Guitar

Guitar Teachers

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  Martin Craggs

  ATCL (Guitar)


Martin Craggs
ATCL (Guitar)
Martin began playing stringed instruments at the age of 7 with the violin before progressing to guitar a few years later. After playing in bands on the club circuit for some years he took some time out to study the instrument further at Newcastle College. After passing his Performance Certificate, ATCL Qualification in Classical Guitar and Higher National Diploma in Applied Music Studies in quick succession he began teaching the guitar at the NMC in 1998. In a varied performance career, Martin has played in folk, rock, pop, jazz and blues bands at venues and festivals across the UK and Europe and, as part of the award winning Maggie Ross Band, has had airplay on national radio. Martin continues to perform regularly and works as a session guitarist.
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  Kieran Szifris

  B.Mus (Hons) (Mandolin)


Kieran Szifris
B.Mus (Hons) (Mandolin)
Kieran began making music with the family band in Birmingham, playing his first paid gig at the tender age of 13. His classical training began at the age of 11 and, after gaining Grade 8 flute, led to a place on the Traditional and Folk Music Degree course at Newcastle University. He pursued and learned flute styles from all over the world under first class tutition from musicians such as Niall Keegan, Kathryn Tickell and Brian Finnegan. At University he started his own band, The Monster Ceilidh Band, which has gone on to tour all over the world, including Russia and Malaysia, playing in front of thousands at the UK’s largest festivals. After University, Kieran became a professional musician, playing flute in his own innovative folk-based line ups, and with some of the country’s very best musicians at various festivals. Kieran has won “The New Roots Award” and received many glowing reviews in the UK’s national press and music web sites. He also plays mandolin, and continues to enjoying learning bluegrass style for mandolin from Mike Marshall, one of the world’s leading players. In his spare time Kieran loves to run and play at his weekly folk music session which has been running in Newcastle for the past 8 years.
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  Laurence Harrison

  B.Mus (Hons) (Guitar)


Laurence Harrison
B.Mus (Hons) (Guitar)
Laurence Harrison is an experienced and encouraging music teacher who was introduced to music at the age of 5 when he began learning the violin. Laurence started playing the piano at 12 and later guitar at the age of 14 and was awarded a scholarship to the Purcell School of Music to focus his studies on the violin. In 2008 Laurence won a scholarship to the Royal Northern College of Music to specialise in violin, before moving to London to continue his studies on guitar at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance where he finished his Bmus music degree.
Laurence is a well respected guitar and violin teacher and performs in a professional capacity understanding a broad range of musical genres and styles of contemporary music. Laurence taught at one of West London’s leading schools for music; the Music House for Children, in Shepherds Bush for over 8 years, teaching individual and group lessons and can inspire people in a fun and rewarding way. Laurence has performed in many notable venues such as Wigmore hall, Queen Elizabeth hall, Ronnie Scotts and closer to home theSage Gateshead. Laurence is also a keen chess player and was invited onto the British team in 2018.
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  Hamilton Machado

  (Guitar & Bass Guitar)


Hamilton Machado
(Guitar & Bass Guitar)
Hamilton Machado is an experienced music teacher who discovered his love for music at the age of 6 attending school events and at 16 years old he began learning guitar. He started playing electric guitar and later acoustic guitar, acquiring experience also in bass guitar and ukulele.
For decades, he was part of several bands of different styles such as pop rock, funk, and classic rock, enhancing his skills as a performer and experiencing several types of live music venues.
Before his music degree, Hamilton enhanced his musical technical skills and knowledge under first-class tuition from musicians such as Neil Mellor (Liverpool Guitar Tuition – UK) and Luciano Romanelli (Romanelli´s Academy of Music – Brazil), which enabled him to take exams to successfully applied to the Licentiate Music degree at Parana State University (Brazil).
Hamilton´s music teaching journey started in 1998. For 7 years, he worked in the renowned School of Music Rhythm and Sound in Brazil, where he had the opportunity to collaborate with many great musicians, exchange information about learning, teaching, and performing music, and work with people of all ages and abilities, becoming a versatile and experienced teacher. He also was the founder of the Liverpool Musical Centre in Brazil. For more than two decades, Hamilton has been teaching children and adults from absolute beginners to advanced players in a broad range of musical genres and styles such as folk, pop, pop rock, blues rock, and classic rock. His achievements are based on his ability to create a nurturing and warm environment of learning, his friendly and patient attitude with students, and his ability to keep them motivated.