Our story… we are musicians first.
Dave and Anna have been making music together since 2005, In the years since, they’ve each found a path to sharing music with others that is as joyous as it is empowering for their students.
As teachers, performers and technicians, we bring decades of real-world performance experience into every lesson and every repair. That perspective shapes everything — from how we teach beginners to find their footing, to the patience we bring to coaxing an old acoustic back to life to the honor we feel when you invite us to play at your wedding or private event, you're not hiring a hired hand — you're inviting working artists who love what they do.
Dave Hennessy: Guitar • Bass • Ukulele
Dave is the kind of guitar teacher who makes you feel at ease the moment you walk in — known for his gentle speaking manner and a raucous laugh that tends to fill the room. A versatile and accomplished guitarist, Dave studied with renowned guitar educator Glen McCarthy and is a graduate of James Madison University. He works with students of all ages and skill levels, making guitar lessons feel fun and accessible. Dave has a natural gift for building rapport and sparking inspiration, guiding students to develop solid technique while playing the music they love most.
In addition to his private studio, he serves as the Guitar Instructor at Field School, and was a longstanding member of the teaching faculty at the Music Education Center in Charlottesville, teaching guitar, bass, and ukulele.
Dave brings extensive performance experience to his teaching, having performed internationally across Europe and North America on guitar, bass, and drums, with numerous album releases. He has also worked as a recording engineer in both studio and live settings.
In addition to teaching, Dave operates a private guitar repair studio. He specializes in guitar setups, fretwork, and revitalizing electric guitars and basses.
When he's not teaching, Dave enjoys skateboarding, building guitars, and performing with his wife in Duo Bohème and Ostinato. These days he's also coaching his daughter's rock band, Scythe Dragon (she plays drums), which might be his most rewarding gig yet.
Anna Hennessy: Violin • Viola • Cello
Anna Hennessy is an accomplished educator and performer whose musical life refuses to stay in one lane. Since 2018, she has directed the middle school strings program at St. Anne's-Belfield School, where her teaching was recognized with the 2022 Golden Apple Award. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Virginia and a Master of Music from James Madison University, and her earlier work directing orchestra programs in Fairfax County earned her JMU's 2015 Outstanding Music Educator Alumni Award.
As a performer, Anna has graced stages ranging from the Kennedy Center to the Red Wing Roots Music Festival — proof that her musical appetite is anything but narrow. Anna wears her crossover identity as a badge of honor. Primarily a violinist and fiddler, she has also recently picked up electric guitar with post-rock legends Ostinato and electric bass with experimental doom-soul outfit Honeycuss. Her violin appears on recordings by Americana acts including Jim Waive & The Young Divorcees, Two Ton Twig, the Judy Chops, and Sarah White and the Pearls. Her stage credits are equally eclectic, spanning Victory Hall Opera, Kansas (yes, that Kansas), minimalist techno artist John Schenk, and pianist Mary Victoria Voutsas.
These days, Anna most enjoys collaborating with her husband in the jazz duo Duo Bohème, in Ostinato, and in the gothic chamber music trio Please Don't Tell. When she's not making music, she tends an incredible garden, nurtures a small studio of dedicated violin students, and serves as a short-order chef of some renown for her one perfect child.