October Crifasi

Photo by Blake Gardner

About GGS founder and director,  October Crifasi

October Crifasi is a guitarist, songwriter and music educator based in Los Angeles, California. She received her first formal classical and flamenco guitar training under the wise guidance of Gloria Cullver-Jacobson at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Massachusetts and rock technique informally with Cliff Maddix of the Berklee School of Music. She continued her arts education at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, IA, where she studied rock and folk guitar, music theory and was the first student chosen to teach guitar to the children of the local Mt. Vernon community through the Music Department’s outreach program.

She has since lived and taught guitar all over the country, including several years on the faculty at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Illinois. While a full-time instructor at Old Town School, October honed her skills as a group teacher, ensemble leader, songwriter, and performer working with artists like Justin Townes Earle and founding the school’s first female rock ensemble (still being taught by a former student). Her positive and humorous attitudes towards the guitar and music in general made her a student favorite and integral part of the guitar faculty.

October has maintained an active teaching studio and group program in Los Angeles for girls and women for over fourteen years as well as providing coaching and consultation services to the local film and television community working on projects for the Great American Country Channel (GAC), MTV, and Lifetime Networks.

October’s philosophy is based on easy accessibility to the instrument for both amateur and professional alike. She strives to present information in a relaxed and clear way, make it fun, and work in some education about the foundations of music along the way.

Depending on the goals and interests of the student, lessons may cover chords, basic music theory and notation, strumming, and if applicable, an introduction to songwriting and performance. Curriculum is personalized to the individual student’s needs and abilities.

Please note while October’s private studio is open to both girls and boys, Girls Guitar School group and ensemble programming is for girls and women only.

GGS is dedicated to the education and empowerment of girls of through learning to play and create on the guitar. Her students are encouraged to explore and discover their own talents and capabilities in the classroom and also through exposure to the musical wealth of the city around them. Her students have gone on group field trips to concerts (such as the Donnas & Susanna Hoffs) and enjoyed private in-studio conversations with artists such as Johnette Napolitano and other local and nationally-recognized female players.