MIKE WICKEN
Mike Wicken has been a student of the guitar for the last 50 years. He began playing at
age 6 when his father enrolled him in a local music studio that was sold to him by a door to
door salesman. He continued to take lessons through junior high and high school playing rock
and blues with various bands in the San Fernando Valley.
In 1981 he enrolled in the music department at the University of Arizona where he got
introduced to classical guitar. He studied with Tom Patterson for a year. Circumstances
changed and he moved back to California. While still playing music he pursued a career
In construction and started a business.
In 2009 Mike went back to Music School starting at AV College in Lancaster, Ca. and
finishing with a BM in guitar performance at CSUN. There he studied with John Dearman of the
“Los Angeles Guitar Quartet” and played for and participated in many master classes with
world renown guitarists such as Roland Dyens, Scott Tenant, Bill Kanengiser, Elliot Fisk, Pepe
Romero and others.
Mike has a thorough knowledge of Music Theory and guitar technique in all genres.
Lessons are $35 for a 30 minute time slot. $70 per hour time slot
Charter School Rates are $45 per 30 minute time slot. $85 per hour time slot
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