Instructor Biographies
Darin Au
Darin graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Music from the University of Redlands. He received his Master of Music degree in Composition from the University of North Texas, a College of Music that includes many music professionals and Grammy winners among its graduates. His compositions and arrangements have been performed as far away as Europe, including a world premiere of his published work Chasing Dragons at the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America Festival in 2000. His works have been performed by several guitar ensembles, including the New York Guitar Quartet, the San Francisco Guitar Quartet, and the European guitar quartet, Guitar4mation. Benjamin Verdery, chair of the guitar department at Yale University, has also used a number of Darin's compositions and arrangements in his teaching and at workshops over the years. Darin is also the recipient of numerous awards and honors. He has performed extensively throughout the U.S. and among his local credits are concerts and CD recording with rock/reggae band Thick Tubes and radio and television appearances with Kapono Beamer. His compositions and recordings have been heard in productions for Honolulu Theatre for Youth. He has held teaching positions at Sacred Hearts Academy and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In addition, Darin has been the Academy Music Department Head at Punahou School since Fall 2005. His most recent book is "Beginning Ensembles for the Next Generation of Guitarists."
Helena Bierens
Helena, in high school, was once a student at 7th Fret Guitar Studios. A Moanalua High School graduate, she earned numerous academic and musical honors while attending Moanalua and University High School in Honolulu. She has studied classical, acoustic, and electric guitar since 1997. She is an active performer as an acoustic rock guitarist with her duo, Schemes and Consequences. She has been teaching at 7th Fret since January 2004. She also holds a Realtor Associate license. Read testimonials from her students.
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 Jason Nomura
Jason is currently pursuing a B.Ed. in Secondary/General Music Education at UH-Manoa. In addition to his studies in classical guitar, Jason has been in several rock bands over the years and currently is in two; a Weezer tribute band in which he plays lead guitar and sings, and Technical Difficulty, an alternative band in which he plays bass, keyboards, and sings. Jason graduated from Kadena High School, which is on the USAF Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, where he won numerous musical honors including band/choir student of the year, first chair honor band/choir, and a performance scholarship. Jason hopes to eventually teach music to elementary school children and direct a guitar program in a public or private school.
Ian O'Sullivan
Ian teaches beginning guitar students at 7th Fret. A Kamehameha Schools (Kapalama campus) graduate, he received his Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. While at UH-Manoa he has studied with guitarists Jeff Peterson, Darin Au, and John Wade. He has performed in masterclasses for notable classical guitarists Benjamin Verdery, Lorenzo Micheli, Matteo Mela, and Andrew Zohn. Ian also taught guitar lessons at Kamehameha Schools. He is also well versed in playing other popular forms (jazz, rock, reggae, etc.) of music. Ian left the islands in August 2009 when he was offered a spot in the Master of Music program at Yale University. The students of 7th Fret and his fellow instructors wish him well. Mahalo, Ian!