The Macarthur Music Academy Team
The Macarthur Music Academy teaching team is a group of 15 professional music teachers and musicians. All members of the team have either graduated from a university bachelor degree or are currently enrolled in a bachelor degree with appropriate AMEB accreditation to teach the instruments to the grades they are qualified to.
Members of the team have taught either on the CAPA staff or peripatetically at a number of schools in the Macarthur area. For this reason, we are often recommended by local music departments for their students as the best option for tuition in stage 5 and for both the HSC Board Course 1 and 2 Music curriculum.
David Eaton (BMus)
Head Teacher/Director Guitar, Piano, Bass, Drums, Music Theory, Composition, Stage 6 (HSC) Music Tuition
David started the academy from the former Somerset Music store in Narellan with Dr. Rebecca Bennison in 2011. The academy has grown from a handful of students to nearly 400 per week under David’s watch and he is proud that all bar two of the academy’s staff are former students of his.
David has taught almost 1000 people from the local area and still counts among his enrolled students people who have come with him from the music store - now enrolled for over 12 years. He has a strong record with HSC results over the last 10 years, with many Band 6 results, encore nominations and university matriculations amongst his student’s results.
David cares deeply about his students and many remain close friends for years afterwards, some becoming teaching staff of Macarthur Music Academy in their own right.
He tutors music at Macarthur Anglican School, Oran Park Anglican College and also at St. Benedict’s College in Oran Park.
He also plays and records with the band Anubis, with whom he has released 10 albums and embarks on his third tour this year. He is in demand as a performer, composer and record producer.
David has exhausted his availabilities for new students, although he continues to oversee all students as head teacher of the academy.
Reece Denton (BMus)
Percussion, Bass, Guitar, piano, ukulele, voice
Reece joined the Mac/Somerset Team in 2015 as the first drum tutor we had had. In that time, Reece has tutored hundreds of drummers of all ages and and stages of musicianship.
He is a gifted multi-instrumentalist, and is frequently seen tutoring not only drums, but guitar, bass, piano/synth/keyboard but also music production and of course, stage 6 (HSC) music where he’s had considerable success.
Reece is a wholistic musician who immerses himself completely within the craft. He graduated his degree in 2014 before joining with Dave, Becky and Steve to complete the nucleus of the original teaching team.
Reece has drummed in musical theatre productions, on numerous studio sessions and as a member of a number of bands over the years. As a drummer, Reece has a particularly sound knowledge of metre and dynamics and is a solid sight-reader who teaches the rudiments of music and drumming as well as the foundation of functional harmony and the percussionist's place within music.
He fronts his own band Pixels and Sound with Dan and has recorded two CDs. He is a gifted composer and also produces music for other artists and students.
Reece has also tutored at Macarthur Anglican School and also at Mt. St Joseph’s in Milperra.
Reece has limited availabilities for 2024. Call or email to reserve your place.
Lachlan Green (BA Music)
Piano, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Voice (Harsh), Stage 6 (HSC) Music
Lachlan is one of the five teachers that comprised the original Macarthur Music Academy teaching team in 2018. He joined in 2016 following his HSC and matriculation to University and still boasts his very first student amongst his enrolled student body. He celebrates his 8th year with us this year.
Lachlan is a gifted pianist and heads up our piano team, taking a number of our students through their AMEB grades. However, his true love is and has always been guitar and he can be found on a stage in his adopted hometown of Wollongong most weekends playing in any one of a number of bands. He is a phenomenal pianist, guitarist, bassist, drummer, vocalist (including harsh vocals) and musicologist. He also tutors at Five Islands Music in Wollongong so we’re grateful he still calls Mac Music home.
His demeanour is affable and approachable and his enthusiasm for his craft is infectious. Lachlan is a consummate performer and a big personality who values his students.
Lachlan has exhausted his availabilities for 2024.
Madi Cook
Voice, Piano, Stage 6 (HSC) Music
Madi joined our team in 2022 following her matriculation to study music at University and her HSC. She was one of our longest tenured students, studying with Dr. Rebecca Bennison and Sarah Vella before her HSC, where she was one of our most successful candidates.
Madi embodies much of the spirit that made her mentor, Sarah Vella, such a successful and well-loved teacher. She has the remarkable skills on piano, reaching high in her AMEB grades, and she is also as a deeply soulful vocalist. She matriculated to the University of New South Wales to study but has since moved to Western Sydney University to complete her degree.
Madi knows well the culture of our school, having been immersed in it since before her 8th birthday. Her first HSC students in 2023 achieved exceptional results and she has taken on almost all of Sarah’s student load, offering (to her credit) complete continuity to the students of one of Mac’s leading lights.
Madi has availabilities for 2024. Call us to reserve a place with her.
Tiahna Davis (BMus)
Drums and Percussion, Stage 6 (HSC) Music
Tiahna began her journey with Mac Music in 2015, as one of Reece’s very first students. She continued tuition through to her HSC and eventual matriculation to Western Sydney University, where she joined the team becoming our first female drum teacher - a very important appointment for the many young students who needed a role model in a remarkably male-dominated area of music.
Tiahna is a consummate teacher. She is continuing her studies to her Master of Teaching with a view to teaching in schools. She has a particular gift with connecting with very young students and has drum students as young as 3 kicking goals. She has taken HSC students through with success and is serene, kind and focussed on musical goals. In her own HSC, she was one of the academy’s most successful drummers - earning her a band 6 in Music and a place in Western Sydney University.
She is also a valuable multi-instrumentalist, and is a fervent devotee of Ringo Starr!
Tiahna has limited availability in 2024. Contact us to reserve a place with her.
Jaala Sadler (BMus)
Voice, Piano, Guitar
Jaala joined the team at Mac in late 2020 following her HSC and matriculation to University. She had been a student of Mac Music, study with David, since Year 8, working on guitar, voice, composition and piano.
Jaala has always had a drive to become a noted musicologist and she has travelled extensively presenting her research on the musics of First Nations people, which as a proud First Nations person herself, he is more than qualified for. She has toured extensively with indigenous choirs and has sang in traditional language as well as English. After completion of her degree in 2023, she embarks on her post-grad studies/PhD in 2024.
Jaala is a consummate musician and teacher. She is warm and affable and has a strong bond with her substantial student body. She enters 2024 as Mac Music’s most senior voice teacher and has counted some exceptionally gifted students amongst her base.
Jaala has limited availability for 2024. Call or email to reserve a place with her.
Thomas Hardy (Dip. Music)
Guitar and Bass
Thomas was one of Mac Music’s most successful HSC candidates, earning himself not only a band 6 but an encore nomination. A consummate performer, Tom is at home on stage. He plays rock guitar with aplomb, but also has performed as a bass player for other artists.
Tom is laid back, easy going and friendly. Studying under Anton Stewart then David for 8 years, he was one of the longest tenured students at Mac. He matriculated to the Australian Institute of Music where his skills and experience have been supercharged and he has attended masterclasses by some of the world’s most renowned musicians - such as Sting.
After finishing his Diploma of Music in 2023, he continues his Bachelors degree in 2024. He is also definitely not a famous actor.
Tom has availabilities in 2024. Call or email to reserve a place with him.
Will Kiss
Guitar, Bass Guitar, Stage 5 and 6 Music
Will joined the academy teaching team in 2020 when he matriculated to Western Sydney University to study his music degree. Will took a leave of absence in his third year to perform more in his burgeoning career as a jazz guitarist - having established connections whilst at university and has since played with some of Sydney and Australia’s most celebrated jazz players.
Will studied his HSC with David and came to the academy as an already outstanding, fully formed musician and a simply breathtaking guitarist. This extraordinary instrumental and highly developed improvisational skill lead to Will being a deserved Band 6 student and nominated for Encore. His students have been coached with the gentle patience and self-effacing kindness that marks Will out as a man.
Will has limited availabilities for 2024 - where he divides his time between tutoring guitar and his own Will Kiss Quarter where he is fortunate to play with some outstanding jazz musicians.
To book a place with Will, call or email us.