Our Teachers

Owner/Instructor - Bob Meyer

Bob Meyer, owner of Give To Live Guitar Studios, hails from the great State of New York. He began playing guitar at the age of five with a used '65 Gibson L-5. Once the family moved across the Hudson River to New Jersey, he took up serious study at Victor's House of Music. Under the careful eye of Tony Scally, acclaimed jazz guitarist of Gradie Stone on Niki Records, he sharpened his theory/technique and began playng in bands around the Northern Jersey/New York City area. Bob graduated from the Institute of Audio Research in New York City with a Associate's Degree in Music Engineering. In Pittsburgh, he attended Duquesne University, majoring in Psychology and English. During two consecutive summer sessions, he was taught fingerpicking technique by Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna.  Upon graduation, he became a production assistant with Cellar Door Productions in Virginia Beach and toured extensively with Metallica, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen,  The Dave Matthews Band, Phish and The Allman Brothers.

In 1995, he moved to the Triangle and managed the guitar departments at Mars Music, The Music Loft and Guitar Center where he learned the art of instrument and guitar repair. He began teaching in the Wake County School System and teaching guitar/bass/mandolin and banjo at Progressive Music in Wake Forest in 1999. Now, he owns and operates Give To Live Guitar Studios in North Raleigh and Wake Forest. In the fall, he will be attending UNC-Wilmington where he will pursue his Master's degree in Non-Profit management! To this date, Bob and his students have played 41 concerts, with 317 songs by 152 artists in 13 different venues for 9 different charities!

Instructor - Robert Ratledge

Robert started teaching himself guitar at age 12 while his family drove from Pennsylvania to California in a van.  He played violin in grade school, majored in chemistry at San Jose State University, and continues to study piano.  He has studied guitar with classical and jazz teachers, but really fell in love when he learned to play Rush songs on his first electric guitar.  He started teaching guitar while still in high school, and considers teaching as essential to his own musical journey as practicing is to his students.   His formative musical experience came while playing for five years with his teacher’s band, based in the foothills near Yosemite.  They performed and recorded all original songs of classic rock inspired “prog/jazz/space-rock” in California’s Central Valley.  Creativity, musical exploration, and expressive freedom were the band’s guiding principles (read: lots of long jam sessions!); and he learned that it’s just as important to create space and feel what you play as it is to be technically proficient.  Robert believes that whether you do it with 2 chords or 22 sweeps per minute, it’s possible for anyone to discover the joy of making and sharing music through playing the guitar.

Instructor - Eliot Wilcox

Eliot Wilcox has studied guitar for over 25 years. He has played in countless rock bands & assorted musical ensembles both in his hometown of Greensboro NC & his new home Raleigh NC as well as a handful of bands based in Nashville TN. Eliot studied theory & composition at the Berklee School of Music in Boston MA of which he is an Alumni. He also graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he studied Broadcast Technology & minored in music. Eliot also toured the eastern seaboard on & off for 10 years before settling in Raleigh where he has been teaching for 5 years. His approach is to use familiar songs, standard hits as well as music of the individual student's choice to illustrate how music works. By learning songs that are fun to hear & play they can also gain an understanding of more complex musical ideas. Bob said as soon as a student sees Eliot in his big Sunglasses & his big platform shoes they know
he knows how to make playing & learning the guitar fun.

Instructor - Tristan Hurley

Tristan hails from the state of Georgia. He began playing guitar when he was 13 years old and has been rocking ever since.  After 4 years of professional guitar lessons, Tristan began playing and traveling with numerous bands incorporating several different types of music, mostly Christian worship bands in the Southeast.  Some of his influences are Eddie Van Halen, Joe Bonomassa, Brad Paisley, Paul Gilbert and most recently Phil X.  Tristan specializes in improvisational skills and theory; as well as melting peoples faces with tasty rock riffs.  Within the past five years, he has played with worship leaders including Matt Papa, Dave Koenig, Jonathon McLendon, Cameron Keith, and Donnie Hollis. With each of these musicians, Tristan has played numerous concerts for a variety of crowds.  He is currently a PhD student at Southeastern Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.  He has a son, Peter.  Tristan has a passion for all types of guitar styles and loves teaching guitar. He is excited to be a part of the Wake Forest guitar studio. He is currently paying electric guitar for a church in the Raleigh area and is always seeking out new opportunities in the music world

Instructor – Kayla LaBerge (Keyboard)

Kayla began taking piano lessons in 1985 at the age of 7. By the age of 10 she was playing for the worship service of her home church in northwest Illinois where her dad pastored. In her middle school and high school years, she accompanied her school choir and weekly chapel services. Through the years, she has also accompanied instrumentalists and vocalists and played for many weddings and funerals. For 12 years, Kayla was the Praise and Worship Team leader and pianist for her church.

She has been teaching piano lessons since 2002 and has taught over 50 students. She has taught all ages and skill levels and is known for her fun personality and her ability to connect with her students. Kayla is married and has one young son who has just started taking piano lessons. The studio is very fortunate to have her on board. Her lessons will tend to be faith-based but she is quite capable of teaching the fine art of rock and roll! We need more Elton John in our lives!

Instructor - Calvin Barker

Calvin began his musical experience with trumpet at age ten, and he started guitar at thirteen. He has been taking lessons from Bob Meyer himself for five years, but he has been teaching students of his own for two. He has played at over thirty concerts ranging from venues as small as private lunch parties to as large as the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. During his experience, he has added instruments to his skill set that include bass, mandolin, ukulele, and some banjo when he occasionally wanders back to his rural roots. He has taught people as young as five to as old as fifty with experience ranging from absolute beginners taking the guitar out of the box the very first lesson to more advanced students. He is currently a senior at the Franklin Academy in Wake Forest, and he looks forward to always gaining in his musical knowledge and experience.