ABOUT US
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.
WHO ARE WE?
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.
OUR VALUES
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!
MEET THE
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.
BMus (Hons) Vocal Performance
Dip Music Teaching
Grade 8 Classical Singing
Estill Levels 1 & 2
NLP & EFT Practitioner
First Aid Certificate
Mental Health 101 & Be There (Mental Health) Certificate
15+ years Performance Experience
12+ 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 leads our community choir, 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.
Jo Kelsey
(She/Her/They/Them)
Studio Director
Singing & Piano Teacher
Grade 8 Harp
Grade 6 Piano & Music Theory
Provisional Member of IRMT NZ
Mental Health 101 Certificate
8+ 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)
Studio Accounts Manager
Piano & Theory Teacher
(He/Him)
Nikolai Pasichnik
BMus (Hons) in Classical Performance at UOA
5+ years of Teaching Experience
5+ years of Performance Experience
Mental Health 101 Certificate
First Aid Certificate
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 completed his honours degree in 2022. Nikolai is passionate about teaching and takes great pride in the shared hard work between himself and his students.
Piano & Violin Teacher
(She/Her,They/Them)
Becca Meyrick
4+ years Teaching & Mentoring Experience
10+ years Performing Experience
Mental Health 101 Certificate
First Aid Certificate
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!
Drum Teacher
(She/Her)
Jenni Smith
BMus Popular Music & Songwriting
Estill Levels 1 & 2
Mental Health 101 Certificate
First Aid Certificate
15+ years Performance Experience
5+ years Teaching Experience
Teaches Piano, Singing, Guitar, Ukulele, Banjo, Mandolin & 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.
Piano, Singing, Guitar, Banjo, Ukulele, Mandolin, Songwriting & Percussion Teacher
Health & Safety Coordinator
(He/Him)
Matthew Scarfe
BMus, Majoring in Jazz Performance
MMus, Auckland University
15+ years Performance Experience
10+ years Teaching Experience
Level 3 and 4 Certificate in Group Fitness and Personal Training
First Aid Certificate
Mental Health 101 Certificate
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. 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. Just completing 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.
Guitar, Drum, Bass & Band Teacher
Band Project Coordinator
(She/Her)
Ava Shields
2+ years of Teaching Experience
5+ years of Performance Experience
Mental Health 101 Certificate
First Aid Certificate
Teaches Singing & Piano
Ava is a singer-songwriter and a locally-based student teacher at We Are Loud. Ava has been singing and playing piano for most of her life, and in recent years has been inspired to start writing her own music in both individual and band environments. Ava has also started to perform at local events with the band formed through the We Are Loud band programme. She loves to share her passion for music with her students and encourage them to find their own sounds, to express themselves through their music. When she’s not working on her university assignments, Ava can be found on the hockey field, baking overly complicated desserts, searching the internet voraciously for niche information and obsessively listening to songs that spark inspiration (or just have right vibes)!
Piano & Singing
Student Teacher
(They/Them)
Aeryn Aranda-McCue
5+ Years Performance Experience
2+ Years Teaching Experience
First Aid Certificate
Teaches Piano & 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 a part of the We Are Loud community and feels like the studio is a second home.
Piano & Singing
Student Teacher
(She/Her)
Billie Swayn
Singing Teacher
2+ years of Teaching Experience
10+ years of Performance Experience
First Aid Certificate
Teaches Singing, Piano, Guitar, Bass & Songwriting
Billie is part of the We Are Loud team as a singing teacher. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Music in Classical Performance at the University of Auckland and loves Musical Theatre and performing. Music has been part of Billie's life for a as long as she can remember starting music lessons at 3 years old and going on to play the violin, guitar and sing throughout her life. She has loved taking on the role of a singing teacher at We Are Loud and really enjoys getting to foster passion, learning and love for music in others.
(He/Him)
Sean Rofle
Bass & Guitar
Student Teacher
(He/Him)
Darin Findlay
Drum Teacher
BMus, Majoring in Jazz Performance
MMus, Auckland University
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
Mental Health 101 Certificate
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. 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. Just completing 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.
BMus, Majoring in Jazz Performance
MMus, Auckland University
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
Mental Health 101 Certificate
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. 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. Just completing 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.
20+ Years Performance Experience
2+ Years Teaching Experience
First Aid Certificate
Teaches Drums
Darin is a drum teacher at We Are Loud. He enjoys a range of musical styles including rock, hip hop, jazz and reggae. Darin has over 20 years of experience performing in bands, and still performs regularly with a number of different covers bands and an original hard rock band.
(He/Him)
Jayson Guerrero
Studio Admin Team
BMus, Majoring in Jazz Performance
MMus, Auckland University
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
Mental Health 101 Certificate
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. 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. Just completing 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.
BMus, Majoring in Jazz Performance
MMus, Auckland University
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
Mental Health 101 Certificate
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. 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. Just completing 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.
10 Years of Teaching Experience
2 Years of Admin Assistant Experience
Jayson works remotely from the Philippines as the admin assistant at We Are Loud handling inquiries, bookings, rescheduling, and ensuring smooth day-to-day operations. Outside of work, he enjoys playing guitar and watching Spanish TV shows on Netflix, along with listening to R&B and pop music. With 10 years of experience as a high school math teacher in both the US and the Philippines, Jayson is also great with kids and loves engaging with them.