Our Team

Jennifer Andersen-Germaine is an accomplished flutist although the piccolo is her main instrument. She has studied under Mary Kay Fink, William Hebert, George Pope, and Randy Hester. Jennifer has been an Adjunct Professor of flute for the Baldwin Wallace University Community Arts School since 2001. An active musician, Jennifer is a member of the Ekklesia Ensemble and the Cleveland Winds. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Baldwin Wallace and a Master of Music in Flute Performance from the University of Akron.

Jessie Barnhouse is a graduate of Ashland University with a Bachelors of Music in Music Education. She has taught multiple grade levels throughout her career focusing on Orff, Dalcroze, and Kodaly methodologies. She plays the saxophone with the Strongsville Community Band.

Robert W. Becker enjoys teaching styles include classical, musical theater, pop, rock, and gospel. Robert works with the principle of releasing all interfering and unnecessary tension, manipulation, or interference of the voice. Attention is paid to releasing head, neck and shoulder tension. Natural breathing and air flow (support) are developed along with the understanding of using language and pure vowels. Robert studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His teachers include Irving Bushman, Eleanor Steber, Wittfield Lloyd Shanzer, Conrad Osborne, and Hanne Lore-Kuse, soprano of East German Wagnerian in Berlin, Germany.

He has performed with Goldovsky Opera Theatre, Cleveland Opera, Iceland National Opera, National Symphony Orchestra in Reykjavik, Iceland and at Radio City Music Hall. He is a cantor at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, N.Y.C., and a year round member of vocal quartet at the Hebrew Tabernacle of Washington Heights, N.Y.C. He established the very successful “Opera Gala” at La Dolce Vita, in Cleveland’s Little Italy, that ran weekly for 13 years. Robert is soloist at First Church Christ Scientist Cleveland. Robert accepts beginners to advanced professionals; a sample lesson is recommended.

David Betts teaches trombone, euphonium and recorder. He graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1981 with a Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance where he studied with Alan Kofsky of the Cleveland Orchestra. Later graduating from Case Western Reserve University in 1994, where he received a Master of Arts in Early Music Performance Practices studying with Ross Duffin. He has been teaching music lessons for over 30 years, currently at the Baldwin Wallace Community Arts School, The Broadway School of Music and the Arts, and at Cuyahoga Community College West. In addition to performing on the modern trombone and euphonium, he enjoys performing on their predecessor, the sackbut, and other early wind instruments. He has performed with Ganassi, Burgundy, Red {an orchestra}, Cleveland Opera, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Playhouse, Blossom Festival Band, Music for 2, Strongsville Community Band, The B-W Alumni Brass Collective and at many Cleveland area churches and community theaters where he has been involved in over 100 theatrical productions.

The year 2022 marks Mr. Bianchi’s 46th year in music education. After retiring from a successful 30-year career in public education, Frank continues to be active as a free-lance choral clinician, choral conductor, lecturer, and adjudicator at both the collegiate and high school levels. He has conducted honors, district, regional, and all-state choirs throughout Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, California, Florida, and Pennsylvania and has lectured and presented workshops at several colleges and universities on a variety of vocal, choral, and motivational topics for both music education students and music educators.

For seven seasons, Mr. Bianchi conducted the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus. In addition to his work with the Youth Chorus, Mr. Bianchi served for one season as assistant director of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and one season as assistant to Robert Porco in preparing the chorus for various orchestral, holiday and Blossom Festival performances.

He is a past recipient of the Outstanding Music Educator of the Year Award given annually by the State of Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) and currently serves on the Board of the Intercollegiate Male Choruses of America (IMC). He is also a member of the American Choral Directors Association and the Ohio Music Education Association.

At Baldwin Wallace University, Mr. Bianchi conducts and is the founding director of, the 100-voice Baldwin Wallace Men’s Chorus, now entering its sixteenth season. The group is nationally recognized for its uniqueness in including college and conservatory students, faculty, professional musicians, community members, and especially music educators. The BW Men’s Chorus is part of the Baldwin Wallace Community Arts School and serves both Baldwin Wallace University as a credited ensemble and the Greater Cleveland/Akron area. Educators enrolled in the ensemble can opt to receive CEU credit.

Learn more and follow BW Men’s Chorus on Facebook: Facebook.com/BWMensChorus.

In addition to his education and choral work, Mr. Bianchi works throughout Northeast Ohio as an accompanist and organist/pianist for several churches. He currently is the organist at Bethesda on the Bay Lutheran Church in Bay Village, Ohio.

A life-long Clevelander, born and raised in Cleveland Ohio, Mr. Bianchi has been inducted into the John Marshall High School Hall of Fame, his alma mater. Frank completed his undergraduate studies at Cleveland State University and his graduate work at The Cleveland Institute of Music.

He currently resides in Middleburg Heights, Ohio with his canine ‘shadow’ and ‘best buddy’, Charlie. He can be contacted at fbianchi@bw.edu.

William Black teaches private trumpet and cornet lessons to students of all ages and playing levels. Mr. Black teaches all styles of music but prefers classical. He received his Bachelor of Music Education from Baldwin Wallace College and his Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Mr. Black has taught trumpet at Lorain Community College, Cuyahoga Community College and has taught instrumental music at parochial schools. His professional performance experience includes the Canton Symphony, Cleveland Opera and various musical theaters; he is a freelance musician.

Aaron Blizzard is a professional dancer, former national competitor, teacher, and assistant director of Northern Classical Ballet. With a versatile dance background reaching over the last two decades, he holds dance training and teaching certifications in many forms of dance including Ballet and Ballroom. He is the owner of Blizzard Art & Performance, providing Cleveland and Erie, Pennsylvania with ballroom instruction, performance, and competitive coaching. To complement his dance background, Aaron is a personal trainer specializing in corrective exercise techniques, strength and conditioning, and flexibility.

Aaron started his dance training at the age of 10 at the Waterbury Arts Magnet School (School of Performing Arts Division) Located in Connecticut. Throughout high school he attended Earl Mosely’s Institute of the Arts where he had the privilege of training with and working on repertoires under artists such as Sidra Bell, Camille A. Brown and Meredith Rainey. Aaron trained in Ballet under Nutmeg Conservatory’s Senior Ballet Master and Russian Choreographic School Graduate Donna Bonasera at the Connecticut Dance Theatre. Upon graduating high school in 2010 he went on to apprentice under Donna Bonasera in teaching the Vaganova Method. While at CDT, Aaron completed an apprenticeship with Elm City Dance Collective–a postmodern company based in New Haven, Connecticut through Yale University. This venture took him into Ballroom dance at Fred Astaire Dance Studios where he trained and competed professionally and taught private dance lessons. Aaron left Connecticut Dance Theatre and Fred Astaire in 2017 to relocate to Cleveland, Ohio.

Aaron moved to Cleveland in order to further his competitive dance career with dance partner Jenny Lu. In 2019, Aaron joined the staff at Above the Barre Dance and Gymnastics as a ballroom instructor. Upon its reopening in late 2020, Aaron was promoted to Assistant Director of the Ballet Program where he teaches and assists in the direction of their Nutcracker Ballet production. Aaron still teaches at ATB but retired from dancing competitively in 2020.

During the height of the pandemic and after his competitive retirement, Aaron completed his CDCA and became a licensed therapist in the State of Ohio. He then integrated dance into his therapy in order to create his own Dance Therapy curriculum. In 2020, Aaron and his partner Dr. Nathal founded the wellness center BN Wellness Group where this dance therapy curriculum is used today.

Noelle Boyages began her ballet training at age 12 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Ballet quickly became her passion; she trained at several different summer intensive programs including Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Orlando Ballet Theatre, Miami City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre (NY), and Ballet Austin. 

 While training with Ballet Austin for the summer, she was awarded a full scholarship to train with the company through their Butler Fellowship Program. After an amazing year in Texas, Noelle then decided to take a break from ballet and pursue academic interests at Denison University. She graduated in 2021 with a BA in History, Women and Gender Studies, and Black Studies. With an undergraduate degree under her belt, Noelle is once again pursuing ballet as a career, with intentions to attend law school sometime in the near future. She is very excited to join Baldwin Wallace’s Community Arts School program and to help other young dancers work to hone their craft and pursue their passions, whatever they may be! 

Violinist/violist Leslie Braidech is a graduate of The Ohio State University (B.M. in violin performance with Michael Davis) and New England Conservatory (M.M. in violin performance with Dorothy DeLay & Masuko Ushioda) with additional studies toward her M.M. in viola performance with Arthur Klima (Cleveland State University). She has performed with numerous professional ensembles throughout the United States & overseas, including the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Playhouse Square ensembles, The Cleveland Opera & Cleveland Ballet Orchestras, Central Ohio Symphony, Boston Opera Orchestra & The Portland Symphony. Ms. Braidech has served on the faculties of The Cleveland Institute of Music, Baldwin Wallace Community Arts School, Cleveland School of the Arts & other public school orchestra programs. After spending nearly a decade in the Columbus area, she is happy to be back in the Cleveland area and returning to BW as a Community Arts School faculty member, both as a private lesson instructor and as a coach/instructor with the New Horizons Orchestra. Ms. Braidech also serves on the music faculty of Troy Intermediate School in the Avon Lake City Schools.

Cassandra Bryant is an active musician and has performed with the Toledo, Ashland, and Firelands Symphonies. She has shared the stage with artists including violinist Rachel Barton Pine, soprano Kathleen Battle, composer Krzysztof Penderecki, and conductor Giordano Bellincampi.

Cassandra encourages her students to play for the enjoyment of music but also finds ways to challenge them to grow and play with excellence. Her students have received superior ratings performing at OMEA (Ohio Music Education Association) and OFMC (Ohio Federation of Music Clubs) events, and have won auditions in youth orchestras, including OMEA’s Regional and All State Orchestra.

Cassandra is an alumna of the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, graduating with a bachelor’s in violin performance, and holds a master’s degree in violin performance from the University of Akron. She is also a registered teacher in the Suzuki Association of America and has completed training for Violin Book 1. Her teacher trainer was Edward Kreitman, founder and director of Western Springs School of Talent Education in Chicago, and who studied with Doris Preucil and Dr. Suzuki.

Prof. Lorelei Batisla-ong joins the faculty at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music as an Associate Professor of General Music Education and BW Community Arts School as ‘Ukulele Instructor. For the last five years, she taught undergraduates at The University of Texas at Austin and previous to that taught elementary music in San Antonio and Austin for 14 years. She received a BM in Music Education from Southwest Texas State University, an MM in Instrumental Conducting from Texas State University, and will soon receive a PhD in Music and Human Learning from The University of Texas at Austin.

Batisla-ong has served on the National Board of Trustees and chaired the Diversity and Equity subcommittee of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and is the State Director of the Texas affiliate of the National Association for Music Education. She currently serves as the Deputy Director and lead editor of Decolonizing the Music Room, a non-profit organization working to amplify the voices of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian people in the field of music education.

Batisla-ong combines her passion as a veteran teacher and enthusiasm for research by presenting national and international workshops to both practitioners and researchers alike. She is the co-author of the book, “Elemental ‘Ukulele: Pathways and Possibilities” which presents effective teaching and inclusive practices and activities for practitioners who teach young students in a classroom setting. Her research interests include: Teacher noticing and cognition through eye tracking and gaze analysis, teacher skill acquisition and development, equity in the classroom and teaching profession, and generally wondering why everything is the way it is and how it could be better.

Meghan Colbert is a clarinetist in the Cleveland area. She works with students of all ages and levels. Meghan obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in Clarinet Performance from Baldwin Wallace University where she studied with assistant principal clarinetist and Eb clarinetist of the Cleveland Orchestra, Daniel McKelway. She received her Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts where she studied with assistant principal clarinetist and Eb clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, John Bruce Yeh. Meghan has performed with chamber groups in both the Cleveland and Chicago area.

Judy Crandall understands the reasons for learning an instrument can be as unique as each individual, and works to meet each student at their current level while creating ways to help them achieve their goals. Judy has varied teaching experience with all ages and abilities. As a multi-faceted musician- teacher, pianist, accompanist, choir director, music director, she has knowledge of the piano from many different perspectives. Judy has served as a music educator in the Maple Heights and the Olmsted Falls City Schools, where she led the middle school and high school choral programs, and is twice past recipient of the Educator of the Year award. Choirs under her direction earned consistent high ratings at district and state level adjudicated events and some groups were invited to represent at state music education conventions. She holds a B.A. in Music Education and Piano Performance, studying with Joan Terr Ronis, and a Masters Degree from the Cleveland State University. Her favorite thing about teaching is sharing the gift of music and watching students surpass their personal best time after time.

Katie Cross is active member of MTNA, the Suzuki Association of the Americas and the Gordon Institute for Music Learning. She has a wealth of experience working with many ages and many abilities (and disabilities) and prefers to keep a diverse piano studio in order to keep learning the most from her students. She has had students matriculated into college music programs and one who is now an artist of international fame. Young children will find stimulation with games that allow them to write music as they learn to read it and also to use movement exercises to aid their learning.

Ms. Cross has also held teaching positions at the Oberlin Community Arts School, the Fine Arts Association in Mentor, the Cleveland Music School Settlement, and the Center for Young Musicians. Recent piano performances include appearances as a soloist with the True North Symphony and with her trumpet/piano duo. She directs a choir at the Oberlin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, plays the Saturday service at Olmsted Community Church and can also be discovered among the singers hired by Quire Cleveland. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music from Ithaca College she also holds a Masters in Pedagogy from Ithaca.

Recently having completed doctoral coursework at Indiana University, Benjamin Czarnota is thrilled to return to his alma mater, Baldwin Wallace University, where he served as a member of the voice faculty in the Conservatory for over a decade. Prior to the past two years of study, he was the Coordinator of Musical Theater Voice at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He has seen students go on to perform in leading roles on Broadway in the casts of American Psycho, Anastasia, Godspell, Hands on a Hard Body, Kinky Boots, Les Misérables, The Lightning Thief, and ONCE; and on National Tours in: A Chorus Line, The Color Purple, Dear Evan Hansen, Flashdance, Hadestown, Kinky Boots, Pretty Woman, and Wicked. In addition, former students have been seen all over the country in countless regional productions. In his private studio, he has worked with everyone from a Tony award-winning singing actress to a speaking actor in a one-person play portraying dozens of uniquely voiced characters across the full spectrum of gender, age, and origin. His high school students have been admitted to competitive programs such as Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory, Carnegie Mellon, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Penn State University, Shenandoah University, and many more.

A lifelong lover of new works, Czarnota originated the roles of Mr. Webb in the world premiere of Ned Rorem’s operatic setting of the iconic Thornton Wilder play Our Town and, recently, Otto Frank in the world premiere of Anne Frank. Other notable roles include Stanley Kowalski in Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Schaunard in La Bohème, and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, as well as roles in The Merry Widow, Susanna, Savitri, and Un Ballo in Maschera with companies such as Wichita Grand Opera, Cleveland Opera, Cleveland Opera Theater, Opera Circle Cleveland, The Janiec Opera Company, and the Indiana University Opera Theater. While attending Indiana University, he was chosen by baritone Håkan Hagegård to perform the role of Anton Chekov in Dominick Argento’s A Few Words About Chekov in music written for the world-renowned singer. He has also appeared as baritone soloist in the Fauré Requiem, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, the Mozart Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah in appearances with the Traverse Symphony and the BlueWater Chamber Orchestras. Regional music theatre roles include the title role in Sweeney Todd, Marcus Lycus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Freddy in My Fair Lady, the Father in Children of Eden, and Emile de Beque in South Pacific, a production with the Akron Symphony Orchestra at EJ Thomas Hall. He also served for two seasons as the official national anthem singer of the Cleveland Browns, performing at all home games.

Czarnota is a Level III Certified Teacher of Somatic VoiceWork™ – The LoVetri Method and particularly interested in working with singing actors to cultivate an understanding of and relationship to their instrument that will enable them to perform successfully across the widest breadth of musical styles desired and with access to the greatest number of dramatic choices healthily possible.

• M.M. Voice Performance, Indiana University
• Graduate Certificate in Vocology, Indiana University
• B.M. Voice Performance and Music Theory, Baldwin Wallace University

Mark DeMio received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He performs frequently with the Cleveland Orchestra including tours and recordings on both bassoon and contrabassoon. He also performs with Kent State University’s Black Squirrel Winds, Akron Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Trinity Cathedral Chamber Orchestra and Trinity Chamber Players, Blue Water Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Blossom Festival Band and the Blossom Festival Orchestra. As a native of Cleveland, Ohio, Mark DeMio had studied extensively with the fine bassoonists of the Cleveland Orchestra; Principal George Goslee, Assistant Principal Ronald Phillips, Second Bassoonist Phillip Austin and Contrabassoonist Stanley Maret.

Mr. DeMio balances a busy performance and teaching freelance lifestyle. He is on the faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music (secondary bassoon), Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve University, is Assistant Professor of Bassoon at the H.A. Glauser School of Music of Kent State University, as well as being faculty in the preparatory department of the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Music Settlement and Baldwin Wallace Community Arts School.

The fine art of reed making is a specialty of Mr. DeMio’s, which he began learning in the earliest years of his study with the Cleveland Orchestra bassoonists, and subsequently with other great bassoon players.

Heather Dennen, Director of Dance, Community Arts School, began her training in New York City where she trained extensively in multiple dance genres. She traveled nationally, competing and winning multiple awards, top honors and titles. After graduation, Miss Dennen worked with Ohio Dance Theatre performing in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Firebird, The Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. She then went on to do a national and international tour of Sesame Street Live, Super Grover Ready For Action! as the first cast role of Zoe. After completing her years on tour, Miss Dennen began pursuing her passion for dance education and choreography. Certified at the highest levels through Dance Masters of America and the Cecchetti Council of America, she has been teaching various dance genres and choreographing for over ten years. Miss Dennen has expanded her choreography credits to include musicals, figure skating programs and gymnastic floor routines at the national level. Since January of 2019, Miss Dennen has been the Director of Dance for the Baldwin Wallace Community Arts School. Here she not only teaches, but also provides curriculums, program structure and shapes the culture found at CAS dance. As of 2022, Miss Dennen also serves as adjunct faculty for Baldwin Wallace University and is enjoying the additional experience of working with undergraduate students.

Andrew Dyet is a sound artist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who performs a wide range of music including jazz and classical to experimental music. He performs regularly around Cleveland as a pit musician and performing artist. As a sound artist, Andrew has participated in residency programs and festivals around the world. Andrew has taught all ages from 5 years old to undergraduate courses in private lesson settings to full classrooms. Andrew earned his Bachelor of Music in Composition from Baldwin Wallace University and his Masters of Fine Arts in Experimental Sound from California Institute of the Arts.

Beth Elardo has taught flute at the BW Community Arts School for the past 26 years. She has over thirty years of experience teaching the flute to students of all ages, and enjoys teaching at all levels including adults. Beth Elardo also teaches Flute Ensemble in the Baldwin Wallace Community Arts School in the summer months. Her students perform in a recital at the end of the Flute Ensemble Experience. She has been Section Leader for BW’s summer Band Camp. Students are taught flute emphasizing a full resonant tone and attention to skill building in technique, rhythm, and musicianship.

Ms. Elardo received her Bachelor of Music Education from Baldwin-Wallace College and furthered her studies in the Graduate Music Education and Music Therapy Program at Cleveland State University. Her teachers included Maurice Sharp (former principal flutist of the Cleveland Orchestra for over 50 years), William Hebert (former piccolo with the Cleveland Orchestra), and Deidre McGuire (former principal flutist of the Cleveland Opera and Ballet). Ms. Elardo is a frequent solo and chamber music performer at several local churches. She currently teaches music in the Cleveland Municipal School District.

Christopher has a BA in Music from Baldwin-Wallace College and AA in Humanities and Music from County College of Morris in NJ. He performs frequently on Cleveland Classical Guitar Society recitals and around the greater Cleveland area as soloist and as member of the clarinet/guitar duo Sunday in the Park. He is a member of the Cleveland Guitar Orchestra and the Guitar Foundation of America. He studied under the accomplished guitarist and composer Dr. Loris Chobanian and frequently participates in continuing education workshops at area universities.  When he is not teaching or performing, Chris can be found running marathons and cooking up healthy recipes.

Anthony Fuoco teaches Keyboard Musicianship, Pedagogy of Music, Jazz Piano Skills, Jazz Combos, Piano Literature, and piano lessons. His interests are improvisation and classical piano repertoire. As a jazz pianist, he frequently performs throughout the Cleveland area with groups such as Pulse Quartet, Wedmedyk/Fuoco duo, and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and he has collaborated with well-known artists such as Joe Lovano, Judi Silvano, Jamey Haddad and John Daversa. His performance with Joe Lovano at the Bop Stop was featured on the NPR program “Jazz Night in America.” He also performs piano duo repertoire with his wife, Christine Fuoco. He received a master of music from the University of Illinois and bachelor of music from State University of New York, Potsdam.

George Gecik has been teaching guitar for over 50 years. He holds a BA Music from Kent State and has nearly completed his Masters in Music from Youngstown State. George studied classical guitar with Sophocles Pappas, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Aaron Shearer and participated in Narciso Yepes Master Classes in Paris, France. He has been on the faculty at Youngstown State University Dana School of Music, Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College and is currently teaching at Willoughby School of Fine Arts and Lakeland Community College, in addition to the BW Community Arts School. George loves to teach people of all ages and see them learn. The styles he teaches include Classical, Jazz, Fingerpicking, Flatpicking, Blues. When he is not making or teaching music, George likes to race sailboats for fun.

Kevin Giordano has been teaching saxophone and clarinet successfully full time for the past 25 years to students of all ages.  He obtained advanced degrees in education from Cleveland State University.  He studied saxophone with John Perrine and Greg Banaszak and clarinet with Louis Gangale and Ted Johnson (retired Cleveland Orchestra)

Adrian Gonzalez, a native of Boynton Beach FL., has been performing oboe and English Horn in the Greater Cleveland area since 2019. He actively performs with the Youngstown Symphony, the Cleveland Opera, the Cleveland Pops, the Wheeling Symphony, the Battle Creek Symphony, and the Billings Symphony. Adrian Currently holds the position of Principal oboe with the Mansfield Symphony and the Snow Belt Symphony. Adrian has also performed with The Cleveland Orchestra, The New World Symphony, and The Palm Beach Symphony.

Beyond orchestral performance, Adrian has also performed extensively in Chamber Music. He has been a member of the “Cleveland Wind Trio” since 2019. This group has played in music festivals and an extensive variety of venues throughout Ohio. Adrian performs regularly with a non-for-profit organization “Stars@intheclassics.” This organization puts together musicians in Cleveland and produces a chamber concert series.

Adrian finished his master’s degree in 2020 from the Cleveland Institute of Music under the instruction of Frank Rosenwein and Jeffrey Rathbun. During this time, Adrian also attended Kent Blossom Music Festival, where he performed chamber music with members of the Cleveland orchestra. Adrian has also attended the Brevard Music Festival and Eastern Music Festival. Adrian received his Bachelor’s in Oboe Performance in 2018 at Florida State University and studied under Dr. Eric Ohlsson.

Tracy R. Grady, soprano, is an alumna of the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. She went on to earn her Master of Music at Ohio University in vocal performance and pedagogy. She has performed with many area groups such as the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, the former Cleveland Opera and the Euclid Symphony. Grady frequently performs on campus in solo faculty performances as well as collaborative opportunities with colleagues and students. She has premiered students’ new compositions and enjoys singing with the men’s chorus. She is also the secondary voice coordinator for the Conservatory and is secretary-treasurer for the Ohio chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Mary Ann Grof-Neiman received her Bachelor of Science in Music Education degree from the Bowling Green State University. Ms. Grof-Neiman has served as principal clarinetist with the Sounds of Sousa Band and as clarinetist for the Blossom Festival Band, the Cleveland Winds, Lakeland Civic Band, Lakeside Symphony Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony and Erie Philharmonic. She currently performs with the Chagrin Falls Studio Orchestra, the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, Lakewood Home Town Band, and Medina Community Band, where she serves as band librarian. She maintains private studios at Baldwin Wallace University Community Arts School as well as her home in Medina. She has served the Ohio Music Education Association as a Woodwind Adjudicator for over 30 years and is a member of AFM Local 4. She resides in Medina with her husband Marcus and their cat Dmitri.

Rachel Harrington has been teaching since 2000. She has experience teaching students of all ages and she specializes in beginning to intermediate piano students. Rachel graduated from Baldwin Wallace with a Bachelor of Music in Performance and also has pursued additional training in early childhood music education. Prior to teaching at BW, she taught at Talent Unlimited Music Studio and Richland Academy for the Arts and Sciences, as well as collaborating with groups at Ashland University. She has experience accompanying a variety of groups, ranging from private students to opera workshops and theatre groups. Rachel keeps busy with six children at home.

With over two decades of  experience in theatre education as well as 30 years of professional acting experience, Heidi is currently a member of the Acting Faculty at Baldwin Wallace University. Heidi has taught performance classes at Illinois State, Illinois Wesleyan, and Palm Beach Atlantic Universities. Additionally, her theatre educator experience includes creating and facilitating K-12 programs as Director of Education for the (now defunct) Florida Stage and working with the Center for Creative Education and Pathways to Independence (a school for special needs students) in Florida. A professional actor and proud member of Actors’ Equity, Ms. Harris holds an MFA in Classical Acting from the Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University and a BA in Theatre from Florida State. She has completed and performed in programs at the British American Drama Academy (Oxford), Oxford University (UK) The Globe Theatre (London), and the Moscow Arts Theatre School (Russia), and has appeared locally at the Beck Center for the Performing Arts. Her past acting credits include sharing the stage with Tony Award winner Frances Sternhagen and extensive TV/film voiceover work – including the animated film “The Ark,” which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.

Melissa Hazard is a fitness professional with over 20 years’ experience in fitness education. She is the owner of Serenity Yoga, LLC. At Baldwin Wallace University, Melissa is as an adjunct professor in the Department of Allied Health, Sport, and Wellness. She teaches a variety of wellness classes including yoga, mindfulness, meditation, gratitude, techniques of relaxation and in the First Year Education program acclimating students to college. She structures her yoga and meditation classes to welcome all levels from the very beginner to the advanced practitioner. Her goal is to share her passion for yoga and meditation to help her clients build resiliency, strength, quiet their mind, and return to their day refreshed, renewed and ready to meet the challenges of life. Melissa has a bachelor’s degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She is a certified Koru mindfulness educator and yoga instructor.

Ari is a dancer, performer and dance instructor. Ari graduated in 2018 with a BFA in Dance from The Ohio State University. During college, she received her 200-Hour Yoga license and an Opacize Greek Dance Fitness license. After graduation, she worked with Ballet Chicago as a summer chaperone, began teaching at The Mark Morris Dance Center as an assistant teaching artist, and moved to NYC. In summer of 2019, she completed the 3-month Training Program at Broadway Dance Center focusing on Street Styles. Since moving to NYC, she performed at Lincoln Center-Keenan Fellowship performance, ABC T.V.’s Annual Columbus Day Parade, NYC Korean Choseok Festival, Broadway Dance Center, and for many peer/teacher projects. She has also acted background on several T.V. shows such as Mr. Robot and The Deuce. Ari loves teaching all styles and is so excited to be working with the students of CAS this season.

Lauren Hodgson, lecturer in Dalcroze Eurhythmics at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music and BW Community Art School faculty member, is a pianist, teacher, and clinician with an interest in joyful, holistic, and experiential music learning.

She teaches pre-college students at the BW Conservatory Summer Institute and future Dalcroze educators at the Dalcroze School of the Rockies Dalcroze Academy during the summer, and she has taught courses in eurhythmics, pedagogy, solfège, and piano improvisation. Lauren has recently presented at the NAfME National Conference, the Ohio Music Educators Association National Conference, and the International Conference of Dalcroze Studies, in addition to teaching. She is the Secretary of the Dalcroze Society of America and chairs the DSA’s National Events Committee. She also co-hosts the podcast “The New Dalcrozian,” which has listeners in over 43 countries.

She received a B.M. in Piano from Baldwin Wallace University and an M.A. in Music Education from Case Western Reserve University, where she was a recipient of the Eva L. Pancoast Fellowship. She is also a Dalcroze License holder from the Dalcroze School of the Rockies.

Liz Huff does concert work, theater, improv, and collaborative arts projects throughout the Midwest and locations as far-flung as Estonia, Northern Ireland, and Finland. Music and comedy have led Liz to performing in many diverse venues including Severance Hall, internationally renowned jazz venue Nighttown, and the Del Close Marathon at the Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC.

As an educator she teaches improv at Baldwin Wallace Community Arts School, leads storytelling/communication workshops, and coaches voice, in addition to having taught Distance Learning classes at the Cleveland Institute of Music for 10+ years.

An advocate for new work in theater and music, Liz has premiered works by numerous composers, including Ryan Charles Ramer. A graduate of CIM, she studied improv at The Annoyance Theater in Chicago. She is a voting member of the Recording Academy (Grammys).

Susan Huszai has been teaching for more than 30 years. She welcomes students of all ages and levels of experience.

David Jelen has taught percussion in the BW Community Arts School for over 20 years. David’s students develop good fundamental skills while maintaining their enjoyment of making music. He teaches all ages and skill levels.

David holds a Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Baldwin Wallace University and a Master of Computer Information Systems degree from Cleveland State University. David is the Percussion Assistant for the Mayfield High School Pride of Mayfield Marching Band in Mayfield Hts., OH and is the Brush High School Soundsation Show Choir Band Director. Previously, David was the Percussion Assistant with the Valley Forge High School Marching Band in Parma, OH and the Firelands High School Marching Band in Oberlin, OH.

As a freelance musician, he has played percussion for a number of musicals at Blank Canvas Theater, Near West Theater and Cassidy Theater. He has also performed with a number of groups including the Parma Symphony Orchestra, Cuyahoga Community College Civic Band, Lakeland Civic Chorus, Lakeland Civic Band and Lakeland Civic Orchestra. He was also a church choir director for 23 years. He has composed and arranged music that has been performed by musicians of all ages.

Abigail is a multi-instrumentalist performer and composer who enjoys playing everything from folk to classical to electronic music. Abigail teaches violin, music theory, composition, and electronic music. Abigail was a student of CIM’s preparatory school and Suzuki program before earning her Bachelor of Music in Composition from Baldwin Wallace University. She earned her Masters of Fine Arts in Experimental Sound from California Institute of the Arts where she taught music theory and music history courses. Abigail has traveled all over the world for festivals and artist residencies including Alaska, New York City, and France.

Jessica Jonczyk currently teaches marching band and elementary instrumental music at Padua Franciscan High School. She graduated from BW in 2022 with a dual Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Cello Performance. She has also worked previously with the New Horizons Orchestra as the Prelude Orchestra Instructor and Librarian. Jonczyk has taught students of all ages and instruments, teaching both band and orchestra at both the private lesson and ensemble level. She is also an avid cellist, composer, arranger and researcher, having presented her work at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference in 2022. Jonczyk enjoys writing and painting, and is an eager duck enthusiast.

Clarence Keith is a dancer-choreographer born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He began his passion for dance at the age of 5 attempting to emulate the stylings of Michael Jackson. At the age of 19, after years of street dancing, Clarence began his studio hip-hop training out of various studios in the greater Cleveland area. Shortly after he began to teach. He has since expanded his training from Cleveland to LA, and plans to do much more!

His plan is to spread this art form throughout the city, and inspire young folks to follow their artistic passions. He wants to show young people the importance of balance in art. That is fun, respect, professionalism, and dedication.

A recipient of the BW Exemplary Teacher Award in 2017, Sungeun Kim is associate professor of piano at the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music.

Kim has given numerous concerts in the U.S., Canada, Russia, Spain, Korea and Italy. A first-prize winner of the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition, she has appeared as a soloist with the Russian Federal Orchestra in the Moscow Conservatory’s Bolshoi Hall, Banff Festival Orchestra, International Chamber Ensemble of Rome, and Gijon Symphony Orchestra. She has been invited to perform as guest artist at the Texas Conservatory Piano Festival for Young Artists, Virginia Rising Star Concert Series, Palm Springs Concert Series and the 24th Concert Stage at St. Ivo in Rome. Many of her performances have been broadcast over WKAR (Mich.) and WCLV (Ohio).

Kim’s early training led her to Yewon Middle School for Arts and Seoul Arts High School, where she studied with Myong-Hye Bang. Upon graduation, she was awarded a merit scholarship to Yon-Sei University, where she received a Bachelor of Music degree studying with Kyung-Sook Lee. In 1994, she came to the U.S. to study with Julian Martin at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. While there, she received the Frances M. Wentz Turner Prize and a graduate assistantship in accompanying. She frequently performed in master classes for Leon Fleisher and studied with artist-teachers Dominique Weber and Blanca Uribe at the New Millennium Piano Festival in Spain, and with Marc Durand at the Banff Keyboard Festival in Canada.

As an active adjudicator and clinician, Kim has judged numerous competitions for the Music Teachers National Association in Ohio and Missouri, and for the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory Department. She has served as the state competitions chair for the Ohio Music Teachers Association, and continues to serve as vice president of student activities for Northeast Ohio Music Teachers Association. She has given master classes at institutions including Sook Myung Women’s University, the Cleveland International Piano Competition Young Artists Institute, Summer Sonata at Cleveland Institute of Music, and KeysFest at Gilmore Keyboard Festival. During the summer, she teaches piano at the Conservatory Summer Institute at Baldwin Wallace University.

Gayle Klaber holds her degrees in cello performance from The University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Mrs. Klaber is a faculty member of the Baldwin Wallace University Community Arts School and an active performing musician. She has performed with Cleveland Pops, and Blossom Festival Orchestra.

Theresa Kloos is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace University with a Bachelor of Music in Music Theatre. She has enjoyed mentoring young artists through Music Theatre Workshops, Improv Classes and one on one Acting and Singing Lessons. Most recently, she acted as the Resident Teaching Artist for The Weston Theater Company in Weston, Vermont. Theresa has written two, one woman comedy shows, Reasons to be Unpretty and Reasons to be Unsuccessful and performed them in New York City and Cleveland, Ohio. Favorite past shows include Every Brilliant Thing, To Kill a Mockingbird, The 39 Steps, Gypsy, Romance in Hard Times, The Marvelous Wonderettes, Dry Powder, The How and the Why and Into the Woods. In New York City, she performed in Once Upon a Time in New Jersey at the Prospect Theatre Company Off-Broadway. She is a proud member of the Actors Equity Association.

Jeff Krill has been the piano technician for the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music since 2019.  Prior to this appointment, he was the head piano technician at The Cleveland Institute of Music and the concert technician for The Cleveland Orchestra for over 30 years, tuning for almost every piano soloist who performed at Severance Hall in that time span.  Jeff has traveled to tune for other orchestras such as Atlanta Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony and St. Louis Symphony and was the chief piano technician for the Cleveland International Piano Competition from 1987-2011.  Jeff is also a pianist with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from The Cleveland Institute of Music.

Michelle is a Staff Accompanist with Baldwin Wallace. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Bowling Green State University and a Master’s degree in Piano Performance with an emphasis in  Accompanying from the University of Akron. Prior to earning her Master’s  degree, Michelle served as the Staff Accompanist at Kent State University-Stark Campus and the University of Akron for several years. Michelle joined the Baldwin Wallace Men’s Chorus in August 2015 and the BW Singers in August 2016. She also accompanied the Baldwin Wallace Women’s Chorus in 2015. Michelle is an accomplished accompanist. She accompanies The Cleveland Pops Chorus, and has served as the Staff Accompanist at Jackson High School since graduating from BGSU. Michelle has accompanied multiple productions at numerous local theaters, including Kent State University Lyric Theatre Ensemble, Solon Center for the Arts, Actors’ Summit Theater, North Canton Playhouse, and Saint Thomas Aquinas High School. Michelle is also an accomplished bassoonist. She has played the bassoon with the True North Orchestra and the Cleveland Winds. She is also a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Michelle is the proud mother of four beautiful daughters.

Keira McDonald is a self-producing theatre artist and associate professor in the theatre and dance department at Baldwin Wallace University. McDonald has worked professionally as an actor, director, playwright, solo performance artist, clown, producer, stagehand and stage manager with Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre (ACT), 14/48 projects, Theatre Anonymous, 18th and Union, Annex Theatre, 12th Avenue Arts, Cafe Nordo, Theatre Off Jackson, The School for Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (Seattle), Zach Scott Theatre, Hyde Park Theatre (Austin, Texas), and Delfont Mackintosh (London), among others.

McDonald founded Seattle’s Solo Performance Festival and was the founding artistic director. At Cornish College of Arts in Seattle, she held the positions of assistant professor of physical technique and movement area head, and she developed the solo performance class and showcase. She has toured the Canadian and American fringe theatre circuit with her original work and was awarded multiple five-star reviews and “best of fest” awards. McDonald holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Texas Tech University and a Master of Fine Arts from Naropa University, in cooperation with London International School of the Performing Arts.

Julie Melik-Stepanov has taught piano very successfully for over 40+ years. Her students repeatedly win top honors at state and regional competitions including MTNA, American Music Club, J. Earl Lee, Genevieve Truran and others. Her piano students attend Julliard and Eastman Schools of Music and other very prestigious universities’. Mrs. Melik-Stepanov teaches music for all levels including all works of concert pianists’ repertoire.

Mrs. Melik-Stepanov performs frequently as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra and in collaboration with other artists.

Prior to teaching and playing in America, she was serving on the faculty of the Special School of Music for the gifted young musicians in Moscow and Baku and also was a Professor of Music and Director of Keyboard Activities at the National College of Ballet and Dance.

Mrs. Melik-Stepanov holds a Master’s Degree and an Artist’s Diploma in Piano Performance from Azerbaijan National Conservatory of Music.

Dr. Karren Melik-Stepanov was serving on the faculty of Augustana University for 27 years where he taught Applied Cello, Chamber Music, and String Pedagogy Class. His cello students have been prizewinners at many competitions. Prior to coming to America, Dr. Melik-Stepanov served as a Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory of Music. Many of his former students are now pursuing very successful musical careers in the USA, Europe, Russia, Baltic, and Caucasians Countries.

Dr. Melik-Stepanov teaches music for all levels including all works of concert cellists’ repertoire. He has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician, and clinician throughout America, Europe, and Russia. He also performs all major works written for his instrument.

Dr. Melik-Stepanov earned his Master’s Degree and an Artist’s Diploma in Cello Performance from the Azerbaijan National Conservatory of Music and his Doctorate Degree in Cello Performance and Chamber Music from the Armenian Conservatory of Music. He counts one of the most renowned world cellists, Mstislav Rostropovich, as his principal cello teacher. In addition to his solo and teaching careers, Dr. Melik-Stepanov was serving as a principal cellist for several major orchestras.

Sharon Metivier has been teaching voice in Northeast Ohio since 2007. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Human Services with a vocal music minor from Baldwin Wallace University and has studied Somatic Voicework (TM) The LoVetri Method Levels I, II and III. Sharon has studied with Benjamin Czarnota (Heidelberg College, Philadelphia School of the Arts, Baldwin Wallace), David Gooding (Strongsville, Ohio) and piano with Dr. George Cherry (Baldwin Wallace).

Sharon’s students can be seen in principal roles in the national tours of Frozen and Hairspray, and have performed in the Miss Ohio Pageant, at the Count Basie Center for the Arts, and many school and community theater productions. Several have gone on to study vocal music performance, music education, music ministry and music theater at colleges across the country including Baldwin Wallace University, University of Cincinnati (Musical Theater), Lipscomb University, Capital University, College of Wooster and many others.

Darryl Mika, has been teaching percussion for over 40 years. He has worked with students of all ages and teaches all styles of percussion. He is a member of a number of local ensembles, including the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chagrin Valley Studio Orchestra and the Strongsville Community Band. Mr. Mika is also an active pit musician and freelance percussionist around Greater Cleveland. While in the military, Mr. Mika was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps “Commandant’s Own” Drum and Bugle Corps and taught at the U.S.M.C. Drum and Bugle Corps School. Mr. Mika received his Bachelor of Music Education from Baldwin Wallace University. He is also the percussion advisor for the Baldwin Wallace Marching Yellow Jackets.

Lisa Miragliotta-Van Scyoc

Lisa Miragliotta-Van Scyoc is choral conductor and music educator graduate of The Cleveland Institute of Music with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Bowling Green State University. Lisa currently conducts Canterra Musica, top treble choir with the Oberlin Choristers.  Lisa is on the Music Education faculty at Baldwin Wallace University as a Student Teacher Supervisor.  Prior to that, she was an Adjunct Faculty member of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and also served as Field Experience Coordinator.  Lisa retired from teaching music in the Lakewood City Schools and also was the Director of Music at Christ United Methodist Church in Cleveland for 24 years. Lisa taught Music for Elementary Education Majors at Baldwin Wallace University from 1996-2002 and also enjoyed singing professionally with the Robert Page/Cleveland Singers.  Lisa is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, Ohio Music Educators Association, and the Cleveland Kodaly and Orff Chapters. She enjoys private vocal coaching and is passionate about choral singing.

Katelin Morrow earned her Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from Baldwin Wallace University and has completed teacher training in Cello Book 1 & 2 of the Suzuki Method. Her Suzuki teacher trainers include Beth Goldstein-McKee and Tanya Carey. She enjoys exploring creative styles of cello playing and collaborating with musicians of all styles and backgrounds. Her experiences include workshops with Mike Block and Eugene Friesen as well as recording for various artists.

Leanna began dancing since age 3, and began her ballet training at age 11 at Robert Thomas Dancenter in Ames, IA, under the instruction of Robert Thomas and Miyoko Kato Thomas, former Joffrey Ballet dancers. She was a member of the Iowa Youth Ballet for seven years and performed in Iowa State Center’s production of The Nutcracker Ballet for ten years, and in addition, she led rehearsals for certain roles for three years. Throughout her early years of training, Leanna had the privilege of taking master classes at the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago for seven summers from company member Derrick Agnoletti and former members Kim Sagami, Willy Shives, and Suzanne Lopez, among others.

In 2017, Leanna graduated from the University of Iowa with a BA in Dance and a certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship. During her time there, she performed in numerous concerts in both faculty- and student-choreographed work, and in 2016, her choreographic work was selected to be performed in the Dance Department’s Undergraduate Concert.

After two years in full-time youth ministry, Leanna is dancing with North Pointe Ballet for their 2019-2020 season here in Cleveland. Leanna has ten years of lead and assistant teaching and choreography experience at Robert Thomas Dancenter, Inspiring Dance, University of Iowa Youth Ballet, and Charlee’s Elite School of Dance, primarily in ballet and pointe technique to students of all ages. She is excited to be sharing in her love for ballet with her students here at BW CAS.

Read more on Leanna’s teaching philosophy and artistic inspirations here: https://mycreativecompass.org/Community/Cleveland-Artist-Spotlights/Leanna-Mullen

Sean Murphy serves as assistant professor of Arts Management & Entrepreneurship and draws on a diverse background of entrepreneurial ventures, education and musical performance. He specializes in for-profit studies within the music industry. He is the founder of Murphy Music Press, a music publishing company which represents the catalogs of some of the finest emerging composers for winds including: David Biedenbender, Andrew Boss, Viet Cuong, Paul Dooley, Tyler S. Grant, Joel Love, Cait Nishimura, Jess Tuner and Peter Van Zandt Lane among others. Murphy also founded Music Studio Teacher, an educational blog resource for private lesson teachers. Additionally, he is both a performing artist and educational consultant for Conn-Selmer.

Murphy is also an active saxophonist whose performances have been described as “truly beautiful” by celebrated artist Jamie Bernstein. He is currently a saxophonist on call with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. While attending the University North Texas he performed and recorded with the internationally acclaimed North Texas Wind Symphony under the direction of Eugene Migliaro Corporon. These numerous recording projects included the celebrated “Teaching Music Through Performance in Band Series” and the famed “Composer Collections.” As a soloist, Murphy has commissioned new music for saxophone by leading composers including David Maslanka, David Biedenbender, Eric Moe, Kit Turnbull and Stephen Barr. His debut album, “Rediscovering Bauzin,” is currently planned for release in 2019.

His articles on entrepreneurship, saxophone pedagogy, and performance have been published in distinguished music magazines and journals throughout the world including: The Instrumentalist, The Saxophone Journal, School Band and Orchestra Magazine, Jazz Ed Magazine, Teaching Music, Clarinet and Saxophone Society of Great Britain Magazine, Canadian Music Educator, Viento (Spain), Clasax (Australia) and Les Cahiers Du Saxophone (France).

Murphy holds his Doctor of Musical Arts, and Master of Music degrees from the University of North Texas, and Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, during which time he studied music entrepreneurship with Fabiana Claure and saxophone with Eric Nestler and Jason Kush.

Kathy Musat has been teaching trumpet and low brass for 50 years to students of all ages. She is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace University (Bachelor of Music Education) and the College of Mt. St. Joseph on the Ohio in Cincinnati (Master of Science in Education). She taught music in the Parma City Schools for over 30 years and retired in 2004. She performs regularly with the Parma Symphony Orchestra, the Hermit Club Orchestra, the St. Charles Brass Quintet, and the Baldwin Wallace Alumni Jazz Orchestra. Her teaching philosophy is technically based but inclusive of history and literature appropriate to the student and a little fun added on the side. When not teaching, she dabbles in photography and caring for her grandchildren. She has been married 40 years to musician John G. Musat and has three wonderful children and four grandchildren.

Liliya Nijehovsky is an accomplished classically trained pianist with a Masters Degree in Piano Teaching, Piano Performance and Accompanying from Prokofiev Conservatory, Donetsk, Ukraine. She is a certified Suzuki piano teacher from Ohio Capital University. She teaches piano to students of all ages and all levels. She has taught at The Moscow Music Military College, the Preparatory and Continuing Education Department of the Cleveland Institute of Music. She is an Associate Artist with Opera Cleveland, and has been an accompanist with the Cleveland Ballet. Her performances include The Big Hall of Moscow Conservatory, House of Composers, House of Arts Representatives, The Fairmount Center for The Performing Arts, and has accompanied various soloists, both vocal and instrumental, in multiple concerts. Ms. Nijehovsky’s teaching methods are tailored to suit each particular student, beginner or advanced. Her goals as a teacher are to have her students love playing the piano, to make sure that they are enjoying the time they spend making music, to motivate them to develop their musical talents, and to achieve their personal musical goals.

Richard Pokrywka, a native of North Olmsted, has earned a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance from Baldwin Wallace University (‘97) and Master of Music from the University of Georgia (‘99), and is currently a doctoral candidate in trumpet at The Ohio State University. He began private studio teaching as a student of James Darling at BW, and since, has enjoyed assisting students of all levels in achieving their individual musical goals. Performance credits include the Macon (GA), Athens (GA), Ashland, Mansfield, Wooster and Canton Symphonies, Cleveland Piano Competition finals orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, The Ohio State University Faculty Chamber Orchestra and Faculty Brass Quintet, Baldwin-Wallace FOCUS Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Keith Brion’s New Sousa Band, the 1999 Brass Quintet Competition of the Americas, and Playhouse Square’s production of Finian’s Rainbow. Rich resides in Sheffield Lake with his wife Mary and sons Richie and Joey.

Casidy Reed, (she/her/hers), is a musician, educator, and advocate for music education. Native to Buffalo, NY, she is currently a Band Director at the Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Previously, she was a Band Director in the Greece Central School District in Rochester, NY. She will be beginning her PhD studies in Music Education this fall at Case Western Reserve University. Reed received her Master of Music in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music in 2021. She graduated with her Bachelor of Music Education as a trumpet primary from the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music in 2019.

Reed is the Artistic Director/Conductor of the Youth Honors Orchestra Program and the New Horizons Band program at the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory Community Arts School, a trumpet player with the Cleveland Winds, freelances in the Cleveland area, and maintains her own private studio of trumpet students of all ages.

Reed has studied trumpet with James Thompson, former principal trumpet of the Montreal and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras, Jack Sutte of the Cleveland Orchestra, John Maguda, Frank Campos, and Michael Vertoske.

Reed hopes to live a life dedicated to creating music and teaching others. She believes that musical performance and education should be intertwined. She is the creator and host of her own podcast, “HERstory”, which focuses on the issues of equity in the music profession. She is an editor for the International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC) and serves on the Advocacy, Development, and Social Media committees of the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM). She maintains professional memberships with the Ohio Music Education Association, (OMEA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC), the International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM), and Women Band Directors International (WBDI).

Her current research areas include equity and access in music education, intersectionality, music aptitude and achievement, community music school education, educational leadership, and teacher preparation programs.

Bryan Reichert has experience teaching students of varying ages and playing abilities. He is fluent in styles including classical, jazz and popular genres. Reichert’s teaching philosophy is: with dedication, all students have the ability to play the guitar. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music degree from Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with 2015 Grammy winner Jason Vieaux. Reichert is an enthusiastic private lessons teacher in Baldwin Wallace University’s Community Arts School, where he has taught for over 4 years. He also works with the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society as Director of Operations. CCGS is a nonprofit music organization with a mission to “Teach, Inspire, Connect” through its programming, including an Education Program which focuses on providing top-level guitar instruction to inner city students in Cleveland, and the International Series, which presents the greatest guitarists from around the world to the Cleveland area through a yearlong concert series.

Bryan Reichert recently graduated from Cleveland Institute of Music with a Master’s Degree, Guitar Performance, studying with Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux. Reichert is an enthusiastic private lessons teacher who currently holds an adjunct faculty position in Baldwin Wallace University’s Community Arts School.

His personal website is www.bryanreichertmusic.com.

Corrie Anne Riberdy teaches violin to all ages from beginners to advanced players. She believes in the adage that students are rarely too young and never too old to start violin. A graduate of the Suzuki method herself, she incorporates that philosophy into all her lessons. In addition to the traditional violin repertoire, she utilizes fiddling, improvisation, and modern music in her teaching. Mrs. Riberdy began teaching at Baldwin Wallace in 2005 and became director of the Suzuki program in 2010. She performs regularly with the Ashland Symphony, sometimes as concertmaster. She received her Master of Music in Violin Performance from Mannes College of Music in New York City and her Bachelor of Music from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. She studied with Carol Sykes at the International Music Festival for her Suzuki certifications. When not at the Conservatory, she is home with her husband Jason and two young sons. She especially enjoys reading, both for herself and out loud to her children.

Jason Riberdy has been teaching private French horn lessons for over 15 years. Open to students of all ages and skill, he specializes in teaching the fundamental mechanics needed to establish a solid foundation for playing the horn. Jason is currently a member of the Ashland Symphony Orchestra and spent two years playing with the Firelands Symphony Orchestra. He received his Bachelor of Music in Performance from Baldwin Wallace University in 2000 and spent 5 years at Indiana University doing post graduate work with the acclaimed horn player Myron Bloom.

Marge Ricksecker (guitar private lesson teacher) has been teaching guitar at Baldwin Wallace since 1980.   Ms. Ricksecker teachers all styles of guitar, including: Classical, Acoustic, Electric and Bass.   She specializes in teaching adults and advanced students.  She is the director of the Contemporary Choir and Ensemble at St. Raphael Catholic Church in Bay Village and is an active performer throughout Ohio. Ms. Ricksecker received her Master of Arts in Education from Baldwin Wallace University, as well as, her Bachelor of Music in Music Performance and Bachelor of Education from Baldwin Wallace University. Her current interests include:  travel, skiing, biking, gardening and reading.

Tanya Rogers is a native of Parma, Ohio. She attended Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music for her Bachelor of Music Education. Tanya Rogers is a violinist and has studied violin performance and chamber music with Julian Ross. In addition to teaching orchestra for the Strongsville City Schools, Tanya teaches private violin and viola lessons.

Carol Ross’s career as artist teacher and performer of violin and viola has spanned three decades. Her leadership positions in professional orchestras and extensive performing experience as recitalist and chamber musician have richly informed her teaching. She is proud of her many students who have continued their studies and gone on to become successful artists and teachers in their own right, as well as those who continue their lifelong love of music while pursuing other paths.

Ms. Ross joined the faculty of the Baldwin Wallace Community Arts School and founded its Suzuki Program in 1997 after serving in teaching positions at Florida State University, Westminster Choir College, and the Hartt School of Music Community Division. Having established the Rutgers University Community Music School Suzuki Program in New Brunswick, New Jersey, she has been invited guest clinician for numerous Suzuki workshops.

Ms. Ross has performed in the Cleveland Opera Orchestra, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Cleveland San Jose Ballet Orchestra, Princeton Chamber Symphony, and the Tallahassee Symphony. A top prize winner in the Memphis Beethoven Club Competition, she shares a broad range of recital repertoire with her audiences. She frequently appeared in performances of chamber works at the Yellow Barn Music Festival and Rutgers Summerfest and has given live performances on WNYC, New York City Public Radio. Since her student days in Memphis, she has actively performed works by living composers, most recently premiering violin/viola duos by husband, Julian Ross.

Ms. Ross studied Suzuki pedagogy with Allen Lieb and William Preucil Sr, traditional pedagogy with Sally O’Reilly and Pam Ryan, and was a teaching assistant to Teri and David Einfeldt. She earned her BM in Violin Performance at the University of Memphis and MM in Viola Performance at the Hartt School of Music. Her major teachers include Eric Rosenblith, Hiroko Yajima, and Jeff Irvine.

Carol serves on the University of Akron School of Music faculty and is the director of Strongsville School for Strings.

Dr. Barton Samuel Rotberg has performed as a violinist in the U.S., Canada, France, Spain, Costa Rica and Mexico and has been a prizewinner in the Boston International Chamber Music Competition and the Liberty Freemont Young Artists Competition in Illinois. Currently assistant concertmaster of the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra in Ohio, he has served as concertmaster for the Opera Project Columbus Chamber Orchestra, the Opera Per Tutti Chamber Orchestra of Cleveland and for three seasons in the Southwest Symphony Orchestra in Illinois. He has also been a member of the Illinois Philharmonic, Ann Arbor and Flint Symphony orchestras. An avid chamber musician, Dr. Rotberg was a founding member of the Davanti Trio, in residence with the Flint Symphony Orchestra. Endowed by an original founder of General Motors, the Davanti trio gave concerts in the U.S. and abroad. As an artist in residence at Mercyhurst University, he was featured on WQLN Public Radio as violinist of the D’Angelo Trio.

Rotberg has been teaching for more than 20 years. His students have frequently been awarded competition prizes, music scholarships to universities and concertmaster positions in festival and all-state orchestras. During his time as a doctoral student at Michigan State University, he taught undergraduate and graduate students as an assistant to Professor Dmitri Berlinsky. He has since been a violin instructor at Mott Community College and assistant professor of music at Mercyhurst University’s D’Angelo Department of Music. He is on faculty at International Festival for Strings and More at Western Reserve Academy and the Conservatory Summer Institute at the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. Rotberg has given guest recitals and master classes at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy, the Conservatoire de Limonest in France, University of New Mexico and Jamestown Community College in New York. He has been an adjudicator for the Music Teacher’s National Association competition and the Lakeland Civic Orchestra concerto competition.

Samuel Rotberg’s primary teachers have included Marc Zinger, Dmitri Berlinsky, Shirley Givens and Herbert Greenberg. Secondary teachers include Joseph Fuchs, Berl Senofsky and Earl Carlyss.

Sara Schimelpfenig has been teaching classical violin for more than 20 years and enjoys working with students and adults of all ages and levels. She believes that violin lessons are often life lessons in disguise, as perseverance, concentration, time-management, and follow-through are real life survival skills. She also strives to balance the seriousness of learning with the necessity of fun. On a recent evaluation a student wrote, “Sara was so much fun to work with. She brought excitement to each lesson.” Her students consistently receive superior ratings at solo & ensemble events, lead their school orchestras, and have successfully auditioned for the Contemporary Youth Orchestra. Ms. Schimelpfenig has taught at Cleveland State University and the Beck Center, and has performed with many area orchestras and productions at Playhouse Square. Her Master of Music is from Cleveland State University and her Bachelor of Music in violin is from Bowling Green State University.

Laura Simna holds a Master of Music in Violin Performance from The Ohio State University, a Master of Arts in String Pedagogy from The Ohio State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Case Western Reserve University with studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She received her Suzuki training from Ronda Cole, Martha Shackford, Tom Wermuth, and Kimberly Meier-Sims. Laura has also taken extensive Dalcroze Eurhythmics training at the Cleveland Institute of Music and at Carnegie Mellon University. She is the concertmaster of the Lakeland Civic Orchestra and performs with many ensembles in a wide range of styles, including classical, rock, jazz, and bluegrass. Her students of all ages have received numerous scholarships, awards, and top rankings in musical competitions and events. Former students have gone on to degree studies in music performance, therapy, and education.

Laura is the Assistant Director of the Baldwin Wallace Suzuki Center, and also serves as an Education Consultant for the Cleveland Orchestra, teaching and lecturing in their Education Outreach programs and workshops. She has written and implemented successful music-based curricula for schools and education programs, including music and movement, music and literacy, and music and math courses.

Richard Seil has a wide background in private and collegiate teaching that extends over 30 years. His private teaching philosophy emphasizes the Suzuki philosophy and pedagogical approach, and he has also taught a wide variety of traditional students. He is extremely excited to be back in Northeast Ohio as the head of the piano faculty and Suzuki piano teacher at The Music Settlement in Cleveland.

His teachers include world-famous pedagogues Menahem Pressler (IU), James Tocco (CCM), Karen Shaw (IU), Richard Fields (CCM) and Robert Mayerovitch (BW). Furthermore, Mr. Seil’s Suzuki certification through Book 5 of the Suzuki Piano Curriculum (studied with Rita Hauck) has provided him with a wealth of skills to positively influence developing musical minds of all ages. Professionally, his most recent collegiate position was as a sabbatical replacement for his former teacher, Robert Mayerovitch at BW in Berea, Ohio. Mr. Rich has taught at the Wyoming Fine Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, Slater Music Academy and Tallant Music Studio in Ft. Thomas, KY, for the past 15 years. Additionally, he has held teaching assistantships at Indiana University and the University of Cincinnati.

His teaching philosophy, whether teaching a young beginner, a budding professional, an adult beginner or an adult returning to the piano, can be summed up in one word: adaptive. It is paramount that a teacher be able to adapt to the learning style of any student while, at the same time, keeping a goal in mind. This is probably why he has had success teaching traditional students, Suzuki students, collegiate students, adult beginners, and young professionals.

In addition to membership in various professional organizations, Mr. Seil enjoys performing in casual and professional settings. Furthermore, he has played violin and conducted professionally.

When he is not teaching or performing, Mr. Rich enjoys attending concerts, jogging, watching football, pampering his pets, and rescuing animals.

Sandra Simon teaches applied lessons to music theater majors and non-majors. She is also certified in Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method, Levels I, II and III.

With a “voice like the sun” (Boston Globe), soprano Simon is at home performing opera, oratorio and on the musical theater stage. “A calcium light soprano of strength and sensibility…enchanted and breathtaking” (Fanfare Magazine).

Simon has performed in the United States and abroad with many fine orchestras and ensembles, including Tafelmusik of Toronto, Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, The Memphis Symphony, Apollo’s Fire, Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Red An Orchestra, The Cleveland Pops, The King’s Noyse, Baroque harp virtuoso Andrew Lawrence King, wooden flute master Chris Norman and members of the Baltimore Consort.

On the opera stage, she has appeared in starring roles with Opera Atelier Toronto, Cleveland Opera, The Singapore Arts Festival, The Ojai Arts Festival, American Bach Project and Ex Machina Antique Music Theater, and Chautauqua Opera. Representative roles include Serpina in Pergolesi’s “La Serva Pedrona,” La Statue in Rameau’s “Pygmalion,” Belinda in Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” Euridice and La Musica in Monteverdi’s “L’orfeo,” Fiordiligi in Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” and Phyllis in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe.”

As soloist in concert, Simon’s repertoire includes “St. John Passion,” “Magnificat,” “Coffee Cantata” and “Wedding Cantata” by Bach; “Messiah,” “Belshazzar” and “Israel in Egypt” by Handel; “Vespers of 1610” by Monteverdi; “Jephte” by Carissimi; “Bachianas Brasileiras” by Villa Lobos; “Folk Songs” by Berio; and a wide range of songs from the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras.

As an interpreter of new works, she is a frequent guest of the Cleveland Composers Guild, premiered the vocalize “Winter Dream” by Margaret Brouwer at Steinway Hall in New York City, and is featured in Ms. Brouwer’s widely praised recordings “Light” and “Shattered.” Along with members of The Cleveland Orchestra, she is a member of Panoramicos, the chamber ensemble in residence at Case Western Reserve University which has been described as “eclectic in the best sense of the word…a top American pick” (Gramophone Magazine).

A longstanding member of Actor’s Equity, Simon has appeared in dozens of professional regional theater productions. Among her favorite roles are Hope Harcourt in “Anything Goes,” Marion Paroo in “The Music Man,” Johanna in “Sweeney Todd,” Lily in “The Secret Garden,” Rosa Bud in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” Cinderella in “Into the Woods,” Lizzy in “Goblin Market,” Cathy in “The Last Five Years,” Violet in “Side Show” and Fosca in “Passion.”

Simon has also recorded for the Naxos American Classics, Avie International, Koch International Classics, New World Records, Eclectra and NPR labels.

Ceste Stanly has a B.S. in Music Education from Bryan College & an M.A. in Music Education-Kodaly from James Madison University. Miss Stanly has taught music to students for 17 years. She teaches piano, voice, and flute to students from ages 7-75, including students with special needs. She loves seeking to discover the unique learning pathway for every individual student and tailoring lessons specifically to grow and enhance foundations that other teachers have already built. She has a number of students who compose their own original material and encourage others in that capacity as well. Currently she is the K-8 general music teacher at St. Angela Merici School and the chorus director for the Rocky River Community Chorus. She has sung shape note music with the Potomac River Sacred Harp Singers. She previously played in the Three Rivers Dulcimer Society in Tri-cities, WA, sang with Choralis, The Washington Kantorei, Arundel Vocal Arts Society, Fine Arts Chorale of Kansas City, & The Kings Park Concert Band. She has sung at DAR Constitution Hall with the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters and played flute at the Capitol with the United States Navy Band. She helped develop the music curriculum and train the music teacher at St. Stephens Academy in Beaverton, OR. She has taught music in every setting imaginable from Christian schools to public schools to home-school co-ops to summer camps to adult church choirs and children’s church choirs.

Janet Strukely-Dziak founded North Pointe Ballet, a non-profit organization with the mission to make classical ballet accessible, in 2016 following a career as a professional ballet dancer and earning a B.A. in Dance from Mercyhurst University. As Executive Artistic Director of NPB, she continues to manage mission-based initiatives and programs as well as choreograph and direct full-length ballets. Choreographic highlights for NPB include full-length ballets Cinderella, Peter Pan, The Sleeping Beauty, The Wizard of Oz, and The Nutcracker as well as various contemporary works. Janet is an adjunct faculty member of Oberlin College, a guest teacher for various organizations, and is on staff at Jillian Rian Dance School. She holds a teaching certificate through the National Dance Institute and is also certified to teach Physically Integrated Dance through Dancing Wheels. Janet currently serves on the board of directors for OhioDance as the chair of its Education and Community Engagement Committee. She lives in North Ridgeville, Ohio, with her husband and two children.

After teaching in public schools in Northeast Ohio for almost a decade, Gabriel P. Swarts joined Baldwin Wallace University as the associate dean of education. He earned a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Kent State University in 2017 and then served faculty appointments at the University of Wyoming and St. Bonaventure University in Western New York.

Dr. Swarts has been writing, performing, recording, and producing music in Northeast Ohio and beyond for 16 years. Working with diverse genres and artists in his studio, Engine Room Recording, he has been a part of over 100 recording and film projects with experiences in at all stages of audio production work.

Lembi Veskimets joined the viola section of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1997, having previously held the positions of principal viola of the Ohio Chamber Orchestra and of the National Repertory Orchestra. An enthusiastic chamber musician, she has participated in such festivals and events as the Aspen Center for Advanced Quartet Studies; the Taos School of Music; the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar; the Sarasota Music Festival; the EXPO in Osaka, Japan; Chamber Music Encounters in Paris, France; and the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall. Born in Toronto, Canada of Estonian parentage, she has been featured on the gala concerts of several international Estonian festivals. She has appeared in recital at the International Viola Congress and across the U.S. in cities from Boston to Oklahoma to Los Angeles. Veskimets is a founding board member and past president of the Ohio Viola Society and has served as a board member of the American Viola Society and a contributor to its journal.

Committed to the development of young talent, Veskimets is also a faculty member in the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Preparatory Department as well as its Young Artist Program, at the Cleveland Music School Settlement and in the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra’s Advanced Performance Seminar. In the summer she has taught and performed at the CIM-affiliated Encore School for Strings and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. She also performs in the public schools as an artist-teacher in the Cleveland Orchestra’s Learning Through Music Program. In the greater Cleveland community, she has performed chamber music on many local series as well as on 17 Instrumental Evening for the Earth benefit concerts among many others. She received both a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she was a student of Robert Vernon.

Lauren Stenroos is a founding dancer with Cleveland Ballet under the artistic direction of Gladisa Guadalupe and Ballet Mistress Cynthia Graham. Previously, she has danced professionally with Lake Erie Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Dayton Ballet, and Ballet Montana. She has also appeared as a guest dancer at Williamsport Civic Ballet, James Sewell Ballet, Texture Contemporary Ballet, Lake Erie Ballet, and Mercyhurst University.

Lauren received her early training from the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet (Now called Ballet Excel Ohio) under Nan and Mia Klinger. While at CVYB she had the unique opportunity to perform in original ballets choreographed by Michael Vernon, Francis Patrelle, Tom Gold, James Sewell, and Bill Hastings. She also attended summer intensives on scholarship at Chautauqua Institution, Richmond Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Cleveland San Jose Ballet. She graduated with a B.A. degree in Dance with a Minor in Music Composition from Mercyhurst University.

At Cleveland Ballet, she has performed many soloist and principal roles such as Swanilda in Ramon Oller’s Coppelia, Hippolyta in Oller’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Queen of Hearts in Margo Sappington’s Alice, Soloist in Les Sylphides and as Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker.

She has also enjoyed performing in works by George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Septime Webre, Stuart Sebastian, James Sewell, Jon Rodriguez, Amy Seiwert, Gina Patterson, Gina Walther, Lesley Bories-Scalise, Paul Vasterling, Gladisa Guadalupe, and Ramon Oller.

In addition to dancing, Lauren is a composer and has created many original works for dance. In addition to teaching ballet, she also is certified in Pilates and teaches mat and reformer classes. In her free time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, fitness, food, and the outdoors.

Erik Wagner graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toledo in 1994 before earning his Master of Music from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music in 1997. He has been teaching guitar for over 25 years and specifically enjoys teaching classical music. Mr. Wagner aims to give each student the tools so one day they can learn pieces on their own using the skills they learn from his instruction. Mr. Wagner enjoys coaching his son’s baseball team, taking his family to Key West, FL, working out, and of course teaching guitar.

Jackie comes to us with her Bachelors in Art Education K-12 from Kent State University. She was a stay-at-home mom for 16 years when she started her mural business, Painting by Jackie. She has been a mural artist for 20 years and her work can be found in companies, schools and homes in Westlake, Avon Lake and North Olmsted. Starting in 2007, she was a theatre scenic artist at St. Edward High School for 11 years and their full-time Librarian for 14 years. However, her passion has always been teaching, so she began hosting at-home painting parties through her traveling business, Home is Where the Art is. Jackie considers herself a traveling artist for all ages and brings her creativity, talent, and supplies to homes, offices, and unique settings, such as an alpaca farm and wineries. Jackie has now expanded her repertoire to include painting custom pet portraits. She is looking forward to bringing her teaching and art expertise to a new audience!