Claire Palmer
Claire Palmer is a dynamic singer/songwriter from Ellington, Connecticut. Her musical upbringing began in a family band, and later grew to her participation in the Connecticut Children's Chorus Primi Voci, playing various instruments throughout high school, performing original music with her own band, attending Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, and working as a Cantor for Saint John’s Episcopal Church. Her diverse experiences cemented a communal approach to both music making and instruction.
She graduated summa cum laude from Rider University with a BA in Music Production, and throughout her undergraduate studies, she frequently worked with musicians across genres in the pursuit of storytelling. From folk, blues, r&b, jazz, pop, rock, punk, indie, etc., Claire believes that music truly is the universal language.
She worked as an Assistant Music Director at Camp Calumet in Freedom, NH, interned at Lakehouse Recording Studios in Asbury Park, NJ, sang at jazz jams in Paris, produced over 50 jingles for 107.7 The Bronc WRRC, and even sold a song!
In 2025 she moved to Seattle, WA to connect with more musicians, and learn as much as she can through teaching, writing, and living new musical experiences. Claire believes that we are all meaning makers, and that art is our most valuable tool. As an instructor, she hopes to instill in her students new avenues to channel their self expression through the transformative practice of creating and learning music.
Luke Houglum
Luke Ragnar Houglum is a versatile musician and veteran of the Seattle music scene, bringing an eclectic background in bass, guitar, piano, trombone, voice, and musical theater—along with extensive professional experience in live performance, studio recording, event production, and music directing.
Luke is a member of popular Seattle rock band Smokey Brights, who have been performing for more than a decade. Together the band has toured extensively around the United States and Europe. With Luke on bass and harmony vocals, the band has developed sought-after, signature high-energy live shows, compelling and catchy songwriting, and a dynamic, expansive sound.
Beyond performing and recording music, he serves as Music Director for Artist Home’s Annual New Year’s Eve Party (for a dozen years and counting!), regularly stage manages for NW Folklife, Seattle’s Waterfront Park, Nordstrom, and Google, and has served in a variety of event production roles for organizations such as Bumbershoot, Seattle PrideFest, Capitol Hill Block Party, Cascade PBS, Geekwire, NW Tea Festival, and the Downtown Seattle Association.
As an educator, Luke combines song-focused learning with strong technical foundations, equipping students of all ages and abilities with the tools they need for a lifetime of music-making. Passionate about expanding access to the arts, he is committed to fostering an encouraging, exploratory environment where learners of all backgrounds can build skills, repertoire, confidence, and self-expression.
Daniel Sanchez
Dr. Danny Sanchez is a violinist with over 20 years of experience performing in chamber and orchestral ensembles. He is currently a violinist in multiple community orchestras around Seattle, primarily the Solstice Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as a violin coach for Seattle Public Schools where he leads 1st and 2nd violin sectionals for all levels of high school orchestra and provides individual lessons for violinists from a diverse range of backgrounds. Previous musical engagements include the Penn Symphony Orchestra at the University of Pennsylvania, The University of Texas University Orchestra, and various chamber ensembles.
Danny holds a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering, both from The University of Texas at Austin, where he conducted novel research on the nanoscale physics of ultrathin materials. He leverages his expertise in physical science to build a student's intuition of why and how things work when playing their instruments, with topics including vibrations in tuning and resonance, the role of friction in bowing the violin, and the materials science involved in violin construction. In lessons, Danny strives to meet students where they are in their performance capabilities through understanding how each student conceptualizes and describes their own playing and technique. From there, Danny aims to add further detail and nuance to increase their technical capability and playing confidence.
Lauren McDonough (she/they)
Lauren is a 20 year old professional musician who is currently working on her associates degree for vocal performance at Shoreline Community College.
After this year she will complete a Bachelor’s in music education, and pursue a career as an elementary school music teacher.
Lauren has always been moved beyond words by music, and is thrilled to share that joy with her students.
She’s focused on positive self talk, feeling music through your body, and truly connecting to the songs you’re singing. She believes children can do anything with encouragement and self love.
Lauren will work with you on pieces that you feel confident singing. Learning to feel comfortable in your body and voice is her top priority!
Dan Bonsignore (he/him)
Dan is a multi-instrumentalist from New York City. He relocated to the Seattle area back in 2016 to raise his 2 children in his wife’s hometown. Dan started playing guitar when he was 12 years old, eager to start a punk band with friends. While his earlier years as a musician involved mostly stringed instruments (Guitar, Bass, Ukelele), Dan has spent the last 14 years focusing solely on drums. He has played in bands consistently in the NYC local/DIY scene, hosted Open Mics, and has toured around the Northeast as well. Currently Dan is drumming in the Seattle-based 2-piece “Garage Folk” band BIRD BONES.
Having spent the last 20+ years working in the culinary field, Dan has now shifted his focus/career and is devoting his time to music education and live performance.
Dan’s goal as a teacher is to inspire and cultivate a passion for music with his students. He firmly believes that learning music should be a fun, engaging, and encouraging experience. As a parent he understands the needs of young learners and the importance of creating a safe and supportive learning environment.
Bjørn Watkins (they/them)
Bjørn started writing music and performing with bands when they were 15 at local teen centers and all age venues, largely thanks to the Vera Project. After high school they interned at a local recording studio (fastback recording studios) and have been pursuing music ever since.
They perform in the pnw monthly with several groups, toured the west coast with Catch Rabbit, and to date have composed for films that have gone on to be shown at the historic TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, the Film Academy Museum in LA, and the Smithsonian Museum of the American Latino in DC.
Bjørn also spent 5 years working as a paraeducator and deeply values making music education accessible to all neurotypes and learning styles.
Stephanie Olinger (she/her)
Stephanie is a guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer who lives in West Seattle. Stephanie began studying classical and playing piano in elementary school and started playing guitar in college, when she also began busking and playing in bands. She is active in the Seattle music scene with her band Overripe, playing indie rock music infused with emo and grunge influence. Her writing approach is based around considering the whole band, with guitar and bass working together to establish harmonic movement while leaving space for lyricism. In addition to her musical experience, Stephanie’s background includes extensive study of geophysics, which was the focus of her undergraduate and graduate education. Her scientific experience manifests in her love of effects and production, and she is endlessly fascinated by how mathematical tools like filtering are integral to scientific data analysis and music production.
Stephanie teaches guitar, music production in logic, piano, and bass. Her approach emphasizes melodic thinking that follows the ear, with music theory acting as an important tool to communicate and describe music but not as a template or rulebook. She believes that jamming is an integral part of learning to play music, and that becoming comfortable with improvisation and exploration helps form the basis of successfully playing with other musicians. In her teaching, she aims to help students grow as musicians and achieve their goals, whether they be on the stage or in the studio, while always centering whichever aspects of music bring a particular student joy. Stephanie is particularly enthusiastic to teach students who want to express themselves by writing their own music.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @stephstrums
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
Kyle McAllister (he/him)
Born and raised in the Seattle area, Kyle is a classically trained trumpet player and the lead vocalist of the acclaimed local Indie band, Apology Wars. He was born into a musical family and inspired to pursue music by his grandpa, who was a jazz music teacher in Kirkland for 40 years. Kyle started learning trumpet in 5th grade. In college, he played first trumpet in Western Washington University’s 2:00 Jazz Band under Chuck Israels of the Bill Evans trio, and graduated with a multidisciplinary studies degree with a focus in Music Theory and History. Since then, he has sung the national anthem at a Mariners game, performed and recorded with multiple bands, and noodled through Kurt Cobain’s amp while recording with legendary producer Jack Endino at Soundhouse studio. His music has been featured on radio stations KEXP, 107.7 The End, and KISW, and in musical publications such as American Songwriter and Ballard Vox.
As a teacher, Kyle aspires to reinforce his students’ creativity and curiosity in a non-judgmental space tailored to each student’s needs. As a neurodivergent person with ADHD and Tourette’s Syndrome (the twitchy kind, not the sweary kind), he has found music to be an unparalleled therapeutic tool, both for stress relief and a tool for creative expression. Kyle excels at teaching musical fundamentals, music theory, ear training techniques, sight reading, musical literacy, songwriting, lyric writing, and is skilled at diagnosing gaps in musical knowledge and technique.
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
Ricky Hoyos (he/him)
Ricky Hoyos was born in Seattle, but moved to Naples, Florida at a young age. Ricky started playing music at the age of 14, inspired equally by Metallica and his cousin’s local band Vega Under Fire. Music education opened his mind to all different genres, with a particular emphasis on classic rock and metal, as he took drum and guitar lessons, joined his school drumline, and attended any music-based after school programs he could find.
After graduating high school, he sought any chance to perform around Naples, particularly as a guitarist. He played in cover bands, and worked as the lead guitarist at multiple churches. When he began teaching guitar and drums at the YMCA, he discovered that his passion for music extended to a passion for teaching music to others.
Ricky enjoys teaching basic theory, technique, songwriting, and tips and tricks he likes to do on his instrument. He strongly believes in the importance of keeping lessons engaging and fun, so that students are inspired to continue playing their instrument.
In 2018, Ricky moved back to Seattle to pursue his dream of being part of the historic local music scene. In 2019, he formed a band called Tio Nacho’s House, and the band released their first EP “Here’s to You” in 2022. He and the band play venues all around Seattle, and he’s so excited to fill his life with music through playing live, recording, and teaching the next generation of musicians here at Mode.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Ricky-Hoyos