• THE MUSIC EDUCATION STORY

    We’ve been teaching music lessons in Auckland since 1981.

    We’re passionate about what we do and the benefits that learning to play a musical instrument provides.

    Our specialist lessons are for children as young as 3-and-a-half. We offer one-on-one lessons for children over 7, as well as for teens and adults. These lessons are adapted to each student’s ability and to the style of music they’d like to learn.

    We offer music lessons designed for fun or to help prepare students for taking an exam.

We help students prepare for internationally recognised music exams from organisations like Rockschool, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, and Trinity College

When it comes to teaching music, particularly to children, there are some things we firmly believe:

  • Everyone should have the opportunity to learn music and how to play an instrument
  • Students don’t need to show any special musical talent in order to learn and play an instrument
  • Every child has the ability to make music and enjoy making music

With 95 teachers, 4 Auckland locations in, Glenfield, Henderson, Ponsonby and Howick and onsite lessons at 40 schools – we cater to a wide range of student needs.

We also offer online lessons.

We would love to support you on your musical journey.

Book a call to find out if music lessons are right for you or your child

0800 89 39 39

IS THIS THE LARGEST GROUP OF EXPERT MUSIC TEACHERS IN AUCKLAND?

With around 90 team members, all focused on bringing out the musical potential in your family, the Music Education Centre has the right people to help you, regardless of your musical dreams and aspirations.

Across our organisation, we have a diverse range of talented tutors, so no matter what your chosen instrument or genre, we can take you from beginner to advanced level.

After all our years of experience, we know that student needs vary tremendously, which is why we have teachers across a wide range of ages.  Some students really relate to younger teachers, whilst others seek those with a lifetime of experience.

Regardless of which teacher you have, you can be sure that they have been auditioned and selected by the Music Education Centre management for their skills as a music teacher in addition to their advanced level instrumental skills.  Add to that, our annual teacher training and ongoing professional development programmes, and the fact that our teachers can all benefit from one-another’s knowledge mean you can have confidence that our lessons will be right for you!

IT ALL TAKES MORE THAN JUST GREAT TEACHERS!

When you start lessons with the Music Education Centre, you are commencing a musical journey that will teach you skills that last a lifetime. To help you get the best out of your time with us, our administration support people, are there to keep lessons running smoothly and help with those all-important general questions that form a part of any learning experience. Some of our office crew have been working with the Music Education Centre for over 30 years and most have had personal experience benefitting from learning a musical instrument themselves.

Just like our teachers, we embrace diversity, with workers from all walks of life – but all here to help create your musical future!

WE ARE NOTHING WITHOUT OUR STUDENTS…

And we currently have about 1800 of them!!!

When you consider how many budding musicians started their music learning with the Music Education Centre, there are literally thousands of Aucklanders who are only where they are today as a result of the lessons they had with our centre. Many Music Education Centre students have gone on to achieve tremendous success in their music and entertainment careers and awarded with medals. You may not know it, but you will have seen our students on TV shows like NZ Idol, X Factor NZ, and even reading the news on Breakfast. Students have performed in venues like the Aotea Centre, the Civic Theatre, Spark Arena and the Bruce Mason Centre. We have seen students enter prestigious musical competitions in countries like Australia, China, Canada, USA, UK, Sweden and even Russia.

Granted, most of the students that learn music are going to do so for their own personal enjoyment and satisfaction, but it is great to know that the possibility to make it big in the world of music exists.

  • Affiliated Member

    Since 2000 the Music Education Centre has been affiliated with the international “Forte School of Music”. This network of music schools offers award winning music courses around the world – from the UK to Australia and of course here in New Zealand. Our centre is proud to be associated with this organisation, and offer some of their specialist piano/keyboard programmes at our North Shore, West Auckland, and Ponsonby locations. In the Eastern Suburbs, we offer the complete “Forte” experience, with our school in Howick offering tuition to all ages from pre-school to adult.

  • Examination Platforms

    Music Education Centre students have the choice of preparing for external music examination and assessment. As lessons are structured to individual student needs, our teachers use a variety of syllabuses from some of the world’s most highly respected examination boards. Whether you want to sit for classical exams through bodies such as the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, or Trinity, or perhaps want a contemporary qualification through Rockschool’s UK based programmes, we can prepare you from beginner level through to diploma.

  • Marcel Riethmann

    AIRMT, ATDNZ, APDNZ, BEd (Massey), Dip Tching

    Marcel founded the Music Education Centre in 1981. As an accomplished accordion player - having represented New Zealand at world accordion competitions - he wanted to share his love of music. The Music Education Centre has allowed him to have a career doing what he loves and inspiring young people to grow and fulfil their potential through music - no matter which direction they choose to go in life.

  • Lionel Reekie

    AIRMT

    As one of the Music Education Centre’s first students back in the early 1980s, Lionel has gone on to experience a wide variety of musical opportunities in New Zealand and around the world. As an accordionist, he has performed in over 14 countries. He has sung as a soloist with orchestras as far afield as Russia and Canada and conducted accordion orchestras in the USA, Australia, China and NZ. Lionel is no stranger to the recording studio, having released 3 solo albums, and been featured as a guest on many other recordings. He has also performed at Vector (now Spark) Arena for the APRA Silver Scrolls.

    Lionel teaches accordion at the Music Education Centre and as manager and co-owner of the centre hopes that some of its students will also have the opportunity to enjoy a life full of musical possibilities.