Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Ricky Giordano

Our guitar students are receiving virtual classes from renowned Jam band guitarist Ricky Giordano. Ricky, a California-based artist of Dominican heritage, is synthesizing bachata with funk and jazz techniques to provide our advanced guitarists with new skills. 

Ricky first connected with the Academia as an organizer of Jam Cruise’s 2023 visit. Since then, he has volunteered in person at our Cabarete campus for several teaching residencies totalling more than two months of full time teaching. Ricky called this “full circle… the maturation of what I’ve been doing my whole life… being able to give back to my people.”

Ricky has also been instrumental in organizing support from Taylor guitars and the Positive Legacy Foundation.

Ricky is now teaching several hours of Zoom class each week to our advanced guitarists and young teachers. He reflects:

“The students were always good, and they’re just getting better. I’m teaching them super advanced concepts and they’re really taking to it... I’ve never seen a music school that’s this hands-on. I wish I had that growing up!”

Check out Ricky’s music on Instagram or keep up with him on his website:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/rickyg

Website: www.rickyg.live