Drums/ Percussion
Four way independence
Drum Beats
Rudiments
Reading
Songs
Luis Figueroa
Luis is an accomplished instrumentalist who can regularly be found performing in the heart of the music scene in Toronto. His passion for instruments was very apparent since a young age. Beginning his journey with the drums at 9 years of age, he quickly decided that the guitar and bass should be his next challenge. He engrossed himself in any performance opportunity possible, school band, church choir, jazz combo, funk and punk bands, the list goes on.
Luis has a post-secondary education coming from the Jazz program at Humber college in Toronto. Having worked on over a dozen albums and projects, and having 15 years of teaching under his belt, Luis has a vast pool of knowledge and experience that he passes on to his students with ease. His students absolutely love him, he's a natural.
Luis finds his passion in the production of music electronically and organically but always finds time for session work, teaching and his country/folk rock outfit "The Idaho Stop."
Lesley Bouza
Soprano, voice teacher and accredited music therapist Lesley Bouza is
happiest when she is using music to connect to others, whether on the stage, in the voice studio or in health care settings. Lesley completed her vocal performance studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and has relished her experiences performing with musical ensembles such as The Elora Singers, Les Violons du Roy, The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, The Nathaniel Dett Chorale and The Swingle Singers, on stages across the world from Asia, to Europe to North America.
As a voice teacher Lesley loves to work with singers of every experience level, helping her students to find their authentic voice, across every style and genre. Her technical approach is rooted in singing practices which support healthy voices, ensuring that her students are working towards a technique which will have them singing clearly and easily whether they are performing jazz, pop, broadway or classical repertoire. In her work as a music therapist, Lesley is passionate about the potential of music to support well-being in various and diverse client populations, with a particular interest in using music to support mental health for individuals and groups from every age and walk of life.
Website: www.lesleybouza.com
Instagram: @lesleybouzamt
Kevin Saltarelli
Kevin graduated from Wilfred Laurier University in 2005 with a B.A. (Hons) in Music Composition. While at Wilfred Laurier, Kevin studied piano performance with Dr. Jamie Parker and Dr. Heather Dawn Taves; composition with Dr. Peter Hatch, Linda Catlin Smith and Cam McKittrick; and improvisation with Dr. Glenn Buhr.
Since completing his studies, Kevin has developed a career as a music educator. With a heavy emphasis on creativity, he has directed youth bands and improvisation workshops in elementary schools and provides private instruction in piano, composition, theory, improvisation, songwriting, introductory guitar/bass, and electronic music.
Since 2015, Kevin has been the Music Director for Family and children’s Services for the Waterloo region. This work has involved collaborations with various community partners and artists who work together to provide original programming to build resilience for at-risk youth and other families within the region.
Olaf Szester
Olaf is a teacher, percussionist and audio engineer who began his musical journey at an early age on the piano. He has an Honours Bachelor Degree from Wifred Laurier University majoring in Performance and Composition, and a Performance Bachelors Degree from the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Den Haag, the Netherlands. He has been deeply involved in the music scene and has national and international performance experience in a variety of settings, classical, jazz, rock, pop, country etc. He has 18 years teaching experience and is passionate about music making and sharing that knowledge with others.
Olaf is also a Certified Mastering Engineer from the Mastering Academy in Hamburg, Germany. In most recent years Olaf has put more focus on audio production, in order to fuel some of his own projects and to help others bring their projects up to commercial standards.