Pasadena, CA – January 8, 2008 - LA Music Academy (http://www.lamusicacademy.edu) kicks off 2008 by announcing Tariqh Akoni, fresh off his recent world tour as Musical Director and guitarist for Josh Groban, will take over as head of the guitar department, effective immediately. Also, the Academy is now offering guitar scholarships to international and domestic candidates who possess exceptional musical potential, feel, skill, vision and overall musicality. “It is so exciting to head the department at such an exceptional and respected school. It is a personal, serious and committed environment of staff and students, not to mention a beautiful campus in the new music and arts haven that is Pasadena,” says Akoni, 37, who is also a Pasadena resident. Educated at UC San Diego and Berklee College of Music (where he studied with jazz luminaries Jerry Bergonzi and Rick Peckham), his extensive performance history includes LeAnn Rimes, George Duke, Jennifer Lopez, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Babyface, Al Jarreau, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross. Akoni has toured internationally, making dozens of television performances along the way. Akoni says, "One of my main priorities is to seek out the best and the brightest in the guitar community and bring them to LA Music Academy.” The school has secured a number of scholarships and incentives for advanced and otherwise high potential students wishing to attend. He adds, “I am thrilled to be a part of the school and the program during this amazing period of growth.” Akoni’s other plans include helping to build the roster for the school’s new Artist in Residence program, whose ranks already include noted guitarist Carl Verheyen. For scholarship applications and details, contact Iris Alba at LA Music Academy by calling 800-960-4715. For more information on Akoni, visit his web site at http://www.tariqh.com. About LA Music Academy LA Music Academy in Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles, CA, offers an intimate and friendly, yet serious and rigorous contemporary music education to male and female students 18 and over through its vocal, drum, bass and guitar programs. Founded in 1996, the Academy is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and has provided a solid musical foundation for more than 1,000 international and domestic students. LA Music Academy’s 35 instructors immerse students in practical courses. The Academy offers a significant number of real world playing situations with professional musicians, not just peers, setting the school apart from other prestigious music institutions. LA Music Academy gives its students the skills necessary to apply their learning in a wide variety of professional situations in the music industry. # # #
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