Our instructors are among the most talented in the industry. It would be our pleasure to put our extensive experience to work for you.

 

 

Instructor

 

Paul comes from a big musical family.  His father, Jim Chapin, wrote the instructional manual that most drummer's refer to as "The Blue Book" but is entitled "Advanced Techniques for Drummers."  It is considered "the book" on drum instruction.  Many of Paul's family are also musicians, with half brothers Harry and Tom being the best known of the bunch.

 

Paul began playing drums at the age of 6, had his first paying gig at the age of 10 and was in his first band at the ripe age of 13.  He attended the High School of Music and Art in New York City and took bass, guitar and piano.  Paul teaches a wide variety of instruments and has been giving musical instruction since 1995.

 

 

 

Instructor

 

Sophia has been playing piano her entire life.  She studied ballet and violin as a teen and later graduated from the High School of Music and Art, followed by Lehman College as a music major.  She joined the Young People's Symphony and also learned guitar.  Sophia entered Clumbia University Graduate School and studied ethomusicology.  She went on to work at CBS, Inc. employed through various departments of Radio, Records, Music Publishing and Television.

 

At the Records Division, where she was the staff writer for 3 years, she performed and produced over 40 songs and was offered a recording contract with the CBS/Epic label.  She went on to release 4 records of her own compositions.  She also worked on writing music for the CBS Television In-House Productions for their comedy and drama shows.

 

Sophia was also a teacher of music in the New York City School System until she moved to East Hampton 5 years ago.  In East Hampton, she was the music teacher at John Marshall Elementary School for 2 years and now teaches occasional music courses at The Ross School.  She directs the choir and chant at the Greek Orthodox Church in Southampton.

 

 

Instructor / Luthier

 

John Hanford has been teaching guitar in the Hamptons for years and is no stranger to the east end live music scene. He was once part of One World, the house band for a time at the Stephen Talkhouse and ran the original Open Jam night there. His instrument repair shop was situated upstairs at that location. He was also a member of Wild Card, Hurricane and the Napeague Choir Boys. In addition to teaching several days a week, John handles guitar and other instrument repairs out of Crossroads Music or directly out of his home studio.

 

    Because of his talent , he has played with a number of big names, including Buddy Miles, Eric Burden, the late Roy Buchanan and local showman Vivian and the Merrymakers.

 

   Mr. Hanford’s Web site, easthamptonmusic.com, offers free guitar lessons, and a number of his courses can be found on YouTube. His basic chords lesson received 53,000 visits last year. These days he also has the job of repairing all the stringed instruments for the East Hampton School District.

 

 

 

Instructor

 

Paul has been playing for many years and has played and toured with many rock and pop legends like Carly Simon, Meatloaf, Roy Buchanan, The Turtles and Sole Survivor.  Paul has played Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, and the Nassau Colliseum.  He has played on the Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, The Today Show, MTV and VH1.  Paul has toured Europe, England, Canada, Austraila as well as the entire USA.  Locally, he has played Guild Hall as part of the Percy Heath Jazz Ensemble with Chico Hamilton, Bob Berg and Hal McKusick