Guitar Ensemble
•Guitar•Bass Guitar•Ukulele•
Open Enrollment
Online registration begins August 2023. Enrollment is open throughout the year and students can enroll at any time. Parents will need to complete the two step registration process at their child’s first rehearsal. Students should bring their instruments.
Weekly Rehearsals
Each ensemble will have 36 weekly rehearsals and 2 concerts starting on Saturday September 3rd, 2022 through to May 13, 2023.
ALL CLASSES ARE HELD AT THE SANTA MONICA CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
Concerts
The two concert/potluck dates are Sunday December 17, 2023 and Saturdy May 11, 2024 each at 4 pm.
Tuition
To participate, students should register and must be paid-off for current session.
A Tuition fee for Fall Session is $270 which includes 12 Weekly rehearsals.
A Tuition fee for Winter Session is $270 which includes 12 Weekly rehearsals.
A Tuition fee for Spring Session is $270 which includes 12 Weekly rehearsals.
Please click here to register your child’s spot in the program.
Guitar Ensemble – Weekly Rehearsals Saturday 2:00-3:00
Location:
The Santa Monica Conservatory of Music
1501 Colorado Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Call/Text: (310)576-3600
Faculty
With roots from both the Midwest and the San Francisco Bay area, Matthew Purpura has had music in his life since he can remember. With his mother being a classical oboist, Matthew was exposed to music from a young age. His first instrument was flute, and then made the transition to guitar at age twelve. In 2006 Matthew made the move down to Southern California where he was part of the esteemed Applied Music Program at Santa Monica College. He then attended the USC Thornton School of Music (’11) where he was fortunate enough to study a wide range of musical genres from classical to popular music. In his time at USC Matthew studied under Tim Kobza, Steve Travto, Adam Del Monte, Russ Ferrante, Edwin Livingston, and many other great artists. He is the winner of the 2011 Thornton Outreach Ensemble Competition, and currently spends his time teaching and performing in the Los Angeles area. His other interests include long distance cycling trips, surfing, and Mandarin Chinese.B
Members will learn exciting charts and develop music skills such as improvisation, sight reading, and rhythmic development.
Although classically trained, Tim Redfield discovered Jazz Piano at an early age and it became his passion, and after graduating from North Texas State University with a B.A. in Jazz Performance and moving to L.A., Tim began working with artists from Englebert Humperdinck to Ricky Martin. His touring and production credits include many well known artists of today (Peter White, Richard Elliot, Richard Smith) as well as dozens of theatrical productions. Tim’s body of work in the television commercial world crosses all genres and include clients such as Coke, Disney, Nike, Chevrolet, AT&T and many more, examples of which may be seen on his website, timredfield.com. As a session keyboardist, as well as bandleader for several of L.A.s premier entertainment agencies, Tim is equally at home on stage as in the studio, and on any given day can be seen performing all over the Los Angeles/ Orange County area. Tim enjoys teaching beginning piano to kids as young as 3, and for his more advanced students teaches Jazz Piano and Music Production.
Alec Milstein began his musical career on the cello at the age of 9, and at age 11 made his concert debut at Grady Gamage hall in Phoenix with the Arizona Cello Society, sharing the stage with none other than Maestro Pablo Casals. By age 13 however, he had switched to bass. His undergraduate studies were completed in three years at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass. At age 22, he recieved a Masters degree in Music from the University of Southern California, and was the youngest student ever to recieve the Departmental Award for outstanding graduate student in his department. Mr. Milstein became an adjunct professor at USC for several years, then continued into the private sector for concerts, recording, touring and teaching. He has also appeared on many contemporary and jazz recordings, film soundtracks and television scores, as well as touring with Diana Ross, Bette Midler, and countless other popular music acts.
Zach Neufeld received a BM in Music Composition from the University of Redlands in 2010. After graduating, Zach served as a staff accompanist in the School of Music at U of R and a music librarian for the Redlands Symphony. He is active as a freelance classical/jazz pianist and accompanist.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Erick Jovel is an active freelance musician with versatility ranging from orchestral to jazz and other commercial music. He has performed with orchestra such as the Malaysian Philharmonic, Long Beach Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Pacific Palisades Symphony, Los Angeles Valley Symphony, Glendale Philharmonic, Riverside Philharmonic, Culver City Chamber Orchestra, Centerstage Opera and several Musical Theatre companies. He also performs with various international latin artist such as Andy Montañez, Tony Vega, Yari Moré, Sonora Dinamita, Sonora Caliente and Orquesta Tabaco y Ron. Erick has participated in the Banff All Star Brass Festival where he performed with world class musicians: Jens Lindemann, Ryan Anthony, Marty Hackleman, Mark Gould, Phil Snedicor, Alain Trudel, Alstair Kay and Pat Sheridan. Erick earned a Bachelor degree in Music Performance from CSUN under the mentorship of David Washburn and a Master of Music Degree from UCLA under the mentorship of Jens Lindemann.
With roots from both the Midwest and the San Francisco Bay area, Matthew Purpura has had music in his life since he can remember. With his mother being a classical oboist, Matthew was exposed to music from a young age. His first instrument was flute, and then made the transition to guitar at age twelve. In 2006 Matthew made the move down to Southern California where he was part of the esteemed Applied Music Program at Santa Monica College. He then attended the USC Thornton School of Music (’11) where he was fortunate enough to study a wide range of musical genres from classical to popular music. In his time at USC Matthew studied under Tim Kobza, Steve Travto, Adam Del Monte, Russ Ferrante, Edwin Livingston, and many other great artists. He is the winner of the 2011 Thornton Outreach Ensemble Competition, and currently spends his time teaching and performing in the Los Angeles area. His other interests include long distance cycling trips, surfing, and Mandarin Chinese.
Scott Shiever is the Saxophone instructor at the Santa Monica Conservatory of Music. He began playing clarinet at age 12 and started playing saxophone and flute at age 15. He attended Mesa Community College and the University of Nevada Las Vegas where he played numerous professional engagements.