Piano

Kirk has been teaching and playing piano professionally since high school. He has travelled from the Soviet Union to Alaska and Rawhide as a performer. He teaches all styles from classical to jazz and works primarily with more advanced students at both studios. Here is a recording of one of Kirk’s former student, Harley Jay, on one of Kirk’s originals.......read more

Guitar

Alex Resnick is a guitarist and educator with over fifteen years of experience in the field of music. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance from Arizona State University........read more.....

Piano & Voice

Ashton began studying music at the age of 14 and obtained her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Arizona State University. Ashton has.........read more.....

Guitar, Bass, Ukulele, Banjo, Mandolin, & Songwriting

Billy Cioffi, a 35-year veteran of the grueling and magnificent Los Angeles music scene, was born in Albany, NY. At age 16 he was signed with his band, The Grey Things, to Laurie Records and toured as the opening act of musical icons (The Allman Brothers, The Velvet Underground, The Byrds, the Lovin Spoonful, and The Rascals).. .....read more....

Piano & Violin

Bob joins us as he begins a new phase of his career, out of New York and into the Arizona desert. Bob has performed and taught professionally in New York for over 25 years. He has accompanied numerous choruses and orchestras as well as performed as a sole pianist for many New York and private clubs......read more.....

Guitar, Bass, Ukulele, Mandolin

Brett James Phillips has had a guitar in his hand every day since he discovered his passion in high school. Brett has taught in the Phoenix area for thirty years......read more.....

Brass & Winds

Brianne Borden currently attends Arizona State University for her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Trumpet Performance where she served as Teaching Assistant from 2016-2018.........read more.....

Piano & Voice

Brittany has been performing since the young age of 9. Brittany has placed at NATS, performed in venues such as the Lincoln Center in New York City, and often performs the National Anthem for Arizona State University events.........read more.....

Guitar

Conor Lafferty has been drawn to the instrument of guitar since the young age of 10, and his ventures into music eventually led him to begin taking lessons during his sophomore year of high school at Kirk‘s Studio in 2015. .........read more.....

Violin & Piano

Cristo Shumake is a classically-trained violinist currently getting her Master of Music in Violin Performance Pedagogy at Arizona State University.......read more.....

Guitar & Bass

As the son of a professional, touring musician, Dominic took up bass and went on tour with his father at the age of 11. As a teen, Dominic started racing BMX and within 6 months he was in national races in his home province of Quebec, Canada........read more.....

Piano, Voice and Guitar

Ellie Bender is an experienced musician from Gilbert, AZ and joined Kirk’s faculty in 2018. She has loved music from a young age and is classically trained in piano, guitar, and vocal arts. Ellie participated in the Arizona Study Program for piano throughout all of high school and received the Superior Honors reward for her playing for three consecutive years. Arizona Study Program specializes in teaching classical music and theory to young musicians. Students are tested by written exam and playing test every year.........read more.....

Guitar

A native of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, guitarist Erik Sloyka holds a B.M. in Guitar Performance from the Eastman School of Music, M.M. and D.M.A. in Guitar Performance from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts—School of Music......read more.....

Drums & Percussion

Emilio is a graduate of San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Music in Applied Arts and Sciences. Since moving to Arizona, he has been awarded a 2000 Artist Project Grant from the National Endowment.......read more.....

Guitar & Voice

Erick came to Kirk’s Studio in 2008 as a young musician, already performing professionally. After a couple years of voice lessons at Kirk’s, he was ready to take on the position of instructor.......read more.....

Percussion

Frank comes from an illustrious pedigree of percussionists. His instructors include: John Robinson, most recorded drummer in history and toured with Michael Jackson; Joe Morris, drummer for Whitney Houston and toured with Esteban. Frank has a six-year degree in music studies .......read more.....

Voice & Piano

Gabriella began studying music at the age of 9. A native of Tucson, Arizona, she moved to Tempe on a full scholarship to The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. .......read more.....

Guitar, Bass, Ukulele & Banjo

Garrett holds a degree in Jazz Performance from ASU and has been teaching in the Valley for many years. He’s been with Kirk’s Studio since 2018 and brings . .......read more.....

Beatboxing

Jeewon has been beatboxing now for 7 years. While he was honing his beatboxing skills, he has performed in various talent shows and performances including Kirk’s very own All Star Showcase. It was after seeing his beatboxing .......read more.....

Piano

Jimmy started playing the piano at the age of 6 and by the time he was 15 was in a band and gigging around town. He has since toured with a number of bands and done lots of studio work.......read more.....

Piano

José Salazar started his musical education in Aguascalientes Mexico at the Center for Musical Studies Manuel M. Ponce. He then continued at Arizona State University studying under Regents Professor Caio Pagano where he received his Bachelors in Piano Performance.......read more.....

Piano & Harp

A native of London, England, Juliana Scholle started playing piano and harp within a couple of months of each other when she was 12 years old. After 2 years of playing and receiving consistent top placements in competitions, Juliana became a piano and harp student at the Royal College.......read more.....

Piano & Voice

Kenny Holland is a singer-songwriter & entertainer raised in the music scene of Arizona. He began his musical journey with piano lessons at the age of 8. After he started to perform professionally at the age of 14, he released his first pop album at age 16......Read More

Clarinet

Kristi Hanno is working on her second year as a Clarinet Performance student in the doctoral program at Arizona State University, studying under Dr. Robert Spring and Dr. Joshua Gardner, where she received her Master of Music degree.....Read More

Acting, Piano & Voice

Lauren holds a Bachelor’s in Vocal Music Education from Loyola and a Master’s in Voice Performance from Chicago College of Performing Arts. She has now settled in Arizona as she works on.......read more.....

Violin, Viola, Cello & Piano

Dr. Dura has a long career as a music educator at every level from grade school through college and graduate level courses. She is down-to-earth and loves to see her students succeed.........read more.....

Percussion

Max has been drumming professionally since high school and started teaching at Kirk’s shortly after graduating from Desert Mountain........read more.....

Guitar, Ukulele, Songwriting, Beatmaking

Michael is a community musician, performer, and educator who has taught at Kirk’s Studio since 2011. He began playing guitar when he was 14, and has a bachelor of science in communication........read more.....

Percussion

Patrick Jacob is a Arizona native out of Peoria, AZ. He is working towards his B.A. in Music Education at Arizona State University. While his primary instrument is percussion, he is also a member of ASU’s winds and steel band ensembles. .........read more.....

Piano

Peter grew up in Budapest Hungary and has been playing piano since the age of four. He studied classical music at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest – the most prestigious music university in Hungary. Here, he earned his Masters.......read more.....

Piano

Robert Avril has been teaching at Kirk’s Studio for the Performing Arts since 2014. He received a Bachelor of Music degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Piano Performance from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts of Arizona State University........read more.....

Piano

Rob Graham, or as his friends and family call him, Robo, started teaching piano in 2015. Rob started playing the piano as a youngster and quickly excelled studying personally with Kirk Taylor. His favorite type of piano music is the Contemporary Style.........read more.....

Acting & Voice

Roger has been teaching voice and acting at Kirk’s Studio since 2006 and is a veteran of the entertainment industry. He’s done everything from acting classes with Richard Dreyfuss to co-directing with Don Bluth.......read more.....

Strings

Ryan McGuire is a native of Dallas, Texas, and currently attends Arizona State University (ASU). She has performed with orchestras and chamber ensembles at the Meyerson Symphony Center, Eisemann Center, Caruth Auditorium (SMU), .......read more.....

Guitar, Piano & Saxophone

Sam has a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and a Master’s in Saxophone Performance from ASU where he was the saxophone teaching assistant. He has taken pedagogy coursework for all wind instruments.......read more.....

Piano, Violin, Viola & Cello

Sarah Rachel Evins went from banging pots as a baby to playing in Carnegie Hall and performing with Grammy Award winners

Sarah began music lessons at age 5, excelled at the Las Vegas Academy for the Performing Arts as valedictorian and concerto competition winner, and chose to specialize in viola performance in college.........read more.....

Piano & Cello

Sarah Han is currently finishing her Doctorate in Cello Performance studying under internationally renowned cellist and pedagogue, Tom Landschoot. She is also an active musician and instructor here in the Valley........read more.....

Piano, Voice, Guitar, & Oboe

Stacie’s list of accomplishments and accolades is lengthy to say the least, but for the sake of brevity, we’ll present the tip of the iceberg. After graduating as Valedictorian of her class........read more.....