Barbara Leoni
Barbara Leoni: music teacher, guitarist, pianist, vocalist
Originally from Wisconsin, Barbara Leoni studied piano and guitar in grade school with Sister Thelma. She picked up electric guitar in high school and started playing in rock bands. She was a music student at UW LaCrosse, where she was in the jazz band, and studied jazz and classical guitar, music theory and vocals. She came out to LA to attend Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, (GIT Guitar Institute of Technology) where she graduated with honors and was awarded a USA Custom Ibanez guitar. She studied vocal technique extensively with Robert Edwards, renown vocal coach to the stars (Christina Aguillara, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow ) and learned to teach his method, similar to the famous “Seth Riggs” method. She studied the Suzuki Method of piano pedagogy with Alyse Korn of Suzuki Piano of Ojai.
Barbara remained in LA working in numerous bands spanning a wide variety of musical styles including blues, rock, country, surf, and even Persian music! With “The California Girls”, an all female surf band, she opened for “The Beach Boys”, “The Safaris”, “Jan and Dean”, “Steppin Wolf”; toured the US playing theaters, fairs, casinos; and played overseas for the troops in Bosnia, Kosovo, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Iraq, Afghanistan, Norway, Germany, the Pacific Islands, and Diego Garcia. She was a member of the Greg London band, an impressionist with whom she performed in Leicester Square in the West End of London, Harrah’s Reno for a 2 1/2 year run, and in Las Vegas for a year and a half at the Riviera and Hilton. She currently performs with her band, “Breakfast with Barbie” here in the Antelope Valley, and Cervantes, Bump City and the Mary White Band, as well as freelance gigs.
Barbara teaches voice, piano, guitar, bass, ukelele and mandolin.
Lessons are $35 for a 30 minute time slot / $70 for a60 minute time slot
Paul Smith
Private Instruction / Classes:
Teaching Piano, Keyboards, Melodica, Theory, Recording, Digital Audio and Songwriting.
Spring and Fall Recitals (April & September) plus a December Christmas Concert give students a chance to play “live” before an audience and also see what other musicians are doing.
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Gospel, Blues, Country, Broadway, Folk, Ethnic World, Egyptian, Hymns, Hits.
Instruction Level:
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Rates: $45 / half hour lesson, weekly
Charter School Rates $55 / half hour lesson, weekly
Performance Experience:
Years of live and studio performance with jazz, show, rock, and country bands throughout USA, Japan, and Canada. Musical director and performer for shows in Vegas, Tahoe, Reno and college theater (San Jose State, West Valley Saratoga, and UC Santa Cruz). Songwriting awards and publishing with Alesis, Warner Bros., Trend, Hollywood Song Jubilee. Played live and recorded with bands and players from Drifters, Zappa, Santana, Doobie Bros., Platters, Jethro Tull, Azteca, Tower of Power. Current projects include “Monsters of Bach”, and Burning Man live shows.