OUR TUTORS

Peter Groundwater – Director & Guitar/Bass/Banjo/Mandolin Tuition, Recording, Sales & Repairs
Adam Gathercole - Drums/Percussion Tution, Recording & Live Session Drummer
Elizabeth Berry – Piano/Keyboard Tuition
Lana Kler – Vocals/Singing Tuition
Jay Murray – Drum Tuition, Recording Technician, Piano, Keyboard, Voice, Guitar, Bass, Drums Music Production
Michael Shepherd – Music Studio Director, Music Production, Recording Technician, Website & Artistic, Guitar Tuition
Wade Garnett – Guitar Tuition, Recording & Band

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Peter Groundwater 
Guitar, Bass, Banjo & Mandolin Tuition, Recording, Sales & Repairs

Born 1961 in Brisbane, QLD, by the mid 60’s Peter's family had relocated to the burgeoning public service city of Canberra, ACT.  Picking up his first guitar at age 10, he never looked back.  His 11th birthday nylon string guitar was quickly followed by his first electric guitar; an original early 1960’s solid body light woodgrain Maton Mastersound bought for just $20 from a local garage sale.  From childhood, he would sit for hours every day working out songs by ear, direct from his AM radio or from LP vinyl records on the family stereo using the quintessential 70’s curly lead padded big can headphones.  Forming his first band at age 12 with newfound Italian immigrant friends, they were soon gigging around the Canberra lunchtime dress circle club scene.

Experiencing the 1970’s cultural explosion first hand, he discovered rock’n’roll, blues, glam, heavy rock, punk, funk, disco, motown, new wave, new romantic, ska, skank, folk, soul & reggae and was soon expressing these styles through a series of original touring & recording bands.
  
Meeting his future wife while touring, Peter moved to the Manning/Great Lakes in 1989, pioneered what has now become N E W T O N E M U S I C (formerly Guitar Training Centre), and has tutored thousands on guitar & bass since – picking up banjo, mandolin, ukulele and more along the way, all while employing many in tuition positions over the music school's 25 year history.  He's taken literally hundreds of his students through the Australian Music Examination Board's tertiary entrance accredited Contemporary Popular Music course with many going onto university trained professional music careers in performance, song writing, recording, teaching and sales.

Peter forged his huge musical repertoire, effusing rock, jazz, country, and acoustic styles through his session guitar work at recording studios around the district, including over 150 albums (at last count) at one of the regions most prolific studios – Turn Around Music.
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Ever thankful for the late 60's and the incredibly diverse 70’s era that propelled him through so many styles since, he still counts his musical ear as his greatest asset, continuing to work out almost everything from crooning country to chaotic metal by ear; taking students from beginner to professional.
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Peter has three musician sons and resides in Taree, NSW.

Adam Gathercole
Drums & Percussion Tuition, Recording & Live Session Drummer

Sydney NSW born in 1970 from a musical family, Adam needed no encouragement to pick up the drums and at just 18 months old, he was already well on the way – banging on pots and pans!

Schooled in Sydney’s Parramatta area, Adam grew up tagging along to his guitarist/singing/harmonica dad’s Doug Parkinson & Jeff St John leagues club, RSL & rock circuit gigs and was fortunate enough to get tuition from great drummers like Loppy Morris (Richard Clapton – Girls On The Avenue album, Rod Stewart & Chariot).  Progressing through primary school choirs and bands, then a series of high school garage bands, by age 15, Adam was offered the drumming spot with OzBike Promotions bands Cold Gin & Southern Stars that toured the state most weekend for almost 5 years.
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Music career now well underway, the 90’s saw the list of live and studio drum experience quickly expand, including The R’n’B Band, Jeff St John, 1927, Bandanna, Swanee, Dave Dwyer (1927, Ian Moss of Cold Chisel), Slash (Guns n’ Roses), Gilby Clark (Guns n’ Roses), Velvet Revolver), Barry Gathercole (Tex Muleskin, Wide Open, Jeff St John) as well as AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Guns n’ Roses and The Angels tribute & cover bands and concept shows like Absolute Rock And Road Kill to name but a few.  Augmented by a host of other freelance rock circuit and festival work, Adam’s portfolio really became extensive.

Adding to this illustrious live repertoire, Adam built on a burgeoning studio session recording and engineering career from around 2001 through GangStar Productions, Sydney with Dave Dwyer (1927, Ian Moss of Cold Chisel), as well as side projects with Dave Dwyer (1927, Ian Moss of Cold Chisel), Tony Mitchell (Sherbet) and Mark Marriot (NRL Footy Show), including record releases with Tex Muleskin, Junichi West and Medicine Show.

From 2003, Adam managed to squeeze in drum students at venues like Jam Studios, Sydney, later developing a large student base on his move to the Manning/Great Lakes NSW at music stores and education facilities like Taree School Of Music, Gloucester High School and his own studio Addrums.

Carving out a 30 year music career, Adam has even managed to further his music study achievements along the way including Certificate 4:  Music Management, which he subsequently infused into his student tuition base using such renowned publications as Rhythm Section Drumming (Frank Corniola), Creative Control (Thomas Lang), Master Studies (Joe Morello), Stick Control For The Drummer (George Lawrence Stone), Progressive Steps To Syncopation (Ted Reed) and has developed full competency on both acoustic and electric drums – working closely with Roland’s Drum Brain technology, a personal favourite.
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Residing in the Great Lakes area of the NSW mid-north coast, Adam has recently been gigging up and down its length with the likes of Zebyah, NVR & Tex Muleskin, most recently taking drum and percussion students here at
N E W T O N E M U S I C.

Elizabeth Berry
Piano & Keyboard Tuition

Born 1951, and raised in the Manning NSW, Liz became aware of her music talents while studying piano and violin privately.  A music major at Taree High School paved the way for a Music Education Diploma (Newcastle Music Conservatorium) and Teaching Diploma (Newcastle CAE).  Liz’s first teaching appointment was at Griffith High School (NSW Riverina) followed sometime later by Sydney’s Castle Hill High School, which offered the opportunity to build a large music department achieving notoriety through its Year 10 & 12 HSC music graduate successes.  These early school teaching years gave Liz the opportunity to develop choirs, instrumental groups, small orchestras, rock and jazz groups as well as musical theatre production and direction work.

Marrying an international airline pilot led to world travel and by the late 1980’s, time overseas brought a whole new set of adventures tutoring piano and voice in South Africa and Asia (including two international schools in Singapore).  Coming to terms with diverse musical cultures and influences only fired an increasing passion to bring those musical experiences to others.

Returning to Australia in 2001, Elizabeth continued music tuition in local schools as well as piano and vocal tuition at after school individual lessons.  Several years directing the Combined Schools Choral Festival at the Manning Entertainment Centre preceded a conducting role for the Manning Choral Society.  Elizabeth is a member of the board of the Mid North Coast Music Conservatorium which is working towards improving and expanding musical educational opportunities in the region.  Liz also sings with the local music group Kantabile.

Elizabeth believes students can and should be empowered to take charge of their own progress and sets achievable challenges tailored specifically to each pupil’s varied learning rate.  Liz has many years experience preparing and guiding Higher School Certificate students through exam levels both here and overseas and has taken many students through the Australian Music Examination Board external grade examinations.

Liz resides with her husband near Nabiac, NSW and continues to bring music to her all ages clients.

Lana Kler
Vocals & Singing Tuition

Born 1958 in Sydney NSW, Lana’s earliest music memories are of her sisters’ R&B recordings booming through their adjoining bedroom walls.  Drawn to the music, Lana quickly found a role in the local primary school choir when her school teachers overheard her echoing the strains of her sisters Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan & Ruby Turner records.  She soon added recorder & melodica band leader to her primary school musical range.  By 14, joining her first Chuck Berry & Deep Purple covers band was an obvious – but having your own Ford Mustang driving manager who paid you to sing?  Now that was different!  Different enough to provide the edge through the next few years of bands & gigs until at 19 Lana finally realised that music was her life’s true calling while receiving professional training with Starlee Ford (well known Sydney jazz singer of the era) & Betty Fitzgerald (Australian Opera Company) from the Sydney Music Conservatorium in Paddington.

Tutoring vocal since 1993 from a number of Sydney outlets as well as years of singing jazz, funk, soul, R&B, samba, tango, rumba, pop, blues, gospel, rock, fusion, heavy rock – even classical and opera in a string of professional solo, duo, trio, quartet, stage show and band settings with some of the greats in almost any and every Sydney venue has truly imbued Lana with all the necessary traits to bring something to absolutely anyone with any singing desire whatsoever – regardless of ability!
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After a brief stint in Port Macquarie NSW, Lana has returned to the Manning/Great Lakes region on the NSW mid-north coast where she continues to accept students no matter where they’re at.  So whether you’re shy or brash, quiet or loud – you’ll find patience & understanding right here with Lana as your first small steps are transformed into huge strides and satisfying successes.

Jay Murray
​Drum Tuition, Recording Technician, Piano, Keyboard, Voice, Guitar, Bass, Drums Music Production

Sydney NSW born in 1982 to musician parents, Jay was schooled and grew up in the Campbelltown area.  No stranger to the stage, from age five Jay was sitting in on keyboards in his parents jazz and cabaret bands.  Actually, his parents recall him sitting in on conga drums from age four!

Life as a musician was inevitable. At age eight Jay remembers his primary school teacher attempting to show him basic piano along with his classmates – Jay had no idea the whole class was staring at him as he gently ran through a few of his parents band numbers clearly illustrating his budding musical ability.  He still has in his possession his first electronic keyboard that he received at age five.  Life from then on was a series of unique and skilled piano teachers and more gigs until the move for year 11 & 12 to Laurieton in the Hastings NSW region (next shire up from the Manning).

Picking up the drums more seriously in 1999, Jay worked furiously to make up lost time on the instrument scoring highly in both keyboard and percussion performances in his HSC year.

Jay’s innate disposition for original composition work was heightened by his years alongside his distinguished tutors – especially his second tutor from age twelve who delved into modern jazz interpreted through electronic keyboards linked to late 80’s computers with early midi gear.  The fusion of all things technical and compositional led Jay to pioneer The Tin Shed, his own recording studio that he has built up and expanded over this decade; developing a love for 90’s dark metal along the way – attracted by its extremes and driving tempo.  Amassing $80,000 worth of computers and recording equipment is just part of the studio story.  Numerous bands, acts and individuals playing styles as wildly diverse as country, heavy metal, punk and pop and even hip hop have gone on to record there.
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Residing in the Manning NSW, between recording projects at The Tin Shed which include an increasing number of his own original works, Jay still manages to find time to fill our drum tutor role and help out with music store retailing around town.    

Michael Shepherd
Studio Drector, Music Production, Recording Technician, Website & Artistic, Guitar Tuition​

Born 1988 in Wagga Wagga NSW, Michael studied guitar under Peter from age 10, the same year his family moved to the Manning/Great Lakes.  Always promising, he trained with Peter through his high school years, managing to complete all four A.M.E.B. CPM steps, while completing his year 12 HSC and majoring in music, art and computer technology all the while forming, performing in and recording in original bands.

Talented and unstoppable, Michael went straight from school to working full time at N E W T O N E M U S I C and managing Momentum Studios which is fast becoming the regions premier heavy new music recording studio.  His artistic and IT computer skills abound in the workplace as he takes charge of all website and creative aspects.

Inhale The Sea is Michael’s most successful original act to date.  Recruiting and forming through 2008 they are a frenzied mix of singing and screaming plus metal riffs and rock ‘n’ roll mayhem with loads of melody.  The band has recently released their debut album “The Fourth Coordinate”, taking the band on new horizons and touring around the country.
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Based in Newcastle NSW, Michael maintains his creative musical, technical and artistic input here at
N E W T O N E M U S I C​ while studying double music majors at the University of Newcastle, NSW.

Wade Garnett
Guitar Tuition, Recording & Band

Sydney NSW born in 1991, Wade is our youngest tutor.  Picking up a guitar in Year 4, he immediately found his passion and life’s calling to music.

Initially influenced by the greats like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC & Black Sabbath, Wade soon realised he also had a inclination for classical guitar which he pursued for the next few years while discovering other modern popular sounds.  His love for music led him to his first electric guitar and far more original hardcore/metal genres which opened a whole new world of original song writing, performing, and playing.  Early band involvements included local hardcore punk band Stop Dead, which soon led Wade to Peter at Guitar Training Centre where he joined other Stop Dead band members for music training.  A very quick and enthusiastic student, Wade would often “out do” himself as he drew on many new heavy and fusion styles then strode through all four A.M.E.B. CPM steps here at Guitar Training Centre, all while majoring in HSC Music at Great Lakes College gaining the qualifications to tutor at the professional level alongside our staff.

Four years on and Wade not only mastered, but went on to pioneer, many new playing techniques in jazz, blues, emo, metal core, mathcore and punk.  His current band, How To Survive A Bullfight, a very unique originals outfit is a blend of crushing breakdowns, fast belting melodies and sporadic time signatures which all enmesh to form their very own brand of scary, unpredictable soundscape.  Incorporating stage presence bordering on the ridiculous, the band hopes to go the extra mile in the hardcore scene.  They are currently tracking their debut, as yet untitled, EP which has strong derivations from musical mentors Safe Hands, Coma Lies & The Storm Picturesque.
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Residing in Forster, NSW, Wade is our Great Lakes connection in the Forster/Tuncurry area.  He is available for in-home individual guitar tuition which is a real plus for those unable to get to our Taree offices on a weekly basis.   Wade is in touch with all the modern and older styles of music and will help you get where you want to be musically.