Theo Ammirata

I hold a BA in Guitar and an MA in Composition from BIMM Bristol. Over nearly 20 years of playing guitar, I built a performance career across the Bristol, Devon, and Somerset metal scene, playing in the bands Decollated (thrash metal), Voltane (doom metal), and Exaction (hardcore). I performed at venues including the Barnfield Theatre (Exeter), the Phoenix (Exeter), the Gryphon (Bristol), the Crofters Rights (Bristol), the Chelsea (Bristol), the Old England (Bristol), the Red Lion (Bristol), the Cobblestones (Bridgwater, with Decollated in 2015 and 2016, and with Voltane in 2022), The Cab (Newport, Wales), and the Frog & Fiddle (Cheltenham, with Voltane in 2022). I also played festival dates at Gryphfest (2016) and Metal to the Masses (2017). My last performance was in December 2023.

Since then, I've shifted focus to classical and baroque guitar, and I'm currently preparing a four-piece audition programme — Bach's BWV 996 Allemande, Weiss's Sonata 34 Bourrée, Giuliani's Op. 71 No. 3 Rondo, and Barrios's Julia Florida — for an audition at the Royal Danish Academy of Music (DKDM) in Copenhagen.

My teaching experience includes working with the Bristol Beacon Trust, delivering classical guitar instruction to small groups of children across various schools in Bristol. I also taught for Your Guitar Academy UK, and have given extensive private lessons to students of different ages, abilities, and styles, covering both classical and contemporary guitar.

I've taught guitar to students of all ages and levels, from complete beginners to advanced players, both in school settings (Bristol Beacon) and through years of private tutoring. My approach is structured but personal: I build lessons around each student's goals, whether that's technical foundation, repertoire development, music theory, or exam and audition preparation. I place particular emphasis on right-hand technique, tone production, and phrasing — the details that separate playing notes from playing music.

Having gone through the audition process myself, including reworking pieces under real performance pressure, I understand what it takes to prepare seriously for a goal, and I bring that same discipline and patience to every student I teach, regardless of their level or ambitions.