the Portland Youth Philharmonic. She started her college career at Mt. Hood Community College and went on to earn her Music Education degree from the University of Arizona.

Aside from the uncontested “greats” of classical music, Heather has been influenced by all kinds of music- jazz, country, bluegrass, rock, and beyond. In fact, you may have seen Heather playing stages across Austin in one of her many bands. Her favorite thing about teaching is helping students develop the skills they need to play whatever kind of music inspires them!

FUN FACT

Heather loves cats, vintage clothing, and enjoys a good craft beer.

Barbi earned her degree in Commercial Music Business from Florida Atlantic University and has been teaching vocal performance professionally for 3 years. She first started singing when she joined the school chorus in 3rd grade. She wrote her first song when she was 12 years old, and it’s been her passion ever since!

Barbi’s favorite thing about being a teacher is sharing her love of music with others. She relishes the opportunity to explore new genres and styles with her students, and to see them grow in confidence and technical ability as they learn to express themselves through music. She enjoys a wide range of styles but some of her biggest influences include Cher, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, and Harry Styles. Whether it’s a hobby or a more serious pursuit, Barbi loves helping her students build strong technique and musical foundations through studying the music they love.

FUN FACT

Barbi is also an experienced makeup artist- she’s worked in fashion, doing special effects on film sets, and is even working on her own cosmetic line!

Originally from Oklahoma, Josh McClellan is a percussionist and educator now based in Austin, TX. After earning his bachelor's degree from Nashville’s Belmont University, he went on to get his master’s in Music Performance from the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. He has appeared as a guest artist at venues such as Tanglewood Music Festival in Boston, the Lincoln Center in NYC, and the Aspen Music Festival. He is an active freelance player here in Austin, performing in a variety of indie & alternative bands, Latin percussion groups, and classical ensembles.

He loves to help students of all ages and skill levels find their niche and have positive encounters with all different kinds of music.

FUN FACT

Josh enjoys cooking, brewing specialty coffee, traveling, and exploring national parks. He is also an avid soccer fan and performs regularly with La Murga de Austin at Austin FC matches and related events.

Originally from Liberty, TX, he began learning saxophone in 1999 and was quickly enamored with the way music can inspire self-expression. He played in marching band and participated in UIL competitions throughout high school, then went on to study saxophone at Sam Houston State University, clarinet at Angelo State University, and learned jazz piano and harmony at Texas Tech.

Will began playing professionally during college and became a full-time musician when he moved to Austin in 2012. He is currently the sax player and musical director for Austin R&B legend Soul Man Sam, leads his own band, Will & the Hip Pockets, performs and composes original music for a local cabaret company, and even has his own record label called Blue Vada Records.

His favorite thing about being a teacher is sharing his passion for music. He loves watching students get excited about their progress and helping them feel empowered in their journey. Will once asked an accomplished musician if they had advice for someone seeking success in the world of music. They replied, “Always have a teacher.”

FUN FACT

Will enjoys traveling, cooking, visiting family and hanging with his cat, Tupelo Honey.