Manawatu Musician Makers
Meet the team!

Guitar, Vocals, Piano, Drums, Keyboard, Bass, Violin, Band, Performance, Theory and more...



Guitar students performing in Palmerston North

Meet the team



Mark Angel - guitar, bass, ukulele teacher

Mark Angel - Specialist tutor - guitar, bass, ukulele

Mark is a Registered Guitar Teacher who tutors electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass and ukulele. He gigged and recorded regularly in the UK before emigrating to New Zealand in 2010. His experience of live performance and studio recording enables Mark to bring real-world ideas into his teaching and allows him to teach band/performance concepts. Mark plays guitar and bass in several live bands around town so can often be found putting his skills into action. He is also one of the three New Zealand examiners for the Rockschool music grading system: Rockschool

Alison Angel - Music studio in Palmerston North

Alison Angel - Musician Maker's Amazing Administrator

Alison doesn't teach an instrument but she does work wonders looking after our tutors, students, timetables, accounts and a whole host of other things. She also does an incredible job MC-ing our student shows and making sure everything runs smoothly. If you are a student of MMM you will probably have already spoken to her or met her. If you are going to become an MMM student then she will be the person who gets you all sorted out with times and tutors and paperwork and stuff. Alison is an Early Years childcare professional so she also brings her skills and experience of teaching to the studio.

Melissa Thake - Vocal Coach

Melissa Thake - Guitar, Vocals, Piano

Melissa is a professionally trained vocalist who also plays guitar and piano. She has performed with several local bands so has plenty of experience of live performance as well as recording, and working with other musicians. Melissa is at home with blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul and currently heads up the local band Easy Street

Tiria - piano teacher in Palmerston North

Tiria - Piano

One of our bright shining stars, Tiria brings her talent to our teaching team. She's studied piano for many years and plays (and teaches) to a very high level. She's happy to teach all ages but excels with younger students.

Aiden Wilson - drum tutor

Aiden Wilson - Vocals, singing and drums.

Aiden is one of our senior tutors, and teaches drums and singing/vocals.

Cameron Gillespie - guitar, bass, ukulele

Cameron Gillespie - guitar, bass, ukulele

A rocker at heart, Cam plays electric guitar, bass guitar, and ukulele. Way back when he was at high school he learned from our very own tutor, Mark, but now is a stunning player in his own right.

Sarah Tastard - vocal teacher

Sarah Tastard - Singing, guitar, ukulele

A performer at heart, Sarah enjoys being on stage and giving her most - especially when singing! She's also a talented guitar player. Sarah has many years of teaching experience and is happy to work with students of any age.

Annie - piano and violin teacher

Annie - piano and violin teacher

Annie has been learning from a young age and even though she is one of our junior tutors she has a maturity way beyond her years, and a playing ability to match.

Hazel Wheatley-Mahon - piano tutor

Hazel Wheatley-Mahon - Piano teacher

Hazel, is studying to be a vet at Massey University. She's one of our senior tutors and has been playing piano since she was very young and loves playing classical and contemporary music

Corban James - guitar teacher

Corban James - Guitar and bass tutor

One of our upcoming, junior tutors, Corban plays electric and acoustic guitar as well as being very competent on bass.

Jack Burridge - vocals, piano, guitar tutor

Jack Burridge - Singing, guitar, piano.

Jack is one of our senior tutors and performs often in musical theatre around town. He teaches singing, piano and guitar, and when he's not teaching, he's busy studying..

Alison Mullins - violin teacher

Alison Mullins - piano, violin

Alison has a wealth of musical and teaching experience. As well as teaching piano and violin for Musician Makers, she also teaches in several schools.

Lee - learn to play drums

Lee Clark - drums

Lee is one of our popular teachers who plays in his high school jazz band, as well as his own originals band called Kaleidoscope. He's had success with beginners and intermediate drummers and has successfully taken students through Rockschool grades.

Jeanette - Music School

Jeanette McGrath - mentor, friend, advisor

Jeanette is the founder and original owner of Musician Makers and has been teaching guitar for over 20 years. She no longer teaches for us but we consider her to still be part of the Musician Makers family as her help and support is never too far away.

Learn a skill for life.

Music students playing live