David V.
Piano
David is an accomplished and experienced teacher of piano and voice. He has experience as both performer and teacher, and individually or in group instruction. He holds a degree in piano performance from Harding University.
David has taught piano in studios and at home for several years. His former students range in age from 5 to 82, and from beginner to advanced. His studio has a high retention rate due to his enthusiasm and communication skills. He is comfortable with teaching classical, jazz and pop. His former students have been lauded in Sonatina Festival, Baroque Contest and Guild Auditions. His piano students receive training in music theory and aural skills in additions to keyboard technique, self-expression and musicality.
As a teacher of voice, he has background in both performance and education. He is a long-time performer with the prestigious men’s chorus, Vocal Majority. He also performs regularly as a church musician. He spent several years conducting choirs at area high schools, as well as conducting musicals at those schools. His choirs were consistent sweepstakes award winners, and several of his students advanced in the all-state choir process. Two of his former students currently perform on Broadway.
David motivates his students due to his deep love for leading each individual toward the expression of music. He communicates progress to both students and parents. He wants his students to have a well-rounded music education and to thrive as they develop their musicianship.
Makar A.
Starting his first private piano lessons at the age of eleven and giving them up at twelve, Makar hadn’t advanced as a musician until he was 17. Nevertheless, as Dr. Jure Rozman, a piano instructor and music program coordinator at Broward College stated, “In all musical and academic activities, Mr. Arguelles showed extraordinary talent and exemplary dedication to excellence, as well as strong motivation and work discipline. During the studies, his natural technical and musical ability on the piano advanced exponentially.”
After moving to the United States from Russia, pianist and pedagogue Makar has received his AA in Piano Performance at Broward College. His experiences there included Music Theory, Sight-Singing, and piano tutoring, as well as teaching piano at Ali Academy of Cultural Arts in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Makar went on to receive BM in Piano performance at Florida State University [FSU], where he also received specialized certificates in Piano Pedagogy and Music Entrepreneurship.
Throughout these educational years, his teaching style evolved, concentrating more and more on the students’ particular goals and needs. Working with Dr. Diana Dumlavwalla, Associate Professor of Piano Pedagogy at FSU, Makar learned to critique his own pedagogical method to further improve its effectiveness, as well as acquiring a few helpful teaching strategies to promote efficient student learning.
Susanna H.
Oboe
Susanna, oboe, received her bachelor’s degree in Musical Performance from the New School of Music in Philadelphia. She studied with Philadelphia Orchestra members Stevens Hewitt and Louis Rosenblatt as well as Eric Barr from the Dallas symphony and Elaine Duvas from the MET. She played concerts in Los Angeles, California and New York, Boston, and Florence, Italy before coming to Texas. In 1994, Susanna and her family moved to North Texas, where she launched her teaching career. She currently has a studio of around 25 students a week and freelances on oboe and English horn in the Irving Symphony, Plano Symphony, San Angelo Symphony and Fort Worth Symphony. Susanna is a co-founder of the chamber music ensemble Mélange Musical.
Alexandra H.
Piano
At age 5, Alexandra began taking formal piano lessons. Her teacher from ages 6-17 was Diana A. Pettit. During this time, Alexandra won many piano competitions, performed at various venues and recitals, and also received first class honors with distinction many times in the Royal American Conservatory testing program. She got her first piano students at age 17, teaching out of her home. After graduating high school in 2011, Alexandra studied with renowned Dr. Vicki King, a professor at Tennessee State University, from 2011-2012. Then, she lived in California from 2012-2013 to study church music with Mrs. Julie Boruff. From 2013-2017, Alexandra attended and graduated from the University of Alabama in Huntsville with a degree in Music Technology, where she studied with Dr. Melody Ng and Ms. Johnna Doty. During her time at UAH, she was an active pianist and organist at church, an accompanist for vocalists and instrumentalists at UAH, won collegiate and national level competitions, participated in many ensembles at UAH, including the Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, and piano ensemble, served as an officer in many capacities for the UAH Music Teacher’s National Association Collegiate Chapter from 2013-2017, as well as president of the UAH Music Student Committee from 2015-2016, maintained membership with MTNA and AMTA, and was a piano instructor at Colors Fine Arts. After college, Alexandra continued to teach piano with Colors, became the accompanist for the Florence Camerata from 2018-2019, and continued as the pianist and social media manager for Trinity Presbyterian Church until 2021, when she relocated to Texas. Alexandra currently lives in Fort Worth with her husband Bobby, and her two dogs, Layla and Tonka. She enjoys serving in ministries at church, gaming, cooking, and waterparks.
Vanessa H.
Piano
Vanessa, originally from Houston, grew up and started piano in China. A Young Steinway Artist since 2014, Ms. Haynes is fortunate to have performed in recitals and as soloist with orchestra in the U.S., China, and Europe. Her professors include Antonio Pompa-Baldi (Cleveland Institute of Music), Hung-Kuan Chen (The Juilliard School), Boris Berman, Peter Frankl, and Peter Serkin (Yale School of Music). Recently moved from New York City, Ms. Haynes now studies with Dr. Carol Leone and is pursuing a double degree at Southern Methodist University.
Jeff E.
Guitar
Jeff completed his B.A.A.S at the University of North Texas with in emphasis in Jazz Studies. While at UNT, he studied under Joe Lee, Fred Hamilton, and Clint Strong. He then went on to Texas Woman's University to complete a Master's degree in Classical Guitar Pedagogy while studying under Carlo Pezzimenti. Jeff has a wide array of performance/style experience from Jazz/Classical to Pop/Rock/Blues/Country. In his earlier years before studying he played in numerous rock and pop bands in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
Jeff has an ability to work with many different learning personalities and styles. Everyone is different and has a very individual way they learn and you have to find what works. Jeff has also found that results with beginners are not too much different than results with experienced players and his own practice. He looks for small victories that really start to add up.
Also, along with many different instruments (Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Classical Guitar, and Ukulele), Jeff has some polar opposite strengths. He is an excellent Blues, Pop, and Rock guitarist. Yet, he is an exceptional Classical guitarist as well! And he enjoys playing Jazz and Country every chance he gets!
D'Laney J.
Piano
D’Laney, a Southern California native, began playing the piano at age six. Under the guidance of Dr. Elvin Rodriguez, she participated in local competitions and concerts. Since then, D’Laney has collaborated with orchestras, choirs, soloists, and regularly participates in local, state-wide, and international festivals and competitions. She has had masterclasses with Alvin Chow, Alan Chow, Douglas Humphreys, Robin McCabe, Craig Sheppard, John Perry, and Ory Shihor.
Inspired by her mother, a math teacher, D’Laney began teaching private lessons at the age of 16, which lead to her ultimate goal of obtaining a doctoral degree in piano performance.
D’Laney holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Oral Roberts University and a Performance Certificate from La Sierra University. She currently studies at the University of Washington under the tutelage of Dr. Robin McCabe where she will graduate with a master’s degree in piano performance in June of 2021. Upon completion of her master’s degree, D’Laney will continue her studies in the doctoral program at UW.
Alexander H.
Drums
Alexander, originally from Chicago,Il, has been playing drums since the age of 8 and began playing professionally at 13.
Receiving his Bachelors Degree in music from University of North Texas in 1996, Alex has been performing, recording and teaching in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for over 30 years.
He has performed and recorded for artists such as Don Henley, Colin Boyd, Chaz Marie Hope, Limelight, Rockmollys, Ricki Derek and many others. He can also be heard on commercials for Dairy Queen, Milestone Electric and other North Texas businesses. Alexander continues a very busy performance, recording and education schedule to this day with new bands, artists and students starting all the time.
Wade S.
Piano
Wade graduated with honors from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX, with his bachelor's degree in Music, studying piano and harp. Wade has performed with the Mesquite Symphony, Sherman Symphony, Irving Symphony, and most recently with the Plano Symphony as a harpist for their community outreach concerts. With six years of teaching experience, Wade believes that music is integral to life and that deepening one’s knowledge about music should be accessible to all.
Wade has a fondness for Chopin and Beethoven but also a deep appreciation for contemporary music and video game soundtracks. When not playing his piano or harp, Wade can be found attending local concerts, integrating yoga and breath work into his life, and cooking with an abundance of vegetables.
Kloe C.
Piano and Cello
Kloe is a classically trained pianist and has been teaching for over eight years. She is passionate about sharing her love for music through the lessons she offers. Her students describe her as skillful, engaging and inspiring. Aside from the piano, Kloe also plays the cello, chinese flute (Xiao), classical guitar and acoustic guitar and enjoys performing in both classical and contemporary settings. Her eclectic music background allows her to engage students of all walks of life and to help them find their own unique expression through piano playing. Although she was trained by classical piano pedagogy, she is passionate about exploring other genres of music with her students. She is also skillful in making music theory engaging for students of all ages and helping them build a strong music foundation. Born in the U.S and raised in China, Kloe is also trilingual in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Surin K.
Piano
Surin was born in Daejeon, South Korea and began playing the piano at the age of 7. In 2019 she graduated from Daejeon Art High School, where she received 1st prize for the 60th Piano Competition of the Federation Artistic & Cultural Organization of Korea. She received 3rd prize for the 29th Piano Competition of the Music Association of Daejeon.
She graduated in 2023 from Chungnam National University for classical piano and has participated in Miroslav Kultyshev’s Master class. During her college years she participated in the ‘Die mei Nacht’ concert.
Surin is certified in Art and Culture education. As a teacher she is passionate, kind, delicate. She teaches students the real worth of music and develops a unique curriculum for each student.
Jiaqi S.
Piano
A Chinese native, Jiaqi began studying piano at the age of six. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Pedagogy and Musicology from China Conservatory of Music as well as a Master of Arts in Music Theory and Piano Pedagogy from College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, and Kent State University. Currently, she is pursuing her degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Music Theory at the University of North Texas, with a related field in Piano Pedagogy. As a teaching fellow at UNT, she is teaching undergraduate courses in aural skills. As a passionate and dedicated music instructor, he has taught piano, music theory, aural skills, and music appreciation courses for many years. The range of ages of her students is from preschoolers to adults. The students she teaches have achieved outstanding results in competitions, as well as distinguished grades in the ABRSM and RCM piano and music theory examinations.
Maxim K.
Piano
Maxim studied at Central Special Music School, attached to Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. His teachers are: Anatoliy Rjabov, Daria Rjabova. Graduated in 2014. Graduated from Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory ( Class of Professor, National Artist of Russia, Vladimir Ovchinnikov ) as a piano performer and piano teacher.
Maxim is currently in the Artist Diploma program in Texas Christian University under Dr. Tamás Ungár.
Maxim has won numerous international competitions. He has also been a participant of the “Kasseler Musik Forum und Klaviermeisterkurs» with Professor Tatiana Malinina-Fedkina, International piano Master Classes during ClaviCologne Festival with Professors Zhe Tang, Dmitri Bashkirov, Ilya Scheps. He also participated in the PianoTexas international festival and academy with Professors Boris Slutsky, Stanislav Iuodenitch, Yoheved Kaplinsky, John Owings, Arie Vardi. Maxim currently performs in Russia and in the USA.
Allison R.
Voice
Mezzo-soprano Allison received her BM and BME in voice degrees from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and her MM and DMA in voice degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. While at the University of Cincinnati she was a graduate teaching assistant and taught freshmen musical theatre majors and secondary voice students. Her teachers include Martina Arroyo, Mary Ann Hart, KS Jeanne Piland, Carlos Montané, Tom Baresel, and David L. Jones. She has participated in various young artist programs including Aspen Music Festival, German for Singers at Middlebury College, Central City Opera, San Francisco Opera Center, and Music Academy of the West. She has sung in many performances across the US and Germany. Allison has a love for German Lieder and participated in the Lied seminar taught by Leonard Hokanson at IU. Allison was awarded a Fulbright Grant to Germany to focus on the Lieder of Robert Schumann. She studied at the Robert Schumann Hochschule für Musik in Düsseldorf. After she received her DMA, Allison moved to Germany in 2016 to audition for opera companies and agents. After being in Germany for one year, Allison met her future husband. He was offered a job with a German company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and they moved to Grapevine from Frankfurt, Germany in 2018. Allison spent eight years of her childhood in Plano, and is happy to live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area again. Allison currently lives in Coppell with her husband Jan and their 3 cats, Lovey, Susi, and Bella.