Erik Gibelyou

Guitar, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Ukulele

Erik Gibelyou, a native of Bay City, Michigan, started playing guitar at age 12, shortly after his introduction to the tenor saxophone. He played many styles of music as a young guitarist, including fingerstyle, rock, and heavy metal. Erik enrolled at Delta College in 2006 and met his first classical guitar teacher, Dr. Brad DeRoche. After taking music classes and lessons with Professor DeRoche, Erik transferred to Saginaw Valley State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance. He studied classical guitar with Javier Calderon at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, completing his Master of Music in Guitar Performance in 2015, and his Master of Arts in Music Theory in 2016. Erik is continuing his study of classical guitar at the Eastman School of Music with Dr. Nicholas Goluses, beginning the Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance and Literature in the fall of 2016.

As an undergraduate at Saginaw Valley State University, Erik traveled to Rome, Italy to participate in the Rome Festival Chamber Music Seminar, where he studied with local musicians, performed in operas, and performed numerous solo works and chamber works. Erik was an active member in the Madison Classical Guitar Society while living in Wisconsin, and he kept a large studio of private students. In July 2016, Erik was a featured artist and faculty member at the Michigan Classical Guitar Workshop, where he performed a solo recital and presented a paper on the guitar music of Hans Werner Henze.

Erik is successful in engaging students of all ages and maintains a high retention rate. He cares about his students and brings a positive and encouraging attitude to lessons.