Academy of Music Staff

Go directly to instructors for the following: Guitar, Bass, Piano, Drums, Violin and Viola.

Kathleen Cain
Office Manager for Northwest School of Music

Nita
Office Manager for Pfluger-Rock School of Music

Todd Barth: Guitar
Teaches at Pfluger-Rock School of Music

Todd Barth is the founder of both Austin Academy of Music schools, Pfluger-Rock School of Music and Northwest School of Music. He is a graduate of the University of Texas and the Guitar Institute of Technology (G.I.T.) in Hollywood, California.

Todd has been playing for 33 years and teaching for 26 years. He has played lead guitar for Rick Trevino, The Debonaires, Texas Unlimited Band, Mark Winston Kirk, The House band at Coupland Dance Hall and Six Sanchez. He currently plays with Allie Danielle. Todd has extensive experience as a working and recording musician performing with many top bands in Texas and California. He has performed at concerts, nightclubs, dance halls, cruise ships, Disneyland, Disneyworld, Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe. He plays regularly with the band at Riverbend Church.

Todd's demo tape was one of only three selected from over 600 monthly submissions to be profiled in Guitar Player magazine's “Spotlight on New Talent,” a column featuring hot new up-and-coming players. He was also featured in the “Resume” column of Guitar for the Practicing Musician and in the “Hometown Heroes” column of Guitar World magazine. Todd was chosen by audition to play with the University of Texas Jazz Lab Band and the Sam Houston State University Big Band.

Todd has designed a well-rounded guitar curriculum and uses an extensive checklist to track each student's progress. He also incorporates a large collection of recorded music, hand picked for its relevance to guitar instruction, into his lessons. Todd has worked as a teacher at nine different music stores, Sam Houston State University and at the Guitar Institute of Technology. Todd is also the author of a nationally distributed instructional DVD/Video and two CD/Books. His latest CD/book, Country Licks, is available from Carl Fischer music.

Scott Cain: Guitar
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Scott Cain is the co-founder of Northwest School of Music. He has been actively teaching guitar lessons in Texas since 1978, and has been teaching music in Austin, Texas since 1981. He is well versed in the pedagogy of Classical, Jazz, Rock, Funk, Rhythm and Blues, Country, Finger Picking, and Pop Styles.

Scott is a graduate of the University of North Texas State with a degree in Performance of Guitar, and he has won awards for both teaching and performance. Scott is also a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Honor Society. Many of Scott’s students have won scholarships and honors as well, and a number of them are now professional performers and teachers in the Central Texas area.

As an instructor, Scott was given the “Teaching Excellence Award” by Austin Community College in August of 2001, and has been actively teaching music courses at A.C.C. since 1986 and at St. Stephens Episcopal School since 1984. He has also been a guest lecturer at Texas State University, and a faculty member at Temple Junior College.

In addition, Scott has been asked to develop guitar programs at other community and junior colleges in Texas, along with Texas State University in San Marcos.

As a performer, Scott was chosen by audition to perform for Andre Segovia in Madrid, Spain during the summer of 1979. He received Austin Chronicle awards for best new band and best lounge act as a member of Casino Royal. Additionally, Scott has performed with Grammy Award winners Shirley Jones and Floyd Domino, The Austin Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Country artists Frenchy Burke, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Beth Williams, and Austin Chronicle Hall of Fame Janet Lynn, jazz artists Mady Kaye, Mike Mordecai, Tony Campise, Kelly Grey, The Nash Hernandez Orchestra, and many others. Scott is currently performing with Rhythm and Blues/Funk/Jazz vocalist and trumpeter, Bryan Thyme (www.TheGrooveMachine.com), and can be seen as a frequent performer and featured soloist at Riverbend Church.

Matt Muehling: Guitar and Bass
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Matt Muehling began playing music at the age of 9, when he joined his elementary school orchestra on viola. He was actually too small to play a full size viola, so he had to play a violin strung with viola strings. He continued to play in orchestra through 8th grade and had begun to take private lessons, when he decided to stop playing viola at age 14. That summer in 1995, he realized that he felt empty inside without an instrument to play, so he took up guitar. He played guitar all through high school as a hobby, and didn't really take it seriously until his first year of college. In 2002, Matt moved to Denton to pursue a Jazz Guitar performance degree from the University of North Texas. While in Denton, he studied classical guitar with Yoban Quijano and Jazz with Terry Henkins, Richard McClure, and Department Head Fred Hamilton. He performed in various UNT guitar ensembles such as the L5 and the Super 400, and in the 8 o'clock Lab Band, as well as locally in the Dallas/Denton/Ft. Worth areas; playing a variety of music from Jazz to Rock to Old School Blues and Funk. He also began teaching at the Southlake music academy. Matt graduated in 2007 and moved to Austin to further pursue his music career. He currently performs in various vocal and instrumental jazz settings around Austin, and has been given the opportunity to continue teaching here at Northwest.

Carlos Ufret: Guitar
Teaches at Pfluger-Rock School of Music

Carlos E. Ufret-Vincenty was born in 1977 in Humacao, Puerto Rico. He was inspired to pursue music as a career from an early age. During his growing-up years, he enjoyed listening to his father’s classical records, to rock artists and folk artists, as well as the traditional music from Puerto Rico.

At age 17, Carlos entered the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music (CMPR). He graduated with honors in December 1998 with a Bachelors degree in music, receiving the string department medal. From 1998 through July 2000, Carlos taught guitar lessons at the CMPR's Extension Program. In 2000, he entered the guitar program at the Indiana University (IU) School of Music in Bloomington, IN, and received his Master of Music degree in May 2003. During his years of study there, Carlos served as an associate instructor of guitar for IU's guitar department, teaching guitar classes and lessons at all levels, including teaching undergraduate classical guitar majors and students minoring in jazz.

Throughout his years of study, Carlos has been chosen to play in master classes for some of the most distinguished names in the classical guitar world, including Pepe Romero, Manuel Barrueco, William Kanengiser, Andrew York, and Richard Savino. Carlos has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Roberto I. Ferdman Award from Pro-Arte Musical de Puerto Rico, the Olympia Barbera scholarship at Indiana University, as well as scholarships to attend the National Guitar Summer Workshop and The Domaine Forget Summer Academy in Québec, Canada.

At Pfluger-Rock, Carlos teaches his students both note-reading and tablature. His greatest satisfaction in teaching comes from witnessing a student’s progress.

In his spare time, Carlos likes to read, hike, cook, and watch movies.

Douglas Marcis: Guitar
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Douglas Marcis has been studying and performing guitar for 17 years. Since 1995, Douglas has been teaching guitar to hundreds of students in all age groups. During this time, Douglas has developed fun and rewarding methods to learning the instrument. Douglas holds a bachelors in classical guitar from Lambuth University. While in Tennessee, Douglas acted as adjunct faculty for both Lambuth and Union University teaching beginning and classical guitar. Douglas uses teaching methods that incorporate a solid foundation of music theory, sight-reading, performance, composing, and ear training skills.

Years of Tennessee tutelage have influenced Doug’s musicianship to incorporate a wide expanse of stylistic variety. Doug has a Bachelor of Arts degree from which he studied under Tom Price, a former pupil of renowned artist/teacher John Johns. During these scholastic years, Doug performed in the university’s classical guitar ensemble, jazz band, and show choir. After college, Doug’s teaching and performing exposed him to meet and play with music legends Carl Perkins, Honeyboy Edwards, and Roubaix (Al Green’s band leader). These experiences along with an innumerable amount of regional club gigs melded the delta blues sound into Doug’s repertoire. Next, after attending a renaissance festival, Doug became inspired by the Celtic sounds, and began studying Celtic folk melodies. Now in Austin, Doug is performing and teaching his classical-country-blues-ragtime-Celtic mix.

Rob Bentley: Guitar
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Rob Bentley graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music and later began a Masters degree at the University of North Texas in jazz studies. He has studied with such notable teachers as, Mick Goodrick, Charlie Banacos, and Fred Hamilton, and has attended seminars with John Scofield, Mike Stern, and Pat Martino. Rob has performed in 26 states and six European countries, having played in rock bands, country bands, rhythm and blues bands, eighteen piece big bands, jazz combos and duos. Currently, he performs regularly throughout Texas in several different bands and styles.

Rob hopes to teach each student in manner that provides a well rounded musical foundation while catering to the interests of each individual student. Rob has been teaching professionally for the last twelve years.

Anthony (AJ) Inzana: Guitar
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

AJ has been a guitar player for over 19 years and teaching lessons to all abilities and ages for the last seven years. His first musical influence was listening to guitar masters including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Since then AJ has played guitar in a variety of styles. AJ’s love for the blues has been the core for his musical foundation. He has also developed and appreciation for other styles including R& B, Soul and Jazz.
Starting his college career at Finger Lakes Community College he studied under Mr. Robert Pickard. Under his guidance AJ grew to be a serious musician becoming dedicated to his craft. While at FLCC, AJ was a member of a pop/rock/R&B band where he learned musicianship in an ensemble setting. His lessons reflect these teachings, and emphasize aural techniques to facilitate group playing.

At New York State University at Fredonia, AJ studied under Mr. James Piorkowski, who is a world renowned classical guitar player/composer and one of the originators of the Buffalo Guitar Quartet. Under Mr. Piorkowski, AJ developed self-discipline in all forms of musicianship. Mr. Piorkowski fostered in AJ and ability to interpret and feel “ownership” of the music, a skill AJ also emphasizes with his students.

Also, AJ has studied with Dr. Kenneth Mayer (a graduate of Eastman School of Music). Through the lessons with Dr. Mayer, AJ came to appreciate the integrity of classical guitar while enjoying the musical experience.

In addition to academic playing, AJ was a member of the Indie Rock group “South Central.” This group played all of upstate New York. AJ has also been a member of MT Roads, a pop rock group in Western New York. He also has also played with multiple Contemporary Christian groups, including Reigns of Devotion and his church praise band.

AJ’s lessons emphasize proper technique and focus on developing written and aural musicianship. He encourages his students to explore a variety of styles, including jazz, blues, pop, classical and rock, while tailoring his lessons to meet each student’s needs.

Nathan Campbell: Guitar
Teaches at Northwest and Pfluger-Rock schools of Music

Raised in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Nathan has been playing guitar and electric bass for ten years. Learning from the rock and metal greats like Nirvana, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Metallica, he started playing in his own bands in high school. As time passed, he decided to continue his musical involvement with a band called Fatback Circus and moved from Stillwater to San Antonio. He entered the School of Music at The University of Texas at San Antonio as a composition major and studied with Dr. James Balentine, Dr. David Heuser, and Mr. James Syler. He was the recipient of many musical and academic scholarships, including the Reed Holmes Composition Award, Nathaniel Stokes Memorial Scholarship, Great Conversation Honors Scholarship, a UTSA Grant, Seldon Leavell Scholarship, Friends of Music Scholarship, and the Department of Music Academic Achievement Award (awarded to one senior for outstanding academic achievement). He received first place in the College of Liberal and Fine Arts Research Competition with the presentation of his piece "String Quartet No.1." Nathan's education in San Antonio helped him broaden his musical awareness beyond rock and explore the minimalist music of Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Arvo Part. Having played bass in the Jazz Combos, he also became familiar with the jazz world. His favorite jazz composer is Charles Mingus. In order to graduate from the Honors College at UTSA, Nathan composed a work for full orchestra called "Concerto for Electric Guitar and Orchestra" as his Honors Thesis project. The first movement was performed at his Senior Recital with the Eugene Dowdy, Dean of the Music Department, conducting.

Classical guitar has been of big part of Nathan's education. He has played for the UTSA Guitar Ensemble and performed many concerts of his favorite composers, like Heitor Villa Lobos, Silvius Leopold Weiss, and Fernando Sor. He studied with Mr. Micheal Richter, Dr. Matt Dunne and Dr. Matthew Hinsley.

Nathan is well versed in classical, rock, metal, pop, counterpoint, composition, song writing, and music theory and is moderately familiar with jazz and eastern music.

Mark Tokach: Guitar and Bass
Teaches at Pfluger-Rock School of Music

Mark as been teaching guitar professionally for more than 20 years. He worked at the Brook Mays Learning Center from it’s inception in 1997 until it's end in 2007. The ability to teach and perform a variety of different musical styles has given Mark the opportunity to share the different technique’s, tips and tricks he has learned with a variety of students of all different ages. He also works as a studio session player around town and produces and engineers artists in his studio. He really enjoys what he does!

David Love: Guitar
Northwest School of Music

David Love started playing guitar at age 8 after seeing Kermit the Frog playing banjo in "The Muppet Movie". He grew up in Ithaca, NY and began performing professionally at age 13. He spent 4 years studying with Guitarist, Chris Woitach. After high school he attended Berklee School of Music before graduating from Ithaca College with a B.M. in Jazz Studies in 1997 and where he studied with Jazz Guitarist Steve Brown. While at Ithaca, he performed for and with such artists as Phil Woods, John Stowell, Steve Houghton, and others. David also led his own Jazz group for 4 years, as well as putting out an album with his rock band Pet Rocks. David relocated to Austin in 1999, and has been teaching professionally since then. He currently teaches guitar and bass at St. Stephen's Episcopal School, as well as Huntington Surrey High School. He also teaches Music History through the UT continuing education program. David has played with many Austin bands and musicians including Nobody's Business, Eliza Wren, The Groovetones, Carolina, Jenny Mansfield, Philippe Vieux, Jill Louise King. He is currently the Guitarist for Austin based Blues singer Allison Thrash. The band has performed throughout Texas as well as NXNE in Toronto and several Blues festivals in Memphis. For the last seven years he has played Guitar with Award-winning Songwriter Jenny Hollub, and he plays Bass with Adam Donmoyer and the Naughty Bits. In 2002, David started his own recording studio, Love Monkey Studios. He has produced over a dozen albums for local artists including Jenny Hollub, Adam Donmoyer, Allison Thrash, Max Guiterrez, Jill Rider, The Handsome Charlies, and others. He has also worked as an arranger. In his spare time he enjoys cycling and rooting for the Mets.

Carter Arrington: Guitar
Teaches at Northwest and Pfluger-Rock Schools of Music

Carter Arrington began playing guitar at the age of 12 and studying with various teachers in the Roanoke, VA area. At the age of 15, he earned one of 25 nation-wide scholarships from Berklee College of Music in Boston for the upcoming summer guitar sessions. Previously versed in rock and metal styles, his Boston experience led him to explore more avenues of music in an intense musical environment and a decision to pursue music as a career. At 17, he attended the Atlanta Institute of Music, a vocational performance music school specializing in preparing students to become successful working musicians. Atlanta also provided a large R&B and funk music scene, and opened up Carter’s musical doors to the likes of Prince, Earth Wind and Fire, and various other fusion artists that greatly enhanced his rhythmic sensibilities. Upon graduation, he taught various courses and levels at the Atlanta Institute of Music including scales, rock performance, jazz concepts, rock styles, and odd meter performance. Carter also taught private students independently, and as an instructor for Mars Music, teaching around 35 students weekly. He currently resides in Austin and recently completed his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Carter is versed in many musical styles ranging from rock, metal, funk, R&B, jazz, fusion, Latin, and some classical and finger-style guitar. Recent experience included a European tour that included performances at the North Sea and Montreax Jazz festivals, two of the most renowned in the world, various other gigs in Germany and Switzerland, and opening for The Headhunters. He gigs regularly in the Austin area and occasionally in Lubbock, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Local gigs have included groups such as the UT AIME ensemble, Groovin’ Ground, Larry, Apostrophe, The Palm School Choir, and currently enjoys various R&B projects. Carter has been teaching guitar for 7 years.

Nick Lancaster: Guitar
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Nick Lancaster was born in Houston, Texas, and for as long as he can remember he has been fascinated with the guitar and bass. He began playing professionally at the age of 15, playing in jazz, rock, and blues groups around his home town of Lake Jackson, Texas. During his years at public school he was a member of orchestra (all region bassist) and both of his high school’s stage bands performing guitar in one, and upright bass in the other. After high school, Nick decided to further pursue his obsession with the guitar by attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. During his time there he studied guitar performance, jazz composition, music business, and even song-writing with the legendary Livingston Taylor. In May 2007, Nick was awarded his B.A. in music from Berklee. Currently Nick is performing is several Austin/San Marcos based groups. He is proficient in numerous musical genres, including: Jazz, Rock, Blues, Country, and Classical. Starting the summer session of 2008, Nick will be continuing with his musical education by pursuing a master’s degree from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. In his free time, Nick enjoys to read, swim, and go on adventures.

Shih-Yu Hwang: Guitar
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Mark Ramsey: Guitar, Piano, and Drums
Teaches at Pfluger-Rock School of Music

Mark has been an active Austin musician for 30 years and has played piano, drums or guitar with several rock, blues, jazz and country bands in central Texas including bands with Pete Denney (one of George Strait’s guitar players) and Mark Winston Kirk. Mark studied percussion with George Frock, head of percussion at UT Austin, while still in high school. He then went on to study Music Theory and Composition at UT Austin as a piano principle. As a result, Mark is able to offer both classical and contemporary improvisational instruction on piano.

Mark has been teaching piano and drums in Austin since 1989 and began offering guitar instruction in 2000. Mark also taught history at the secondary level and brings to music instruction a well-developed teaching ability, a lot of patience, and a love of teaching.

Mark has three children. He currently leads worship and coordinates the music program at Red River Church in Austin.

Matt Brooks: Guitar and Electric Bass
Teaches at Pfluger-Rock School of Music

Matt has been playing and studying music his entire life. He started learning drums and piano at age five, guitar at age six, and upright bass at age ten. He has been in steady working bands since the age of twelve, and has been teaching guitar full time since 1987. Matt has been one of Pfluger-Rock’s busiest teachers for over five years.

Matt studied at The University of Northern Iowa, Northwestern College, and Bemidji State University, with a dual major in Art and Music.

As a live performer, he has played everywhere from weddings to nursing homes to 60,000 seat festivals. He has even played at the top of the World Trade Center! Along the way, he’s shared the stage with dozens of acts including Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Brooks and Dunn, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, and the Allman Brothers.

For four years, he was a member of an internationally touring Grand Ol' Opry band, backing artists such as Ray Price, Charlie Louvin, Del Reeves, and Tommy Cash. As a member of the Red Stallion Band, he was featured on the national video release ‘Johnny Counterfit Live’.

Matt was also a staff composer and musician at Metro Studios, in Iowa. He has played or added vocals to over 150 TV and radio commercials – both regional and national – as well as dozens of commercial and industrial films, winning several awards for original composition. His music can even be heard in a display at the Smithsonian institute!

As staff guitarist and Asst. Musical Director for Theatre Cedar Rapids, he played both on and off stage roles. One of the largest community theatres in the country, TCR sold out two seasons a year with shows including ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, ‘Beehive’, and the Who’s ‘Tommy’. The ‘Bakers Dozen Players’ of Lockhart, Texas included Matt in their 2004 cast, and he was featured in ‘Pump Boys and Dinettes’ as well as several variety productions.

After relocating to Texas six years ago, he immersed himself in the Traditional Country scene in Austin, and can be seen performing regularly at places like Gruene Hall, the Broken Spoke, and Ginny’s Little Longhorn. He’s also been lucky enough to play with or open for Jimmie Vaughan, The Derailers, Jerry Jeff Walker, Corey Morrow, Reckless Kelly, The Flatlanders, Dane Sterling, Sunny Sweeney, Dean Seltzer and his own band Hillbilly Zen.

Well versed in all decades of Country, Blues, and Rock, Matt prefers beginning and intermediate students, aged 13 and above, putting an emphasis on goals, motivation and practical application. Instruction on home recording and songwriting, as well as custom made charts and transcriptions are also made available to his students. Matt has a tablature library with over 10,000 songs in published formats, a CD collection of 6000 discs (that’s 70,000 mp3s!), and he utilizes the latest in audio editing and tablature writing software.

Russell Shores: Bass
Teaches at Pfluger-Rock School of Music

Russell earned a Bachelor of Music Degree from Central University of New York, N.Y. He is a Peavey Artist Endorser. Mr. Shores has performed with Diana Ross, Julian Lennon, Elliot Fikes, Lucid Dream, Soul Serenade, The Central University Symphony and Jazz Band, the ACC Jazz Band, SWT State Symphony, The Mahor Burkes Band, and The Steve O’Neill Band. Russell has taught privately for sixteen years and has been at Pfluger-Rock since it opened seven years ago.

Dr. Yu-Hsuan Liao: Piano
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

A native of Taipei, Taiwan, Yu-Hsuan Liao is a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she received the Doctoral of Musical Arts in piano performance under Professor Danielle Martin, Dr. Dariusz Pawlas, and Professor Gregory Allen. After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Tung-Hai University, Taichung, Taiwan, in 1999, she pursued the Masters degree in piano performance the University of Texas at Austin where she studied with Professor Danielle Martin. Ms. Liao is active as a soloist, collaborative pianist and teacher since her college years. In the summer of 2007, she joined Ballet Austin as a piano accompanist for various ballet classes. Her education and experience have given her a unique view on teaching piano, and she loves to share the joy of music with students of all ages, levels and abilities. She encourages students to be creative and adds ear training and sight reading for students to extend their musical abilities.

Michael Hegedus: Piano
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Michael Hegedus is a composer and pianist of both classical and jazz idioms. He holds an MM in music composition from Florida State University and a BA in music from the College of William and Mary. Michael has composed in many different styles and media, and his works have been performed around the United States. An aspiring scholar of Chinese music, Michael has also presented conference papers and performed in a Chinese music ensemble.

Michael is an accompanist for Dancers Workshop in Austin and Oak Grove Presbyterian Church in Andice. Some current composition projects include a spoken word collaboration and a video series for the University of Texas. He plans to return to school to pursue a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology.

Christie Jackel: Piano
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Christy began playing piano at age six. After studying with Pierrette Mouledous in Dallas, she moved to Austin to study with Nancy Garrett at The University of Texas, where she earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. In addition to piano performance, her coursework emphasized composition and music theory. Since her graduation, she has taught piano and music theory privately, has worked in the banking field and has also taught special education for Round Rock ISD. She also enjoys accompanying vocalists and other instrumentalists. Christy has lived in Austin for many years and has two teenage children. She is committed 0D

Ekaterina Tangarova: Piano
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Ekaterina Tangarova is a native of Sofia, Bulgaria. She started playing piano at the age of five with her mother who was her first teacher. After finishing the Sofia Secondary School of Music, Ekaterina was admitted to the State Academy of Music “Pancho Vladiguerov” in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she earned her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees, studying with one of the most extraordinary pianist’s in the European Pianist tradition, Professor Anton Dikov. In 1991, Ekaterina was awarded First and Grand prize on the National Piano Duets Competition, and she earned a Diploma and Fourth prize on the “Lizt-Bartok” Piano Competition, in Sofia, Bulgaria. After four years, in 1995, she won the National Competition for Pianists “P. Vladiquerov” in Shoumen, Bulgaria. Her appearances as a soloist were in 1995-1996 with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Rousse and Varna, performing F. Lizt, First Piano Concerto, and then in 1997 with The Symphony Orchestra of the State Academy of Music performing Beethoven’s 4th Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. After her graduation, Ekaterina moved with her family to Monterrey, Mexico. As a piano teacher and accompanist, she worked in the Superior School of Music and Dance in Monterrey, The University of Monterrey, and The Liseo de MTY. During her seven years living and working in Mexico, Ekaterina had numerous chamber music performances in the Spring and Fall Festivals of Monterrey in 1999, 2001, and 2002, playing a wide range in repertoire and diverse styles of music. In September 2005, Ekaterina and her family moved to Austin, Texas. Since then, she dedicates her time to teaching piano, accompanying several instrumentalists at the University of Texas, and working as a pianist for St. Tomas More Choir. Ekaterina’s teaching style is based on the classical traditions that incorporate piano technique, music theory, and musicality while developing each student’s talents and joys of music. Ekaterina is married to Vanguel Tangarov, a Principal Clarinetist with the Austin Lyric Opera, and they have two daughters, Maria and Illiana.

Jacob Hines: Piano
Teaches at Pfluger-Rock School of Music

Jacob Hines completed his bachelor’s degree in piano performance at Elizabethtown College (Pennsylvania) in 2000. In addition to receiving several music scholarships, he was the winner of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers’ Association collegiate state level piano competition in 1998. Jacob completed a master’s degree in piano pedagogy from The University of Texas at Austin in 2002. He was awarded a Presidential Scholarship in Fine Arts and was the winner of the Janice K. Hodges Collegiate Level Contemporary Piano Competition in 2004. Mr. Hines was recently featured on the Monday Concert Series of faculty and guests at Elizabethtown College. He was the pianist for Rosedale Baptist Church, Ridgetop Baptist Church, and is currently teaching piano and nearing completion of a doctorate in musical arts from The University of Texas.

Michele Garcia: Piano
Teaches at Pfluger-Rock School of Music

Michele holds a BA degree from Azusa Pacific University with an emphasis on piano performance, composition, and music education. While classically trained, Michele is also fluent in other styles of music, including pop, jazz, rock, and country. She has played on albums with Linda Elias and Peter Shambrook, as well as performing with cover bands, vocalists, and instrumentalists at a wide variety of venues. Her credits includes having been a music director and orchestrator for musical productions such as Annie Warbucks, Footloose, Les Miserables, Oklahoma, Evita, Suessical, Cats, and work as a keyboardist, arranger and music transcriber for several churches. Michele taught at music schools and retail music stores for 7 years in California, before coming to Pfluger-Rock.

Lisa Werst: Piano, Voice, Flute and Clarinet
Teaches at Northwest and Pfluger-Rock Schools of Music

Lisa Werst has a wide variety of musical talent and experience. She decided at the age of five that she wanted to pursue music after attending a pep rally and watching the school band play. She began this pursuit by starting piano lessons at age seven, and flute lessons at age eleven. Her talent and hard work earned her a “First Division” award as a flute player in the solo UIL All-State Competition in her Texas high school.

Lisa received a full music scholarship to college. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in music education from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas in May of 1996, and received her Texas classroom teacher certification in 1999. She has experience as an elementary school music teacher, a junior high beginner band instructor and jazz band director, as well as a junior high music appreciation class teacher. She was a high school band director for the marching band, the concert band, and the jazz band. Lisa has been an accompanist for UIL Solo and Ensemble Competitions. She has been a private instructor for piano, flute, saxophone, trombone and clarinet.

Other accomplishments of Lisa’s include being a singer for the long-running “Passion Play” in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and being a pianist and choir member over the years for a number of churches. Lisa has also been the composer and arranger of various styles of music.

Lisa’s favorite songs to play on the piano are the “William Tell Overture” and tunes from the movie “The Sound of Music.” Her future plans include pursuing a Master’s degree in composition, arranging and digital recording. During her spare time Lisa enjoys reading, hiking, and photography, as well as playing and listening to all styles of music.

Christopher Stelly: Drums
Teaches at Northwest and Pfluger-Rock Schools of Music

Chris has played drums since his early school days in New Orleans, Louisiana. During that time, he participated as a percussionist with the school orchestra and with a jazz/rock ensemble. He was also the drum captain of his high school marching band snare drum line. Chris came to Texas and made Austin his home while attending the University of Texas, where he earned an associate degree in performance percussion. During his college years, Chris was a private instructor for piano and guitar. He also participated in various big band, rock, jazz, Latin, and classical ensembles during his college years.

Chris is a professional percussionist with more than ten years of experience as a performing musician, and he has toured Texas with various artists including The Handsome Charlies, Gina Lee and Her Texas Three, Amy Bolbrook, The McKay Brothers, Ben Bell and the Triggermen, and the Texas Swing Demons to name a few. Before coming to the Academy, Chris developed the curriculum for private and group classes at a music school in south Austin where he served as a primary percussion instructor.

Brian Smith: Drums
Teaches at Northwest and Pfluger-Rock Schools of Music

Brian has been obsessed with drums since the age of 10, and is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA where he majored in Music Business/Management and studied drum set as his principal instrument. At Berklee, Brian studied jazz and Latin drumming with John Ramsey and Casey Scheuerell, among other teachers. He enjoys playing a variety of styles including jazz, latin, country, rock, funk and blues. Brian started playing drums at an early age and continues to enjoy playing and teaching drum set to players at all levels. He played with various jazz ensembles at Berklee and played with his own band around New England and the Southeast.

Brian is a lifetime learner. He has experience performing professionally as both a drummer and guitarist. His enthusiastic teaching style encourages his students to stretch their musical boundaries, while maintaining an emphasis on fundamentals and technique. Brian has spent the better part of the last ten years recording and performing string band music with the Two High String Band.

In his spare time, Brian enjoys spending time with friends and his dog, Stella. He’s a food enthusiast and enjoys culinary experiments in his own kitchen.

Scott Jackson: Violin and Viola
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Scott Jackson began violin studies at the age of 6 under Mary Straub in his home town of Las Vegas. He has attended many summer festivals including the Meadowmount School of Music, Indiana University’s String Institute, and the Festival Institute located in Round Top, Texas. Scott has won several competitions in his home state of Nevada, as well as receiving the first alternate designation at the regional MTNA competition. He has soloed with the Las Vegas Philharmonic for their annual children concert series as well as appearing with various smaller local orchestras. Scott is currently finishing up his 4th year at the University of Texas with violin teacher Brian Lewis towards a degree in violin performance, and plans to continue on with his Masters.

Melina Georgieva: Violin
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

Melina Georgieva is a native from Burgas, Bulgaria and began playing violin at the age of 7 with Stefan Kantchev in her hometown. At 10, she was admitted to the National Secondary School of Music and Stage Art with Prof. Pantcho Vladigerove, in Burgas. During her school years, Melina achieved great progress as a performer and artist. She performed in various concerts and was the winner of numerous prestigious prizes in many significant musical forms – including, third prize at the Competition for the Best Performance of German musical works in 1991, first prize at the Competition for Best Performance of Bulgarian musical works in 1988, and second prize in the same competition in 1990. Following, Melina continued to take charge of her professional and musical education by enrolling in the Academy of Music, Dancing, Pictorial and Plastic Arts of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Musical Pedagogy and Violin Performance, studying with Alexander Spirov. During these years, she participated in a variety of symphonies, chamber orchestras, and ensembles, as well as, teaching violin. Since her graduation, Melina has performed in productions throughout France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Italy, Austria, Lebanon, Japan, and the USA. Currently, Milena plays with the Waco Symphony Orchestra, and can be seen in various musical productions throughout central Texas in Georgetown and Austin, as well as, teaching at the Northwest School of Music.

York Shaw: Violin
Teaches at Northwest School of Music

York Shaw began studying the violin in Plano, Texas at the age of 8, and is now a scholarship student at the University of Texas at Austin. He has had the privilege of studying with Victor Rupert, Ronald Neal, Sachiko Mori, Jan Sloman, and is currently a senior in the studio of Brian Lewis. York enjoys playing classically in all kinds of genres, which include solo, chamber, and orchestral performances. He has attended a few international music festivals in the past summers. York considers teaching to be one of his favorite musical activities; he enjoys teaching others how to play from his own experience, as well as sharing his passion for music. After his undergraduate studies, he plans on pursuing a violin performance degree in Graduate School.

Sarah Nguyen: Kindermusik

Sarah's love of music was instilled in her at a very young age by her mother. Sarah’s mother instilled this musical appreciation through singing, playing song tapes, and encouraging Sarah to stick with piano and violin lessons. At age 17, Sarah lost her mother after a 12-year battle with cancer, but her love for music remains a huge influence in Sarah’s life. Sarah’s goal in teaching Kindermusik is to share that musical love not only with her own one-year-old daughter, but also with other families, and to encourage the same bonding that she experienced, which comes through mutual musical experiences between parents and young children.

Kindermusik stands out from other programs because of its capacity for meeting the needs of children on all levels in a fun and age-appropriate way. Music has been proven to stimulate the developing brain in every area - physically, emotionally, socially, and cognitively, especially for those who have special developmental needs. Sarah believes that her early involvement with music contributed greatly to her academic successes, including the completion of a chemical engineering degree from the University of Texas. The benefits that she is reaping, and which she hopes that you and your children will share, are enormous! Come and explore the joy of music with Sarah!