Administration & Faculty Guitar, Banjo, & Bass
Guitar, Banjo, and Bass Faculty
Blake Wuestefeld, Guitar Faculty
Blake Wuestefeld received a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance and a Master of Music degree in Guitar Pedagogy, both from Columbus State University, where he studied with guitarist and composer Andrew Zohn. He spent several years studying in Italy: in 2001, he worked with Lorenzo Micheli at the Chitarra en Imperia; in 2004, he studied with Matteo Mela at the Mediterraneo della chitarra in Cervo. He has also attended workshops and master classes with Jason Vieux Richard Todd, Jefferey McFadden, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Sergio and Osair Assad.
Blake’s musical experiences have not been limited to the classical genre. He spent his formative years playing in multiple garage bands and teaching rock, blues, jazz and bluegrass guitar. Blake has been teaching since 2001, teaching classical guitar through the conservatory division of the Schwob School of Music, and a variety of other guitar styles through Gorilla Guitars in Columbus, Georgia. He also performs and records with the 3-piece rock band “Skew.”
Greg Earnest, Banjo Faculty
Atlanta native Greg Earnest began playing the banjo at the age of eleven. By the time he started high school he was in his first band, performing at venues across the southeast and making his recording debut at the age of fifteen. Greg has been a featured musician in Atlanta productions of Cotton Patch Gospel with its creator Tom Key and since 2005 has been a member of The Dappled Grays, whose 2007 release Doin’ My Job made it into the top ten on the Sirius/XM bluegrass charts. Greg has over twenty years’ experience teaching banjo and is featured in the instructional DVD “Pickin’ 101: You and Your Banjo” produced by Banjo.com. He enjoys working with students to help them reach their goals on the instrument and become independent, self-sufficient musicians.
Robby Handley, Bass Faculty
Formally trained in Jazz at Georgia State University, Robby Handley is one of Atlanta’s busiest musicians on double bass and electric bass. He has toured the country and recorded with major label recording artists Landon Pigg and Aslyn. He can be heard around town and the southeast performing with jazz, rock, salsa, hip-hop and musical theater groups. His teaching experience is varied, ranging from private individual lessons to larger classes in more public settings. He gave Master Classes to promising high school students at the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program. With the Georgia State Faculty Jazztet, he traveled to Beijing, China to teach clinics at Capital Normal University. He taught middle school and high school students the fundamentals of being in a rock band at the Nuci’s Space Camp Amped in Athens, GA.
Steven Kilgore, Guitar Faculty
Steven Kilgore is a guitarist, singer/songwriter, and audio technician from LaGrange, GA. He holds a Master of Music from the University of Lousiana at Lafayette, where he also served as a teaching assistant for two years. He also holds a Bachelor of Music from Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia, where he studied with guitarist and composer Andrew Zohn. Both of Steven's degrees are in classical guitar performance.
Before coming to Atlanta, Steven was the music and programming director at Auburn Church in Auburn, AL, a partner church of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. There, he played electric guitar, bass, and piano in the contemporary style church cervices. During that time, he also taught music courses at Southern Union State Community College in Opelika, Alabama.