bob west
guitar
Bob’s love of music started in elementary school when he began playing the clarinet. In junior high school he added drums to repertoire of instruments. During Bob’s sophomore year of high school he moved to Milwaukee, where he kept up his drums study, but was also inspired to learn to play the guitar. Bob started a rock band in high school which played at the school and local church dances. He continued to play with various bands after high school and decided to audition for the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. He had never heard classical music on the guitar until the guitar conservatory teacher played a piece for him! Bob was given an assignment, which he learned as his conservatory audition piece. He returned, auditioned, and was accepted into the program. His mentor was James Yoghourtjian, who studied with Andre Segovia. Bob went on to complete his Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance at the conservatory.
Another interest of Bob’s is composition, and one summer studied with Barney Childs. He moved to California in 1977 and began working at the Eubanks Conservatory of Music and Arts and Casablanca Records, while taking courses in composition at Cal State, orchestration at UCLA, and electronic music at Redlands. While in California, Bob completed his Masters degree. He graduated with Honors and won the Pi Kappa Lambda Award for Outstanding Scholarship and Achievement in Music.
Since moving to Charlotte Bob has taught at several schools including CPCC. Bob brings a wealth of knowledge and accomplishment in classical, rock and other genres to his students. He teaches acoustic, electric and bass guitar at Charlotte Academy of Music.
