Biography

My name is Brendan Lake, and I'm a professional musician teaching and performing in the Phoenix area.  In December, 2014, I received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Performance (Guitar) from Arizona State.  This was preceded by a Master of Music degree in 2011 and a Bachelor of Music degree (Summa Cum Laude) in 2009, also in Guitar Performance. I also spent two years as a graduate assistant at the University of Minnesota teaching beginning guitar and giving performances around the Twin Cities area.  My primary guitar teachers have been Frank Koonce, Maja Radovanlija, and Avelina Vidal Seara, and I've performed in masterclasses for Lorenzo Micheli, Roland Dyens, Eduardo Fernandez, the Beijing Guitar Duo, Adam del Monte, Jose Miguel Moreno, Stephen Goss, Marcelo Coronel, Valerie Hartzell, Alex Komodore, the Santa Fe Guitar Quartet, and many others. 

Until the age of 7, I grew up all around the United States.  My father was a major league baseball player, which led my family to move around to his team's hometowns.  We finally settled on the west side of Phoenix where I stayed until I left for ASU.  I attended Millennium High School in Goodyear, and graduated at the top of my class of 310 in 2003. 

My guitar studies began at the age of 15.  I was primarily self-taught until I was admitted into the ASU music school in 2005.  Since then, I have been trained by world-class teachers, and have had the pleasure to pass on my knowledge to many gifted students.

As a recipient of the Dorrance Merit Scholarship, I was awarded the ability to travel abroad during my college career.  In the summer of 2007, I spent 5 weeks in Spain, studying Spanish music, culture and language with Dr. Helen Tintes, as well as classical guitar with Avelina Vidal Seara, profesora of guitar at the Conservatorio de Madrid Teresa Berganza.  I performed two concerts in Madrid, both as a soloist and as an accompanist in Spanish song.

Between 2011 and 2015, I developed and taught beginning guitar classes at Arizona State University and the University of Minnesota.  Since 2015, I've been a faculty consultant for online courses in music and other subjects.  In 2018, I earned a second masters degree, this time in educational technology and instructional design, from Arizona State University.  In 2020, just in time for the pandemic, I designed a fully-online course in beginning guitar for Arizona State University, which I love teaching several times a year.

My hobbies outside of music include swimming, soccer, traveling, making crossword puzzles, and poetry.  My musical influences include the Beatles, classic rock, folk, over-the-top 80's hits, and classics from Bach, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky.  Other influences include my family and friends for all of their humor, quirks, love, and support.