Verdy Guo

Verdy Guo is a passionate music educator, performer, and multi-instrumentalist with over a decade of teaching experience. His students have secured over $1 million in music scholarships to prestigious private schools such as Trinity Grammar School, Kambala, and Newington College.

He completed his Master of Arts with First Class Honours on scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, London, studying under the tutelage of Professor Josephine Knight, the Alfredo Piatti Chair of Cello. During his post-graduate studies, Verdy won 1st Prize in the Derek Simpson Cello Competition, 2nd Prize in the Piatti Etude Competition, and 3rd Prize in the David Martin Concerto Competition. As the Principal Cello of the Academy Orchestra, Verdy has worked with world-renowned conductors such as Edward Gardner, Sir Mark Elder, Finnegan Downie Dear and John Wilson. He's also had the privilage of learning from internationally acclaimed musicians such as Noah Bendix-Balgley and Ludwig Quandt (Berlin Philharmonic), Steven Isserlis, Alisa Weilerstein, Vaclav Petr (Principal Cellist of the Czech Philharmonic), Hannah Roberts, Alban Gerhardt, Arto Noras and Timo-Veikko Valve (Australian Chamber Orcestra).

Awarded music scholarships to both Trinity Grammar and Sydney Grammar School, Verdy studied piano at the Sydney Conservatorium under The John and Dorothy Timpani Pianoforte Scholarship. He later transitioned to cello, achieving AmusA certification within two months. He received four Conservatorium scholarships which supported further study in Berlin, London, and Italy with professors from Hans Eisler, Royal College of Music, and FRANZ LISZT University of Weimar. Verdy's diverse and unique experiences have shaped his innovative teaching system which blends classical music pedagogy with principles from consulting, project management, and algorithmic problem-solving—drawing from his background in computer science.