Guitar & Strings Teachers
Get to Know Us
Richard N. Fustino
Years Teaching at Matts: 54
Teaches: Guitar, Bass, Ukulele, and Music Composition
Education History: Studied at Fredonia, University of Buffalo and ECCC
(majors included music composition and social studies)
Craig Haendiges
Years Teaching at Matts: 30
Teaches: Guitar, bass, ukelele, banjo and mandolin.
Education History: Studied under Ernie Coralo and Ralph Parker
Jonah Krull
Years Teaching at Matts: 6
Jonah Krull is a long time friend of Matt's Music, with over a decade of experience in guitar, bass, vocals, songwriting, and audio production. He spent his college years studying at various schools across the county (including Nashville, Tennessee), honing his craft to a professional level. Jonah has been teaching guitar, bass, and other stringed instruments at the store for the past 6 years, and now offers songwriting lessons to help students explore their creative side. He is also the head of the Matt's Music Studio, which provides high quality recordings as well as lessons in audio recording, music production and live sound.
Abi Chilton
Abi started playing guitar at age 9 as a Matt's Music student. Since then, she has studied a variety of musical styles and picked up other instruments along the way. She graduated from Belmont University in 2020 with a bachelors degree in audio engineering while minoring in classical guitar performance. Abi holds a strong passion for music production and is always eager to work on new musical projects.
Ed Croft
Ed started his career playing in the New York City subways with famed blues musician Carolina Slim. From there, he began playing local shows with his rockabilly band, The Moonshiners. Upon graduating from high school, he pursued a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia, which he completed in 2013.
In between national shows, music festivals, and local showcases, Ed received his Masters degree from Bowling Green State University where he studied under Jeff Halsey, David Bixler, and Chris Buzzeli.
Ed won the 2018 JazzBuffalo Poll for Best Acoustic Upright Bassist (repeat from 2017), Rising Star, and the John Hunt Jazz Artist of the Year awards. The results of these awards are decided on by residents of the city of Buffalo and all of Western New York.
Penn Watson
Penn Watson is a classical guitarist from Buffalo, NY. He began playing guitar at age 10, fell in love with classical guitar at 15, and graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a B.M. in Music Performance in 2019. He graduated with a Performer’s Certificate — an award given to a handful of graduating students who perform two high-level, professional recitals. His past teachers have included James Piorkowski, Thomas Viloteau, Joanne Castellani, and Evan Drummond.
Performance highlights include the Mary Seaton Room at Kleinhan's Music Hall, Mannes Concert Hall at The New School in NYC, Rosch Recital Hall at SUNY Fredonia, the Louis P. Ciminelli Recital Hall at Buffalo State, and a karaoke bar in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Penn plays a guitar made by Dake Traphagen.