Julia R.
Piano
Julia is a passionate piano teacher and collaborative musician. Completing her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy in 2024 at Stephen F. Austin State University, she studied with piano Dr. Andrew Parr and Dr. Minhae Lee. Additionally, she studied collaborative piano with Dr. Ron Petti and piano pedagogy with Dr. Mario Ajero. Currently, Julia is pursuing a Master’s degree in collaborative piano performance. Julia started learning piano at age 7. She has performed extensively as a solo and collaborative pianist, and has participated in several piano festivals and competitions, particularly with the Northwest Houston Music Teachers’ Association. After graduating high school, she was awarded several music scholarships including the SFA Keyboard Scholarship, the Shirley Watterson collaborative piano scholarship, the Northwest Houston Music Teachers’ Association Piano Scholarship, and the UNT Graduate Musician Award.
Julia has joined Florence Music School in 2024 as a piano teacher. She is an active MTNA member and was president of the SFA MTNA collegiate chapter. Julia considers piano teaching is a privilege and an important role in a young person’s life. As someone who has been shaped and lovingly invested in by her piano teachers, she finds her purpose in pouring knowledge and kindness into her students as was done for her.
She strives to create a relaxed, fun, and hardworking environment in her studio, where positive music-making experiences are the goal of every lesson.
Julia is also active in the realm of church worship music, having worked as a music minister and pianist for Heritage Presbyterian Church, Bethel Baptist Nacogdoches, and FCC Nac, and Garrison UMC.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.