Our Instructors
Matt Richter
Owner
Matt Richter began his musical venture in grade school at the age of 9. Always intrigued by the guitar, he was able to realize his natural musical ability by teaching himself some simple songs. After gaining the competence to begin teaching professionally by the age of 17, Matt pursued his musical career more seriously by applying to the Music Business program at Elmhurst College, located in the suburbs of Chicago. His audition led to his receiving of a Presidential Scholarship.
His collegiate musical experiences were very extensive, with multiple years of participation in classical guitar ensemble, electric guitar ensemble, classical chamber ensembles such as quartets and trios, various jazz combos, jazz big band, as well as intense lessons with four different guitar teachers, such as Steve Suvada, Wesley Hixon, Mike Pinto, and Frank Portolese. Steve Suvada became Matt’s mentor during his Undergraduate career, and has guided Matt to where he is now, a graduate of the University of Denver with a Masters Degree in classical guitar performance, having studied expert pedagogue Ricardo Iznaola.
Matt has had the pleasure of participating in master classes held by world class musicians such as The Australian Guitar Duo, The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, William Kannengiser of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Eduardo Fernandez, David Burgess, and the Brazilian Guitar Duo.
Matt, currently 26 years old, has over 9 years of guitar and bass guitar teaching under his belt. As an active member of the Denver music community, Matt performs regularly in bands and in and electronic music duo in the Denver area as well as nationwide, while still maintaining a fairly regular wedding/ceremony performance schedule. Feel free to visit mattrichterguitar.com to listen to his playing!
Tyler LaFortune
Owner
Tylers knowledge of multiple instruments has made him a sought after teacher for many students.
With experience of teaching over 100 different students with a range of different backgrounds, Tyler is sure to bring your musicianship to the next level.
Tyler plays guitar, bass, piano and is a music producer.
He has played at many prominent music venues in Denver.
His knowledge comes from an education from Berklee for sound design and music theory.
He is extremely personable and caring of his students process and would be a great fit for any eager student!
Dmytro Vynohradov
Born into the family of a famous movie director, Dmytro Vynohradov (Kiev, Ukraine) immediately became a successor of a dynasty dedicated to art, music, and literature. In his early childhood, Dmytro showed great musical abilities as a pianist. His grandfather being a pupil of Heinrich Neuhaus, Dmytro made his public debut at the age of 8 performing Mozart’s Fantasia in D Minor. By the age of 10, he had already performed Schubert’s 4 Impromptus, D. 899 and Prokofiev’s 10 Pieces, Op. 12 in public and to great success.
As a follower of the older professional Russian school of pianism, the music of Russian composers has always been a major priority in Dmytro’s performances, reflecting the main advantages of his playing. Dmytro has been warmly welcomed by audiences here and abroad.
From 1977–1989, Dmytro attended the Kiev Specialized Secondary Music School (KSSMS), named after M. Lysenko. This was attached to the National Musical Academy of Ukraine, named after P. Tchaikovsky. The school was regarded as one of the leading educational establishments in the field of training the highest caliber concert musicians in Ukraine and the whole of Eastern Europe. During his years of study, Dmytro performed often in school concerts that were held in the halls of the Conservatory and Philharmonic.
From 1989–1997, Dmytro attended the National Musical Academy of Ukraine, named after P. Tchaikovsky, in the class of Professor Igor Ryabov. Dmytro graduated with honors and received a diploma, specializing as a concert performer, chamber ensemble soloist, and teacher.
From 2007–2010, Dmytro regularly participated as a student in masterclasses at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the class of Professor Victor Merzhanov.
Dmytro frequently participates in classical music concerts and festivals in Germany, Italy, and France. He has won prizes in a number of International Competitions including:
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● 2009: Second Prize at the 20th International Concours des Grands (Paris, France)
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● 2009: First Prize at the Rocky Mountain Piano Competition (Colorado, USA)
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● 2008: Special Mention Prize at the Ibla Grand Prize (Ragusa-Ibla, Italy)
In 2009, Dmytro performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in Bb Minor under the baton of Francois Boulanger with great success in the Parisian Sorbonne Grande Amphitheater. Mr. Vynohradov has also performed at diverse international classical events.
In 2011, Dmytro performed at the finale of the 2010-2011 Chamber Orchestra of the Springs Concert Season. He played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor under the baton of Thomas Wilson, Associate Conductor of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic in Colorado.
In 2012, Dmytro performed in the concert of competition winners in Paris with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, which was a great success with the audience—the applause did not end for 20 minutes.
Since 2010, Dmytro has engaged in the teaching and training of students in high schools, among which many of his students have chosen music as a profession and have proven themselves on the professional stage.
Since 2020, Dmytro holds the position of Senior Lecturer at the V. Vernadsky Tavriya National University in Kyiv, where he mentors many students who have successfully passed exams and have been admitted into prestigious universities around the world, including Singapore Conservatory and New York University.
Christopher Gandara
Christopher Gandara was born in Los Angeles, California and as the second youngest of nine siblings. He remembers being surrounded by family and music at a very young age. Whether it was hard rock, traditional Mexican music, classical records, or jazz, he connected immediately with the rhythms of music. At the age of 13, he began his formal training on guitar and music theory. He learned from four different teachers in the Denver area until finally being taken under the wing of flamenco master, John McCoy of Parker. From there, Chris became fascinated with classical music and began learning finger style techniques through Bach, South American Waltz, and Tango music. Chris then attended Metropolitan State College where he studied tonal music composition and the Berklee Methods of harmony and arranging.
Through studying jazz theory books, listening to a steady diet of harmonically sophisticated music, and picking the brains of accomplished local and online musicians, Chris began to piece together a comprehensive model of chord-scale theory. He currently composes, arranges, produces and improvises music with his modal jazz combo as well as various other musical outlets.
Christopher will be great for anyone wanting to excel their musical journey wether that's on Guitar or Piano!