Arpeggio Inc.

Adrian is a long time teacher and performer of the guitar. He met his first guitar when he was a child.  It was a no-brand guitar that belonged to his father. It was next to impossible to play. It didn't last long because one of his six brothers landed on it while in a dust up with one of his other brothers. His parents provided him with an Olds Trombone, which he played well into his college years.

Around the age of 9 or 10, Adrian was introduced to The Beatles by his cousins Tommy Hernandez and Ramon Yañez. From that moment he new that it was the guitar that would be his instrument of choice. Not having a guitar of his own, he took every opportunity to borrow guitars from anyone who would lend him one. One of those early guitars came back into his possession with the death of Bernice “Trink” Birkes, the mother of another family in the neighborhood he grew up in. It is still his favorite guitar. It is a Sears and Roebuck (Harmony) arch top guitar with  f  holes and an adjustable wooden bridge. It still plays like a charm, with that “hunky chunky” sound of an acoustic guitar of this vintage.

Adrian spent his high school years playing in concert and pep bands and mastered the F clef on trombone. This would later be of much use when he picked up the bass guitar. For this valuable exposure to music he is very grateful to Sister David Marie an excellent musician in classical and jazz piano. She was featured on the “Lucy Show” with Lucille Ball.

At the age of eighteen he purchased his first two guitars an Aria Classical Guitar and a Taurus Classical Guitar which is similar to the guitar that George Harrison played in the movie “Help”.

Not long after that, Adrian completed his undergraduate degree “Bachelor of Arts” from Park University with majors in Music Education and Instrumental Music. While at Park University he studied under Mr. Anthony Glise, who is now the guitar instructor at Missouri University at Columbia, Missouri.  It is from Anthony Glise that Adrian has developed much of his own approach to the guitar as well as the philosophical underpinnings for the pursuit of music.

From there, Adrian went on to work in recording studios as a performer, an engineer, a producer, as well as a studio manager. Because of his experience working in record shops he developed a deep and varied knowledge of repertoire. For Adrian vinyl is still his preferred medium for recorded music, although he has a large CD collection.

Eventually, Adrian moved to Denver, Colorado and worked as a recording engineer for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Opera Colorado under Chief Engineer David Wilson. It was under David's tutelage that Adrian developed an even deeper appreciation for Opera and Orchestral Music.

In 2002 Adrian moved to Northern Colorado and took a position as Music Director for Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Johnstown, Colorado. There he directed choirs and selected music for the Masses. Not long after that he took an adjunct faculty position as a Guitar Instructor at Campion Academy and will be completing his eighth year teaching there. His teaching experience has been very fruitful in producing life long guitarists. This is largely because of the efforts of Mrs. Melia Williams who has created an excellent environment for budding musicians.

Adrian teaches in Fort Collins at Boomer Music and teaches privately in his home studio. He is also available to musicians for artist development. Adrian volunteers at Ridgeview Classical Schools in Fort Collins, where he teaches a guitar club after school, for students and faculty.