Our School
In 1969 Len Williams established the London Spanish Guitar Centre. His student, Peter Calvo, subsequently established the Sydney Spanish Guitar Centre. It was here that Jean-Pierre Antaki pursued his serious study of the guitar repertoire, teaching from 1980 to 1989 before establishing a successful international career. In 2001 Jean-Pierre returned to Australia and rebuilt the school in Sydney under the name 'The Academy of Spanish Guitar'.
Our teachers will bring out and hone your abilities in a relaxed and positive way. In the end though, as with any skill, the more you practice the better you'll be, but our focus is to make you want to practice - so that practicing is never a chore.
The syllabus, designed by Len Williams and Jean-Pierre Antaki, aims to take you from beginner level to as far as you want to go in the most direct way possible, with a repertoire from the late renaissance to the present day.
During COVID most lessons were conducted by Zoom or Google Meet, and the effectiveness of that learning medium was confirmed. In 2021 Jean-Pierre moved to Poland and almost all lessons are conducted by the internet by our teachers in Europe and Australia.
Our Teachers
Jean-Pierre
Antaki
Director | Principal
Jean-Pierre is the Founder, Director and Principal Teacher of The Academy of Spanish Guitar. He is currently living in Europe and is conducting most of his lessons via Zoom and Google Meet.
Jean-Pierre Antaki was born in 1961 in Cairo. In 1968 his family moved to Sydney where his musical education began at the age of thirteen with guitar studies under two teachers in his local area.
In 1980 Jean-Pierre found a gifted teacher at The Sydney Spanish Guitar Centre, Peter Calvo, who nurtured his talent and in 1984 Jean-Pierre was offered a teaching position at the school. At this time Jean-Pierre also began performing, playing for Musica Viva in their Young Performers' series, as well as giving live broadcasts for 2MBS FM and Radio National, among other engagements.
In 1986 Jean-Pierre was a prize-winner in the 2MBS Young Performers' Competition (other finalists that year included Richard Tognetti). In 1990, on the advice of a renowned Sydney conductor, Jean-Pierre moved to the United States and settled in New York City. He was soon accepting offers to perform all over Manhattan and the Tri-State area. His activities in this period included recitals for the prestigious St. Bartholomew's Concert series in Manhattan and regular live broadcasts and interviews on WNYC radio.
In 1993, Jean-Pierre received offers to perform in various locations in Europe. This led him to make the decision to move there, and in 1994 he settled in Vienna, Austria. Jean-Pierre performed regularly in Vienna at venues such as the Herbert Von Karajan Centrum and the Wiener Konzerthaus, as well as touring the continent and the U.K. In 2001 he returned to Australia and re-established the school that gave him the opportunity to follow his path in the first place.
Jaccamo
Mullen
Jaccamo teaches for the Academy of Spanish Guitar in Sydney.
Jaccamo was born in Brisbane, but grew up mainly in Sydney and later Byron Bay. With both parents working in the music industry, he was exposed to a wide variety of music and was passionate about it from a young age. After moving back to Sydney to undertake university studies, Jaccamo became interested in the classical guitar and first took up lessons with Jean-pierre at the Academy in 2011. Jaccamo subsequently moved and lived in Melbourne for four years to pursue other musical interests.
Jaccamo now lives in Sydney and continues advanced studies on the guitar with Jean-pierre Antaki. He is interested in a broad range of musical styles and approaches and regularly gigs and records as a drummer in Sydney based bands.
Jack
McTaggart
Jack teaches for the Academy of Spanish Guitar in Melbourne.
Jack was born and spent most of his childhood in Brisbane, but moved to Texas for a year when he was five, and France for a year when he was ten. He first picked up a guitar at the age of six and started taking lessons in primary school with classical guitarist Karin Schaupp. After high school Jack studied a bachelor of arts at The University of Queensland, majoring in writing. Upon graduating, he moved to Sydney to further his acting career, landing guest roles in film and television. It was at this time he decided it was time to pick up the guitar again and began lessons with Jean Pierre Antaki.
In 2014 he decided he was in need of some acting training and was accepted into an acting school in Melbourne, where he currently resides.
Mark
Pena
Mark teaches for the Academy of Spanish Guitar in Sydney.
Mark was born in the Philippines but grew up in Australia. His musical journey began at the age of eleven, when he watched his cousin play guitar and with his Aunt's encouragement, Mark picked up the instrument and it has been his passion ever since.
Mark's musical genre is diverse. He passed AMEB Grade 5 in Music Theory exam with Honours and had performance experience both live and in the studio. Mark currently teaches contemporary guitar and is a gigging freelance session guitarist and sound engineer.
In 2013, he decided to take up Classical Guitar with Jean-Pierre Antaki and is now teaching for the Academy.
Tito
Espinoza
Tito started playing guitar at twenty-five and gained his music education through learning and listening at every opportunity. This lead him from New York to San Francisco, London and Sydney. Music has become his life and passion. He knows what it's like to struggle and not know how to make the kind of music you want. He also knows how to transcend that feeling and make the music that you've always wanted to make.
Tito plays regularly around Sydney as vocalist and lead guitarist for the Chorizo Slim Boogie Blues Band. Tito covers a lot of styles, including: Jump Blues, Swing Blues, Chicago Stye, Juke Joint Boogie Woogie and Rhythm and Blues from the 50's and 60's. 'I have a deep appreciation of the music and the history of the music and try to learn as many styles as I can.'
About Us
The Academy of Spanish Guitar is a leading school in the instruction of classical guitar in Europe and Australia. We teach worldwide via Zoom and Google Meet.
Our teachers will bring out and hone your abilities in a relaxed and positive way.
We aim to create a community of dedicated musicians and provide them with the skills and knowledge to reach a level of excellence. We have experienced teachers who can build your skills from any level.
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