Auckland
Guitar Lessons | Percussion Lessons, Ukulele Lessons | Online Lessons
Bio
Maria Elena is an accomplished Flamenco and Classical guitarist with many years of teaching experience. She has been learning Guitar since she was 8 years old. She was inspired by her cousins Anthony and Charles Mandos, who played Flamenco Guitar. She got her foundation in Classical Guitar from the Tilburgse Muziek School in The Netherlands. Maria Elena came to New Zealand with Flamenco Guitarist and artist Darcy Lange in the 80s. She founded Flamenco NZ in 1990 in Auckland with the aim to promote Flamenco in New Zealand. Maria Elena has performed for decades in many parts of New Zealand, Netherlands, Germany and Spain. She was a special guest at the Pena Flamenca (Flamenco cultural centre) in Jaen, Andalucia, Spain in 1990 where she resided for 6 months. Maria Elena produces and regularly performs in Flamenco concerts. The Lament of the Guitar at Pah Homestead and La Guitarra at the Auckland Fringe Festival 2021 were very successful shows, which sold out. Besides teaching privately from her home studio Maria Elena is also an itinerant guitar teacher at Kings School.
Teaching Info
Students have the option to study various styles of Guitar. They can choose to study traditional Flamenco guitar which is taught orally and with the use of tablature and sound recordings. They can learn to play the Classical guitar (Andres Segovia method using traditional musical notation) and if they wish they can measure their progress by preparing for graded exams (Trinity College or Royal Schools of Music, London). Another option is to learn to play popular songs, strumming chords and fingerpicking styles. Classes are tailored to students’ needs and can be for pure enjoyment without doing any exams or for performance and career. Additionally, Maria Elena also teachers Flamenco Dance, castanets, palmas (clapping of Flamenco rhythms), cajon (rhythm box), Flamenco Cante (singing), ukulele, and is a Spanish language teacher and translator. There are some performance opportunities for students who are keen to put in the extra work.
We were so lucky to have Maria Elena Snijders as our son Campbell’s Classical and Flamenco Guitar Teacher. We’d heard about her from one of our friends as Maria was her son’s guitar teacher at that time. She has taught Campbell so much and we’ve heard so much improvement from him over these past 8 years (ever since he was in year 5) to the point where Campbell has achieved his Grade 8 Merit Certificate for Classical Guitar. Maria always accompanied him to all of his exams and calmed his nerves showing her passion and dedication to her students. We would especially like to express our appreciation at all the performance opportunities she has given Campbell, which allowed him to improve his skills as well as confidence in performance. If you are interested in taking up the guitar whether casually or more seriously, we would highly recommend Maria as a teacher. She really knows what she’s doing!
Teresa Jin
We were so lucky to have Maria Snijders as our son Campbell’s Classical and Flamenco Guitar Teacher. We’d heard about her from one of our friends as Maria was her son’s guitar teacher at that time. She has taught Campbell so much and we’ve heard so much improvement from him over these past 8 years (ever since he was in year 5) to the point where Campbell has achieved his Grade 8 Merit Certificate for Classical Guitar. Maria always accompanied him to all of his exams and calmed his nerves showing her passion and dedication to her students. We would especially like to express our appreciation at all the performance opportunities she has given Campbell, which allowed him to improve his skills as well as confidence in performance. If you are interested in taking up the guitar whether casually or more seriously, we would highly recommend Maria as a teacher. She really knows what she’s doing!
Teresa Jin
A lesson with Maria Elena is an experience, not simply a lesson. Sure you will learn what to do with both hands and with your guitar. However, you unwittingly also come out with the 12-bar rhythm installed into your sul and the spirit of Flamenco as an essential part of your daily enrichment. You will also, through her playing, and the rich area of you-tube clips for you to enjoy in your own time, obtain a soul-moving overview of the wonderful world that is becoming yours to immerse in and to become part of. Dr. P. Parkinson ( most senior student being 80 +)
