ABOUT
WHO ARE WE?
WE ARE LOUD is built on the foundational belief that everyone deserves to learn an instrument, discover their own voice, and unleash their creativity in a supportive, non-judgemental space, with the support of highly experienced, professional musicians and teachers.
We offer modern, playing-based music lessons focussed on giving students high quality tuition whilst helping them to develop a creative outlet and build confidence through music.
Our singing lessons bring together modern scientific vocal methods, with contemporary and classical vocal models, to ensure our students get a rounded experience and have the option and skill set to move on to perform any genre or musical style they wish, and have the freedom to make those creative decisions.
Our instrumental lessons use a playing-based approach, ensuring students gain a love, enjoyment and comprehensive understanding of their instruments, with theory and note reading coming a little later than traditional methods - the same principle as learning to speak before you learn to read and write!
We use simple, effective techniques to make music learning accessible, whilst playing the songs you love!
We offer both online tuition and in person private and group classes from our studio in the heart of West Auckland.
KAUPAPA
We believe everyone is musical.
We believe every voice deserves to be heard.
We believe creativity is key.
We believe in being constructive, not critical, and building students up.
We believe in creating a safe, inclusive space for self-expression.
We believe everyone is capable of achieving something amazing.
We believe everyone deserves dignity and respect without discrimination.
We believe in encouraging, guiding and developing the musical potential and creativity of every student.
We believe in making music lessons accessible to everyone. We do our best to offer scholarships, loan instruments, practise rooms and community services card discounts on an individual basis.
We believe our teachers have the right to work in a safe, supportive environment where their contribution is valued highly. Our teachers are paid all profits from the lessons they teach and respected as the highly trained professionals they are!
OUR TEAM
Our team is a community of musicians and educators who work closely together and share expertise. Everyone is highly trained, police vetted and supported to participate in continued personal development and training.
JO KELSEY
(She/Her)
Jo Kelsey
(she/her)
BMus (Hons) Vocal Performance
Dip Music Teaching
Grade 8 Classical Singing
Estill Levels 1 & 2
NLP & EFT Practitioner
First Aid Certificate & Be There (Mental Health) Certificate
15+ years Performance Experience
10+ years Teaching Experience
Teaches Piano, Singing, Rock Band & Choir
Jo is the director of WE ARE LOUD, teaching singing, piano, and performance coaching. She also currently leads several community choirs, performs regularly with her jazz duo and spends her free time writing and recording new music, at the beach or hanging out with her cats.
Ben Hammond
(he/him)
5+ years Performance Experience
2x Rock Quest Regional Finalist
Rock Quest Musician Award 2023
Comprehensive First Aid Certificate
Level 3 Pool Lifeguard Practising Certificate
Teaches Drums
Ben is a musician and a drum teacher at We Are Loud. He has experience playing drums in a variety of groups with a range of genres including rock and jazz groups. Ben's main musical project at the moment is releasing an EP with the rock band he plays in with his high school mates, Ulterior Motive. In his spare time, Ben practices drums, learning bass, and enjoys getting outdoors.
BEN
HAMMOND
(He/Him)
HEATHER
MANSFIELD
(She/Her)
Heather Mansfield
(she/her)
20+ years Performance Experience
5+ years Teaching Experience
Trained as an Early Childhood Educator
Studio Production Training with Brooklyn Community Arts
AUT Level 6 Immersive Te Reo Māori & Tikanga
Teaches Keyboard & Piano
Heather Mansfield is part of the We Are LOUD team as a keyboard & piano teacher. She completed the Trinity College Piano & Royal Schools Theory Exams as a child, before moving on to a career as a keyboard player and vocalist in very active New Zealand bands, with numerous international tours and studio releases (across North America & Europe) for most of the 2000's.
Heather is now living in Tāmaki Makaurau with her partner and two wonderful children, and playing as much music as she can possibly fit in around her cryptic crossword addiction!
Wendy Mansfield
(she/her)
Grade 8 Harp
Grade 6 Piano & Music Theory
Provisional Member of IRMT NZ
7+ years Teaching Experience
10+ years Performance Experience
Teaches Piano & Harp
Wendy is a multi-instrumentalist, playing piano, flute, harp, violin, medieval recorder, singing, and dabbling in medieval/renaissance instruments like rebec, lute and viol da gamba. With a background in digital print, Wendy also spend some time as a Legal Executive, but music quickly took over! In her spare time Wendy enjoys Medieval reenactment, archery, calligraphy, dance, gardening and tending to her houseplant collection!
Music Teaching is awesome because:
“It’s everyone's journey, experience, and everyone’s interaction with music is so different, and it's exciting to help a new person discover their own path. I think I learn as much from each student as they do from me. This pandemic has taught the world that when times are tough, we turn to the arts to sustain us. Music can help us connect with each other, and it can help us nurture our own well-being even when alone.”
WENDY
MANSFIELD
(She/Her)
MATTHEW
SCARFE
(He/Him)
Matthew Scarfe
(he/him)
BMus, Majoring in Jazz Performance
(Current MMus Student, Auckland University, 2022)
15+ years Performance Experience
10+ years Teaching Experience
Level 3 and 4 Certificate in Group Fitness and Personal Training
Current First aid and CPR certified
Teaches Guitar, Bass, Drums & Rock Band
Matthew is a performing musician and teacher. Being raised in a working musical family, Matthew has played guitar for over 20 years, (while still being in his 20's!). His corporate event band entertains many University event evenings and company functions throughout the year. Matthew also spends time writing music and touring with his heavy metal band. As he enters his Masters studies at Auckland University, Matthew has taken on more time for teaching, helping students explore exciting modern methods of learning guitar and music. Matthew also has an interest in mental health and physical rehabilitation directly related to musicians.
When he's not playing music, Matthew is also becoming fluent in Spanish and can solve a Rubik's cube in 30 seconds.
Aeryn Aranda-McCue
(she/her)
5+ years Performance Experience
2+ years Teaching Experience
Teaches Piano and Singing
Aeryn is a piano and singing teacher at We Are Loud. As one of Jo's long-term students (since the age of 11!), Aeryn was We Are Loud's very first student teacher and is currently working through the teacher training programme. Aeryn's main musical outlet is her band 'Mind The Gap', who were Smokefree Rockquest Regional Finalists for 2023. Aeryn also has the hidden talent of being able to switch accents on command! Aeryn loves being part of the We Are Loud community and feels like the studio is second home.
AERYN ARANDA-MCCUE
(She/Her)
BECCA
MEYRICK
(She/Her, They/Them)
Becca Meyrick
(she/her, they/them)
2+ years Teaching & Mentoring Experience
10+ years Performing Experience
Teaches Drums, Ukulele & Rock Band
Becca is a musician and music mentor/teacher in Tamaki Makaurau. She has played the drums and percussion since a young child and as an adult picked up the ukulele, guitar, keyboard and any odd or strange instrument she can. In her spare time she is learning music production at home with her animals. Becca loves being apart of others journey of gaining skills and growing their confidence!
Nikolai Pasichnik
(he/him)
Bmus (Hons) in Classical Performance at UOA
1 years Teaching Experience
5+ years of Performance Experience
Teaches Violin & Piano
Coming from a musical family Nikolai began violin and piano at the age of 7 before deciding to focus primarily on the violin around 15. He began his tertiary studies at the University of Auckland in 2019, working towards a BMus in classical performance on violin and has just completed a year of honours with the intention of a MMUS in the future. Nikolai is passionate about teaching and takes great pride in the shared hard work between himself and his students. Outside of the music world Nikolai has keen interests in gaming, film and MMA.
NIKOLAI
PASICHNIK
(He/Him)
JENNI
SMITH
(She/Her)
Jenni Smith
(she/her)
BMus Popular Music
Songwriter of the Year Award 2018 (NZ Country Music)
10+ years Performance Experience
5+ years Teaching Experience
Be There (Mental Health) Certificate
Teaches Singing, Piano, Guitar, Mandolin, Banjo & Songwriting
Jenni Smith is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. It was clear from the moment she began singing and playing guitar at 8 years old that she had a strong passion for music and performance. By the time she was 12, Jenni had starred in several small theatre productions and competed in local country music competitions. She was hooked on songwriting after winning the Auckland Country Music Awards open songwriting section at age 14. Since then, Jenni has won many awards, including Songwriter of the Year at the New Zealand Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year (EOY) Awards in 2018 and the Overall Songwriter Runner-Up at EOY 2020. Jenni aspires to share her music with the world. She loves coaching budding musicians and has much to teach about music theory, composition, practical skills, and performance. She is excited to offer her skills and inspire others.
Jack Gaydon
(he/him)
BMus at University of Surrey
10+ years Teaching Experience
MSc in Music Engineering and Production at University of South Wales
Teaches Bass, Guitar and Ukulele
Jack specialises in fingerstyle guitar (including blues, classical, and folk), pop/rock acoustic and electric, ukulele, music theory, composition, and recording and producing with computers. He's been privately tutoring learners of all ages for over 10 years, and also taught at community college in Essex, England. He loves helping learners, realise their expressive abilities and expand their knowledge and appreciation of music.
Jack's been playing guitar since the mid 2000s. He's performed in acoustic duos, classical ensembles, rock groups, and Big Bands. He has a BMus from the University of Surrey, where he studied under some amazing musical educators, and an MSc in Music Engineering and Production from the University of South Wales.
Having recently arrived from the UK he's looking forward to exploring New Zealand with his partner. In his spare time he loves playing and geeking out about games, visiting galleries, and following cricket.
