Alan Hirsh

Lessons Offered

Where are Lessons Offered

About Me

Well known as a composer/arranger/guitarist/and music educator, Dr. Alan Hirsh served for 25 years as Music Director and Fine Arts Department Chair at Bishop McGuinness High School as well as adjunct guitar instructor at Wake Forest University.  Alan was also the founder of the Piiedmont Guitar ORchestra and has directed festival guitar orchestras around the country, including the Appalachian Guitarfest Orchestra, the Greensboro Guitarganza Orchestra, the Long Island Guitar Festival Orchestra, VIrginia Music Educators Association, and the Shearer Summer Institute Guitar Orchestra.    Alan serves as Executive Director and Vice President of Education in the Aaron Shearer Foundation He remains active as a composer, having written and arranged extensively for orchestra, band, chorus, guitar and guitar ensemble.   Alan’s many published works include Mel Bay publications of Twenty Etudes in fixed Positions  and New Music for Classic Guitar, Trio Concertino, Holiday, Folk, Sacred, and Renaissance Collections for guitar ensemble.

Alan began a collaboration with world-renown pedagogue, Aaron Shearer back in the 1980’s, composing music for the  ground-breaking 1988 three-volume method series: Learning the Classic Guitar published with Mel Bay.   He since continued his collaboration with Aaron (until his passing in 2008) as composer and editor of the five-volume Alfred Music publications:  The Shearer Method a work representing Shearer’s lifetime culmination of thought on how the guitar should be taught.

My Musical Education Background

BFA—UNiversity of Arizona

MM—Peabody Conservatory of Music

DMA—MM—Peabody Conservatory of Music

Genres and Subjects Taught

Teach really everything, but prefer Guitar, Theory and Composition

Lesson Rates

$60 per hour

Ages / Skill Levels Taught

I teach ages 12- adults, from beginners, interemediate to advanced students

My Certifications and Awards

Earned a doctorate from the Peabody Conservatory of Music.   Voted Music Teacher of the Year in Forsyth County 2011.  Recently commissioned guitar concerto concerto performed in NY's Merkin Hall, July 2022.   Published numerous guitar teaching books and guitar ensmeble books with Mel Bay and Afred Music.  Was recently interview for (contact me)

My Musical Influences

Beatles, all classic rock and folk.   Classical Composers include Michael Tippet, William Schumann, Aaron Copland, to name a few.

Service Area

There are no reviews yet for this teacher. Be the first to review Alan Hirsh