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About Kerilie
Kerilie offers online guitar lessons for students aged 5 to adults. With an Honours BFA in music and fine arts from York University, her expertise spans classical and jazz guitar, composition, and music theory. She also provides instruction in ear training, solfege, and jazz improvisation. An accomplished musician and composer, Kerilie has won numerous awards, including a Canada Council Composition Grant. Her lessons are designed to be engaging and stress-free, ensuring a positive learning experience.
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Music is an essential part of my existence, and I believe it plays a crucial role in everyone's education. Music is fundamental to our being as humans and has existed since the beginning of time. Formal music training is simply an extension of these natural elements of heart, soul, rhythm, and breath. The physical requirements of a musician are as demanding as those of an elite athlete; therefore, all my lessons start with physical warm-ups to prepare your muscles for playing guitar and to prevent injuries. If interested, I also do additional work with teaching music improvising with the guitar with singing bowls. The fun of the study of music and the joy it brings are vital components of effective learning at any age, and I ensure that students learn in a relaxed manner with no undue stress/anxiety, and in an enjoyable environment. Adult students receive the same level of support and respect as the youngest learners. The joy of music will transform you for a lifetime and will bring many opportunities to perform and enjoy socializing and collaborating with others. Science reports that students who learn music at a young age are better-protected against aging diseases such as Alzheimers, and test with higher scores than their school peers who do not study music.
Name: Kerilie (Full name will be provided upon registration)
Age: 50's
Gender: female
I have an Honours BFA in music and fine arts from York University, which included performance classes in Classical guitar, jazz workshop, and composition. I studied both piano and violin privately from the age of eight until the age of fourteen when I switched over to the guitar. My teachers were classically and jazz-trained. My violin teacher was at the Royal Conservatory of Music Toronto headquarters, and the training I underwent was intensely rigorous and detailed. I also studied violin at school and performed in school orchestra and took lessons from age 8 until I was 17. My guitar teacher was trained by Andre Segovia and was likewise detail-oriented with exceptionally high standards. With one of the greatest reputations in Canada, my Classical guitar teacher taught the great guitarists of Canada ranging from Lenny Breau to Liona Boyd and Norbert Kraft. I additionally studied the blues guitar with renowned Toronto 1980s blues guitarist Buzz Upshaw, which led to my first professional performances in venues while still in high school at the age of 17. I trained vocally with William Westcott who prepped me in music history, solfege, and theory. In addition to my experience as a jazz guitarist-bandleader from 1989-2000 in Vancouver, BC, leading trios, quartets and quintets to tentets, I also performed as a sideplayer in bands like Mother of Pearl and the Katya Gorrie Band. My quintet was recorded by Vancouver CBC Radio - Hot Air, and I also recorded, led, and produced a jazz quintet release entitled, City Wildflower, as well as recording a shorter nonet/quintet session with 20-time winning jazz music producer /film star Rick Kilburn. I performed at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival for many years, and with regular performances at The Glass Slipper, O'Douls-Listel, Haywood Bandstand, Harmony Arts Festival, Vancouver East Cultural Centre and many more venues, including radio and TV performances. I won a special government $17,000 Canada Council composition grant award which allowed me to study with top jazz artists and composers in New York City and Toronto, and additionally have won 27 other awards in music composition, and jazz podcasting/radio, and for my short jazz film.
28 MUSIC, PODCAST/RADIO & FILM AWARDS Canada Council of The Arts- Composition Grant Study Award (MUSIC) York University - The Peggy Sampson Award (MUSIC) RADIO -Black Women and The Arts Jazz Awards (USA), Radio podcast award FILM - 25 Awards & Selections Creative Innovator Award 2024 In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Women of Influence Awards Nanaimo, BC, Canada 2024 Best Editing of a Documentary In the Zone: Rick Kilburn World Cinema Milan London 2021 Best Director In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Seoul International Short Film Festival Seoul, South Korea 2021 Finalist/Official Selection In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Roma Short Film Festival Rome 2021 Finalist/Official SelectionIn the Zone: Rick Kilburn Tokyo International Short Film Festival Tokyo, Japan 2021 Best Short Documentary In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Hong Kong International Short Film Festival Hong Kong, China 2021 Selected In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Filmhaus Berlin Berlin, Germany Best Inspirational Film In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Vegas Movie Awards Las Vegas 2021 Best Documentary Short In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Vegas Movie Awards Las Vegas 2021 Official Selection In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Swedish International Film Festival Arvika, Sweden Official Selection In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Vegas Movie Awards Las Vegas Honorable Mention In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Tokyo International Monthly Film Festival Tokyo 2022 Best Documentary Short In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Japan International Film Festival Tokyo 2022 Finalist In the Zone: Rick Kilburn New York International Women Festival New York Best Canadian Documentary In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift Toronto, Ontario 2021 Best Documentary In the Zone: Rick Kilburn London International Monthly Film Festival London 2022 Finalist In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Beyond the Curve International Film Festival Paris, France Best Web and New Media Winner In the Zone: Rick Kilburn IndieX Film Fest Hollywood, Los Angeles 2021 Oustanding Achievement Best Web and New Media In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Indie Short Fest Hollywood, Los Angeles 2021 Official Selection In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Toronto Women International Film Festival Toronto, Ontario Offical Selection First-Time Filmmaker In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Montreal Independent Film Festival Montreal Best Short Documentary Official SelectionIn the Zone: Rick Kilburn Montreal Independent Film Festival Montreal Finalist In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Jelly Fest Film Festival Hollywood Official Selection Best First Time Director (Female) In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Independent Shorts Awards Hollywood Honorable Mention Best Web and New Media In the Zone: Rick Kilburn Independent Shorts Awards Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA. 2020
I spent many years studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music which taught me a strong sense of curiosity and discipline. Leading jazz bands, and strong guitar improvisation skills eventually crossed over into TV and Radio work, and then TV Directing leading 5-6 person teams in live TV settings. This led to me winning 25 awards and selections as an international documentary short filmmaker. My music experiences bandleading along with my extensive training as an award-winning musician have enriched me with leadership abilities that I like to pass on to my students. My extensive experience judging for the JUNO Awards, The Polaris Music Prize, and the DownBeat Critics Poll ( I wrote part-time for the jazz magazine DownBeat from 2016-2020), also prepares my students for the exciting world of performance, and fine arts studies.
English
Rates and Studio Policies
Registration Fee: $25.00 (One-time lifetime registration fee may be used by all family members)
Rates for instruction:
30 minute private lesson: $39.00
45 minute private lesson: $49.00
60 minute private lesson: $59.00
Travel charge: additional $15.00 per visit (for lessons in a client's home as opposed to my studio)
1. Cancellation Policy
Lessons not cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice are billable to the client and payable to the teacher. This does not of course apply to travel fees unless the notice is effectively given at the door and the teacher has travelled to the location.
2. Cessation (quitting) Policy
A client must provide a 2 lesson notice period to stop lessons. So a weekly student needs to give 2 weeks of notice, a biweekly student works out to 3 weeks notice and a twice weekly student works out to a week of notice.
3. Illness Policy
Lessons cancelled due to illness or extraordinary circumstances with less than 24 hours notice remain billable to the client and payable to the teacher.
BAH teachers are encouraged to offer a make-up lesson at a future date in the interest of client relations and general goodwill. This only makes sense as teaching a student with the flu for example, will ruin the rest of your week's employment.
No more than 2 lessons may be made up due to illness within a 60 day period.
4. Rescheduling Policy
Any lesson can be cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice.
Summer Vacation and Extended Absence Policy
Clients may schedule longer absences for trips etc. 24 hours notice is required.
It is normal and typical for students and about 20% of our teachers to schedule a break in the summer. We do not enforce a notice period (see cessation of lessons) at the end of a long summer break.
5. Evaluation Period
There are no free trial lessons with Beethoven at Home but we do offer a 2 lesson evaluation period where it is easy to try out a teacher. There are no free lessons during the evaluation period and clients may choose to discontinue the lessons at any time by providing the required 24 hours notice. After the student's 3rd lesson the required 2 lesson notice period will apply (see cessation of lessons above).
Online lessons
Kerilie can provide online instruction. While other platforms are possible BAH strongly recommends the use of the Zoom video conferencing platform as it is optimized for music lessons and audio quality.