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Patrick Smith is a composer/guitarist/teacher based in Maryland. Although Patrick's passion for guitar performance started at an early age, his interest in composition began to emerge as an adolescent in the form of songwriting. As a guitarist in various bands throughout his young life, Patrick performed an eclectic variety of styles (mostly classic rock, pop, blues, progressive rock, etc.) and could often be found taking on the principal songwriting responsibilities, writing guitar-centric songs in the style of The Who, Led Zeppelin, and Van Halen.
As his musical interests widened, Patrick found a new passion in the composition of art music. He studied composition under Dr. Anna Rubin and Dr. Linda Dusman at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and studied classical guitar under Dr. Zane Forshee. Patrick's music has been performed at UMBC’s Livewire Festival (an annual New Music festival), Carroll Community College faculty recitals, and he has worked with ensembles such as Baltimore’s SONAR New Music Ensemble. His music explores various areas of compositional interest including timbral variety, extended instrumental techniques, imitative counterpoint, and non-functional tonality.
Equally present in his musical life, Patrick has been teaching privately since his early 20s. He has established a reputation as a meticulous, careful instructor who values the individual musical personality of each student, and provides a respectful, productive atmosphere for musical growth. Patrick has been an adjunct music faculty member at Carroll Community College in Westminster, MD since January of 2010, and has been a guitar instructor at Mike’s Music since January of 2010.
Patrick received his Bachelor of Arts degree (summa cum laude) in music composition from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in May of 2015 where he was also recognized with the 2015 Music Achievement Award, as well as the award for Outstanding Student in Music Composition for 2015.
Kevin Alexander has been playing music for over 15 years. He graduated in 2014 from McDaniel College with a degree in Music, specializing in Theory and Composition. Kevin first discovered his love for music after learning guitar at age 11, and has since added bass, piano, ukulele, and other instruments to his repertoire. Though he primarily considers rock and alternative to be his favorite music, he has performed and studied a wide variety of styles including jazz, blues, funk, country, and even mariachi. His favorite part about teaching is being able to share his passion for music with others. After teaching at Mike's Music previously in 2015, Kevin is happy to rejoin the Mike's family!
Nik started playing the guitar at the age of 8 at a little known local music store called Mike’s Music. Under the direction of Steve Colón, he studied a wide berth of genres and techniques ranging from the dizzying harmonic complexity of jazz to the impressive technicality of metal and instrumental rock. He has also studied the electric bass with Andrew Freed for upwards of 3 years, learning funk, soul, and jazz in the style of Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, James Jamerson, and many other influential bassists. Nik plays electric bass live nearly as much as he plays guitar.
Nik loves listening to and playing music from a large assortment of genres including progressive metal, jazz, rock, R&B, funk, and soul just to name a few.
Nik’s learned technical ability, proficiency in music theory, and performative prowess displays the epitome of what Mike’s Music’s lesson program strives to achieve.