Meet Your Teachers
Alison, Ben, Dave, Grace, James, Keenan, & Bayley
We look forward to teaching you!
Alison Glew
She runs weekly (sold out) Ukulele Workshops, is the leader of Ukulele Jam an online community of over 500 ukulele musicians from all over the world and is the creator of the popular online courses Ukulele Evolution and Intro To Ukulele and along with her monthly online membership, Ukulele Club.
Alison has helped thousands of students become confident musicians through her school and is well known for simplifying musical concepts so that students learn quickly and easily.
Ben Lazzaro
Ben graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) Contemporary Music Degree in 2021 with Honours.
He is a highly versatile, contemporary guitarist with over 13 years of performance experience and 8 years experience as part of the local music scene in Perth. He has cultivated a wide range of skills across multiple musical genres including, Blues, Rock, Funk, Fusion, Soul Folk and Modern R&B, which he happily teaches to his students.
Ben has won multiple music awards the latest being 1st prize for Best Original Creative Work in The Royal Overseas League (ROSL) music competition in 2021.
He is a patient, relaxed and friendly teacher with over 6 years experience teaching both children and adults at Alison Glew Guitar School. He has successfully prepared students for auditions who successfully gained entrance to WAAPA and John Curtin College of the Arts.
David Petchell
GUITAR, UKULELE & BASS SENIOR TEACHER
Dave Petchell is a calm and good-humoured teacher with close to 10 years of music teaching experience.
He is currently studying Sound Production at TAFE and has studied music formally completing various AMEB exams in Classical Guitar and Theory.
He began playing classical guitar when he was 7 years old and one of his first gigs was performing at the opening of the prestigious Mandurah Performing Arts Centre in 1997.
Since then he has performed at Challenge Stadium, SOTA and other Perth music festivals, been nominated for "WAM Song of the Year".
His band "My Shadow and I" was nominated for a second time last year (2019) for the "WAM Song of the Year Award" in the Punk/Hardcore category.
He has released recordings with many different artists and supported bands such as Panic! at the Disco, Eskimo Joe, 28 Days, The Getaway Plan and Strung Out.
Dave plays predominately Punk, Rock, Blues, Classical and Pop music and enjoys producing and recording his own tracks.
He has a relaxed and fun teaching vibe and enjoys encouraging students to choose their own musical direction at a pace they are most comfortable learning at.
He shows his students how to master the key concepts of the instrument regardless of the songs or styles the students wish to learn.
Fun Facts: Dave is currently recording his bands EP at the John Butler Studio in Fairbridge, has longer hair than Alison and is terrible at guessing the movie title which corresponds to a particular song.
James Lilly
His powerful and expressive guitar playing is inspired by his passion for guitar legends and bands from the late 60s and 70s.
He loves teaching Rock, Blues, Funk, Pop and Jazz and is dedicated to helping students develop great technique, rhythm and aural skills so they can become confident musicians.
James has been regularly performing in Perth for the past 6 years with various original groups, outfits and at events, including Wamfest and Morning Melodies at His Majesty's Theatre.
Keenan Levis
GUITAR & UKULELE SENIOR TEACHER
Keenan Levis is an easy-going, relaxed but passionate musician and tutor who has experience teaching guitar students of all ages.
He enjoys teaching in all areas and levels of guitar, but is especially interested in working with people who are passionate about gaining entry to school and university music programs. He is dedicated to helping them fully prepare for the audition process so they can have the best chance at being accepted.
Keenan completed his final semester in WAAPA's 4 year Music Bachelor in Contemporary Music at the end of 2019.
He's been a music student since the age of 9 and a proud guitar-nerd since 11 years old!
After switching to electric guitar from piano, the world of contemporary music from rock 'n roll to soul; hip jop; jazz and pop has been a central part of Keenan's life and future career goals, with a few of his favourite artists including John Mayer, Jimi Hendrix, Anderson .Paak and Stevie Wonder.
His passion for all things musical, his experience learning advanced guitar technique and music theory at WAAPA and his desire to help students to work towards their own personal goals on the guitar has allowed Keenan to be a fabulous contemporary music teacher.
Keenan prefers to design unique lessons for individual students, taking into account their musical experience, personalities and interests
Fun Facts: Keenan is a huge AFL (Essendon Bombers) and NBA (Houston Rockets) fan and has been a long time lover of video games. He is always happy to teach students how to play their favourite movie/video game song!
Grace Brady
Grace has been playing guitar for the past 6 years and is one of Alison’s most talented students. She can play a wide range of styles, techniques and genres and happily shares her passion for music with her students..
She loves listening to pop, alternative, and indie music and singing and playing acoustic cover arrangements on guitar.
Grace specialises in teaching beginner students (adults and children) and focuses on ensuring they enjoy their lessons and develop a lifelong love for music.
She is very good at teaching music fundamentals such as correct playing technique, basic music theory, rhythm and strumming and playing acoustic covers of songs in chords, finger-picking and riffs.
Families and students love her because she get great results, is friendly, relaxed and relates easily to young people.
Grace is calm and patient and loves to instil in students the qualities of hard work, personal best, perseverance and the value of life-long learning.
Fun facts: Grace is an accomplished ballroom dancer and has been awarded numerous ballroom dance awards, including placings at Dance Masters International Association events and Australian Institute of Dance events, as well as awards such as Penny Dennis Dance Most Enthusiastic Student 2017. She received the MMADDD High School Award (Music, Media, Art, Design, Dance, Drama), Graduated year 12 with an ATAR score in the high 80’s and is currently studying a Bachelor of Design in Graphic Design.
Bayley Pearl
Bayley is an accomplished vocalist as well as playing guitar and ukulele from a young age. She brings years of experience of performing, writing, recording, sound engineering and teaching her craft. Never one to be stuck in a particular genre, Bayley has an excellent understanding and appreciation of all music styles.
Bayley’s teaching style is fun, relaxed and focused on telling the story of the song, as well as bringing out the best in her students.
Bayley has written many original songs and is working on her own EP release. She has a string of awards and music accolades including a "Highly Commended" for an original song at the Queensland Music Awards.
Bayley is a working musician and has performed both original and covers tunes at various venues and festivals throughout Australia, including a performance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony in front of a 35,000 strong crowd!
Fun facts: Bayley has a love for country music and has travelled to Nashville to write and record at the infamous Blackbird Studios.
