Doug Stenhouse

Doug Stenhouse began his musical journey at age 7 learning piano, eventually trading in Mozart for some Scott Joplin at age 11, which grew into some Buddy Rich and his first set of drums at age 13.

Formal qualifications beckoned and after gaining his NZCDP in Computer Programming (Manawatu Polytechnic) he went on to complete a music degree at Victoria University, Wellington, majoring in composition, arranging and electronic music.

Doug is a member of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), having written, produced and engineered music for television, radio and theatre. He has performed in a diverse mix of bands (dGare, Lotek, Scallywags, Cloak & Dagger, MINT) playing an eclectic mix of genres at venues in New Zealand, Germany, Japan and online (www.secondlife.com). In 1994 he toured Aotearoa/New Zealand as Musical Director for the Australian production of “Cinderella”.

More recently, Doug has been writing and arranging music for children – his song “I Love Life”, co-written with award-winning children’s songwriter Kath Bee, winning the APRA Aotearoa New Zealand Best Children’s Song Award for 2020.

Doug offers customised learning tailored to the student’s requirements and aspirations. He ensures that fundamental concepts are understood, demonstrated and built upon at the student’s pace.  Within a secure learning environment, he encourages students to take risks, explore  and “give it a go”. Doug likes to outline clear goals in order to achieve (or exceed!) student expectations and likes to have fun along the way! Doug can offer:

• Piano – to intermediate level, with a contemporary/jazz focus.
• Drums – to intermediate level.
• Music Theory – to advanced level, with a contemporary/jazz, practical focus based on piano.
• Composition/Arranging – to advanced level, using various software tools, including Logic Pro, Sibelius, MuseScore.
• Scoring/Notation – to advanced level, using Sibelius and MuseScore.
• Electronic Music – to advanced level: theory, synthesis, hardware and software.
• Sound Production – to advanced level: Live and Recorded sound, hardware and software, Logic Pro, online tools and resources.