James Hummel

With influences such as Bob Dylan, Warren Zevon, and Joe Strummer, James is an active solo performer and songwriter in the London area.  He is currently recording in Montreal and has maintained a very active teaching studio for the past six years. James has a unique sound and can be heard frequently preforming at local venues.

http://jameshummel.com

Dan Mills

Dan has been an active guitarist in everything from jazz to military bands for the last 11 years.  He has taught guitar in the music program at Kincardine District Secondary School as well as been keenly involved in the Kincardine Summer Music Festival for the past 10 years.  Dan is currently enrolled in the Music Industry Arts Program at Fanshawe College and has maintained a vibrant studio for the past four years.

Erik Nielsen

Erik has a keen interest in recording/engineering and has brought his over 10 years of performance experience forward to enhance his teaching for the past 8 years.  Erik’s main goal is to ensure that he keeps his lessons fun while he instructs and engages a roster of committed students from all age groups.

Matthew Martin

Matthew began playing the electric guitar at the age of 15 after falling in love with rock and metal music. Seeking further challenges, he began playing classical guitar at 16.  Over the next three years he gained his grade 8 Royal Conservatory guitar, grade 6 Conservatory Canada piano, and successfully auditioned at four University Music programs, eventually deciding to attend the University of Western Ontario.  During this time he also played guitar and bass in several ensembles.  Matthew is hoping to pursue his Bachelors in Education after completing his music degree.

Matt McIntosh

Matt has been playing guitar since he was 10 years old.  Matt has had many different teachers including Ken Archer, Sean Martin and Scott Szeryk.  He began teaching in 2004, six days a week, at a local music school in his hometown. Over the years he has been involved in many different bands and musical projects, writing and recording original music and performing all across Canada, from Vancouver to Prince Edward Island.

Derek Babinan

Derek has been teaching drums for 18 years, he has studied with the likes of Peter Erskine and Kenny Aronoff drawing huge influences from them and their playing styles. He has toured in the mid 90's with several acts and currently is playing with country star Tracy Kennedy, he also is fronting his own band, The Dicky Swift Band.

Matthew Frewen

Matthew Frewen is currently pursuing his Bachelor Of Music at the University of Western Ontario in his fourth year specializing in Music Education. Matt is currently studying percussion with Dr. Jill Ball and has studied with Bob Hughes (former UWO professor), and Renato Belusic. Matt has experience playing drums in a variety of ensembles from musical theatre productions, orchestras, rock bands, and as a session recording drummer. Matt is apart of the UWO Percussion Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and plays drums Friday nights at the Wits End Pub as apart of a rock band. Matt has experience with several other instruments including: trumpet, clarinet, piano, and guitar. He hopes to continue to pursue music education as well as sound engineering in the future.

Joseph Greulich

Joseph Greulich was born in London, Ontario, and started playing percussion at age 14.  He is a graduate of the University of Windsor, where he studied percussion with Dr. Nicholas Papador and Tim Francom.  He has played with various bands, ensembles, and orchestras; some of which include The London Encore Concert Band, Windsor Youth Orchestra, and the Windsor Community Orchestra.  Joe has had the opportunity to perform in the Windsor Canadian New Music Festival for 5 years.  Additionally he has performed at the Barbara Perry Foundation benefit concert, Ontario Day of Percussion, and as a soloist in Windsor Community Orchestra’s Concerto Showcase concert.  Joe has received the Percy Beneteau Memorial Bursary Award twice, for outstanding performance ability, while at the University of Windsor.

Most recently Joseph performed with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada for their summer season in 2011, and has also performed with the Oakville Masterworks Orchestra, London community Orchestra, and the International Symphony Orchestra in Southern Ontario and Northern Michigan.

Diane MacLeod

Diane holds a BA Honours in Music Performance and an ARCT in (Performance).  She attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and studied with Boris Berlin.  Diane has been extensively trained in both classical and Jazz/Blues.  She has been a session musician and teacher for many years and maintains an active studio at the Academy.

Zachary Havens

Zachary Havens, UE, ARCT is a recent graduate of Music Industry Arts at Fanshawe College and began playing piano at age 4. He achieved the highest mark in Ontario for his Grade 8 and Grade 10 RCM piano exams as well as Grade 5 vocal exam. He completed his performer’s ARCT diploma in August, 2005 with a mark of 92. Zach studied organ/choir directing for 3 years and has accompanied ballet classes for teachers from all over the world.  Zach has also been the musical director for numerous musicals. His musical passion is song-writing and his music hasachieved international radio play and performance under the artist name “To Tell.”

http://www.myspace.com/totell

Sarah Pilat

Sarah is a Registered Music Teacher with ARCT diplomas in piano performance and teaching from the Royal Conservatory of Music.  She has been teaching piano and theory at her studio in Sarnia for 12 years and is currently the Vice President of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association Sarnia Branch.  Sarah is also an active accompanist in Sarnia and London.  Sarah completed her Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Bachelor of Education at the University of Western Ontario.

Yankick Allwood

Yanick Allwood is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree in Honors Music Performance at the University of Western Ontario. He is already a veteran performer with much experience as a gospel singer, an actor and as a pianist. Yanick has been active as a jazz, pop, gospel and classical pianist and has won many awards including 3 provincial titles in classical piano. He has had much experience recording and teaching privately and with large groups of students. Yanick also leads his own soul-fusion band called After Funk and often plays in London and Toronto. He has his ARCT diploma and teaches classical, pop and jazz piano.

Mikela Witjes

Mikela Witjes began her musical studies at the age of four in Kingston, Ontario when she began violin lessons.  At the age of eleven she began to study piano.  Mikela began her studies through the Suzuki Method and continued on to complete examinations through the Royal Conservatory of Music; Grade 10 for violin and Grade 8 for piano.  Since the age of ten, Mikela has studied and performed in chamber music and orchestral settings and has performed as a member of the Kingston Sympony and several chamber ensembles.  She studied violin at several summer music festivals including Scotia Festival of Music, Orford Arts Academy, Domaine Forget.  Mikela is entering her third year of her undergraduate  degree in September as she is studying to complete a Bachelor of Music in violin performance.  She has experience working with large ensembles of violinists of all ages as well as teaching both violin and piano privately.

Carmen Lasceski

Carmen Lasceski holds a Masters degree in violin performance from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelors degree in violin performance from the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh.  Teachers include; Annette-Barbara Vogel, Jamie Weisenblum, Klara Fenyo Bahcall, Frank Fenyo and Rictor Noren. 

Christina Willatt

Born and raised in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Christina Willatt recently completed a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Literature at the University of Western Ontario where she studied with Torin Chiles.  She completed a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance and Composition at the University of Regina in 2009, studying voice with Lynn Channing and composition with Alain Perron and David Ogborn.  In addition, Christina has completed her Grade 10 voice and Grade 9 piano examinations through the Royal Conservatory of Music.  Enthusiastic to perform new music, she has been a member of both the University of Regina’s New Music Ensemble and Western’s Contemporary Techniques Ensemble, and performed in the UWOpera productions Opera Then and Now and Griselda / Pierrot Lunaire in the role of Costanza.  Other recent performances include the role of Grace Goodbody in an excerpt from Ana Sokolovic’s The Midnight Court at the Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Songs and Scenes program in Toronto.  She is currently organist, pianist and music director at the Church of St. Jude in London.  Christina is excited to be teaching voice and piano at the Academy.

Holly Reiter

Originally from Waterloo, Holly Reiter recently graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a Bachelors Degree in Honours Music specializing in voice performance.   Complimenting her studies, Holly has attended an intensive vocal program at the Orford Arts Centre in Orford Quebec.  Holly is the musical director for the Ingersoll Choral Society and a musical director at St. Michael’s Church in London.  She enjoys interacting with music lovers of all ages while generating a positive interest in music and focusing on the improvement of vocal and piano technique.

Karianne Pasma

Soprano Karianne Pasma attained a Master of Music in Literature and Performance at the University of Western Ontario, where she studied with Patricia Green and Jackie Short.  Karianne has performed in several public master classes including working with well known Canadian soprano, Wendy Nielsen.  Most recently Karianne sang with London Pro Musica and Orchestra London as the soprano soloist in the Bach Magnificat.  She has also performed the role of Angelica in Suor Angelica with Opera NUOVA, and the Sandman in UWOpera’s production of Too Many Sopranos, among other roles with Opera NUOVA and UWOpera.

Bill Skidmore

Bill founded the London Jazz Orchestra in 1988.  He has been active with the Fanshawe Community Orchestra, the Encore Concert Band, and the Plumbing Factory Brass Band and is the co-founder of the Fredericton Chamber Orchestra.  Bill has been teaching for over 15 years and is currently involved in numerous jazz ensembles in the London area.