GUITAR TEACHER OF THE YEAR 2020: MIKE PAPAPAVLOU
MIKE PAPAPAVLOU WON’T have to look too far to thank the people who voted him Guitar Teacher of the Year 2020. The Manhattan-based instructor can extend his appreciation personally to his own students who sent in glowing video testimonials on his behalf.
There’s David Arnstein, who said, “I picked up the guitar again after 30 years of not playing. I was nervous about how rusty I was and wondered if I could ever play again. Mike is a wonderfully gifted teacher who has really helped me along the way. He believes that playing music at any level will enhance the quality of your life.” Mei Hui enthused,
“Mike is the best guitar teacher because he is passionate about teaching and making an impact on people’s lives.”
And Arianna Taylor summed it up succinctly: “He really believes in me, and I get confidence from him.”
Papapavlou admits he was overcome by the heartfelt messages from his students, but at the same time he attempts to put the award in context. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world to hear all the glowing words of praise, and I thank everybody who voted for me,” he says. “I know that I’m not the greatest teacher around — there’s always going to be somebody who knows more than me. But people don’t care how much you know until they know you care about them, and this award proves that my students realize that I’m really invested in what they’re doing.”
Born in Cyprus, Papapavlou started playing guitar as a kid. His early favorites were hard rock and metal bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden, but in his teens he fell in love with Motown, pop, funk and blues. He played in local bands before moving to the UK to earn his undergraduate degree in music, and in his early 20s he emigrated to New York, where he received his master’s degree in jazz guitar at the Allen Copeland School of Music. “I came here by boat to pursue the American dream,” he says.
While exploring various musical opportunities, Papapavlou began teaching purely out of financial necessity, but it didn’t take long for him to realize his true calling. “Lots of guitarists want fame and money, but how many can say they do something they’re really proud of?” he says. “When I saw how I could impact people’s lives — it’s that look on their face when they learned something new — I understood I was doing something meaningful.”