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Glenn Smith (he/him)
Glenn’s a Michigan boy turned Seattleite dad and husband. He loves metal, long walks on the beach, singing loudly, and playing guitar, bass, keys, and drums. A lover of all music types, Glenn's playing focuses on rudimentary grounding more than being flashy. His solo metal act is Freeze, plays bass and sings in the band Slothrider, and he does musical soundtracks as Glenn Aaron Smith.
Andie Ades (they/she)
Andie Ades (they/she) is a musician hailing from Kent, Washington and based in Central Seattle. She has been singing since she could talk and storytelling since she learned to write.
They are a recent graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, where they studied vocal performance and creative writing. From singing in operas, theatrical productions, choirs and acapella groups, to performing with rock n roll bands, jazz bands, and producing independent synthpop projects—Andie has experience with a broad variety of music and is thrilled to share her knowledge and love for music with the brilliant and brazen younger generation.
Outside of singing and composing, Andie makes collage art, embroidery and enjoys reading short fiction.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @AmandaAdes8
Alyssa Mulholland (she/her)
Growing up in the Puget Sound area, Alyssa has had a lifelong passion for music. From a young age she was drawn to the piano, but it wasn’t until she taught herself how to read music and play a contemporary New Age piece that her parents took notice and granted her piano lessons. In school she gravitated toward cello, and as a teen performed with a group known as Pontiac Bay Orchestra. Her fondest memory with the group is of a performance where they provided the soundtrack for a Buster Keaton film as it played live for an audience. After college, she worked at a local piano shop, helping people find pianos they loved. Nowadays, Alyssa enjoys improvising new pieces on the piano. She is excited to teach her beginner students the joys of music!
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @ajm1822
Matthew Crissey (he/him)
Matthew Crissey is a multi-instrumentalist and engineer from Kent with the bass being his primary instrument. He has always loved music, with one of his earliest memories plucking a guitar which he had assembled from a tissue box, paper towel tube, and a rubber band as a young child. Music would go on to become Matthew’s most fierce passion and primary focus in education. He first picked up the bass around 2012 and adopted it as his main instrument while continuing to explore interests in other instruments such as guitar and piano.
Later, Matthew would study music at the University of Washington, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Studies in 2022. He currently teaches and remains active as an on-call musician in the Puget Sound area, also exploring personal-creative endeavors from his home studio in Renton. There, he is in the late stages of production of a solo bass album featuring his writing, arranging, playing, recording and production techniques, and a few ensemble explorations, which he is excited to release. Matthew also can be found taking the stage with Seattle-based jazz-rock-pop group The Outtatowners.
Matthew’s teaching philosophy is one of holistic perspective; he believes that, while we train students to be instrumentalists, we first aspire to develop musicians, and before that, to cultivate artists. We as musicians strive to bring out our most creative selves, and that purpose should at no point be obscured by strict method or technique. Matthew’s approach is student-based, where the direction of instruction is determined by the interests and desires of the student.
Away from the studio and the stage, Matthew enjoys time spent practicing and competing as an amateur disc golfer, as well as more leisurely activities, such as playing old Pokemon games and hanging out with his cat Tiberius.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @matthew-crissey
Spencer Johndrew (he/him)
Spencer Johndrew is a multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer, and record label co-owner. Born and raised in Santa Cruz, California, he started his music journey playing guitar at the age of 9. After taking guitar lessons for a few years, he taught himself how to play bass, drums, piano, and ukulele before moving to Tacoma, Washington to attend college. It was there that he started playing in local bands and created an independent record label with his best friend (Youth Riot Records). In the years since graduating and moving to Seattle, Spencer has been lucky enough to tour the country (and Canada!) playing guitar and drums with his bands Hell Baby, Titanic 2, and Scorn Dog. Outside of his music career, he also has 6+ years of experience working in Seattle Public Schools, where he managed a variety of after-school enrichment programs for elementary and middle school students.
Spencer has a strong passion for learning and playing music, one that he gained from his guitar teacher as a child, and one that he hopes to be able to share with his students. This passion is based around the idea that playing music is something that should be thought of as a hobby, not an obligation. Music is something that feeds all of us and tapping into those feelings of joy and fun is a key focus for Spencer in his music lessons. Learning from every student’s unique musical preferences and tailoring his classes to those preferences is important in helping each of his students establish their own connection with playing music. Spencer aims to create a fun, easygoing environment where students feel comfortable and inspired to explore their own passion for music!
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Spencer-Johndrew
Michelle Dodson (she/her)
Michelle Dodson is a young freelance musician and private music teacher specializing in cello performance. She performs and teaches a range of music genres spanning baroque, classical, jazz, and modern. She has played cello for 19 years.
She began her music degree at age 16 at University of Missouri St. Louis, and she transferred to DePaul University in Chicago after graduating high school, where she earned her liberal arts degree, a Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in cello performance, and a minor in economics from the Driehaus College of Business. While living in Chicago, she taught at the Music for Kids non-profit project. She also performed with the Chicago Composers’ Orchestra, City Lights Orchestra, and the funk-fusion band Pyzow! for their debut album in 2018. She also worked closely with modern composers to world-premiere eight new pieces.
Upon moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2018, Michelle became involved in the recording industry, being a featured artist in soundtracks and recording two solo albums of baroque and modern music respectively. She currently performs in the Seattle area with Everett Philharmonic, various string quartets, and substitutes in a variety of ensembles. She is passionate about working with local artists to create multidisciplinary art events to make classical music accessible to more members of the community.
Michelle currently specializes in teaching piano and cello, emphasizing an understanding of music theory, interpreting musical ideas, and developing instrument technique to communicate the musical ideas. She, her dog, and her cat love to go on hikes or walk around town when she is not playing music!
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @michelledodson19 / Paypal michelledodson19@gmail.com / Cash App $connecttheDODS
Mallory Hansen (she/her)
Born and raised in Tacoma, WA, Mallory (she/her) started her musical journey playing violin for several years in her school orchestra. In middle school Mallory found the local music scene, discovering a love for punk, hardcore, and metal music. Her violin playing and early interest in singing led her to Cornish College of the Arts, where she completed coursework in musical theater.
Along with her instrumental background, Mallory is an experienced singer, audio engineer, producer and is currently studying audio production at North Seattle Community College. Mallory is an experienced karaoke DJ who creates a welcoming and supportive singing environment for every type of singer.
Mallory’s teaching style heavily depends on each individual student. Mallory believes anyone can play music, with the right approach. Mallory enjoys creating a safe and enriching environment for all students to learn and grow in. Teaching stage presence and confidence is one of her main goals as a teacher. Mallory is dedicated to helping students find joy and confidence through violin, voice, and piano lessons.
When she is not teaching, Mallory participates in the Seattle Womxns Music Producer Meetup group, and produces her own music. Along with her interest in music, Mallory also loves animals and traveling.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @DJ_MALZOR
Keira Hamalian (she/her)
Keira Hamalian was born and raised here in Seattle, Washington and has been surrounded by music since early childhood. Her passion for the arts led her to begin taking piano lessons at the age of 6 in West Seattle from Erin Rubin, now owner of Mode Music Studios and founder of Mode Music and Performing Arts (MMPA). She continued piano and voice lessons with Erin until she was 15 years old while taking advantage of performance opportunities at Mode sponsored community events, recitals, and their all-ages open mic at The Skylark next door. The creative foundation Erin and Keira built together allowed her to explore other musical mediums on her own such as songwriting, collaboration with local musicians, and independent instrument study. She recently participated in Seattle Theater Groups, 22nd annual More Music at the Moore program along side 14 other musicians where with the help of music mentors including Grammy award winning writer and producer, Mike Elizondo, they put on a showcase. Other performance achievements of hers include her participance at this years Northwest Folklife Festival.
Her goal is to pass on the lessons that she’s learned from mentors of her own to aspiring students. She’s confident in her ability to create a learning environment where students can bloom into the best version of themselves, ensuring steady growth, both skillfully and personally.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @KeiraHamalian
Kelli Frances Corrado (she/her)
Kelli Frances Corrado is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Growing up in Chicago, she would sneak out during school nights to see hip hop shows and spend weekends with her Romani Czech grandmother learning prayer rituals. She has lived many lives before putting her heart in song: social worker, student, tap dancer, wanderer. This set a unique musical foundation giving voice to her spiritual beliefs and leading her to study voice, poetry, string arranging, ear training, beat making and producing. She received her first grant from The Grammy Foundation, who sponsored her first tour and has had her music featured in The Wire, Bandcamp Daily, BBC Radio 6 London and many more. She has released four albums. Her current album, Tuff Feathers was released on non-profit label Grimalkin Records. And recently wrote her first film score for documentary, The Last Act, out this fall.
Kelli has been a teaching artist for over 14 years, specializing in helping the beginner start. She started her teaching career at the Old Redmond Firehouse rock camps and it blossomed into a dedicated passion. Supporting her belief in the equity and accessibility of music and music lessons for everyone. She has taught for various schools and social justice organizations such as Willie Mae Rock Camp in Brooklyn and Delridge Neighborhood Developmental Association in Seattle. And is currently part of the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Creative Advantage teaching roster. Her teaching philosophy is to create individualized lesson plans for each student based in theory, technique, ear training and student goals with an emphasis on creativity and personal empowerment. Kelli believes music is a language based on listening and personal expression. Whether you are 5 or 70 years old, she can help you.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @KelliFrances-Corrado / Paypal kellifrancescorrado@gmail.com / Cash App $KelliFrancesCorrado
Nimm Lefcourt (they/them)
Nimm Lefcourt is a classically trained vocalist who has been singing and training for 13 years. They graduated with a Bachelor's of Music in May 2021, and have experience singing various kinds of music. Half of their BA was done through the lens of musical theatre, where they performed in various musicals and recitals, and the other half of their BA was done with a focus on opera and modern classical composing. Now, alongside practicing opera, Nimm enjoys learning different renditions of video games and movie scores on the piano. They also enjoy writing music for tabletop role-playing games, and will often do custom themes and songs for various characters. Their interests outside of music are video games, animals, and crystals.
Nimm’s hope is to always help students enjoy music as much as they do, and make sure they are always excited to learn more. They always endeavor to strike a balance between learning music the student has an interest in, and focusing on the building blocks of music. Nimm is also always open to changing their teaching style based on the student’s needs, goals, and learning style.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Nimm-Lefcourt
Andi Ridings (she/her)
Andi grew up just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, where she was inspired to pursue music by the hip hop and R&B bursting from the city around her, by the film scores of the movies she pored over at home, and by the creativity of her family. After years of playing with a toy violin, at age 10 she joined her elementary school orchestra, and was gifted a real violin by her school. With a single mother and four older sisters, resources were stretched thin, and Andi will always be grateful for the opportunity this gift gave her to pursue her passion. In high school, Andi competed and performed in the Festival of Gold and MSHSAA District and State Music Festival on the violin, earning a handful of awards nearing her graduation.
After graduating high school, Andi received her BM in Violin Performance from Southeast Missouri State University. During college and after, Andi freelanced by arranging and performing music for concerts, weddings, engagements, parties, and banquets, and acted as a ringer for the Paducah Symphony Orchestra. She has also picked up several instruments along the way, including piano, guitar, viola, mandolin, ukulele, and voice. Music has taken Andi to some amazing places, like the 2013 Italian chamber music festival Festival Suoni D’Abruzzo, and the SEMO Concerto and Aria Competition, where she won the chance to perform as a soloist to a full audience with a full symphony accompanying her!
Andi has been teaching music lessons for over ten years. As a teacher, Andi’s technical background allows her to set her students up for success with a solid foundation in music theory. Andi’s teaching approach differs by student, as she knows that each student has their own unique talents and light to share with the world, and that they need more than a cookie cutter teaching approach to be successful. She always prioritizes keeping the student’s spark for music alive and thriving. In her free time, Andi loves to karaoke, thrift shop, roller skate, backpack, and paint with her boyfriend while they listen to their record collection together.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @ridingswritings
Jenny Ridout (she/her)
Jenny Ridout is an accomplished flutist and pianist and has spent the past decade performing and teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area and Houston. Jenny received her B.M. in flute performance from San Jose State University under the tutelage of Catherine Payne (San Francisco Symphony), and her M.M. in flute performance from the University of Houston studying with Aralee Dorough (Houston Symphony). While at San Jose State, Jenny acted as principal chair flute in the school's top ranking Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra, and her senior recital was acclaimed by SJSU faculty as having been one of the "best student recitals ever held at the school." During her time at the University of Houston she acted as principal flute and solo piccolo with the Symphony Orchestra and performed with them at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Jenny has received instruction from and performed in master classes in the United States and Europe from a number of today's top flutists including Catherine Payne, Keith Underwood, Jim Walker, Christina Jennings, Leone Buyse, Robert Stallman, Carol Wincenc, Timothy Day, Sergio Pallotelli, Sooyun Kim, Ian Clarke, and Aralee Dorough.
Jenny has an undeniable passion for musical expression as well as music theory and enjoys passing this along to her students. She helps offer them the tools and direction needed so that they too may discover how they want to express themselves through music. Her students show improvement very quickly and are active participants in recitals, school band programs, youth orchestras, master classes and competitions. Lessons with Jenny are tailored to each student’s unique musical goals, as every student has different interests!
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Jennifer-Ridout-1
Jared Mitchell (he/him)
Jared's love of music began in elementary school, always jumping at the opportunity for a solo, or auditioning for honor choir. His interests shifted to drums and percussion in middle school, where he found a position in his church's youth group band for a few years. Jared transitioned back to choir in high school. He joined honor choir, all state choir, and spring musicals, and eventually found a love for songwriting, which led him to Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Jared was able to take private voice, guitar, and piano lessons, enhancing his abilities in both songwriting and playing parts in studio sessions.
In 2010, Jared graduated with a degree in Music Business, with an emphasis on Songwriting. He released his debut album, The Maiden Voyage, two years later. In 2014, Jared signed an independent publishing deal with Catch This Music. Between 2015 and 2020, he was performing between 100 to 150 tour dates a year, building towards dreams of owning his own studio and space. His newest releases include The Last Gemini in 2017 and This Week-Last Year in 2020.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @JMandTW
Scott Langdon (he/him)
Scott is a multi-instrumentalist with over 20 years of experience on drum set, mallet percussion, hand percussion, piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, and various percussion instruments. A native of Bremerton, Washington, he was exposed to music early in childhood, thus developing a deep familiarity with music from day one. After high school, his musical passion led him to Washington State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music: Percussion Performance with a Jazz Emphasis degree.
After a year teaching and performing in the countryside of central California, Scott returned to the Puget Sound to continue pursuing his career. He’s been an instructor for the Northwest Percussion Festival, a clinician at the Northwest Percussion Project, and a clinician for the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho. He has played throughout the northwest with The Gods Themselves, Purple Mane, Nowsterday, Halley Greg, and Trick Candles, as well as freelance work.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @ScottLangdonMusic / Cash App $ScottLangdonMusic
Natalie Colvin (she/her)
Natalie is a Pacific Northwest Native who honed her crafts at Central Washington University where she earned her BFA in Musical Theatre. Natalie has also studied with The Actor's Movement Studio Conservatory in New York City.
Natalie has performed in award-winning theatres across the country, most notably, Village Theatre and Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre. More recently, she embarked on AIDA Cruises (Carnival), a German cruise line, where she performed 10 various shows, (some of which were in German and Italian) all over the world for 7 months. Natalie has also gone on tour in Bulgaria and Italy with Varna International in the iconic opera: Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute).
Natalie most recently released two original singles on all streaming platforms and is excited to help students with their own compositions if they have an interest in composing! Natalie learned to play the piano from her mother at a very young age and has taught and been around education for most of her life. Natalie’s teaching style is warm and inviting and allows for vulnerability. She is passionate about making a safe space for growth and development. “Let’s make mistakes and make it big! Sometimes there’s nothing scarier than baring your soul, but we can build a space together to create safety; that is my top priority for my students.”
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Natalie-Colvin / Paypal @NatColvin
Blake Madden (he/him)
Blake Madden is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who has been performing and making his own music since he was 13 years old. His primary instruments are bass and guitar.
Blake grew up in Miami, Florida, but has also lived in South Africa, Japan, and New York. He began his music career with six months of guitar lessons and then was mostly self-taught and self-developed for the next 15 years, playing bass in punk and avant bands and making extensive home recordings on cassette 4-tracks.
After feeling the limits of his skills and knowledge in his late 20s, Blake began to seriously study music theory and composition through the Pacific Northwest Film scoring program, as well as studying electric bass with Todd Kovell at Seattle School of Strings (where he later taught).
In that ten year period, Blake was the bass player and musical director for Seattle's premiere Prince tribute band, Purple Mane, and the bassist, lead singer, and principal composer for his own noir pop group, Hotels. Blake has performed live on KEXP, and at Seattle festivals like Bumbershoot and Capitol Hill Block Party.
Now Blake is able to incorporate his two disparate musical paths into his teaching style, connecting with students first on a DIY 'I want to make noise NOW!' level, then easing them into theory fundamentals based on his own memories of how humbling and challenging it can initially feel. Blake's favorite teaching moments are when he can explain a musical concept in a more digestible, relatable way so that the 'lightbulb clicks on' for the student.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @soupislove
Gianni Aiello (he/him)
Gianni Aiello is a Burien-born multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and performer. He is driven by a strong musical curiosity which has taken him from learning Beatles tunes on the piano as a child to touring across the country in his rock band Naked Giants. In addition to his bass work with Naked Giants, he has played guitar and piano with Car Seat Headrest on such stages as Madison Square Garden, the Tonight Show, and Primavera Sound in Barcelona, and he also plays drums in the Seattle-based band Pablo’s Legs.
The desire to be a lifelong student of music keeps Gianni reaching for the next steps, and he believes that the same desire can be found in anyone. His lessons focus on exploring what excites each student about music - whether it’s personal expression through songwriting, intellectual development through theory and analysis, or just the sheer fun of jamming! While basic techniques are fundamental to any field, Gianni seeks to create a low-pressure learning environment where a student’s progress is determined not by their technical skill but by their enthusiasm for music.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Gianni-Aiello / Paypal gianniraiello@gmail.com
Brian Spenser (he/him)
Brian is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who grew up in Seattle. He has been playing drums since he was 8, and learned from legends including Michael Shrieve and Jerry Garcia. He has been touring for a dozen years with bands including Isenordal, Impulse Noise, Endorphins Lost, Wilt, and Asymmetric Warfare, among others. Brian volunteers at local all-ages DIY venues and loves encouraging and empowering young people to build their own joy, freedom, and culture through the egalitarian DIY approach that has always been so important to him. He is fun-loving, non-judgmental, and has worked with students from the ages of 4 to 64.
A lesson with Brian usually focuses on a song (or some parts of it) that the student has identified or expressed interest in. Brian loves the opportunity to help students connect not only with what an artist played but also the music theory and culture that informs how and why they played it that way. During lessons, he often makes quick observations about the theoretical structure or cultural tradition of the song so his students are able to naturally pick up important music theory concepts from multiple different examples without feeling lectured. Brian has great success relating to and working with students who have attention disorders or learning disabilities.
Brian has a broad taste in music ‒ he likes everything from Brutal Deathgrind to Funeral Doom. Sometimes he even listens to music that isn't some obscure subgenre of heavy metal! Actually, Brian loves all kinds of music and is happy and able to dive into any style students are interested in. Some of his favorite styles include post-punk, black metal, '70s jazz fusion/prog, and modern opera.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Brian-Spenser / Paypal brian.spenser@gmail.com
Brandon Bermudez (he/him)
Brandon has been a working musician, producer, and engineer in the Seattle/Tacoma area for the past decade. He regularly plays in and around the Seattle area and sometimes tours in other countries. Brandon frequently collaborates with many professional musicians in the area. Recently, he's played bass with prog-rock band Bone Cave Ballet and alt-rock band Starry-Eyed Samurai, and drums with both new-wavers Trick Candles and pop-fusion band Nitrogen Lion Society.
Brandon believes that consistency, versatility, and attitude are the traits that make great musicians. With his interactive-guidance teaching approach, the student controls the pacing of each lesson, which alleviates classroom anxiety and helps the lesson material become more comprehensible. With a heavy emphasis on creativity and technique, Brandon will improve their understanding of rhythm and the ability to perform in many styles of music by sharing his 20+ years of composition and performance experience.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Ezekiel-Lords
Dick Cady (he/him)
In 1978 Dick Cady attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, in the 2-year diploma program for writing and arranging. On returning to Seattle in the mid 80's, he studied with the storied jazz piano teacher Jerome Grey for 3 years. Since the late 90's he has attended many of the Golandsky Institute summer seminars, first at Williams College and later at Princeton, and studied with many of the staff including John Bloomfield and Kendall Feeney. In 2004 he began studying with Charlie Banacos for several years.
He was a regular on the Seattle music scene for many years doing club dates with his own group and many other instrumentalists and singers including Ernestine Anderson and Pete Seeger. He was the music director for the Orion Street Youth Theater. Dick has been providing instruction steadily for over 25 years to all ages and levels.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @ladyerin — Use memo line: FOR DICK CADY