Guitar
We offer exceptional acoustic guitar tuition with classical repertoire from experienced teachers fully trained in the Colourstrings-Kodály principles. Our teachers provide high quality instruction to students of all ages and abilities, helping to develop musical skills and a passion for music in a fun and creative way. Find out more about our guitar teachers below!
Janos Agocsi
Head of Guitar
Janos Agocsi was born in Southern Hungary, land of the red, hot chilli paprika and the Kodaly Method. After studying guitar at the Zoltán Kodály Conservatoire, he graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with a degree in classical guitar.
Janos taught guitar in Hungary in several music schools and later in Munich. He was a lecturer at the University of Augsburg in Germany, where many of his students went on to become professional musicians. At the same time, Janos was playing classical guitar in concerts and composing for his jazz band, Eos.
Seeking streets paved with gold, Janos moved to London to pursue his career as a composer, producer and private guitar tutor. He played with various bands all over Europe and whilst living in San Francisco, played numerous classical concerts.
Apart from teaching at the North London Conservatoire, and privately, Janos composes music for films and arranges music for guitar ensemble.
Emre Gokalp
Emre Gokalp is an award-winning Turkish-British classical guitarist based in London. He has studied with some of the world’s leading guitarists and pedagogues, including Ahmet Kanneci in Turkey, Michael Lewin, David Russell, Fábio Zanon, Stephen Goss, and Timothy Walker in the UK, and Miguel Trápaga Sánchez in Spain.
He has won several prizes in international guitar competitions, including First Prize at the International Guitar Competition “Paris Guitar Foundation” in France, and has performed at major festivals and competitions across Turkey, Bulgaria, Armenia, France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Supported by a scholarship from the Borusan Kocabıyık Foundation, Emre graduated with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music’s Master of Arts programme in 2014. Upon completion, he was awarded both the Frank Britton Prize and the DipRAM for general and outstanding achievement.
Emre is currently pursuing a PhD in Music at the University of Surrey under the supervision of Professor Stephen Goss.
When he’s not performing or teaching, Emre enjoys gaming, watching football, and spending time with his family & friends — though his free time has recently been joyfully taken over by his newborn son, Archie.
Ignazio (Ennio) Salvemini
"I was born in the sunny side of Southern Italy in the region of Puglia. I grew up playing football in the street and music was everywhere and the first time I heard a record, I fell in love. At that moment I decided to learn an instrument when one of my cousins gave me an old guitar… it was falling apart, but it was the beginning of a journey that continues today.
"I started playing rock music, trying to replicate what I heard from the records that I loved and soon found myself in bands travelling around venues and cities in Italy.
"Later I started studying and playing Jazz and Classical music, learning the trumpet and double-bass, instruments that I now perform in many line-ups around London for different types of event. I also produce music for commercials and short movies with a collaborative project, Al Fresco Production. This gives me the joy of composing music with no boundaries between genres and styles.
"One of my favourite activities is collecting vinyl (still!) and spending time listening to these old records like the first time I saw a record spinning when I was a little boy. I think the first record I ever owned was Help by the Beatles, a present from my Dad!"
Gus McQuade
Gus McQuade is a classical guitarist from Leamington Spa, currently based in London. A former Musicians’ Company New Elizabethan Award holder (2022/23), Gus made his Wigmore Hall debut in 2023 and is currently a City Music Foundation Young Artist. He completed his Master's Degree at the Royal Academy of Music with Distinction, receiving the Academy’s Regency Award for all-round excellence.
As a soloist, he has performed at major UK venues including the Southbank Centre's Purcell Room and Kings Place, as well as at the St Magnus International Festival in Orkney. He is also active across a range of chamber projects that explore a broad repertoire, often drawing on folk, jazz, early music and more. His duo Eleanor & Gus released their debut album Seasons in Time in June 2025, which was featured on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and selected as Album of the Week on BBC Classical Connections.
Jiva Housden
Jiva Housden has played music professionally from a young age and has performed extensively across the UK and abroad. He has a wealth of experience running courses and teaching one-to-one lessons, as well as holding masterclasses, since 2005.
Recent plaudits for recordings include “An exalted level of perfection” (Naxos), ““Novel adventures in sound” (The Guardian) and Gramophone, perhaps the premier magazine for recorded classical music buffs said, ““MÄ“la Guitar Quartet’s collective technical brilliance and preternatural ensemble making for a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience.”
Jiva teaches individual guitar lessons at The North London Conservatoire and has been Head of Guitar at the Royal Welsh Academy of Music and Drama since 2023.
Sabino de Bari
Sabino de Bari is from Italy and graduated in Composition (cum laude) and in Classical Guitar. From an early age, he loved the versatility of the guitar, with its potential for discovering and exploring new sounds! In line with this, he plays the fretless guitar and the decacorde (ten strings guitar)! His extensive performing experience includes recordings and collaborations since 2001, performing as a soloist and ensemble leader in various international music festivals and contests.
Sabino has released many solo guitar albums (Pas De Chat, In Lontananza) including Nubes and Loop Quantum Gravity for decacorde (10 strings guitar) and ensemble music albums (Voices, Lo Racconta Il Mare, It’s All We Have) and other artists have also recorded his chamber works. He collaborated as composer and guitarist in the project "On A Cloud" with Diana Torti, among others and he has won prizes in international competitions for his work.
Alongside his activity as a guitar teacher, he is a Professor of Composition at the London Performing Academy of Music.