Meet Our Teachers
Peter Burandt
Peter’s life in music began with piano lessons at the age of six.
During the first year of lessons his teacher noticed he had a sharp ear for pitch and recommended starting violin lessons at the age of seven. From then on his musical education consisted of violin and piano studies at the primary and secondary music schools in Gdansk, Poland until the age of eighteen and violin and viola studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City from age of nineteen.
Included in his formal musical education were: music theory and history, chamber music, orchestra and choir. Throughout his schooling and professional life he played in orchestras, chamber music ensembles and recording studios.
In addition to providing his students with a traditional, classically based training, he likes to foster individual creativity through introduction of intuitive improvisation. He has taught at Caesar’s School of Music for the last 20 years.
Anna Guzik
Anna has been playing the piano since the age of 8 and completed the RCM program as part of her studies, including an Elementary Piano Pedagogy certificate. She now has nearly 10 years of music teaching experience and has worked with students of all ages and abilities throughout the years. Her lessons include a blend of classical and popular music, as well as music theory, to create a well-rounded understanding of music.
Marcin Guzik
Marcin Guzik started his musical career at age 8 with piano lessons, but after only a couple years decided he wished to pursue guitar instead. He began taking lessons from Caesar on classical guitar and has since completed Bachelors of Music and Education at the University of Alberta on the trumpet. Throughout the process he also returned to the piano and picked up acoustic, electric, and bass guitar, as well as the ukulele. He began teaching at Caesar's School of Music in 2015 and continues to pass down his knowledge of technique, music theory, and musicianship - as well as that of audio recording and mixing - to each of his students in fun, yet challenging lessons.
Tristan Lahue
An active musician and multi-instrumentalist, Tristan has been playing drums since elementary school, in which he joined the school band as a percussionist after playing the trumpet for a year. He is a highly experienced performer in a variety of musical styles and holds a Bachelor of Music in Contemporary Popular Music from MacEwan University. While relatively new to teaching, Tristan is at the tail end of a degree in Education through the University of Alberta. He possesses a deep passion for music, particularly when it relates to drums and percussion, and consistently strives to cater to each student’s individual needs and interests. He has a strong understanding of many different musical styles, especially rock, pop, jazz, orchestral, and video game music. Tristan likes taking a technical approach to teaching whilst ensuring lessons are fun and engaging for students of all ages.
Zach Robertson
Zach Daniel Robertson grew up in Grande Prairie and started playing guitar as a young teenager in 2008, forming several short-lived rock bands with friends before eventually joining his high school jazz ensemble. This experience taught him the basics of performing in an ensemble, and, with the help of a few summer theory courses, he got his first music-related job teaching one-on-one guitar lessons at Music Center Canada in 2011. The band teacher recognized his talent and passion and pushed him to apply to Grant MacEwan University's Bachelor of Music (in jazz and contemporary popular music) program in 2012, which he completed in 2016 with a major in composition. While attending university, Zach started working at Caesar's School of Art and Music and has been teaching here since 2013. He has over a decade of teaching and performing experience and continues to educate and perform in the Edmonton area. He specializes in contemporary styles (blues, rock, jazz, country, and pop) and is a multi-instrumentalist with a focus on fretted and plucked string instruments such as the guitar, bass, ukulele, banjo, and mandolin.
Victor Yu
Music and piano have always been an essential part of Victor's childhood. Beginning with private and group lessons, his classical music training followed the RCM curriculum, with Music Theory, Applied Theory, and Harmony lessons.
From 2008 onward, he continued his studies under the guidance of Joseph Fridman (M.Mus), and during the next 6 years specialized in the interpretation of works by Frederic Chopin as well as piano pedagogy. In addition, he attended countless workshops, lectures, and masterclasses, whose authors include: Joseph Fridman, Mikolaj Warszynski, Dale Wheeler, Alexander Tselyakov, and Sylvia Shadick-Taylor.
As an Instructor, he is constantly improving and refining his methods to deliver a fun, interactive, and nurturing lesson experience. Victor has been teaching piano and theory students of varying ages and abilities since 2015 and is currently writing a book on music pedagogy and practicing.
Victoria Yu
A local portrait artist from Edmonton, Victoria embarked upon her artistic journey at the age of 8. After mastering fundamental studies in pencil, charcoal, watercolor, and acrylic, she developed a deep interest towards realism-style portraits and began portrait & figurative painting at age 12.
To further her specialization, she studied under the guidance of artist Casey Baugh, in addition to attending various workshops & lectures online and across North America. At 14 years of age, she started selling professionally, and at the age of 17, held her first solo exhibition in New York.
Victoria believes in art education which encompasses "A freedom of form; without border or constraint, nor hard rules steeped in tradition." She regularly teaches private oil painting and drawing lessons, workshops, and classroom demonstrations for students of all ages and abilities.
Caesar Zmysłowski
Caesar Zmysłowski started his musical education at age 5, started performing at age 11, and won second place at the National Guitar Competition in Poland only two years later. He attended music school in Gdansk, Poland for 16 years, and as a life-long performer, has played in Poland, Greece, Germany, France, Switzerland, the US and Canada in many styles, ranging from the classical music of J.S. Bach to many modern and contemporary styles.
In addition to performing with various chamber music ensembles, such as guitar and violin duos and all guitar ensembles, Caesar has played as a soloist at the Winspear Centre for Music with the Canadian Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Grzegorz Nowak, and continued on for a year as the artistic manager for the Canadian Chamber Orchestra. Caesar has also released a CD titled "Caesar and Marcus: Pieces for Two Guitars", and has been an adjudicator in many Kiwanis Guitar Festivals in Edmonton.
In 1996, Caesar established a school of music to share his knowledge and his love of guitar to many students, and has expanded to a team of skilled teachers on various instruments. For two decades now, Caesar has been committed to providing the highest quality of service and a friendly, professional environment for students of all ages to learn and enjoy music.