Horizon School of Music

It's a time in life when I can finally focus on something I dearly love, music. My wife and I had stumbled upon Horizon School of Music to see a concert (Trevor Gordon Hall--amazing!). That was a year ago. The place had a certain something about it that I could not put words to, but I knew it was the right fit for learning guitar the way I wanted to learn it. I asked Kris for a recommendation from his roster of instructors. I told him I wanted not only to learn guitar, but also how to produce my own music at home. Kris told me about Kelly, so I went with it. And wow. Kelly and I have had 4 or 5 lessons to date. I don't think that even if I had traveled the world and interviewed thousands of potential teachers, I could have found a better fit than Kelly. He is exactly, precisely, what I was looking for to help me in this journey. I am deeply grateful, and looking forward to growing as a musician with Kelly and Horizon. Thank you Kris and Jillian!

Kris and all his staff provide an amazing teaching/mentoring service for musicians of all ages and abilities. We lucked out when our guitar loving son got a chance recommendation to look Kris up for lessons (back when Kris was inspiring students from his home studio) over 6 years ago. Since then Kris has gone on create an impressive school of diverse, dedicated teachers for multiple music disciplines. The school is very attentive to individual needs and flexible in their approach and delivery (including online scheduling, payment and remote lessons as requested). Over the years we’ve racked up lessons weekly, monthly group blues and jazz sessions , weekly jam sessions/performances to one-on-one jazz guitar (with the master Kelly Brown). It is with immense gratitude that I recommend Horizon School of Music.

I am so grateful that a friend recommended I take lessons at Horizon School of Music to begin my journey with the guitar! I had an introductory call with Kris, and he asked me incisive questions to determine what instructor would best suit my level of past musical experience, my learning style, and the type of music I would be interested in learning. He was so warm and encouraging, and even gave me a tip on how to form that pesky F bar chord! Kris matched me up with Madeleine, and she is AWESOME. She is so kind and patient with me, and her teaching techniques are impeccable. I really appreciate how she teaches me, say, a scale or scale patterns, and then WHABAM it’s the basis for a song that I’m going to learn! Also, Madeleine has a really keen sense of new songs that I’ll be motivated to learn, and has really laid out clearly what I need to do to gain competency. She makes me feel like a million bucks by identifying when I’m following along with what she’s teaching, when I discover what she’s leading me towards. I’m stoked to be able to learn from such an accomplished musician and supportive teacher!

I participated in both Advanced Improvisation and Music Theory online courses taught by Kelly Brown and Rob Hamilton. Both courses are excellent, I had a blast with both of them, enjoyed them very much. Kelly opened the door to so many possibilities and as always, having the opportunity to learn from him is really precious. He has lots of experience and lots of skill in the craft. He has provided a lot of guidance that is so rare to find elsewhere because not so many people have it, and very precious indeed, but most importantly because he cares about his students' development. I feel very fortunate to have him as a teacher, and sometimes I feel the need to practice more to pay homage to all the things he has shown to me and taught me :) I believe the most important thing is that I'm progressing and as Kelly said, to keep moving forward. Rob has provided an excellent resource, reference and background of music theory, but not just theory, applied theory I would say. His course was perfectly structured and delivered, and one thing that comes to mind is the huge number of songs and examples he provided where music harmony was applied, with lots of my favourites as part of them. He would demonstrate these examples live and simply, with an acoustic guitar. The course was a pleasure to attend. To be honest, we could go for hours, poor Rob, he almost had to kick us out. He has also provided reference material and books which are great to have. Having both workshops has been amazing, both teachers are excellent and they provide two very different approaches, and if I had the time, I would probably continue learning from both. I hope they become a staple of Horizon's workshops as they deserve it, the workshops are golden opportunities to advance one's learning as a guitarist and as a musician; and that they continue with a sequel of these courses in the future. I recommend these courses to anyone.

I’m a long time student of Horizon School of Music and chose to continue my music lessons online when I moved to Australia. The personal guidance from the Horizon team and their deep understanding of how to best support my learning is second to none. I always leave my lessons feeling excited about my progress and inspired by where my musical journey is going. Recently for one of the more technical lessons we recorded the session so I was able to go back after the fact and break everything down again step by step which helped a lot in absorbing the material. The teachers I have worked with have each been amazing in connecting to my musical pathway and taking me in meaningful directions towards my goals, with skill progression that feels challenging, satisfying and most importantly, musical. I always look forward to each lesson and the personal connection and tailored instruction makes me feel like a valued part of the Horizon music community.

I highly recommend Horizon School of Music. I have taken both private and group sessions from Kris Schulz and Rob Hamilton and have been thoroughly impressed. Both guys are excellent players and teachers and really put an effort in to improve your playing. As I live in Seattle, I take the lessons over the Internet. Despite the distance, I feel like we are working in the same room as they are very used to dealing with online learning. I also appreciate how they keep the lessons fresh by mixing Music fundamentals in theory along with learning pieces that are interesting to me. Horizon also has a great online presence with resources that are available to students which allow you to track your progress and access various worksheets that assist in tackling particular challenges we face as musicians. The teachers at Horizon keep the process of learning fun through online workshops group concerts and the like. They provide free clinics in the community and have engaged in fundraising efforts for people who are facing challenges. They truly are a bunch of good people. I cannot recommend him highly enough.

Horizon has been a place of inspiration and support for me and my musical journey. They care so deeply that you find a right fit with your teacher and constantly check in with their students about how they are doing. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else and I’m so excited to keep learning and growing here❤️

I have been a vocal student at Horizon for a couple of months now and they have not only helped me improve tremendously but also gain confidence. I am currently training with Neil Mcmillan who is a wonderful instructor that wants to see you succeed but also makes sure to push you to improve. I highly recommend Horizon School of Music for anyone that has always thought of branching out but were too afraid to take the first steps. They are great with communication and they make sure to listen to your goals and set you up with the right instructor to fit your needs. Thank you to Kris, Sarah and the entire team at Horizon for helping me out!