Toby Demidzic’s passion for music and guitar began in his early years. As a child, he was constantly listening to music, especially classic rock. Some of his guitar heroes are Dave Uhrich, Eddie Van Halen, David Gilmour, Steve Vai, and Zakk Wylde. He was first introduced to Dave Uhrich at the age of 8 and was inspired to study under the tutelage of Dave ever since. The lessons with Dave were structured for each individual student, and that motivated Toby to become a guitar teacher that has the ability to construct lessons catered to each student’s interest and techniques.

He later went on to Harper Community College to study jazz guitar with Peter Aglinsks and classical guitar with Steven Vazquez, while continuing his lessons with Dave Uhrich. Harper Community College presented opportunities for Toby to perform with jazz ensembles, guitar ensembles, and concert choir. His pursuit to be better informed on guitar playing and performance led him to Southern Illinois University, where he studied under Isaac Lausell. His lessons were wrapped around classical guitar technique, jazz transcriptions, and studies, guitar etudes, and techniques. He also performed with jazz combo and jazz band, from bars to concert halls. Toby also had the opportunity to take composition and sound art classes – where he found exciting interests in audio editing, sound manipulation, audio engineering, and composition. He created, edited, and produced an EP, Memento Mori, as his final project. He also has a duo – Dvoje with cellist, Eunice Koh. Dvoje has performed in weddings and events and performed Toby’s original composition, Ethereal Love, which was featured in his EP.

His teaching experience began when he was 16, where he gave private individual lessons. Toby is enthusiastic about incorporating his experience as a musician and guitarist in teaching. He adopts the interest and passion of his students and creates lesson plans accordingly. Toby’s dedication to music, guitar, and teaching make him an exemplary model to his students.