Chad Gosselin
Founder & Director/Online Guitar & Piano Instructor
Chad Gosselin founded Commonwealth Music School in 2010 with the goal of starting a student-focused, contemporary music program. With a concentration on contemporary music, student-based learning, and community, Commonwealth Music School has become the premier music education program on the south shore.
Chad began studying guitar and piano at the age of twelve, and holds a B.A. in Music Education from UMass Lowell where he studied educational concepts and jazz guitar pedagogy under Jon Wheatley. He has held a teaching practice for over twenty years.
Chad is the songwriter, singer and guitarist of the nationally touring indie-rock band, The Big Lonesome. He also performs regularly as a solo artist all over the United States.
In 2018, he co-founded the, Dream Coast Collective, a “Do-It-With-Others” music collective, with collaborators in Boston, Chicago, Detroit and San Antonio. Dream Coast Collective has helped build bridges between local, DIY music communities, by helping artists collaborate through recording music, touring and education.
Stefan Anderson
Guitar & Piano Instructor
Stefan Anderson is a pianist, guitarist and composer with experience writing and performing in classical, folk and rock styles. He received his Bachelor of Arts in music from Bennington College where he studied composition with Allen Shawn and piano with Yoshiko Sato, whose rigorous yet student-led teaching style made him a passionate pianist and also eager to introduce new students to the piano with a similar method. At Bennington, Stefan performed piano music from all different musical periods, including his own compositions, and received the John Hendrick Memorial Commission Award.
Recently, he graduated from Tufts University with a Masters of Arts in music composition after studying with local pianist/composer John McDonald. Throughout his classical training, Stefan has written and performed his own pop music for voice, guitar and keyboards. While playing such a wide variety of music, he has found that studying different styles on one instrument is an effective way of being introduced to new musical realms and instrumental possibilities that also foster more excitement and a sense of freedom in playing in the student. You can hear almost all of his music at:
Andrew Bostrom
Guitar & Bass Instructor
Andrew Bostrom is a guitarist, songwriter and music instructor who has been active in the Boston music scene since 2014. Recently, he graduated with a B.A. from Berklee College of Music where he studied guitar performance, under Kevin Barry and Woody Mann, as well as music business. During his time there he has performed at venues such as the Rockwell Theater, the Great Scott, Harvard University, and Thunder Road, and has played sessions for various groups and artists. His debut solo album entitled Float & Fade is scheduled to drop this summer.
In 2015 Andrew began providing guitar lessons while in high school when asked by his cross country coach to teach his son and has continued since. With a passion and experience in many different music styles, Andrew gears his lesson plans around students’ interests. Whether it be learning to strum a Taylor Swift hit, transcribing David Gilmour’s Comfortably Numb solo, creating a guitar arrangement to a Ray Charles classic, or preparing Autumnn Leaves for an upcoming audition, his approach is to use the songs students know and love to help improve their musical knowledge and abilities.
R.J. Barnett
Guitar, Bass, Piano, Drums & Recording Arts Instructor
RJ is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and part-time touring musician. After taking private guitar lessons throughout his teen years, he studied guitar and voice at Eastern Nazarene College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in music performance.
Now based out of the south shore, RJ plays percussion in nationally-touring folk act Troll 2, as well as guitar, bass, and drums in several local rock groups. He writes and self-produces music under the moniker Circlebrooke, and mixes and masters music for other artists.
RJ feels passionately that music can be transformative, and above all, fun. He's eager to take the disciplines he's gained from his teachers and experiences and pass them on to anyone excited to begin their own creative journey.
Brianna Sheldon
Piano Instructor
Brianna Sheldon is a classically trained pianist with experience in solo performance, orchestral performance and choral accompaniment. She has remained dedicated to studying piano for seventeen years.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and Hispanic studies from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. While she was a student at Wheaton, Bree worked as a musical theater accompanist at Stonehill College, a pianist in the Great Woods Symphony Orchestra, and a teacher at Elisabeth W. Amen nursery school. She currently works as the organist and pianist at the Avon Baptist Church, playing music for Sunday services.
Jon Saval
Guitar, Bass & Ukulele Instructor
Jon Saval (perhaps better known as his stage name, Johnny Bass) is a professional bassist from southern Massachusetts who can be found playing all over New England in various wedding and cover bands as well as backing up original artists. In addition to his live work, Jon has played on various recordings with original songwriters as well.
Jon holds a Music minor from Bridgewater State University, where he studied music theory, electric bass studies and music history. Jon is no stranger to teaching, teaching hundreds of students how to play bass, guitar, and ukulele throughout the years.
