Who is Mark?

Mark has been a professional musician and guitar, saxophone, and bass teacher since 1980 and has taught at many music schools in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Gold Coast, and Brisbane at that time.

In 1996 he founded the Holland Park Guitar Studio and soon after took on extra teachers due to increasing demand. He also saw the need for a more concise and professional core teaching syllabus and authored two books, Contemporary Guitar Essentials, and Bass Guitar Essentials. As the school grew he took on more teachers to include piano, drums, vocals, and ukulele, changing the business name to Mark Joe Hope Music School.

In 2016 he moved into a beautiful 1950’s Art Deco Queenslander in the heart of Greenslopes where we have many spacious teaching studios as well as a welcoming waiting room and large outdoor garden and area for our students and families to enjoy. As well as individual teaching both online and face to face, Mark has also developed a comprehensive contemporary band program, currently comprised of 11 student bands of all ages and a Classical Guitar Quintet.

Live performance has always been an essential ingredient for Mark and our bands and students perform regularly at our music festival days during the year as well as playing at community events.

Our Teachers

All of the teachers at Mark Joe Hopehave been handpicked for their amazing musical knowledge, their passion for teaching and their ability to make each lessons a fun and engaging experience. Know What skill level you're at or what music genres interest you, we have a teacher that will get you to the level that you want to be.

Learn More

Julian Hope

Julian is an accomplished Drummer currently completing his Bachelor of Music Degree majoring in Jazz Drums at the Jazz Music Institute. He has previously gained distinction results in AMEB CPM 1 and CPM 2 as well as Grade 6 AMEB Rockschool. Julian has performed over the last 10 years in bands playing many styles including rock, latin, jazz and funk to large audiences at various venues around Brisbane as well as community events such as Australia Day and QLD Day. For the last 4 years Julian has been teaching drums and has many dedicated students who love his structured teaching style and encouraging vibrant nature. Julian is also especially good at keeping younger students engaged and has guided students of all ages to complete their AMEB Rock School exams with spectacular results.

Luis Mateer

Luis runs our amazing songwriting and recording courses. He is a distinguished Australian singer-songwriter and producer with a deep passion for music and education. Luis is an Ipswich and Brisbane-based Music Producer, Songwriter, and Mixing and Mastering engineer with extensive experience creating innovative sounds across popular genres such EDM / Pop / Hip-Hop & Trap / R&B / Rock / Indie. Luis has a Bachelor of Music graduate (Distinction) and was a student mentor at QUT. He’s been a freelance producer since 2019, amassing over 1 million+ streams with clients and has previously played drums in metal/punk bands for over 10 years. Working out of his private studio in Ipswich, He’s here to help you reach your artistic visions, expand your ideas and explore new sounds. For Luis’s testimonials & portfolio works, please refer to his website: www.lui-lmn.com

Sophia Marzano

Sophia is an actress and singer originally from Canberra. She completed her Bachelor of Acting studies at the Queensland Conservatorium, following two years of study at the Australian National University, where she focused on jazz and contemporary music. Sophia loves musical theatre and recently performed in Xanadu with Miraball Productions. She also performed at Bluey’s World when it first opened. Sophia hopes to bring her passion for music to all her students at Mark Joe Hope Music School.

Radithya Budi Theomarga

Radithya has completed his Bachelor of Music (Composition) at Queensland Conservatorium. He is now currently studying a Masters of Conducting at Conservatorium. Radithya has been playing piano and drums for over 10 years and has honours grade 7 achievements in both instruments in classical and pop styles. Radithya loves having a discussion with his students about their musical goals and deeper insights of music and works with them to achieve their practical abilities on the instrument as well as understanding the theory of music, thus giving them a deeper insight and enjoyment of music.

Aristotle Safralidis

Aristotle is a pianist, vocalist and performing artist playing predominantly soul, blues, funk, jazz-fusion and world music genres. He has also studied music theory, trumpet, big band and sound technology and has achieved AMEB level 9 in piano. Ari has travelled extensively abroad as a musician, living in Tanzania and playing in a 9 piece band as well as a soloist on piano and vocals at the Hatari Bar. Over the last 5 years in Brisbane he has performed in most of Brisbane's live music venues including current residencies at Brisbane's Chattanooga Jazz Bar and Can You Keep a Secret. Aristotle supports his students with sound knowledge in practical and theory on piano and voice and also runs some of our best student bands backed by his extensive live performance experience.

Rhonda Davidson

Rhonda is a multi-instrumentalist and saxophone specialist holding a BMus in Jazz Performance from JMI in Brisbane. She has over 15 years’ experience performing and leading bands in a variety of settings including solo, jazz trios, big bands, concert bands & brass bands. As a teacher, Rhonda is passionate about helping students of all ages and abilities embrace their love of music. Personalised lessons blend foundational technique with musicianship and use a variety of styles to make lessons enjoyable to all. Whether on stage or in the studio, Rhonda strives to inspire, connect and cultivate a lifelong love of music in others.

Felic Coperman

Felix Copeman is a talented young drummer with a passion for live performance and studio production. He has played at a national level drumming competitions such as the Oz School Instrumental Championships and has completed AMEB Grade 8 with a distinction. He frequently performs as local music venues and festivals, often with his band ‘In Mirage’. Felix aims to inspire his students through an engaging learning experience that builds skills and confidence in his students whilst maintaining a strong passion for music and drumming. Felix aims to make the best of his students, both as drummers and skilled musicians.

Nick Maskell

Nick Maskell has been performing professionally for over 20 years and teaching Bass Guitar, Guitar and Ukulele since 2010. He has a Bachelor of Music majoring in Jazz Performance from Jazz Music Institute, where his principle study was on the Double Bass. Recording and writing with such groups as Weave, Fagan, Starscream 13, Sudden Chaos, The Tyroon Noonan Band and many more, he has a depth of experience to teach all styles of music. Currently Nick is a member of the 'Cool Struttin' jazz ensemble. Nick also performs with many tribute bands such as Arrival Australia (ABBA), "Rock This Country' (Shania Twain and Pop Country), IN2XS, Icehouse and Disco Mania.

Muatasim Kamal

Kamal is a Guitarist who holds Rockschool Grade 8 Electric Guitar Certificate, achieved with Distinction from AMEB (Australia Music Examinations Board) in Brisbane. With over six years of teaching experience, Kamal takes a flexible and student-centered approach. Kamal is proficient in teaching a wide variety of genres such as Metal, Rock, Pop, Blues, Funk, Classical Fingerstyle, Country, R&B, and Jazz. To ensure success, he customizes a separate Guitar learning roadmap for each student based on their specific requirements. Kamal is genuinely friendly, sincere, and passionate about helping his students in developing their Guitar playing skills to unlock their full potential, while ensuring they enjoy the learning process. Besides Guitar, he is very proficient can also teach Bass.

Daniel Vragalis

Daniel has been a personal student of Mark’s on Alto Saxophone over many years and has achieved honours in all of his AMEB contemporary and classical exams to grade 6 in that time. He has also performed in bands playing many styles including rock, latin, jazz and funk to large audiences at various venues around Brisbane. Daniel has a passion for teaching and makes sure that all of his students achieve their technical and theory requirements as well as preparing for their exams. He always includes plenty of variety in the pieces chosen from popular, jazz and classical repertoire, keeping the learning and performance experience engaging and fun.

Henry Kleinschmidt

Henry Kleinschmidt is currently a second year student at the Queensland Conservatorium, studying a Bachelor of Music in jazz. Henry is a member of the QLD Youth Orchestra Big Band and is a gigging musician in the Brisbane area. He is a passionate teacher who is dedicated to helping students of all levels grow with confidence and creativity. His specialty instruments are Alto and Tenor Saxophone as well as clarinet and flute. Henry has a great knowledge of the AMEB exam system and has had many students of various levels achieve great results under his guidance and inspiration.

Andrew Denzmore

Andrew is a passionate guitar instructor and graduate of the Berklee College of Music curriculum through Holland College (PEI, Canada), with over ten years of playing experience. He has performed in various bands of different styles and currently works as an entertainer for aged care facilities. Teaching rock, blues, jazz, and pop, Andrew brings a strong knowledge of music theory and a supportive, practical approach to his lessons, and also enjoys playing piano.

Riley Ennis

Riley is a student at the Queensland Conservatorium, currently studying a Bachelor of Music (Composition). He has been involved in research of the voice, specialising in preventing and correcting damage across all styles and voices. Riley has been singing solo and in choirs for over ten years, including jazz, pop, rock and classical genres. His style of teaching involves forming close relationships with his students, working with them on their musical goals and broadening their knowledge of the voice and music.

Sandro Abate

Growing up in Rome with his family who run the prestigious CIAC Music School, Sandro has been surrounded by music all of his life. From the age of 6, Sandro has studied music on the piano, guitar, and the drums and achieved the general certificate of music with honours in Rome. At the age of 20, he moved to Sydney playing the drums for several bands, then in 2010 he moved to Adelaide, where he play in various bands – most notably The Nostics. During this time Sandro also taught at the Yamaha School of Music for 2 years. Moving to Brisbane, Sandro has been performing at a large variety of venues on drums and vocal and solo acoustic guitar, delivering a huge repertoire of folk, pop and rock songs enriched by his mediterranean touch. Sandro is an enthusiastic teacher giving his full attention and energy to his students on vocals and drums, enriched by his diverse musical background.