Our Music Teacher Faculty

Our instructors are highly qualified, holding either a degree in music or very extensive performance and playing ability. For our degreed teachers, they have received their education from prestigious institutions such as the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, The Berklee College of Music, Oberlin College and Conservatory, The Ohio State University, Capital University, and many others. For our instructors with extensive or exceptional performing ability, they are throughly vetted by our school owner, Chad Ebert.

In addition to their teaching credentials, our teachers have warm personalities, are extremely friendly and dedicated to teaching you the style of music that you want to learn in your music lessons.

chad+ebert+school+director.jpg

Chad Ebert

School Director

Citing his family as his biggest musical influence and coming from four generations of professional musicians, Chad started his musical education at three years old. He began his college piano training in Jazz Studies at the age of 16 and has studied under jazz legend Tony Monaco. In addition to his training in Jazz piano, he has studied classical technique in the Taubman Method. A member of the National Piano Guild and the Music Teachers National Association, Chad is dedicated to providing high-quality music education in a fun environment.

Bryan-Percoco-Piano-and-Guitar-Teacher-Powell-Ohio-300x200.jpg

Bryan Percoco

Piano & Guitar Instructor

Bryan Percoco is a pianist, composer, and guitarist. He was invited to tour internationally as a pianist with New York City-based music education company Discover Melody. Percoco's orchestra compositions have been performed by the Brno Philharmonic and Janacek Philharmonic in the Czech Republic. He has studied, performed, and premiered his own compositions throughout Europe. Among these were the Highscore Festival and Soundscape Festival in Italy and the Upbeat International Summer School in Milna, Croatia. He has performed as part of the OSU-N "Great Performer Series" and as part of a concert series at the Toledo Museum of Art. Percoco's orchestra music and chamber music has been awarded as a finalist and semi-finalist in the American Prize National Competition. Percoco earned a MM and BM from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Percoco greatly enjoys teaching and is versatile, teaching styles ranging from jazz/blues, classical, rock, and many other popular styles. 

 

ISABELLE MCCLURE

Animal Adventures in Music & Voice Instructor

Isabelle is a 2021 graduate from Wittenberg University, where she received a B.A. in Music with a concentration in vocal performance and a B.A. in Communication. Isabelle performed in the Wittenberg choir and in several music and theatre productions. As a lifelong dancer, Isabelle enjoyed participating in the dance program at Witt, as well as creating choreography for various dance shows.

jack walbridge guitar bass and ukulele instructor.jpg

Jack Walbridge

Guitar, Bass & Ukulele Instructor

Jack Walbridge earned a Bachelor’s degree in music from Susquehanna University in 2012. Jack has taught guitar, bass, upright bass, and piano for over twelve years. In addition to teaching, Jack has worked as an Off-Broadway pit musician in New York and as a Session musician in Los Angeles. Jack has also worked as a freelance composer where his music was featured on television and movies.

F7E30416-18D0-4145-B248-F5649DB43159_1_201_a.jpeg

John Hanson

Voice, Drum, Piano, & Guitar Instructor

John Hanson has been enthralled with music his entire life. Growing up in Dublin, Ohio, he participated in choir, band, and theatre, as well as any opportunity he could find outside of school. He later attended Bowling Green State University, where he received a Bachelor of Musical Arts, and studied Voice under the direction of Chelsea Cloeter. John has been involved in many types of ensembles during his education, including elite choirs, concert band, vocal jazz ensemble, early music ensemble, and an Afro-Carribean ensemble. John has also been a part of professional recording sessions, gigs, and a professional choir. All of this is to say that John has a deep love for music, and this translates to his teaching. The most important thing in learning more about music is having fun and enjoying yourself and others! His primary teaching method is imitation as well as analyzing the music in a way that provides a cerebral connection to how your body is producing the music. John also utilizes a variety of kinesthetic choices to ingrain the music making into the body. A few activities he enjoys outside of music are tabletop games, racquetball, and most major sports.

Kyle-Rowland-Drum-Piano-teacher-Powell-Ohio.png

Kyle Rowland

Drum, Piano, & Guitar Instructor

As a drummer and percussionist, Kyle has performed with Vic Juris, Todd Coolman, Pete Malinverni, Jon Faddis, Wessell "Warmdaddy" Anderson, Tony Monaco, Rick Depofi, Radam Schwartz, Cameron Brown, and James Weidman. He also has a master’s degree in Jazz Studies from Purchase College in New York. He has composed music for theatre, television, and film. Television shows include Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda, Sins & Secrets, Disappeared, Fatal Attraction. He also scored films for Magic Dog Productions, B12 Productions, Killer Goose Films, and Wildlife Productions.

As an educator, he has taught as an adjunct professor at William Paterson University, Purchase College SUNY, The Thurnauer School of Music, and The School of Rock.

 
Tracy-Lipscomb-Music-Teacher-300x200.jpg

Tracy Lipscomb

Violin, Viola and Cello Instructor

As a graduate of Ohio University, Tracy Lipscomb has been teaching string instruments for thirteen years. Ms. Lipscomb has performed with professional orchestras since high school when she was accepted into the West Virginia Symphony apprentice program. In 2001, she joined the American Federation of Musicians and has since performed with orchestras such as the North Carolina Symphony, Ohio Valley Symphony, and the Huntington Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Lipscomb’s teaching philosophy is centered around the concept that every student learns in different ways, thus lessons are structured around the students individual learning style in a way to help broaden the students musical abilities while also having fun.

JASMINE LEE

Piano & Drum Instructor

Jasmine is a percussionist and pianist who has been studying music all her life since the age of 5. She has a wealth of performance experiences and was taught by many instructors, including Terry Moran and Brian Sweigart during her time at the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory School. She received her Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, and is now currently a candidate for Certification Level in the Dalcroze Method from the Carnagie Mellon Marta Sanchez Dalcroze Training Center. During her time at CCM, she learned from Professors Jim Culley and Rusty Burge, whom are Percussion Hall of Fame members, and while at CCM, Jasmine performed with many ensembles, bands, and orchestras such as the CCM Percussion Ensemble, The Philharmonia Orchestra, and Wind Orchestra. Her favorite performances include participating in the pit orchestra for Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, gig performances with her hometown Solon Orchestra, and the Steel Drum Band.

Jasmine incorporates Dalcroze Pedagogy in her lessons, making fun, purposeful exercises that keeps music learning fun while refining students' innate musicality. She believes that everyone has potential to become great musicians! She is dedicated in helping everyone find their method of music making and mastery of basic core skills, creating confidence and understanding of themselves. Today, Jasmine continues to explore new, interesting methods of teaching musicianship, and composes music for fun. Outside of music, she has many hobbies such as video games, cooking, anime, tinkering around with computers, and anything creative based.

Saori-Collins.gif
Jenn-Hunnicut-Voice-Teacher-Powell-300x200.png

Jenna Hunnicut

Voice Instructor

Jenna Hunnicutt has had a lucrative start to what promises to be an exciting opera career. Recent performance highlights include: Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, and Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice. Hunnicutt’s voice has been called “one of the most beautiful I’ve known” by Dr. Scott McCoy, author of Your Voice: An Inside View. Touring with national choirs has led to performances from the Denali range in Alaska to the esteemed Carnegie Hall in New York City. Hunnicutt received a music degree from Ball State University and is pursuing an MA in Voice Pedagogy from the Ohio State University, where they just received The Swank Voice Lab Award for Excellence in Voice Pedagogy.

John-Paul-Fretwell violin instructor.gif

John Paul Fretwell

Violin & Viola Instructor

John Paul Fretwell is a violinist and violist originally from Anderson, South Carolina. He has a Bachelor’s in Violin Performance from Appalachian State University, and a Master of Music from Ohio University, where he served as the Ensembles Division Graduate Administrative Assistant, along with being the orchestral assistant for OU’s Symphony Director, Steven Huang. John Paul Fretwell is a member of the McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra, Ohio Valley Symphony Orchestra,  and  has worked with other organizations such as the Huntington Symphony, The Chamber Music Connection, and Johnson City Symphony Orchestra as well as being a freelance artist. He studied violin with Dr. Nancy  Bargerstock, and Dr. Dawn Wohn while also studying viola with Dr. Eric Koontz and Stephanie Price-Wong.

Tim-Davis-Piano-and-Trumpet-Teacher-Powell-Ohio-300x200.jpg

Tim Davis

Piano and Trumpet Instructor

Tim is currently the choir director and worship accompanist at New California Church. He’s also a worship accompanist at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Powell, Ohio. Tim has over 30 years of teaching and performance experience, including 16 years as music director for The Ink Spots. He’s the first call keyboardist for Broadway touring shows in Columbus and Dayton and has performed over 40 Broadway tours. Tim serves as the band leader or pianist for Bob Newhart, Buddy DeFranco, Doc Severinson, The Four Aces, The Four Lads, The Drifters, The Coasters, The Platters, John Lithgow, Hal Linden, Jim Nabors, Don Knotts, The Dorsey Brothers, The Four Freshman, The Columbus Symphony Orchestra, World tour of The Zelda Symphony Symphony, many cruise lines, and most notably, Andrea Bocelli and Il Divo.

Tim is a certified instructor of The Yamaha Music Education System. His local teaching experience includes five years as Adjunct Instructor of Piano at Denison University and many years of instruction at Coyle Music Centers, Hauer Music, Columbus Music Academy, and others. He has also served as a church accompanist for as long as he can remember, and hs been signed to a major record label (Curb Records) in Nashville.

Amy Conley

Clarinet, Saxophone, & Flute Instructor

Amy Conley received her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas. She taught woodwind lessons and master classes throughout North Texas before moving to Ohio to study for her Master’s degree at The Ohio State University. At Ohio State, she studied Clarinet Performance with James Pyne and Caroline Hartig.

During her studies, she has performed with various groups, including The Ohio State Wind Symphony, Ohio State Symphony Orchestra, University of North Texas Gamelan Ensemble "Bwana Kumala", University of North Texas 8 o’clock Steel Drum Ensemble, Denton Community Jazz Band, various chamber groups, and pit orchestras for several operas and musicals.

Amy loves all genres of music and sharing her love of music with her students. She teaches each student according to their ability and musical goals. Her aim is to instill a sense of music appreciation and bring out the best musician in each student.

Elizabeth Reeves

Flute, Clarinet, & Piano Instructor

Elizabeth Reeves received her B.M. in music performance from Wright State University in 2012, where she studied with Dr. Christopher Chaffee. While at WSU, she was a winner of the 2010 School of Music Concerto Competition, for which she performed as a soloist with the University Symphony Orchestra. In 2009 and 2010, Elizabeth was also a finalist in the Collegiate Division of the Central Ohio Flute Association Competition. She was honored to receive the 2010 Agnes Fowler Scholarship from the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs, and the Robert Stofer Music Award in 2011 from Wright State University. In 2012, Elizabeth moved to Phoenix to pursue her Master’s degree in music performance at Arizona State University, where she studied with Dr. Elizabeth Buck. At ASU, she performed regularly with the ASU Symphony Orchestra, the ASU Flute Choir, and the Arizona Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) before receiving her degree in 2014. A native of Southwest Ohio, she and her husband moved to Columbus in 2015. They enjoy cooking, spending time with their friends and family, and being outside with their dog, Rey.

Ike-Wade.gif

Ike Wade

Piano & Clarinet Instructor

Ike’s passion for music formed early on in his life with piano lessons beginning at 6. From 2007 onward, he regularly volunteered at assisted living homes to provide music for the infirmed and beginning in high school, he received his vendors’ license to act as a street musician at farmer’s markets. He was also deeply involved in local concert and jazz bands.

Ike earned his Bachelor of Arts at Otterbein University in 2017. During this time, he spearheaded Otterbein’s chapter of FMTA’s (Future Music Teacher’s Association) community outreach program, which provides free piano lessons to students who are otherwise unable to pay for lessons. All the while, he participated heavily in Otterbein’s Classical, Folk, and Jazz community.

After college, Ike continued to participate in local community choirs and in the Saint Michael’s Church Choir.

All of these experiences have informed him of two fundamental ideals regarding music: 1) Anyone can make music if their heart is in it. 2) Music is supposed to be fun; if it isn’t, someone’s doing something wrong!

James-Cahalin-Guitar-Teacher-Powell-Ohio-300x200.jpg

James Cahalin

Guitar Instructor

James has over 20 years experience and is a versatile guitarist, proficient in many styles of music. Formally trained at the renowned G.I.T. in Los Angeles, he has studied with greats such as Scott Henderson and Paul Gilbert. His training and extensive knowledge of jazz, blues, rock, country, slide guitar, classical and more make him an ideal music teacher for those with broad musical tastes. His teaching emphasizes music theory, reading standard notation and guitar tablature, overall musicianship, building repertoire, and playing for pure enjoyment. James teaches ages 6+.

John-Basel guitar teacher piano teacher.gif

John Basel

Piano & Guitar Instructor

John‘s interest in music came about rather late, as he started guitar and piano at ages 13 and 14 respectively. However, he was dedicated and was accepted at Bowling Green State University as a Piano Performance major 4 years later. Later ,he received his Master’s in Piano Performance from the University of Iowa where he was also awarded a Teaching Assistantship. While John‘s own interest in piano is primarily classical, he is comfortable teaching and playing many styles. On guitar, John enjoys playing rock, blues, finger-style, and other genres. John’s teaching philosophy focuses on helping students genuinely understand the concepts in whatever they are learning. He believes that it is also important to help students develop their own passion for music and learning. John moved to Ohio in 2017 with his wife and daughter from Texas where he lived and taught music for 4 years.

Katrina-Cortez-Piano-teacher-powell-ohio-300x200.jpg

Katrina Cortes

Piano Instructor

Katrina Cortes is a pianist and teacher from Hilliard, Ohio. She began taking piano lessons at the age of 5 and was performing, teaching, and collaborating by the time she reached high school. She received her Bachelor‘s degree in Piano Performance from Cedarville University in 2011. During her time there, she won first place in the University’s concerto competition and performed with the school orchestra. She also received the Charles and Margaret Clevenger scholarship for exemplary musical stewardship and character and was published in Musical Offerings, the University‘s Journal of Musicology. Katrina later studied Collaborative Piano under Dr. Allison Gagnon at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She is currently the music director at Whitehall United Methodist Church and is pursuing her certification in the Suzuki teaching method. When she isn’t playing piano, Katrina enjoys taking bike rides with her husband and two children, reading, and salsa dancing.

Saori Collins

Voice & Piano Instructor

Saori Collins has taught a variety of students from diverse age groups and cultures by adjusting methods and strategies based on each individual’s needs and goals for over 20 years. Her methods keep students involved and interested in the material, thereby encouraging them to reach their full potential. She received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Master of Music in Voice Pedagogy at Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, CA. Saori served as voice trainer for Ragazzi, the Peninsula Boys Chorus in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked with boy sopranos and young male singers. At the San Francisco School of the Arts, she taught voice, musicianship and theory classes. She directed a choir at the Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program West Elementary School, San Francisco, CA. Saori is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and Music Teachers National Association for which she served as president of the San Francisco Chapter. Her teachers include Eileen Davis, Pamela Fry, and Nancy Revzen.

Brass-Piano-and-Cello-Tom-Martin-Teacher-Powell-Ohio-300x200.jpg
 

Tom Martin

Piano, Brass. & Cello Instructor

A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Tom has been studying and playing music his entire life. He has played in ensembles ranging from symphonic orchestras and big bands to jazz blues and rock. He has performed and traveled extensively throughout the United States. He has also worked as a producer and arranger in the studio, working with recording artists, and also done commercials for radio and TV. He has been teaching music in central Ohio for over twenty years. Tom is currently the director of the strings program at Union Scioto schools in Ross County and music director for the Contemporary Worship Service at Ascension Lutheran Church in Columbus.

CALL OR TEXT 614-572-3640 TO GET STARTED TODAY