Student pulls the strings

Eighteen-year-old Matthew Ambrose is the new owner of Wild Hearts School of Music.

Kari Bourne

THE sounds of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix were first recorded decades before Matthew Ambrose was born.

But the 18-year-old Buderim musician has embraced the techniques of the guitar legends to forge his career.

Mr Ambrose recently swapped a music degree at Queensland University of Technology to buy and operate Buderim's Wild Hearts School of Music.

He will take on all responsibility for the 130 students and seven teachers at the long-standing contemporary music school after founder Kathleen Tully sold him the business.

Mr Ambrose said he had solid plans for the school in the quest to make it one of the premier music hubs on the Coast.

Wild Hearts offers classes in guitar, bass guitar, vocals, piano, keyboards, music theory, composition and drums.

There are also art classes, opportunities for music exams, and performances.

"I loved teaching guitar here from when I was 16 and I always wanted to start a music school in maybe 20 years or so, but I thought why not do it now?" Mr Ambrose said.

He has revamped the teaching spaces for his students, who range from five-year-olds to adults.

He plans to move the school into bigger premises at Buderim in the near future.

Mr Ambrose is a former Sunshine Coast Grammar student who started to learn acoustic guitar when he was 12, soon moved to electric guitar and has not put the instrument down since.