Dr. Emre Sabuncuoglu has earned his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California's prestigious Thornton School of Music. As an Andrés Segovia Endowed Music Scholarship recipient, he minored in music theory, ethnomusicology, and Flamenco guitar. Emre has had the privilege of studying guitar performance with the legendary virtuoso, Pepe Romero.

Emre has established himself as one of the most gifted and versatile musicians of his generation. His broad academic background and wide-ranging musical interests have lead him in many different directions, forging a unique career rooted in performance, ethnomusicology, and composition. His work has earned many prestigious awards, including first prizes in the Arthez de Bearn International Guitar competition and the 1st Antonio Lauro Classical Guitar Competition. He has shared the stage with many of the world's leading guitarists.

Emre’s warm style of relating to others helps him reach out to a diverse student population. He incorporates visual, kinesthetic, and auditory cues to accommodate each student's distinctive learning style. Emphasizing his students' strengths, Emre has helped even struggling learners to achieve a high degree of proficiency on the guitar.

Thomas Foster is a long time student of world-renowned guitar teacher, Aaron Shearer. His Bachelor of Music degree was earned from the North Carolina School of the Arts, and his Master of Music degree from Appalachian State University. He has taken master classes throughout the United States with
Pepe Romero, David Russell, the Assad Brothers, Ricardo Cobo, John Holmquist, Steve Arron, David Leisner, and Dusan Bogdanovic. He has studied world music and jazz with Miroslav Tadic, David Oaks, Richard Smith, and Adam Del Monte. In 2004, Thomas was honored to be chosen to play for John Williams, one of the finest guitarists in modern history, at the Merida Guitar Festival in Mexico.

Thomas is completing his doctorate as a student of James Smith at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. His doctoral minors are in the areas of theory and ethnomusicology. He has studied guitar performance with Pepe Romero, Scott Tennant, and Bill Kannengiser.

He received his Suzuki certification under William Kossler, who studied with the founder of the Suzuki method. Thomas developed a children's guitar curriculum which met California's strict educational standards. His background in education helps him communicate his love for the guitar to his students in an easy, comfortable manner.