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Gainesville Guitar Academy Our faculty is dedicated to teaching excellence in a warm, friendly environment, designed to inspire the joy of music and art. The Academy is proud of our teacher's commitment to be here for our student's long-term goals. Our facility houses twelve studios, a recital hall, and a visual art studio, all in a beautiful historical building in the thriving heart of Gainesville.

Lessons are customized to the individual goals of students of all ages from children to adults in private music, small art classes, as well as special group sessions and master-classes. A special program for early music education, MusikGarten, gives even the youngest child an opportunity to develop skills in movement, instrumental music, and group activities.

The Academy has been given approval by the school system so that its lessons count for required arts credits in home school and high school programs.
Highlights and features
  • Harmonica, Banjo, Bass, Trumpet, Mandolin, Cello, Music Theory, Clarinet, Voice, Flute, Guitar, Saxophone
People
Olga Ballengee
Olga Ballengee
Olga Ballengee is an accomplished performing musician, music teacher, and scholar. Violin students of various backgrounds, interests, and goals can benefit from her well-rounded and diverse musical training. Olga teaches students of all ability levels, ages three to adult.
Geoffrey Fitzhugh Perry
Geoffrey Fitzhugh Perry
Violin lessons with Geoff Perry are light hearted and fun. Even though he is a seasoned professional jazz violinist who has played “gigs” like the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival in front of 40,000 people and been a soloist with symphony orchestras, Geoff prides himself in making students of any age (3 to 93 so far!) and ability level comfortable in exploring their own unique musical experience.
Billy Bowker
Billy Bowker
One of the Academy’s most experienced teachers, Billy attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston before transferring to the University of Miami where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music. He has played in many Gainesville venues with the Frank Sullivan Trio, as well as Latin bands such as Sin Tiempo, and Caribe Son. Billy specializes in jazz, big band and Latin styles, as well as percussion.
Chet Honeycutt
Chet Honeycutt
Chet attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. He has performed professionally throughout Florida on electric and acoustic guitar and bass in a variety of bands. His diverse range of musical styles includes rock, pop, blues, funk, bluegrass, jazz and reggae.
Darlene Magee
Darlene Magee
An eclectic and vast musical background is what I bring to the Academy. As long as I can remember, music has been an important part of my life. Once you become a student of music, you will discover there is so much to learn you will never run out of new and amazing material. It is a joy to teach piano. I love sharing the excitement and pride my students’ feel when they have learned well a challenging piece of music.
Reviews (11)
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Robert Silver
Oct 08, 2018
Randy is a wonderful guitar teacher with a progressive method of teaching that works really well. Vicky is a great piano teacher who has a passion for music. And Larry teaches the drums with a little flair only a drummer can show. Great to have this in our community with fair pricing and amazing teachers.
Kristie Dorman
Jun 29, 2018
After earning my Master's degree in special education from UF, I decided to revisit my passion for musical theater. The first step was reaching out to the Academy of Music and Art. I was fortunate enough to be paired with Mrs. Emily Lopez. First of all, Emily's voice is INCREDIBLE! She sings like an angel. She has clearly spent so many years perfecting her craft. Emily is also patient, kind, and fun to be around.

During our lessons, she makes me feel comfortable and free to make mistakes. As if that wasn't enough, Emily is highly knowledgeable. She knows her stuff! Again, it's obvious how much time she has dedicated to studying voice. My experience at the Academy of Music and Art has been better than I ever expected, all thanks to Emily!
Jeremy Dunn
Apr 11, 2018
I'm an intermediate guitar player and I came to the academy to take voice lessons with Emily Lopez. She is incredibly knowledge and was a really great teacher. I had no prior vocal training and I was really impressed with how much she was able to help me progress in only a few months. My ultimate goal is to perform at an open mic and she helped me get closer to that goal by allowing me to perform at a recital. Yes, I was nervous but thanks to Emily's preparation and guidance it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.

I now feel I'm ready to conquer my fear and perform at an open mic. If I wasn't leaving Gainesville there is no question that I would continue my lessons with Emily and I would probably look into guitar lessons as well. No matter what your instrument, they have a talented staff member who can help you. Thank you Emily!
Laura Jackson
Mar 11, 2018
I recently decided to get back into voice lessons after a gap of a few years. I am primarily interested in musical theatre and was placed with Emily Lopez. Emily is one of the best voice teachers I have ever worked with! I learn something valuable at every single lesson and always leave feeling more confident. Plus, it's really fun! She makes you feel comfortable and good about your voice, and pushes you to be better but somehow in a fun and laid back way. She has also introduced me to new songs based on my vocal range that are now part of my repertoire. Truly a gifted teacher.
Rachel K.
Jan 31, 2018
Christian is currently teaching the violin to my 11 year old. He is kind, patient and knowledgeable. I would recommend him to a person of any age. The academy is a great place. Their rates are low but their teachers are professional.
Kelly Castro
Dec 06, 2017
Currently taking lessons here with Emily Lopez. She is wonderfully patient and flexible to the need and skill level of her students. She is also well-trained in her profession. She provides a fun, more contemporary approach in her teaching style and song repertoire. Thanks to her enthusiasm, lessons and a recital with her other students have helped me build confidence in my performance.
Toby Sembower
Oct 26, 2017
My daughter takes voice lessons with Kim Peterson at the Academy, and we couldn't be happier with our experience to date. Kim always goes the extra mile to ensure she's inspired, supported, and given every opportunity to progress as a vocalist. The events Kim organizes, such as our recent concert at Bo Diddley Plaza, are a nice reward for the practice her students put in and create memories they'll never forget.
Emily Couperus
Oct 17, 2017
I attend the Academy of Music and Art & Gainesville Guitar. I take voice lessons with Emily Lopez and she has developed my voice more and I knew I have the potential for. Attending the acedemy has been such a wonderful experience and if I had to do it over again I would do the same thing. My voice coach is highly qualified to coach in any type of genre of music I wish to sing. If you are looking for an academy that is family oriented and will improve your skills to their full potential, this is definitely the place.
S. M.
Sep 16, 2017
I have sung for many years, but I never had the opportunity to be trained by a professional voice teacher until now. I took voice lessons with Emily Lopez for only two months and the results have been amazing! My vocal range has expanded, and the quality of my voice and volume has increased dramatically. I no longer strain my voice when I sing. I am really grateful for Emily and for what she has been able to help me accomplish in such a short amount of time. Thank you Emily and may God Bless You Always!
Saie Kurakula
Sep 06, 2017
I've wanted to take voice lessons and learn how to sing for years. I've been able to carry a tune before, but never could quite get things to sound the way I wanted. I finally worked up the nerve to do so and started taking lessons with Emily Lopez a few months ago. I was incredibly lucky to be paired with someone who is talented, knows what she's doing as a teacher, and (above all) patient.

The first lesson we spent really talking about what I wanted to accomplish and she has since done a great job trying to gear the material we're working towards that. The Academy itself is located in a very nice building with good practice rooms. I would definitely recommend trying them if you're interested in taking lessons.
Peter M.
Apr 02, 2010
Both of my children have taken lessons here and I have been happy with both of their instructors in both drums and violin. They offer classes from beginner through advanced and have music classes for people as young as kindergarten. I have seen people of all ages taking lessons. they offer your first lesson for free so you can see if you like the instructor. The only down side is that they do not have a full time staff person and it is often hard to reach someone to get information.