Suzanne Sprague began teaching guitar at East Aurora Music Center in 1984, shortly after graduating from SUNY Buffalo with a BA in Music. Her main focus was classical guitar, although she also studied bass and jazz guitar. She played in various small ensembles throughout high school and college.
She began working the counter at the store one day a week, and in 1987, she bought the business and opened Limelite Music. Through the years, she continued to teach on and off.
Recently, her focus has been a return to teaching. She maintains a steady schedule of students studying guitar basics, as well as classical guitar, ukulele and music theory.
She has taught guitar and ukulele through the East Aurora Continuing Education program, and has run several workshops and group lessons at the store. She welcomes all ages to sign up for lessons!
Dave Constantino has a tasteful & polished blues rock style that has made him a legendary Western New York and National Guitarist and Singer. In the mid sixties he founded The Tweeds and wrote the 1967 regional hit “A Thing of the Past”. In the early seventies he joined forces with Drummer, Paul Varga and hired Bassist, Billy Sheehan to form the powerhouse trio, Talas. Talas became a Western New York success story and gained international recognition with classics like Dave’s song, “See Saw”. They toured country as the opening band for Van Halen. They opened for many renowned bands including Aerosmith, UFO and Robin Trower. Their popularity extended into the 1990’s when they played reunion concerts to sold out shows, which led to live CD releases and international concerts. Dave has established himself as a regional icon with bands like Shyboy and most recently, The Dave Constantino Band with Tom Reinhardt and Mike Phelps. The Dave Constantino Band performs live throughout Western New York and has released 2 CDs “Bump in the Road” and “Touch” to rave reviews. Dave was the first inductee into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, Class of 1983. Dave has taught at Limelite Music since 1987. He teaches a variety of music genres on guitar and bass guitar, and is the coach for all of our Limelite University adult bands. His openings are limited so schedule a lesson with Dave today!
My name is Lori Crawford and I have been teaching voice and piano for 25 years, 9 of which have been at Limelite Music. Prior to teaching, I performed in a number of jazz bands around the country. I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from SUNY at Fredonia. I love being able to share the gift of music with people age 6 to 86.
Kevin Doyle has over 30 years of experience as a pianist and has played in ensembles with several noted musicians including John Bacon Jr. and Elvin Shepherd. He is currently performing in “Sol Y Sombra”, “The Wazmopolitans”, “Why Not” and the “Banjo Juice Band”. He is an accomplished composer and arranger. Kevin has been teaching at Limelite since 2006. He is well versed in classical piano as well as jazz, latin, bossa nova and music theory. He strives to help students at all levels achieve their musical goals.
A young, in demand guitarist, Kenny Blesy is currently the lead guitarist in 90 West. He freelances in several local bands, playing a wide variety of genres from country to rock on guitar, mandolin, banjo as well as pedal steel guitar.
Kenny teaches many styles of music including country, rock and jazz as well as improvisation techniques to students of all ages.
Dr. Gregory H. Docenko is the Concertmaster of the Buffalo Civic Orchestra, born and raised in Buffalo, NY. He is a professional violinist, conductor, performer, composer, arranger, teacher and entertainer with more than 35 years of experience. His studies in the U.S. and Argentina have included teachers from the Juilliard School of Music, the Moscow Conservatory and masterclasses with Itzhak Perlman, Ivan Galamian, Josef Gingold and Ruggiero Ricci. Mr. Docenko has appeared with numerous orchestras and ensembles as a soloist, concertmaster conductor and lecturer. He is known for his ability to play many different styles of music including classical, liturgical, jazz, improvisation, ethnic and gypsy music. His teaching encompasses a wide range of instruments, ages, and skills. He specializes in stringed instruments at all levels. He has consistently served as an ECMEA adjudicator.
Teaching here since 2005, Matt Felski earned his BFA in percussion performance from UB. He is an active musician in a wide array of musical styles from jazz to rock. He currently performs as a member of “Lazlo Hollyfield” and “Scarlet Begonias”. He is focused on getting all students from kids to adults to reach their goals, whether it is getting a perfect score on a mallet or drum solo, preparing for Jazz band, a college auditions or fulfilling the dream of drumming in a band.