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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.
Brittany Craig
Violin
Brittany Craig received her master’s degree in violin performance at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and her bachelor’s degree in music from Wright State University. She lives with her husband and daughter in Indiana, where she maintains her private studio.
Isabelle Ford
Piano, Voice
Isabelle Ford is a rising Senior at Wright State, where she is majoring 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.
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.
Olivia Gaschler
Voice
Olivia Gaschler is a Board Certified Music Therapist and voice teacher living in Linn, Kansas. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Concordia University Nebraska and received her Bachelor of Science in Music Therapy from Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne. While earning these degrees, Olivia performed in several ensembles which led to international performances including the Operafestival Di Roma. Olivia has since practiced as a Music Therapist in various settings and has begun teaching voice students. Olivia currently resides in Linn, KS where she is working with other musicians to make music more accessible in her rural community. She is a voice teacher at the Jubilate Deo Music Academy. This academy is inspired by the work of David’s Harp, a mission focused, center for musical development. Teachers at the academy provide lessons to students in local schools and churches with curriculum centered on Lutheran hymnody and liturgy in addition to other genres of music.
Anna Hedges
Piano
Anna Hedges is a student at Wright State University pursuing a degree in Vocal Performance, with vocal instruction from Ginger Minneman and piano instruction from Steven Aldredge. She has sung with the WSU Collegiate Chorale, Women’s Chorus, and Opera Theatre, as well as Concordia Lutheran Church, Christ Covenant Church, the Dayton Philharmonic, and local charity concerts directed by Deborah Courtney. Anna was a finalist in the 2023 Randy and Norah Paul Young Artist Competition. She is also the recipient of the 2024 CultureWorks Len Roberts Scholarship. Anna enjoys writing her own music and attending local fine arts performances in her beloved Dayton.
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 began performing in choir, band and musical theater as a child. She went on to attend 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. Additionally, she spent 5 years in the university’s top choral ensemble, Collegiate Chorale, where she had the opportunity to perform 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. Since graduating, Mackenzie has taught General Music in grades 2-5, and 6th grade choir for Monroe Local Schools. She has previously taught voice and beginning flute at the Dayton Kroc Center and conducted the chapel choir at Emmanuel’s Lutheran Church in Germantown, Ohio from 2016 to 2021. Mackenzie currently enjoys performing as a member of Dayton’s chamber choir, Musica and frequently sings with local church worship teams. She lives in Miamisburg with her husband Larry and cat, Zildjian.
James Roberts
Piano
James Roberts is a local pianist from Dayton, Ohio, and he recently graduated from Louisiana Tech University in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Music. During his years in college, he worked with several bands on and off campus playing a variety of genres.
In addition to accompanying vocal studios and instrumentalists, he was awarded the 2024 Presser Scholar award in recognition of his academic and musical achievements. He is also somewhat of a theatre nut, having been involved in five shows at the Ruston Community Theatre in Louisiana as an actor and a couple of shows at Louisiana Tech as the pianist. Now that he recently moved back to Dayton, he works part-time as a collaborative pianist at Wright State University and he has actively been a church pianist for the past six years.
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. As a member of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance’s Learning and Community Engagement team, 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. In addition to her administrative roles, Melissa enjoys performing in musical theater productions throughout the Greater Dayton area. She and her husband, Adam, live in Kettering with their cats and enjoy all things Star Wars.
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