Manhattan Guitarists

Introduction: Manhattan Guitarists consist of highly trained guitarists who have been teaching and performing for 10+ years. Gal Aballi is a professional singer/songwriter from Tel Aviv, Israel. He has been performing for over ten years throughout Europe and United States. You can find him on Spotify and Apple Music. He is exceptionally trained in piano, vocals and acoustic guitar from Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. He is currently based here in the United States and is able to do what he loves and give back to aspiring musicians. His influences are James Blake, Damien Rice, Bon Iver and Coldplay. Jackie Willis has been playing and performing Spanish classical guitar since she was a little girl. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill where she continued taking private lessons at a college level and has performed pieces with the UNC Guitar Ensemble. She teaches beginner lessons to anyone who wants to get familiar with the guitar and play beautiful ballads. Phil Faconti is a professional musician and has performed throughout the United States and in Europe as a solo guitarist. He studied at the classical music conservatory in Brooklyn College and has been touring ever since graduation. His unique blend of classical, flamenco and contemporary styles create a captivating, elegant and expressive musical journey for the listener. Recently, he's performed on the Today Show with Isac Eliot, upcoming pop star from Finland, as well as opening for John Fogarty (Creedence Clearwater Revival). His recorded collaborations include work with Norah Jones, The Hot Sardines, A Great Big World, Amber Rubarth, innovative Irish Dance Company Hammerstep, and Best Selling adventure novelist JD Netto. He has been on tour with three time Grammy nominees Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer, the Craig St Ramblers and many others. Faconti has also taught music in the NY city public school system. Our mission is to teach students how to love playing music and help them gain confidence in their abilities. It can be frustrating learning an instrument and we help students mitigate and get past that stress. Playing music has important positive effects for the brain; not only does it improve dexterity, but it is also a great coping mechanism to learn. Our specific training in classical guitar will enable the student to learn how to play ANY type of music of their choice on guitar. Each lesson is personalized according to what type of music the student wants to play. The goal is to make learning fun so the student develops a beautiful relationship with creating and playing music.