We have nine guitar teachers at Renaissance Music. Students can study rock, blues, jazz, or classical guitar and can learn traditional musical notation or tablature.

Jeff Lamothe

Jeff has been playing guitar since the age of twelve. He was inspired by the rock and metal genre to learn to play lead guitar in his secondary school years, taking an interest in bands such as AC/DC and Metallica.

Jeff's style has been influenced by the guitar playing of Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Steve Morse, the blues guitar playing of Stevie Ray Vaughn and B.B. King, and the classic guitar playing of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. In addition to his rock studies, Jeff has taken classical guitar studies, music theory and transcription, and examined a variety of fingerstyle methods.

Since starting his tenure as a guitar teacher, Jeff has become more focused on his classical and jazz playing. He has taught guitar at Renaissance since the summer of 2004.

Dave Lavallee

David began teaching with us in our 2005 Summer Session. He hails from Napanee, Ontario. David has successfully taught electric bass and electric guitar for several music schools in the London and Greater Toronto Regions before coming to us here in Kingston. David enjoys working with each student to foster a common goal of increasing their musical knowledge and love for their instrument and art form.

He teaches beginner to intermediate level students of all ages with a precise and consistent format that gives them a greater understanding of musical concepts. This provides his students with insight into how they can improve their inherent musical skills as bassists/guitarists.

David holds two diplomas from Fanshawe College of Applied Arts in London, ON, in Digital Recording Engineering and Music Industry Arts. He has performed with several professional bands including Through the Red, I AM and April Fool. Dave is also a founder of the Renaissance Rock School summer camp for beginner bands.

Jeff Hamacher

Jeff has been teaching at Renaissance since September 2006. He holds the degrees of Honours Bachelor of Music (U. of Western Ontario, 1993), Bachelor of Education (Windsor, 1994), and Master of Education (Queen's, 2007). He began studying guitar privately at age 11, switching from acoustic to electric guitar at age 13. Although cello is his principal instrument, Jeff uses his broad knowledge of music and string instrument technique to inform his teaching approach to the guitar.

Jeff enjoys playing electric guitar in a number of styles, mainly blues, rock, and pop, as well as some basic jazz. He also plays some classical guitar. He prefers to work with beginning to intermediate level students, where he encourages a balanced, structured approach to learning the instrument. Jeff incorporates proper technique, playing by ear ("lifting" songs from recordings), improvisation, and sight reading into his lessons with an eye to developing the student as a well-rounded musician.

Eric Uren

Eric is an accomplished singer/guitarist/harmonica player with countless hours of stage experience under his belt. His style ranges from country & folk, blues and rock to jazz and swing standards.

Beginners can come to Eric to learn the basics of guitar or harmonica in a fun, friendly environment. He enjoys taking the mystery out of music, allowing his students to grow in knowledge and confidence.

If you are a more experienced player Eric can help pick apart specific songs and develop your repertoire so that you can entertain your friends and family around the campfire or at the next open stage.

Guitarists and vocalists can draw on Eric's experience to add another dimension to their playing by learning how to integrate the harmonica into their act (a la Bob Dylan and Neil Young) in either country, folk or blues styles.

Mauricio Montecinos

Mauricio started to play guitar at the age of seven and started to perform with his guitar and voice when he was eight. He has studied and performed a large variety of Afro-Latin American Folk Music, Classical, Folk and Flamenco Guitar Styles, Classic Rock, Music of the Andes Mountains and Latin Social Trova Music.

While pursuing a teaching career, he studied Classical Guitar and Music Theory at the Carolina Klages Music Conservatory in the South of Chile. Mauricio has taught guitar and music courses at various primary and secondary schools in Chile, Music at primary schools in Manitoulin Island and this past year ran a guitar program at three primary schools in Sudbury, Ontario.

Mauricio moved to Sudbury, Ontario in 1993 to continue his performing career, playing at folk festivals and concert series. His music has been broadcast in Canada by CBC, CBON, and Waterloo University Radio. He has had special appearances on MCTV, CBS, and STAR TV networks. International performances at folk festivals include: Chile, Argentina, Brasil, and the Dominican Republic. In the upcoming years Mauricio is planning to perform in Cuba, Mexico and South Africa.

Mauricio plays solo classical Spanish Flamenco guitar and also with a five to nine piece latin fusion band. He features original songs, instrumental compositions and folk songs from across Latin America with a global fusion style.

His latest albums are "Baila Conmigo/Dance With Me" (Nominated for Best Album & Best Songwriting by Music and Film In Motion Awards 2003) and his latest guitar album is Latin Strings/Cuerdas Latinas, recorded live. Past recordings include three tapes of Latin Folk and Social Trova Latin Music by CBC Radio.

Mike Kidd

Mike is a guitarist, and singer/songwriter from Kingston, Ontario. In 2008 he graduated with his diploma from the Digital Arts for Musicians program at St. Lawrence College.

He began studying the guitar at the age of ten, and has developed a strong theory background throughout his studies. He enjoys teaching students in all styles, and teaches the art of improvisation.

A regular performer in and around Kingston, he has played guitar for the touring rock band "Black Talon" from 2004 to 2006. Currently he can be seen with the Torres Family Band.

Michael George

Bio coming soon!

Ryan Lewis

Matt Baetz

Bio coming soon!