Diego was born in Bogota, Colombia and is now also an Australian citizen, took up piano at the late age of 17 under the tutelage of Colombian teachers Piedad Rosas and Dr Sergei Sitchkov, before completing a Bachelor of Music in his homeland. Diego has a Masters of Music in Classical Piano Performance from the Australian Institute of Music. He taught himself guitar at the age of 12, later on he had lessons with Rafaelle Marcelino in Sydney, Australia and currently holds a Suzuki Certificate IV in Suzuki guitar.
Diego has played as a soloist, as a member of chamber ensembles and with symphonic orchestras such as Sydney Youth Orchestra and Wollongong Symphonic Orchestra and at many concert halls in Colombia, Canada, USA and Australia.
Diego was a semi-finalist at the Southern Highlands International Piano Competition in Australia in 2007 competing against pianists from all around the world and being the only competitor who started learning the instrument at the age of 17. Diego has performed in Australian important venues such as the Opera House, Art Gallery of NSW, St. Andrew's Cathedral, The Concourse and Verbruggen Hall.
Diego has had a parallel trajectory in contemporary music, in his teenage years he had a rock band called Militant, later on, had a jazz band "Cuarto Libre" which won awards at jazz festivals in Colombia, toured in the US with a Colombian legendary rock band called "La Severa Matacera", who with once performed in 2006 in front of a 100.000 people audience at Latin America's biggest free rock festival "Rock al Parque" , playing electric guitar and keyboards at the same time. Diego has also performed in some of Australia's iconic contemporary music venues such as the Basement, Factory Theatre and Lazybones Lounge with renown bands such as Petulant Frenzy and the Cosmic Express
Diego is a passionate piano, guitar and drums pedagogue and has adjudicated for competitions in Colombia, taught Masterclasses and workshops for students of all ages and levels, in Colombia, Indonesia and Australia. Diego founded his music school DIAM in 2017 in Sydney Australia, with a clear vision of how music builds character and teaches important life skills such as discipline, empathy and sensitivity in young kids. DIAM offers an exciting program with Rock Bands, Orchestral Concerts, Musical Theatre for guitar, piano, drums, bass and singing. www.diammusic.com.au
Diego first attempt at composition was with his Jazz band ‘Cuarto Libre” in Colombia where he won the 2nd prize for his composition ‘El Inicio” at Jazz al Parque in 2001, the biggest public Jazz Festival in Colombia. Diego Idarraga Duarte made his debut as a composer in 2022 and since then His latest works: “Nebulae” string quartet and his woodwind quintet “Hades Suite“ were premiered in Sydney in 2023 by Quart-Ed and the Ironbark Ensemble. About Idarraga from Sydney Arts Guide: “This composer approached his assignment with his signature depth of analysis and careful selection of musical material”
To find out more about him visit his Facebook music page to check his videos and updates on performances: www.facebook.com/concertdiego
Holly Riva (Singing Tutor)
Contemporary singer songwriter Holly Riva, born and raised in Sydney and London enjoys a successful career in the international music Industry. Spotted whilst performing in London by her UK management team whom founded the Eurythmics. Hollys a passionate song writer and has weekly collaborations in partnership with many notable producers such as Craig Gannon (former member of ‘The Smith’s’) working closely with her publisher ‘Fairwood Music (uk)’ . In 2020 Holly secured an original song in a feature movie due to be released in 2021, starring Oded Fehr and Corey Johnson from ‘Jason Bourne’ and ‘The Mummy’. Having been vocally trained since a young age by Dr Elizabeth Willis (Sydney Conservatorium of Music), and completing grade 8 in the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) for singing, Holly is in process of completing her AMusA diploma. Holly has a passion to learn and studied courses in rock/pop and jazz at the London Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Graduating from her secondary education at the Australian Performing Arts Grammar School Sydney, with a scholarship of recognition for her craft, achieving artist of the year for two years running and an encore nomination for her HSC music. With a passion to teach she has a holistic approach that focuses on the individual to help them find their true voice, providing students with not only the foundations of music but also a strong sense of performance techniques and inner confidence.
Sabin Gurung (Electric Guitar Tutor)
Sabin is a passionate guitar player and tutor. Sabin holds a Bachelor of Music (performance) in Guitar. He is currently pursuing his Master's in Guitar performance. Sabin also performs as a session player and is currently working on his E.P which is to be released in 2023. Sabin loves to play Rock progressive music, but he also plays Jazz and Fusion music. Sabin plays a lot of experimental fusion and jazz music by adding intricate harmony and improvisation to traditional and cultural music. These days he is actively writing his own original music and teaching guitar to students.
Oliver (Olli) Hughes (Drums and Percussion Tutor)
Oliver (Olli) Hughes is a well-established figure in the drumming community both locally and nationally. He is currently studying a Bachelor of Music (Performance) in Drum Set at the Sydney Conservatorium whilst maintaining a healthy number of both live shows and session work throughout.
He achieved his Grade 8 Trinity Drum Kit exam with a high distinction in 2019 and was also the first person in Australia to receive full marks on his Grade 7 exam the year prior.
He has worked with such acts as: Genesis Owusu, Christie Lamb, Weightless, Velvet Trip, Ghost Complex, Noah Dillon and many more whilst also being signed to labels including ABC Music, Greyscale Records and Ace Records, and having recently flown over to Japan to work at RedBull Studios. He has contributed to soundtracks for films as well, some of which have landed him “Best Music Feature” at the 7th Music Film Awards and “Best Indie Feature” at the Berlin Indie Film Festival, and numerous other nominations. He has a passion for music on all aspects, being a multi-instrumentalist himself and reflects his passion in his teaching and the results from his students. Whilst only 22 years old his accolades and results from his students shows how deeply he cares about his craft and caters to all skill and age levels, whilst also ensuring a proficient and well-rounded approach to music.
Olli is currently in the middle of numerous releases with his various projects whilst balancing multiple tours and headline shows. Most notably, selling out Yours and Owls NYE Festival in 2023 with an attendance of 5,000.