WHO WE ARE
Partners in life and in music, with twenty years combined teaching experience at various music schools and nonprofits, we created Paper Moon in order to provide a more comfortable learning environment for our students, as well as to focus on our shared priorities as teachers. Unlike at many commercial music schools, our dedicated rehearsal rooms are spacious and quiet, conducive to calm and focused learning. We are able to offer more flexible scheduling and to maintain direct contact with our students between lessons if any questions arise. Throughout the year, we provide opportunities for our students to perform, collaborate together, write or workshop their own songs, and even come away with professional-quality recordings from our at-home studio.
Julia Minkin & Andrew Sudhibhasilp
At Paper Moon, we teach from the heart!
Our lessons will always be tailored to you and your individual needs. We will take into account your learning style, background, age, and capacity for practice. We will quickly assess areas for improvement and hone in on your strengths. We will challenge you when you need to be challenged and will encourage you when you simply need an hour of solace in music. Our teaching will always be guided by the foundational belief that every student is capable of learning to make beautiful music.
You're in good hands...
At Paper Moon Studio, the majority of our students are adults (but kids love our lessons, too! Read more about kids' lessons). We know all about the challenges adult students face, such as not finding the time to practice, struggling to overcome old, ingrained habits, or (for beginners) feeling frustrated by the ups and downs of learning a musical skill as an adult. We've helped many adults students before you and we're confident we can help you, too!
Our pedagogy is informed not only by our experience as teachers, but also by our experience out on the road, performing, collaborating with other artists, and making our own music!
Watch our teachers do their thing...
"Nitt," by Jo Keita, featuring Andrew Sudhibhasilp (our guitar teacher)
"Your Own Sweet Way," by Julia Minkin & Andrew Sudhibhasilp (our voice and guitar teachers)
Julia Minkin, Voice
Julia Minkin (she/her) is a singer/songwriter and voice teacher with nearly a decade of experience as a professional performer, primarily in pop and jazz. As a certified Level II Somatic Voicework™ instructor, her first objective is to create a safe and playful space for her students, where they can feel free to test the limits of their sound without fear of judgment. She enjoys teaching a wide range of vocal styles, from jazz and R&B to folk and musical theater. Before moving home to Chicago in 2021, she spent years touring Europe and Asia with the electro-pop band Kid Francescoli. One of their songs, “Moon (And It Went Like)” was made famous by a TikTok challenge (you may know it!). Julia speaks English (native), French (fluent), and Spanish (proficient). She has a degree in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing from NYU (2012) which serves her well as a songwriter and songwriting coach. Julia is also a Voice Arts Instructor at The People's Music School, Chicago's largest tuition free music school, and a Soprano in Chicago's Allegrezza chorus.
"When training is done correctly, the mind, heart and soul come together to create a skilled vocalist who sings uniquely."
-Jeanie LoVetri, founder of Somatic Voicework™
Andrew Sudhibhasilp, Guitar
Andrew Sudhibhasilp (he/him) is a versatile and highly skilled guitarist originally from France, and a respected player in the jazz scenes of both Marseille and Chicago. Alongside his background in jazz, he is one of few European musicians specialized in the rhythmically complex Touareg Desert Blues. Andrew has performed in several soldout tours with the renowned Touareg band Terakaft, and more recently joined the Malian artist Tamikrest on a tour of the U.S. He is also a self-taught producer and has co-produced an album for the Senegalese singer/songwriter Jo Keita (2019). As a teacher, he is eager to share tools for developing self-discipline and self-awareness with a sensitive and gentle approach focused on accomplishing simple tasks with deeper attention at a pace that allows for deeper learning. Andrew has diplomas from the prestigious Didier Lockwood Music Center in Paris (2011) and Marseille’s National Conservatory (2014) and has been teaching guitar for more than a decade.