Guitarists refine their talent via music lessons with Anthony Titus
Yeng Yang, an accounting major at Inver Hills Community College, and Taylor Stotesbery, a graduate of Metropolitan State University, love playing guitar. Both Yeng and Taylor are taking Applied Guitar lessons at Inver Hills from Anthony Titus, a member of the music faculty and a co-developer of the college’s Associate of Fine Arts (A.F.A.) in Music.
“Yeng and Taylor are quite talented guitarists,” Anthony said. “I’ve enjoyed working with them over the course of spring semester 2018. Teaching dedicated musicians one on one is definitely a highlight of my work as a music instructor at Inver Hills.”
Applied music lessons at Inver Hills
The Music department at Inver Hills Community College offers applied music lessons in a variety of areas. These private, individualized lessons are offered in the following musical pursuits:
- Voice
- Piano
- Guitar
- Percussion
- High brass
- Low brass
- String
- Woodwind
For a fee of $150, students receive a half-hour lesson once a week for the entire semester. They also get the opportunity to work with musicians who are recognized experts in their field.
Applied music lessons give students of all skill levels the ability to receive individualized assistance in learning their preferred instrument.
MUSC 1133 | Applied Guitar | 2.0 credits
Provides students with individualized instruction to learn how to play the guitar. Lessons are arranged directly with the instructor and a course of study will be chosen based on the student’s current skill level, abilities, and needs. These credits may be repeated as often as desired. An extra fee is required for this course.
If you are interested in taking applied music lessons at Inver Hills, contact:
Andrew Martin, PhD
Music Faculty
651-450-3774
More about Anthony Titus…
Anthony Titus earned his B.A. from North Carolina School of the Arts and his M.A. from San Diego State University studying under members of the Los Romero’s guitar quartet. Among the recitals and concertos Mr. Titus has performed throughout the United States and Sweden, highlights include:
- Performance for Miguel de la Madrid Huratado, the former president of Mexico
- Performance for Patricio Silva Echenique, Chilean ambassador to the United States
- Premiering Variations on a Theme by The Doors for guitar and string quartet ¹
- Premiering The Habanera ¹
¹ Both compositions by Hiram Titus
Anthony Titus gallery
Anthony’s teaching distinctions include several student winners in both the Schubert Club and Thursday Musical competitions since 1988. As a natural extension to his development in audio/video design, Anthony has also adapted a college guitar curriculum for the blind with M.T.A.T. (Multi-Tracking Audio Transcription), a procedure of his own design that translates musical notation.
Anthony is faculty at Inver Hills, the University of St. Thomas and Metropolitan State University. He co-developed the curriculum for the Associate of Fine Arts (A.F.A.) in Music at Inver Hills.
Guitarist spotlight: Yeng Yang
Yeng is the youngest of five children—he has two brothers and two sisters. When he’s not studying, he enjoys composing music, playing guitar and working out. Yeng resides in Inver Grove Heights.
Three words that describe you as a person:
OPEN-MINDED. CONSIDERATE. PASSIONATE.
Yeng Yang gallery
Yeng Yang Q & A
I chose the accounting route in order to get into the work field quick and work.
What are your long-range higher education plans?
Possibly aiming towards a bachelor’s in accounting or diving into a music education.
When did you start playing guitar?
I started playing guitar around 5th grade. My dad influenced me a lot as he also played guitar in a Hmong band when he first came to the United States. Ever since he taught me how to play a chord on guitar, I have been trying to teach myself until now.
What kind of guitar do you play?
I am currently playing an acoustic electric Takamine.
Three words that describe you as a musician:
HONEST. CONVEYING. PURPOSEFUL.
What is your favorite kind of music?
I am pretty open-minded when it comes to music. It can be pop, rock, RnB, orchestra, funk. Anything I feel brings an interesting element to the table whether it be because of lyrics, composition, or how it makes me feel based on my mood.
Who is your favorite guitarist?
I really like John Mayer because of how easy he makes it look to play guitar. His groove and style is amazing. I also like Gabe Bondoc who is a YouTube singer/songwriter.
What are your long-range career plans?
If I can, I really want to be able to be a singer songwriter within the Hmong community here in Minnesota. Minnesota currently has the biggest population of Hmong people and so I feel there are many opportunities here for me.
Yeng Yang | 12 Answers
- Favorite sport or physical activity: Weight training
Place you would most like to visit: Hawaii- The most exciting thing you’ve ever done: Walk and tour around San Francisco with my family
- Your personal motto if you had to have one: “Be true to yourself.”
- Favorite all-time TV show: Supernatural
- Favorite all-time movie: The Fast and the Furious
- One thing you most want to accomplish in life: Being able to give back to everyone who has helped and made a difference in my life.
- Most precious material possession: My dad’s guitar.
Dream occupation: Producing and making music for the rest of my life- Person you would most like to meet: The child version of myself
- Skill you would most like to learn and master: Being able to jam and adapt to any song
- Most important issue or problem facing humankind: The ability to believe and trust in each other to change for the greater good.
More about the A.F.A. in Music…
The Associate of Fine Arts (A.F.A.) in Music will give you the foundation you need to pursue a variety of professions in the music industry. The degree also prepares you earn your Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Music or a bachelor’s degree designed to provide the knowledge and skills you need to succeed in the music business.
The A.F.A. in Music is designed to offer you two clear-cut options:
- Transfer with junior status to a four-year college or university to earn a B.F.A. in Music or a comparable bachelor’s degree
- Build a meaningful, rewarding career in the music industry
Visit Music to learn more.
Guitarist spotlight: Taylor Stotesbery
Taylor worked for UPS for just over seven years with the majority of his time spent in operations management. He worked for UPS while earning his bachelor’s degree from Metro State. He recently started working for Cintas.
Taylor’s mother and father still reside in his hometown, Big Stone City. His older brother Nick lives with his wife, Erin, in Saint Louis Park. His little sister, Shannon, lives in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Taylor also has a 4-year-old German shepherd named Chino, whom he considers part of his family.
When he’s not working, Taylor enjoys most sports. In high school, he participated in football, cross-country, wrestling and baseball. His current favorite hobbies include walking and running with my dog, Chino, riding motorcycle and playing guitar. Taylor resides in the Cherokee Park neighborhood in St. Paul.
Three words that describe you as a person:
INTROVERTED. DRIVEN. CONSIDERATE.
Taylor Stotesbery gallery
Taylor Stotesbery Q & A
I chose my career path because I never had “a calling” to a more specific career path. This is why I started pursuing a degree in business management. Business is such a broad field to study because it applies to everything we do not only in our professional, but also our personal lives. Because of this, I think it can be extremely useful even without having a clear vision of what type of career you want to use it for.
What are your long-range higher education plans?
I have thought about someday working towards an MBA, but it definitely won’t be anytime soon. I’m happy with what I’m currently doing.
When did you start playing guitar?
My older brother Nick, who is a talented guitarist, showed me a few things on guitar when I was 12–13, but I didn’t continue with it through my high school years because I was more concerned with other typical high school things. I attended Class Guitar with Mr. Titus at Metro State University during the fall 2016 semester, and this is when I started to get serious about playing guitar. I continued playing individually through the spring of 2017, and then started taking Applied Guitar with Mr. Titus in the summer of 2017.
Three words that describe you as a musician:
MOTIVATED. STRUCTURED. SYSTEMATIC.
What kind of guitar do you play?
The guitar I play for class and played today is a Cordoba F7. It’s a flamenco guitar that I just bought in March, but so far has been working great for the classical and jazz music we play. I also have a Butterscotch Blonde Fender Telecaster with a black pick guard. I don’t get to play that one as much as I’d like to, but try to get time in whenever I have recreational time to play outside of the material we work on for class.
What is your favorite kind of music?
I enjoy pretty much every genre of music, but I’d say that rock is probably my favorite.
Who is your favorite guitarist?
John Mayer
What is your long-range career plans?
I’ve always been the kind of person that works to live not lives to work, so I just want to have some type of career that I don’t hate and allows me to do the things I enjoy outside of work.
Taylor Stotesbery | 12 Answers
- Favorite sport or physical activity: I really enjoy running with my dog because it allows us to spend time outside together and gets us both exercise at the same time.
Place you would most like to visit: I guess I can’t really narrow it down to a single country, but I would really like to visit and tour Europe.- The most exciting thing you’ve ever done: The most exciting thing in my life I’m still experiencing. Which is moving from a small town in South Dakota to the heart of a metropolitan area and finding out through trial and error what it means to be an independent adult.
- Your personal motto if you had to have one: “Work hard and good things will happen.”
- Favorite all-time TV show: Even at age 26, I still love Dragon Ball Z.
- Favorite all-time movie: Jaws
- One thing you most want to accomplish in life: I really want to play music for people with my brother, Nick, and best friend, Chad Spors, who is a drummer.
- Most precious material possession: My motorcycle because it has more than just a dollar value, it also has sentimental value. Riding motorcycle has been something I’ve done with my dad since I was very young, and I actually got my motorcycle from my dad last year after he got a different one.
Dream occupation: I’m really not sure. A dream occupation kind of seems like an oxymoron to me. [IHN: Great answer]
- Person you would most like to meet: I feel like this question is intended for me to answer with a celebrity, but I’m not really concerned with that. I wish I would’ve gotten the chance to meet my Grandpa Stotesbery before he died. I met my Grandpa O’Connor on my mother’s side, but didn’t have that luxury on my father’s side.
- Skill you would most like to learn and master: I’ve been listening to a lot of flamenco guitar music lately, and I think it would be really cool to learn that style of playing.
- Most important issue or problem facing humankind: I’m not going to go into any specifics, but I think there is a serious problem in our society and culture with people not taking personal responsibility for the things that happen in their own lives. In my opinion, there are way too many people that refuse to hold themselves accountable and consistently blame the world around them for their unhappiness.
To learn more about taking Applied Guitar lessons at Inver Hills, contact:
Anthony Titus
Music Faculty
651-450-3773
To learn more about the A.F.A. in Music at Inver Hills, contact:
Andrew Martin
651-450-3774
Office: FA178
Admissions Team
651-450-3902
Toll-free: 866-576-0689
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