Meet The Team

Kirk Taylor
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

Ashton Bates
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.....

Billy Cioffi
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....

Bob Weir
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.....

Conor Lafferty
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.....

David Zych
Piano & Voice
David started playing piano at 4 and has been playing ever since! He grew up in the Chicagoland area and attended DePaul University majoring in piano performance with Mary Sauer, principal keyboardist of the Chicago Symphony, and studying jazz with Alan Swain. Immediately after graduation.....read more.....

Eric Meyers
Guitar and Voice
After a successful career in real estate, Eric Meyers is thrilled to devote himself full-time to his real love: music! Eric has been playing and performing since his younger years and has trained with some of the best in the business. He specializes in.......read more.....

Dr. Erik Sloyka
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.....

Flora Mogerman
Piano
Talk about an absolute treasure. Flora began her musical career after turning down an offer from the Juilliard School to attend Manhattan School of Music on scholarship where she completed her Master’s of Music. She played for rehearsals for the.....read more.....

Frank Morrison
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.....

Gabi Cavalcanti
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.....

Garrett Ortego
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.....

Isaac Tomlinson
Drums
Isaac began his teaching career as a teenager while playing center snare for his state champion drumline. Isaac began studying drums and percussion while in grade school and eventually won spots with DCI (Drum Corps International) on Drumset for........read more.....

James Rudolph
Guitar, Piano, and Voice
Since 2011 James has been performing as a soloist and with multiple artists in LA. He received his Bachelor’s in Music in Jazz Studies (Guitar) and has studied with some of the best in the business. In addition to being a killer musician, James.......read more.....

Jimmy Lee Boggs
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.....

Julian Weinstein
Guitar & Bass
Julian has been playing music nearly his whole life. Starting with piano at the age of 6, and guitar at the age of 8, Julian developed a passion for music early on. He started playing bass in first band his freshman year of high school, where he played in a Heavy Metal band called.......read more.....

Kenny Holland
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

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

Peter Vamos
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.....

Philip Godfrey
Voice & Piano
Philip Godfrey is a singer/piano player raised in Arizona. He attended Manhattan School of Music and holds a degree from Arizona State University in vocal performance, where he......read more.....

Robert Avril
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.....

Roger McKay
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.....

Ryan McGuire
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.....

Dr. Sam Detweiler
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.....

Sonja Prychitko
Piano, Violin, Viola & Cello
Sonja Prychitko is a violinist from Marquette, Michigan. She moved to Phoenix in August 2019 to pursue a Master’s degree in Violin Performance Pedagogy at Arizona State University. Sonja currently studies violin under Dr. Danwen Jiang and is a member of the ASU Symphony Orchestra.
Sonja joined the faculty of Kirk’s Studio and Arizona School of Music in September.........read more.....
About Gina
Gina has been greeting students since 2014 and has become an integral part of the Kirk’s Studio family. She’s always friendly and super helpful. Here’s your chance to get to know her a little better. : )