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Meet our instructors
Our professional artist-instructors know how to teach because they live their craft every day. Our faculty roster includes leaders in Dayton’s music community, many with advanced degrees and training in their fields.
Evan Fiehrer
Guitar
Evan Fiehrer is a guitarist currently located in Dayton, Ohio. He graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and in 2015 from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Music, also in Guitar Performance. An accomplished classical guitarist, Evan has played solo and ensemble concerts throughout the Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana areas, and along the East Coast. Evan is a professor of guitar at Indiana University East in Richmond, IN, and teaches privately at McCutcheon Music in Centerville and Star City Music in Miamisburg. He also plays guitar in the five-piece funk band The Johnson Treatment.
Eugene Fortier
Guitar
Eugene Fortier has been playing guitar for 16 years and has played professionally in bands of all different genres specializing in Classical, Jazz, Rock, Blues and Metal. Eugene has a bachelor’s degree in classical guitar performance that he received from Holyoke Community College and Cedarville University. He had the once in a lifetime opportunity to be taught by a pupil of Andre’ Segovia, Philip Defremery, and also by award winning guitarist John Mason, who specialized in rock-jazz fusion. Eugene currently plays in a trio called the “Viva La Strings guitar trio” consisting of violin, cello and guitar in the Dayton area.
Myles Hall
Percussion
Myles Hall is a senior percussion music performance major at Wright State University, where he plays marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, hand drums, drum set, and more.
Josh Hamilton
Voice
Tenor Josh Hamilton graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2007 with a degree in voice performance. Credits include Broadway National Tours of Mamma Mia! and Spamalot; productions of La Traviata, Aida, Carmen, and The Magic Flute; and regional productions of Les Miserable, Ragtime, My Fair Lady, Rend, and Jesus Christ, Superstar. He has been a performer for Holland America, Princess, and Norwegian Cruise Lines, and has travelled to 85 countries! A performer at Disneyland for 5 years, he also played an opera-singing potato for a Ruffles commercial in 2014.
Rylan Heffner
Bass, brass, piano, composition
Rylan is a multi-instrument musician and composer who plays upright and electric bass, piano, and tuba. He is pursuing a music education degree at Wright State University with a concentration in voice.
Madelyn Istrate
Office Manager
Madelyn Istrate grew up in North Carolina and moved to Ohio as an adult. She has been both a student and teacher at SCMS, and is now a parent in the Musikgarten program. She graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Education and taught beginner piano lessons and preschool until her daughter was born in 2025. She now works as the Office Manager at SCMS and lives with her husband, Alex, and their daughter in West Carrollton.
Dr. Samee Griffith
Piano, Musikgarten
Dr. Samee Griffith received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, her Master of Music degree in piano performance and collaborative piano from Bowling Green State University, and her Bachelor of Music in piano performance from Wright State University, where she graduated summa cum laude. An experienced instructor, Samee has taught piano for more than twenty five years, including at the Penn-Griffin School for the Arts in High Point, North Carolina. Her students regularly place in the top tier of competitors in state level piano competitions and festivals. She is a licensed Musikgarten instructor.
In addition to owning Star City Music Studios, Samee hosts A Little Night Music and weekends on Discover Classical FM 88.1/89.9/89.1 and is choir director at Grace Lutheran Church in West Carrollton.
Her honors include: the Mary Elizabeth King Brown Teaching Excellence Award (2012), First Place in the Undergraduate Division at the Marjorie Peatee Art Song Competition (2004), the MTNA Star Award (2002), and the Musikgarten Exemplary Award (2023). Samee lives in West Carrollton with husband, Aaron Mood, and their five children.
Aaron Mood
Piano
Aaron Mood received his Master of Music degree in piano performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and his Bachelor of the Arts degree in music from Allegheny College, where he graduated magna cum laude. He is the recipient of the Edith Mead Osbourne Memorial Prize for distinguished pianism, the Frederick Marantz Memorial Prize in recognition of marked talent with the piano, and the Mary Elizabeth King Brown Teaching Excellence Award.
In addition to owning Star City Music Studios, Aaron hosts Opera House and Sunday midday on Discover Classical FM 88.1/89.9/89.1 and is organist at Grace Lutheran Church in West Carrollton. Previous positions include Staff Accompanist at Winston-Salem State University, Adjunct Instructor of Theory and Music Appreciation at Guilford Technical Community College, and Associate Master Teacher at the Music Academy of North Carolina. He has participated in master classes with Anna Maria Trenchi de Botazzi and Jon Nakamatsu.
Aaron lives in West Carrollton with his wife, Samee Griffith Mood, and their five children.
Mackenzie Kennon
Voice
Mackenzie Kennon graduated from Wright State University where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education-Voice in 2018. While in school, she performed in various opera performances, Women’s Chorale, and University Chorus. Mackenzie was a soloist in the school’s performances of Mendelssohn’s Elijah as well as Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes, and performed Vivaldi’s Gloria at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Britten’s War Requiem under direction of Keith Lockhart, conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, and toured throughout Italy performing in Rome, Vatican City, Florence, and Venice. Mackenzie lives in Miamisburg with her husband Larry, daughter Neely, and cat, Zildjian.
Ethan Mata
Strings
Ethan attends Wright State University where he studies with Dr. In Hong Cha, and performs with the Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra. He has been part of the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra since the fall of 2025 and has performed with the Yellow Springs Chamber Orchestra under the direction of conductor James Johnston.
Melissa McCoy
Flute
Melissa McCoy earned her master’s degree in Music Leadership from the Eastman School of Music and her bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Wright State University. Melissa oversees the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestras and EnCorps, the volunteer organization. She also manages Q the Music, an afterschool string program, as well as several vocal and instrumental competitions for the DPAA.
Isabelle Rocke
Voice, piano
Isabelle Rocke graduated from Wright State University, where she majored in vocal performance, while studying piano and organ. A former student of instructor John Wright, Isabelle was a 2021 winner of Discover Classical’s Young Talent Search.
John Wright
Piano, Trumpet, Voice
John Wright is the Organist and Choirmaster for St. Mary of the Assumption parish in Springboro, Ohio. He is an award-winning piano performer and instructor with over 25 years of experience teaching piano, brass, and voice. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Wright State University, where he graduated with honors. In addition to being an accomplished pianist, John teaches and has performed in civic and professional ensembles on trumpet, French horn, euphonium, and tuba. John currently serves on the Music Committee for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and is the music consultant for the Cast Your Nets archdiocesan vocations program.
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323 N 11th St Building B, Miamisburg, OH 45342
937.265.2164