Musician's Workshop

Instruments Taught:
Guitar

Mike Barnes has been teaching at Musician’s Workshop since 1977 and is also a faculty member in the University of North Carolina at Asheville music department. He studied at the University of Miami and is a graduate of L.A.’s Musician’s Institute (GIT), as well as UNCA. He has toured the country extensively in a variety of musical ensembles, served as a studio musician for Geffen and Polygram Records, and spent time as a session guitarist for recording studios in L.A., Memphis, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Nashville. Mike studied with such guitar legends as Pat Martino, Robben Ford, Joe Diorio. He has also shared the stage with The Black Crowes, John Scofield, Jimmy Page, The Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule, to name a few. He teaches all styles of guitar from beginner to advanced and also teaches bass guitar. Mike Barnes is also available for performance bookings in any and all musical styles. Please contact him for any of your live musical needs.

Professional Education: Graduate of Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) Los Angeles, CA.  Master’s Degree Program, University of Miami.  Faculty member University of N.C. at Asheville – Music Department.

Teaching Schedule:
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Instruments Taught:
Guitar, Bass, Ukelele

If you are a beginning or intermediate guitarist who has been frustrated by the task of advancing your guitar skills, Forrest Smith is here to help. Forrest has a B.A. in music from The University of North Carolina at Asheville. Forrest helps understand the theories of music through the music you enjoy. Forrest graduated from UNCA in 1997 and began teaching at Asheville Music School. In 2000 he joined the teaching staff at Musician’s Workshop. Since arriving in Asheville in 1992, Forrest has been a member of many bands (Marsupial, The Jaimee Tomas Band, This Man’s Hat, Leigh Glass & The Hazards,Fifth House, After School Special, The Royal We), as well as contributing to several artists recordings. Forrest’s approach to teaching is to tailor his style to each individual student based on their goals and music style preferences.

Professional Education: B.A. in Music, University of N.C. at Asheville.

Teaching Schedule:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday

Instruments Taught:
Drums, Percussion, Beginning Bass Guitar

Kent has been playing drums for 16 years and performing for 14 of those years.  In High school he was Drum Captain in the marching band and principle percussionist in wind ensemble.  While in high school Kent studied under Hank Dempsey (former touring drummer with Dizzy Gillespie).  He went on to study percussion for a number or years at Appalachian State University, studying with Dr. Robert Falvo and performing in many of the ensembles where he picked up the Tabla, a classical set of drums from India. Kent furthered his study of Tabla and North Indian Hindustani under Wiley Sykes, the principle percussionist of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra.  Kent currently lives in Asheville and works as a musician in multiple bands in the Asheville area as well as teaching lessons at Musician’s Workshop. Kent is a passionate and skilled drummer, having shared the stage with many talented musicians, most notably Reese Wynans (organist for Stevie Ray Vaughn) and Joey Williams (guitar player for Ben Harper, Blind Boys of Alabama). With his 14 years of experience at his side, Kent is versatile and knowledgeable at a variety of techniques and styles necessary for a professional career in music. Kent can teach lessons from beginners to advanced players and focuses on teaching the tools to grow individually as a musician. With a realistic and practical approach, he teaches solid fundamentals alongside the finer points of being a well-rounded musician.  Lessons are kept on topic but are always centered on the student having fun and experiencing the joys of percussion.

Professional Education: Studied Percussion at Appalachian State University.

Teaching Schedule:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday

Instruments Taught:
Classical Violin, Traditional Fiddle

Nora is well versed in both classical violin and traditional fiddle styles. From age ten to age eighteen she studied classical violin intensively, spending the tenth and eleventh grades at Interlochen Arts Academy as a violin major. Throughout her school years she played in various orchestras, and was concert mistress of her college orchestra at George Mason University. After college, she became interested in traditional fiddle music starting with Old Time and moving into Irish and Scottish. Nora has competed in many Scottish fiddling competitions, winning regional contests in Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire and North Carolina. She travelled to Scotland, to study with Alasdair Fraser on the Isle of Skye, and with Pete Clark in Dunkeld. She co-founded the “Triad Scottish Fiddlers and Friends”, a music club in Winston-Salem, which she led for fourteen years before moving to Asheville in August 2015.  Nora also taught beginning fiddle at the Swannanoa Gathering Fiddle Week the summer of 2018, and has been invited back to teach in 2019. Though Nora describes herself as a Celtic fiddler, her classical background can be heard in the clarity of her playing and her good tone. Nora has played in many bands over the years, including “Gaelwynd”, a Celtic band with Rhiannon Giddens, and “StrathSpan”, a Celtic fiddle/cello duo with Julia Weatherford.  She has made a total of six Celtic music CD’s. For more detailed information about Nora and to hear samples of her music from her CD’s, go to her website at www.noragarver.com.

Nora welcomes students of all ages and levels.  She tailors her lessons to her students’ wants and needs as much as possible. Though she says that scales and arpeggios will always be important to practice, she believes in teaching violin technique in the context of the music, using tunes and songs to further technical skills. She also believes in the importance of good ear training and asks that students always bring a recording device to their lessons.  Even better, she encourages her students to video tape her playing tunes so that the student has both audio and visual support. The most important thing of all though, as far as she is concerned, is for students to have fun learning to play the violin and fiddle!

Professional Education:  George Mason and Georgetown Universities

Teaching Schedule:
Tuesday and Wednesday

Instruments Taught:
Guitar, Classical Guitar & Mandolin

Drew Matulich is a multi-instrumentalist who started at the age of 8 and has been playing guitar for 30 years. With a strong focus on Bluegrass, Blues, Rock, Swing and Jazz, he has dedicated the majority of his life to the study and performance of music through the guitar.

In college he studied Jazz Guitar, Music Theory and Composition as well as Classical Guitar under Dr. Andrew Zohn of Columbus State University.

In addition to the guitar he’s maintained a passion for playing the mandolin since the age of 20 and has continued to perform and teach on that instrument for 15 years.

He toured the country playing music professionally with Billy Strings for two years and was fortunate to have shared the stage with the likes of David Grisman, Bryan Sutton, Sam Bush, Cody Kilby, Sierra Hull and some of best in Bluegrass.

You can easily find Drew performing a variety of styles in various projects around Asheville and Western North Carolina.

From beginners to advanced students, Drew has taught guitar and mandolin for more than 8 years. Drew is passionate and dedicated to finding what works best for each student and catering their study around their own goals and interest while also teaching students how to nurture their own creative passion for music through learning regardless of the students level, technique or preferred genre.

Professional Education: Darton College/Valdosta State University

Teaching Schedule:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday