Music History and Music Composition tutor

About Oleg

Oleg Ivanov was born in Rostov on Don, in the Russian Federation. He started to play guitar at the age of 10, influenced by the music of Bon Jovi, Metallica, Sting, Aerosmith, and others. True inspiration and passion came for Oleg at age 15, when he first heard guitar hero Joe Satriani, which completely changed his conception of the instrument and its possibilities. His next big influence was virtuoso Steve Vai and later on, Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Michael Angelo, Michael Fath, Tony MacAlpine, John Petrucci and Shawn Lane.

He studied guitar professionally, and grauduated from the College of Arts in Russia, where his influences turned to fusion guitar virtuosos John McLaughlin, Frank Gambale, and Allan Holdsworth. Following a move to United States, Los Angeles in 2008, he begin to study guitar at renowned Musicians Institute GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology), located in Hollywood. There he studied with Jimmy Wyble, Scott Henderson, Paul Gilbert, Daniel Gilbert, Sid Jacobs, Ken Rosser, and took master classes with Frank Gambale, Michael Angelo, and many others.

After graduation, he started teaching at local music schools and studying toward his Master’s Degree at the University Of Los Angeles in the Afro-Latin Music department. He has performed with both Calixto Oviedo and Oscar Hernandez (Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Ruben Blades). In additional, he studied solo jazz guitar with Sid Jacobs, Bruce Forman, and Dave Askren. In 2020, he came back to the Musician’s Institute TO purchase a master of music in Guitar Performance.
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August 2020 marks the release of his debut solo album, "The Art of Solo Guitar", where he explore counterpoints, block chords, and bebop, honoring the styles of mentors like Jimmy Wyble, Lenny Breau, Joe Diorio, Joe Pass, Sid Jacobs, Bruce Forman, all while molding his own style.