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lessons in piano, flute, violin, CELLO, Clarinet, Feldenkrais method and music theory.
L‘Accademia in St Heliers shares a love of Music and Arts as well as a vibrant community of creative students and musicians who contribute towards the diversity of the Eastern Bays.
Based at the St Heliers Community Centre we offer lessons in piano, flute, violin, cello, clarinet, Feldenkrais method and music theory.
Our amazing team includes professionals with international careers and increasingly renowned expertise in music pedagogy. We not only prepare for exams and University entries, but cater lessons to be instructive, fun and structurally based on optimal techniques that focus on good awareness and freedom for the production of sound. Moreover, we offer the students different performance opportunities throughout the year in our Community Centre and free tickets to all the concerts we organise here.
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Our teachers
Flavio Villani completed a Bachelor of Piano Performance with Matteo Napoli at the Conservatory ‘G.Martucci’ in conjunction with a Bachelor of IT in Salerno, Italy in 2007. After moving to NZ in 2008 he obtained a Master in Piano Performance at the University of Auckland with first class honours under the guidance of pianist Stephen De Pledge.
The journey towards his first solo performance with an orchestra was documented in the feature length film "Crossing Rachmaninoff". He has performed with different orchestras and chamber music formations in Festivals in California, Texas, Italy, Spain and New Zealand. He was absolute winner of the Northland Society Piano Competition in 2008 as well as winner of the first prize in the Llewelyn Piano Competition in both 2011 and 2012.
Currently he is undertaking a Doctorate through the Waikato University under the supervision of Katherine Austin. His interest for piano technique has led him to not only continuosly perfect his own piano playing and musicianship but also its delivery and the knowledge of body awareness for sound production, key to a good pedagogy of the piano. Moreover, his research on improvisation and score analysis has led him to combine elements of composition in his teaching which enhance lateral thinking and creativity into the minds of our young musicians.
Alistair studied flute with Professor Emeritus Uwe Grodd at the University of Auckland and graduated with a Masters Degree in Music in 2009.
He has 20 years experience in teaching flute and is passionate about seeing his students reach their full potential. During his studies, Alistair was the Assistant Director of the International Chamber Music Festival, which hosted some of the leading classical musicians of that time throughout NZ. He has extensive experience in Tertiary Music Education and was the Course and Programme Director for a contemporary music degree in Christchurch and a performing arts school in Auckland.
As a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, Alistair is passionate about helping people optimise the way people use their bodies and brings these unique insights into his teaching.
Ellen was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to New Zealand in 1995 calling Auckland her home since. She had classical piano training and completed a bachelor of music in Composition under the guidance of Dr Eve de Castro-Robinson and Dr Leonie Holmes. She has a strong passion about teaching music and music pedagogy.
Ellen has been teaching privately since 2018 and her interest in education inspired her to study a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood Education). Her teaching philosophy is to motivate students' interest in music, to learn about the elements of music and unfold their creativity with thoughtful and engaging lessons.
Minrui has many years of experience as a piano teacher, and has taught in both public and private schools. Along with hard work, dedication and enthusiasm, she highly values consistent and effective practicing habits.Minrui's main passion rests in encouraging and guiding individuals of all capabilities to enhance their naturally given talents, and to actively help hone their technique and skills. Playing music is like breathing, and over the past few years she has experimented on the correlation between music and language to rewarding results. She is confident in working with people of all ages and cultural differences, and thrives in a creative and co-co-operative environment. She is dedicated and patient and a new vibrant asset at L'Accademia.
Born in New Zealand, raised in Hong Kong, and educated in America, Bernini brings an international perspective to her burgeoning career as a violinist and educator. An uncommonly versatile violinist, Bernini performs with a wide array of ensembles, including symphony orchestras, baroque and contemporary music ensembles, and operatic productions. Her diversity allows her to collaborate with artists of contemporary classical music: Itzhak Perlman, Ana Maria Martinez, Eric Whitacre, Richard O’Neill, and the late Krzysztof Penderecki. Recent highlights include performances at internationally renowned venues, including Wiener
Musikverein, Chicago Symphony Center, Miami New World Center, Houston Hobby Center, Hong Kong Cultural Center, Shenzhen Concert Hall, and the Auckland Town Hall under the batons of conductors such as Hans Graf, Mei-Ann Chen, Gerard Schwarz, Elim Chan, Hal France, and Patrick Furrer. Since her return to New Zealand in 2024, Bernini began playing with the
Auckland Philharmonia, Auckland Chamber Orchestra, and Bach Musica NZ.
Passionate about teaching and passing musical knowledge to the next generation, Bernini has mentored musicians for 15+ years in Houston, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen. Trained in both traditional and Suzuki pedagogy and registered in Suzuki Books 1 to 6, Bernini is an experienced educator with beginners through advanced-level students of all ages. A strong advocate for the importance of music and the arts in people’s lives, Bernini is dedicated to helping each individual student develop their musical voice while gaining discipline, critical thinking, resilience, learning agility, and collaborative skills. Appointed by the Houston
Symphony Orchestra as a Community-Embedded Musician Fellow in 2023, Bernini is also engaged in sharing musical knowledge to a wide diversity of groups in the community such as elderly homes, children’s hospitals, and homeless shelters.
Bernini earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in violin performance and arts leadership under a full scholarship from the University of Houston where she was awarded the College of the Arts Graduate Tuition Fellowship, Moores School of Music Scholarship, and the MSM Music Director’s Scholarship. Bernini also holds degrees from DePaul University (Master of Music, Performance Certificate) and the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (Bachelor of Music).
She has worked closely with Ivan Chan, Mann-Wen Lo, Eunghee Cho, and members of the Formosa Quartet, in addition to her primary mentors: Kirsten Yon, I-Hao Lee, Susanne Baker, Rolando Freitag, Yi Huang, and Kangjie Zheng.
During her free time, Bernini enjoys being with family and friends to spend time in nature, visit museums, try out new restaurants, watch a movie, or just read a good book
“Bernini has been a fantastic teacher for my daughter and really helped her move through
roadblocks on several pieces. She has been a very positive presence in my daughter's violin
learning journey. If I had to summarize it in one statement, Bernini has great energy. Her overall
mindset is positive, accepting, encouraging for the child. And it is not fake or superficial but
genuine. Her presence is centered and authentic.”
– Parent of student at DePaul CMD
Gyuri Mun is a flautist who has passion for music. She is a friendly person with a gentle and warm personality. She always thinks and cares for her students first. She loves to have a cup of tea in her own time.
She started to learn flute at the age of 11 and graduated with a Bachelor of Music and Honours under Dr. Luca Manghi at the University of Waikato in 2022. She performed with New Zealand Youth Symphonic Winds, North Shore Youth Wind Band, LunchTime Concert Series at Waikato University, St. Andrew’s Church Christmas Service, St. Anglican Church Easter Concert. She loves to share her music with others and sometimes go out busking with her flute. Gyuri was also a former teacher at the Papakura Music School, St. Mary’s College, Baradene College of Sacred Heart and Dilworth Boarding School. Now, she is currently teaching flute at Pukekohe High School, Blockhouse Bay School of music and Howick School of Music as well as L'Accademia. She taught different age groups and levels of students. She will always encourage your learning and do her best to improve your skills.
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Dynamic clarinetist David McGregor has been Principal Clarinet of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra since 2018. In this role he works across the Canterbury region as both an exciting performer and dedicated educator. He notably appeared as a soloist with the CSO performing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in 2020, and most recently with the Hawkes Bay Orchestra in 2024.With over a decade of orchestral experience across New Zealand and Australia, David was selected as a Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellow in 2017, which involved frequent performances with the orchestra as well as chamber music, education and outreach work around Sydney and greater NSW. He has also performed with other leading Australasian orchestras and ensembles, including the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Southern Cross Soloists, Orchestra Wellington, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band.David is dedicated in his teaching, having taught as an itinerant teacher in schools, at the University of Canterbury, and privately in Christchurch for a number of years. He studied with Francesco Celata at the University of Tasmania, and with Philip Green at Te Kōki – New Zealand School of Music.
"I am very happy to be accepting new students of all ages and stages in Auckland for Term 1 in 2025.Lessons are tailored to each student’s desires and needs, whether you’re wanting the goal and challenge of graded or diploma exams building a solid sound and technique, to learn some favourite music or even songs you’ve just heard on the radio!My focus is predominantly on classical repertoire, though I am a big fan of jazz and klezmer music too."
Spanish cellist Diana Sanz Pascual earned her Bachelor's degree from the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid and her Master's degree from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where she studied in the class of Gideon den Herder.
As a performer, Diana is a regular casual player of the Auckland Philharmonia and has performed with European orchestras such as the Residentie Orkest den Haag, Noord Nederlands Orkest, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra or the Orquesta y Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid.
She has a great passion for chamber music, which led her to win the 1st prize of the 'Jesús de Monasterio Chamber Music Competition' in 2018 with her quartet, and in 2023 she was awarded the Jeunes Talents distinction in France as a member of Dúo Nim. She has been regularly invited to perform in chamber music festivals in Europe.
Diana has over 12 years of teaching experience. She has taught in Spain and the Netherlands, where she was based the past four years.