About Us: Staff & Teacher Info
Music Go Round, Woodbury is locally owned and operated by musicians and music lovers like you. We pride ourselves on being a resource of musicians of all levels as we continuously strive to create the best possible customer experience.
Staff contacts:
Erik Swenson - GM
Matt Hertel - Manager
John Leibel - Sales
Ryan Smith - Sales
Repair:
William Lillmars - Brass instrument repair
Monday, Thursday, Friday 4-8pm.
Jon Davidson - guitar repair
Wednesday-Sunday after 12pm.
Andrew Moeller - woodwind repair and maintanence. Schedule TBD. Call for
appointment, or drop off.
Rajiah Johnson - advanced woodwind services. Oboes, flutes, sax, etc.
By appointment only.
Lee Swenson - Violin service. By appointment only.
Teachers: Bios and contact info
Mike Zimmerman (651)-983-9988 -guitar
– Mike was the first brick in the Foundation of Music Go Round, he is our longest-tenured teacher. Mike handles students of all levels, beginner to advanced. He is a songwriter and loves fishing. As a member of the Kurt Jorgensen band and Michael Shane band, he has performed everywhere. Mike likes many types of music. He specializes in rock, blues and country guitar. Mike loves a great song and is adept at teaching them. He is good with all ages.
Education- Waldorf College, Brown Institute
Styles – Rock, blues, soul, country, basic techniques
Availability – limited
Years teaching –13
Current rate (subject to change) $20/half hour
Todd Duane (651)-247-9120– guitar
– Todd is our blazing shredologist. He was recently named 3rd fastest shredder in the world by Guitar World magazine. If it is technique you seek, take advantage of his skills. He graduated from GIT in Los Angeles. He later went on to teach there as well as the American Institute of Music in Vienna, Austria. He is a member of the band Touched which is well worth going out to see. Todd is dedicated to the art of guitar and is best suited for intermediate to advanced players.
Education – GIT, California
Styles – Classic Rock, progressive rock, metal, speed lead, technique
Availability – very limited, waiting list
Years teaching – 20+
Current Rate (subject to change) $22/half hour
Brad Steine: (651)-285-4420 – guitar/drums
-A multi-instrumentalist, Brad plays and teaches drums, percussion, and guitar. He was the drummer for the successful Twin Cities band "Soul Tight Committee" for many years and has performed with groups in a range of styles, including: Jazz, Reggae, Heavy Rock, Classic Rock, Pop, R&B, and more.
Brad has 15 years experience teaching music including 6 years as percussion instructor at St. Mary’s University in Winona, MN. He enjoys working with students of all ages and strives to create a fun learning atmosphere where playing music is the focus, not lecturing. In fact, Brad likes to hold little jam sessions in his lessons, either playing guitar with drum students or drums with guitar students. This approach helps to build the students confidence and technique as well as their skills in a group setting.
Education - BA Music, St. Mary’s University Winona, MN
Styles - Classic & Modern Rock, Jazz, Blues, Theory and Reading
Availability - Good
Years teaching - 10 +
Current Rate (subject to change) $20/half hour
Michael Westbrock (651)-793-5108 - guitar
– Michael is a songwriter with good lead guitar chops. Once on the road to law-school, he followed his muse and became a songwriter. He records his own music which requires a great degree of discipline. Mike knows many songs and can teach you rock, blues, metal, and music theory. He has clean, accurate technique with the ability to teach it to others. Mike is disciplined and driven.
Education – Music Tech (now McNally Smith)
Styles – Rock, Pop, Metal
Availability – good
Years teaching – 10 +
Current rate (subject to change) $20/half hour
Chris Murphy (651)-491-0833 guitar
– Chris keeps us upbeat around here with his positive attitude. He can be found roasting coffee at Dunn Brothers early in the morning. A student of the great Billy Bernard at UMD, he knows his stuff. Chris can show you jazz, rock, country or any theory stuff you want to know. He is very patient and great with young people.
Education – BA University of Minnesota, Duluth
Styles – Jazz, Blues, Rock, basic guitar, theory, beginning guitar
Availability – limited to good
Years teaching – 5 +
Current rate (subject to change) $15/half hour
Mark Olson (651)-356-7778 – Piano, Saxophone, clarinet -member, MMTA/MTNA
– Mark is one of our finest musicians. He has studied classical, jazz, rock, and blues. He has played with many different local bands and is a strong singer. Mark can direct you on your way to traditional music training, ear training, sight reading and rhythm. He can also train you how to play your favorite tunes quickly using Scott Houston’s professional lead sheet method . Mark is very kind and patient with beginners.
Education – AA Normandale College, Scott Houston Creative piano method, studied with famous free jazz pianist Borah Bergman in NY, NY. On-staff parish musician at
Christ Episcopal Church, Woodbury.
Styles – All
Availability – limited
Years teaching – 15 +
Current rate (subject to change) Quarterly tuition.
Marcia Sanoden 651-235-7632 Guitar (Sundays)
Marcia is our new Sunday teacher who loves to work with children and female students who want to learn from a peer. She is patient and easy-going.
“I like guitar lessons with Marcia because she makes it fun.” Jenni T., Age 9, Forest Lake
Marcia started studying classical guitar at age 13 in Japan, where classical guitar was popular. She studied through college, and played guitar with the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra. Picking up steel string and flat-pick styles, she learned country, pop and rhythm guitar. She enjoys improvising behind folk or country performers.
Marcia has studied with Anthony Hauser, Ric Oliva,
Dale Dahlquist and jazz guitarist Joan Griffith. She enjoys beginners or intermediate players/songwriters who want to improve their guitar skills. Marcia has taught at The Music Connection, Music Go Round, and Walker West Music Academy.
Education, St. Olaf College
-Styles – classical and fingerstyle, contemporary Christian, country, pop, theory and reading.
-Years teaching: 6
-Availability- Sundays
-Tuition, please contact
REPAIR BIOS...
Jon Davidson – Guitar Repair
Experience: 20+ years
Technical training: Redwing tech
Rates: Job by job, fixed to variable, quotes available.
Availability: Wednesday through Saturday, walk-ins, drop offs welcome.
Specialty: Setups, electronics, damage repair, upgrades.
Other services: Part fabrication, instrument upgrades.
Jon has built quite a following here at MGR. Fridays can get busy as local musicians pile in for pre-gig tweaks. If you can’t find a part for your guitar, Jon is your man, he has found numerous solutions to pesky problems. He has even been know to fabricate a part from stock. Jon is regularly trusted with vintage and rare guitars, some of which he even owned new during his 41 years as a guitar/bassist.
Rajiah Johnson – Advanced woodwinds
Experience: 20+ years
Technical training: Southeast Technical College
Rates: Per job, by quote only
Availability: Limited, drop-off only
Specialty: Pro horns, rare and vintage horns
Other services: Professional flutist, compound bend repair, vintage instrument appraisal.
Spend a few minutes talking to Rajiah and you realize that his woodwind knowledge goes deep. Still, he will always admit if something isn’t his cup of tea. Rajiah has a following with local and nationally recognized players. He has worked with Maceo Parker, Joe Ford, Steve Clarke and other respected players. He specializes in difficult cases requiring “woodwind chiropractic” work. Bring in your piccolo, vintage sax, bass clarinet without worry. Rajiah is on staff as our repair department QC advisor. He performs advanced work from his shop, so drop-off required.
William Lillmars: Brass instrument repair
Experience: 12+ years
Technical training: Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Rates: Basic services fixed rate, advanced brass repair by quote.
Availability: Walk-in Monday, Thursday, Friday 4-8pm. Drop-offs welcome.
Specialty: Dent removal, flushing, valve re-seating. Severe brass damage.
Other services: Precision machining, buffing, lacquering. Woodwind regulation.
Bill is our brass workhorse, he has serviced thousands of horns for local musicians. Bill brings with him many years of experience in school band repair from respected organizations. Bring him something that looks like it was hit by a truck, if it’s fixable, he’ll fix it. Bill excels at precision metal work, he also works part-time for a manufacturer of pricey tone-arms for turntables. Bill plays brass instruments, guitar and any other contraption he sees.
Andy Moeller – Woodwind service
Experience: 1+ year
Technical training: Redwing – band instrument repair program
Rates: mostly fixed, difficult jobs by estimate.
Availability: Excellent, walk-ins welcome Saturday through Wednesday
Specialty: Woodwind regulation, cork and pad replacement
Other services: Trade-ins, sales, overhauls
Andy is our new woodwind workhorse. His work ethic is second to none. He is tenacious and bright, he lets nothing slip by. Servicing every used horn is imperative to what we do. Andy services the majority of those horns. Andy plays trumpet, French horn, clarinet, saxophone, flute, guitar and drums.
This talented newcomer is a rising star and we are glad to have him aboard.
Lee Swenson – orchestral instrument repair
Experience: 6+ years
Technical training: Redwing stringed instrument program
Rates: Setups and restrings fixed, other services by estimate
Availability: Lives close to MGR and can usually turn repairs around in under one week
Specialty: Violin and cello bridge shaping, restrings, damage repair, setups
Other services: Lee is an excellent bicycle technician
Lee is an old friend of the MGR family. His son Kyle worked here before heading off to college. Lee enjoys playing violin, guitar and fixing bicycles. Lee sets-up most of our used instruments and rentals. He works both on and off-site depending on the job. Several local music stores have made use of his talents.