Music, Theater and Art Instructors

Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Aimi started taking piano lessons at the age of three. She attended a performing arts magnet high school and began teaching the piano during that time. She then continued to pursue a degree in piano performance at a renowned conservatory in Tokyo. In 1992 she came to the U.S. to study music therapy because of her passion for helping children with special needs. Consequently she received a master’s degree in music therapy and then a doctorate in child development, both from Texas Woman’s University. While she was a music therapy student and an intern, she worked with individuals with various challenges, from young children to the elderly.

Since the completion of her doctoral degree, Aimi has been a faculty member at Texas Woman’s University and University of North Texas where she taught courses in human development, early childhood education, and family studies, as well as English and Japanese as a second language. Meanwhile, she never stopped being a music educator, teaching the piano to children as young as 3 to individuals who are in their 70s, some of them with a handicap or disability. Additionally, Aimi has extensive experiences as an accompanist for brass, woodwinds, and string instrumentalists and has played for numerous student and faculty recitals as well as seminars and master classes.

Her teaching philosophy stems from her strong advocacy for the individualized instruction – an approach that takes into each person’s strengths, needs, and interests to the maximum account and is based on a belief that everyone has potential to learn.

Until recently she served as the president of the Denton Music Teachers Association (DMTA), and her students frequently performed at DMTA sponsored recitals and Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA) conventions and received various awards and scholarships from both DMTA and TMTA.

Degrees/Education

Ph.D.

Texas Woman’s University, Child Development

Master of Arts

Texas Woman’s University, Music Therapy

Bachelor of Music

Musashino Academia Musicae, Piano Performance

Alli is a folk singer and multi-instrumentalist. She is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the award-winning Dallas-based Celtic group The Selkie Girls and also serves as the director for North Texas School of Irish Music Gaelic Youth Chorus. In addition, she teaches private vocal and guitar lessons and conducts Irish and Scottish Gaelic singing workshops throughout the year.

She comes from a family of musicians and was singing harmonies with her mother and siblings for as long as she can remember. A member of several performance choirs and ensembles throughout her youth, by the age of 16, Alli began performing professionally, singing and playing guitar in venues around the Dallas area. Since then, she’s worked as a demo singer and played in numerous bands, largely focusing on acoustic-driven music.

In 2013, she became the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the popular Celtic group The Selkie Girls. In 2015, the critically-acclaimed Selkies were honored to win a Celtic Radio Music Award for their version of “The Gaelic Song.” The Selkie Girls have been featured performers at premier festivals throughout the county, including the Austin Celtic Festival, Oklahoma ScotFest, Maryville, TN Highland Games, Texas Scottish Festival, and North Texas Irish Festival, among others. They have performed live on the Good Day Fox 4 morning show several times.

In addition to her work with the Selkies, her vocals have been featured on several instructional publications for Hal Leonard Corporation, including Guitar for Kids – Book 2, Ukulele for Kids, Bass for Kids, and How to Record at Home on a Budget.

April Seals was born in Dallas, TX, and grew up in Plano, TX. April began her undergraduate studies at Collin College in guitar performance under the guidance of Dr. Fernand Vera. April transferred to Oklahoma City University after being awarded the M. Petree Music Memorial Scholarship in 2015, where she earned her BM with an emphasis on guitar performance in 2017.

While at OCU, April studied under Dr. Lynn McGrath, Dr. Stephen Lochbaum, and Matthew Denman. She then went on to serve as the Graduate Teaching Assistant to Dr. Stephen Mattingly at the University of Louisville, where she received her Master’s of Music in the spring 2020.

April has received recognition from multiple festivals and competitions including first prize at the Brownsville Guitar Festival in 2016 and prize winner and honors from the Guitar Foundation of America Symposium, Mountain View Competition, Collin College Competition, Young Artist’s Showcase at Collin College, and the Hill County International Ensemble Contest. Currently, April is pursuing her Doctorate at the University of North Texas.

Bette is a graduate of University of Texas Austin, with a degree in Music Education, Voice Principal. She also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Choral Conduction from University of Texas San Antonio. Bette has 35 years of experience in private vocal instruction, music teaching, and choir directing in Texas Public Schools from Pre-Kindergarten through High School ages.

With regard to private instruction in voice, Bette has taught private lessons to all levels and ages. In her private lessons, her teaching develops the student in areas such as vocal technique, solfege, sightsinging, audition preparation, stage presentation, commercial gig prep, musical theatre, etc. Bette’s goal is to develop the student’s vocal abilities with a balanced approach. She takes the student’s interests into consideration while also introducing them to repertoire styles that will broaden their capabilities. Bette desires for her students to be well rounded musicians, ready for any opportunity that may come their way. Over the years, her former students have gone on to become music teachers themselves and one recently went on to explore a New York Broadway role.

With regard to her school teaching she has prepared students for regional choir, all state choir, and solo competitions, musical theatre roles, etc.

Bette also has an extensive dance background that includes being an officer in the Kilgore College Rangerettes. She has directed, produced, and choreographed music programs and musical theatre shows for schools and churches in the Houston and San Antonio areas. She has served as choir director for churches in both cities as well.

During her career she has directed or co-directed productions such as: Calamity Jane, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, Brigadoon, Carnival, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Annie, Company, Mame, and Amahland the Night Visitors. Her choirs have won University Interscholastic League awards and she has had numerous students in region choirs and All-State choirs.

After retiring, Bette began to write children’s musicals with a friend from her UT Austin days. One of those shows Circus Train was performed at Artsview Children’s Theater in Longview, Texas.

Bette and her husband Luke reside in the Argyle area where she continues to work in the music industry. Bette and Luke have a son, Matthew, who lives in Dallas.

Celia is originally from Fort Worth, TX. She began private piano lessons through TCU Music Prep at the age of 6 and was classically-trained from age 9 through high school graduation by Mr. José Antonio Cubela of Cubela Piano Studio. Her teaching lineage extends all the way back to Beethoven and includes many other notable pianists and composers, such as Franz Liszt. Throughout her years of study, she competed all over the metroplex and garnered a number of accolades, including 1st place in the UTA Fall Keyboard Contest Concerto Division and 2nd place in the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra’s Young Musicians’ Concerto Competition in 2017 and 2018, respectively. She also was selected as a finalist in the 2018 TASO Juanita Miller Concerto Competition and regularly received 1st-3rd place in the Fort Worth Music Teacher Association Piano Solo Contest. Aside from her classical studies, she has played the piano in church, at weddings/funerals, and in her high school’s Jazz/Rock Ensemble. Celia’s favorite composers include Chopin, Mendelssohn, Haydn, and Beethoven.

Throughout her middle and high school years, Celia’s love for music began to expand far past the piano. At the age of 10, she took up the guitar and started practicing singing and songwriting. She also began learning the ukulele in 9th grade and thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity, beauty, and innocence of the instrument. Along the way, Celia also discovered a passion for musical theater. She participated in the school musical every year in high school, and in 2018, she won a Betty Lynn Buckley Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical and a Dallas Summer Musical Honorable Mention for Best Leading Actress for her role as Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical. She was also actively involved as a section leader in her school’s choir and show choir, receiving gold medals at solo and ensemble and being named to the all-state choir. All of these experiences have instilled in her a deep and well-rounded appreciation for all styles and genres of music and the vast opportunities for healing and self-expression that it provides.

Celia is currently studying music therapy at Texas Woman’s University as the Chancellor’s Endowed Scholar for her class and hopes to apply her passion for music and wellbeing in a way that provides healing and creative expression for many different populations. She is an officer and a peer mentor in the Honors Program, a worship leader for Sigma Phi Lambda, a Christian sorority on campus, and a member of the TWU Concert Choir, with whom she recently performed at TMEA. Celia is very honored to be teaching at the New Song School of the Arts and hopes to instill in her students a love and appreciation for music that will last a lifetime!

Emily began playing the viola when she was twelve years old when she joined the orchestra program at her middle school. She immediately grew a passion for music and knew she wanted to be a musician for the rest of her life. Ms. Emily currently attends the University of Texas at Arlington where she is studying Viola Performance with Catherine Forbes. Ms. Emily has also attended competitive music festivals in Canada, New York, and Oregon where she studied with various world-renowned instructors from prestigious schools like the New England Boston Conservatory and Eastman School of Music.

Fortunately for Ms. Emily, she shares her passion for music every week through her professional career as a performer and a teacher. She performs with every ounce of energy and elegance for every event and hopes to inspire her students to love and care for music as she does.

Erika Morgan is a singer/songwriter/musician who has been gigging around the Dallas Metroplex for the last few years, and she's so excited about teaching at NSSOTA! She's an alum of the Vocal Jazz Studies program at the University of North Texas, and she's currently residing in the Denton area. She has been teaching private lessons for about two years, and has been working as a professional musician for six years. Her artistic abilities and improvisation skills can be applied to teaching piano and voice, and she believes that every person and child has the ability to be a star!

Originally from Washington D.C., Ethan Ditthardt is currently living in the Dallas Fort Worth area where he teaches privately, is a freelancer, and plays in a notable pop-rock group, The Polarity. Prior to studying jazz, Ethan was an accomplished and promising prospect in the classical guitar community. He studied with Professor Robert Guthrie at Southern Methodist University while in high school and has received numerous accolades and awards including the grand prize in the Beatty Music Scholarship Competition in Washington D.C. While studying under Davy Mooney at The University of North Texas, Ethan was a member of the seven time Grammy nominated One O’clock lab band under the direction of Alan Baylock, where he’s had the opportunity to play with jazz greats such as Carmen Bradford (Count Basie), Kirk Whalum, Melissa Aldana, and Kenny Werner (with Johannes Weidemuller and Ari Hoenig).

Flute professor and former Dean of the College of Music at the University of North Texas Dr. James Scott noted “Hina’s artistry communicates warmth and genuine musicality within a framework of excellent style sense and a command of the flute that embraces beautiful tone and a consistently reliable technique. Her performances represent state-of-the-art professionalism alongside that extra dimension of refined creativity that make them engaging and memorable.” As a flute artist, she always aims for a variety of performances and colorful expressions from classical to contemporary music. In particular, she conveys the Eastern musical spirit and the spirit of traditional Vietnamese music through the classical Western flute. She emphasizes and promotes the integration of cultural elements in each musical work.

As an educator, Hina had taught private and chamber music lessons for over ten years as a member of the flute faculty at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, and a flute/beginner piano teacher at the United Nations International School of Hanoi and the British Vietnamese International School, as well as teaching “Music Appreciation” class for the Troy University inter-college sharing program with the Vietnam National University. She has been working with students of all ages, from elementary to university level. The former UNIS Music Academy’s leader – professor Elizabeth Druitt claimed Ms.Le as a “very patient, experienced teacher and have a great understanding with students, especially with the young ones”.

As a performer, Hina has been invited as a flute soloist to perform with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vietnam Opera & Ballet Orchestra, the Hanoi String Orchestra, the American-Vietnamese Connection Music Festival Chamber Orchestra, and the Danish “Hafnia” Chamber Orchestra. She has taken part in several recording sessions premiering works by the American Grammy-award-winning composer Michael Daugherty with the University of North Texas Wind Symphony, conducted by the legendary conductor, Professor Eugene Migliaro Corporon. She also won second prize at the Maverick Flute Solo Competition in Texas in the U.S. that focuses on contemporary works. She was a member of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra in Japan while studying at the Hanoi Conservatory and was flute principal of the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed hundreds of concerts in Vietnam and at international music festivals in Japan, France, Germany, the United States, England, Denmark and Sweden.

Hina believes that music makes one’s life becomes much more interesting and colourful, and she loves listening to beautiful melodies from her favourite composers, among them are J.S. Bach, Johannes Brahms, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy.

She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree (DMA) in Flute Performance at the University of North Texas (UNT) under the instruction of professors Terri Sundberg, James Scott and Elizabeth McNutt. Her previous principle professors were Sir William Bennett, Toke Lund Christiansen, Henrik Svitzer, Asger Svendsen and Nguyen Trung Thanh.

Jack is a multifaceted musician who regularly performs repertoire across a variety of genres throughout both the Dallas-Fort Worth area and his native Seattle.

Heavily immersed in jazz, rock, pop, and folk styles, Jack has been sharing his talents in voice, piano, and saxophone with students for over 6 years. Beginning as a saxophonist turned vocalist, it was clear that his passion lay in voice after auditioning for his high school jazz choir in 2012. In 2015, he began furthering his study within the Jazz Voice program at the University of North Texas.

Since graduating with his degree from the University of North Texas, Jack has been invested in pedagogy and songwriting as his main pursuits in addition to the various groups he regularly plays with in the DFW area.

A “gifted performer with formidable technical skill” (Theater Jones Journal), American pianist Jacob Nydegger’s “smooth, elegant power brings memories of that great pianist [Van Cliburn]” (Fanfare Magazine). Nydegger’s debut album with Toccata Classics record label received widespread acclaim and was placed on the Classical New Releases: Spotify Picks Playlist in 2018. In addition to commercial recording success, Nydegger has been a top prizewinner in multiple competitions including the 2019 Weatherford International Piano Competition, the 2018 Kuleshov International Piano Competition, the 2018 Scionti Piano Scholarship Competition, the 17th annual Petroff Piano Competition, and the ‘Art of Piano’ and ‘Artist of the Year’ categories of the 2018 International Great Composers Competition. In 2017 he performed the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Colorado College Festival Orchestra, and in 2019 he performed and presented in Malaysia as Lecturer-in-Residence of International Music House Kuching and guest artist at University Malaysia Sarawak. Nydegger is currently staff pianist at Texas Woman’s University and has established himself as a highly sought after chamber musician, having performed with David Ying of the Grammy-award winning Ying Quartet and having worked with internationally renowned vocal coaches Margaret Singer, Alan Smith, Darryl Cooper (San Francisco Conservatory), and Margo Garrett (Juilliard). Jacob is studying with Joseph Banowetz at the University of North Texas and also has worked with pianists Roy Howat, William Wolfram, and Van Cliburn gold-medalist Jon Nakamatsu. Upcoming engagements include a second recording with the Toccata Classics record label, featuring the piano music of eminent Dutch composer, Leo Samama.

Justin Labosco is a multi-instrumentalist and actor who started his creative journey at 10 years old. Starting on drums Justin played in marching and jazz band through his school (Liberty Christian) and played live shows in multiple rock bands as a drummer. At 16 Justin joined the band at Fellowship Church and played with them until his mid 20’s. During this time Justin also learned to play guitar, piano, bass and sing. Justin than began to pursue a music career as a lead singer/ songwriter of a pop rock band which he continues to tour with and release albums. To date Justin has played hundreds of live shows, has been featured on 10 albums and has written and recorded hundreds of songs.

On top of his music career Justin also has a degree in Acting Performance from KD College and has been a professional actor on the stage and in front of the camera since 2010. Doing everything from lead roles in musicals at Dallas Theater Center to feature films to national commercials.

Kamila Swerdloff is a musician, teacher, and singer-songwriter from Northwest Oregon. She received her B.M. in Piano Performance from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY, and is currently getting her M.M. in Music Therapy from Texas Woman’s University. She has worked as a pianist for Ballet Austin, the University of Texas at Austin, American Ballet Theater, and Texas Woman’s University. As a composer and performer, she has been involved in productions with Ventana Ballet, an Austin based contemporary ballet performance company, the festival “Revolve: A Movement Display”, the Astoria Music Festival, the Austin Chamber Music Festival, and A Room with a Few duet series.

While living in Austin, she taught music and songwriting at Armstrong Community Music School, Westlake Lessons, and ODO Sound Creative Music Summer Sessions. She believes in creating an inspiring and motivating learning environment for her students, where providing them with a solid musical foundation plays just as important of a role as being encouraged to play music they are passionate about.

Ms. Lara Ruzevic is an international concert pianist and pedagogue. Her career has taken her to Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Slovakia and the US.

Active as a chamber musician and a collaborative artist, Ms. Ruzevic has been on faculty of numerous music festivals, such as: The Upbeat Summer Music Festival, Croatian String Teachers Association Music Festival, Texas Cello Academy, UNT Summer String Institute, etc. She collaborated with such artist as Dora Schwarzberg, David Grigorian, Gustavo Tavares, Eleonore Schoenfeld.

Ms. Ruzevic holds her degree in Piano Performance from University of Zagreb Academy of Music, and Master of Arts Piano Performance degree from California State University Fresno. She was mentored by many distinguished pianists such as Leon Bates, Jean-Philippe Collard, Rudolf Kehrer, Arbo Valdma, Elena Richter, Pavica Gvozdic, Melita Lorkovic, Dorde Stanetti, Andreas Werz.

During 29 years of teaching, Ms. Ruzevic has taught in Music schools in Europe and US, teaching students of different ages and levels. She has found that each student has his/her unique strengths and weaknesses, requiring a unique approach for each individual. Most students need, more than anything, to be taught how to play their instrument in a natural, relaxed and balanced way. Further, one of the most important goals in teaching is to challenge students to understand not only the creative process of playing/practicing their instruments, but also the art of communication through musical expression. Realizing that music is a language, is the key to the artistic growth.

In order to achieve this goal, students need to learn the foundation of the piano artistry, and how to practice in an effective and a productive way. Recognized as a dedicated and a successful teacher, Ms. Ruzevic has judged numerous events for the Denton Music Teacher Association, and has given workshops in Piano Performance at the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Presently, Ms. Ruzevic resides in Denton, TX with her husband Nikola Ruzevic and their three children. She maintains an active private studio, is accompanist at St. Mark Catholic Church, teaches at New Song School of the Arts, accompanies for Denton ISD students and ensembles, and frequently performs with UNT music faculty and students.

Lea believes that nurturing a positive relationship with playing music is essential in music lessons. One of her main goals as a music teacher is to inspire students to become life-long musicians and music lovers. In service of this philosophy, Lea always asks which styles and aspects of music interest each student. From there, they will choose pieces and assignments that support the student’s growth towards their specific goals or interests. Lea uses humor to keep the energy in music lessons light, fun and engaging. Students will learn to sing/play piano, read music, develop a “good ear,” sight-read, and learn the fundamentals of music theory while studying with me. Interested students can also learn how to write a great song- and how to write it down!

Lea has over ten years experience in teaching both piano and voice. She is currently a Teaching Fellow at University of North Texas giving jazz vocal lessons. As a Harmony Road certified piano teacher, Lea has taught Harmony Road piano preparatory classes for over 8 years.

Lea earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of California, Santa Cruz, studying with Patrice Maginnis and Nicole Paiemont. Lea also has an earned Masters Degree in Jazz Studies/Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas. At UNT, she studied with Rosana Eckert, Jennifer Barnes, and many other wonderful jazz faculty members. She is also Level 1 certified in Somatic Voicework(tm), which she studied with Jeannie Lovetri.

Lea has performed with several small opera companies including San Francisco Lyric Opera and numerous choirs, including IOCSF and Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. For seven years, she gigged extensively throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with my band, an indie-folk-jazz piano trio, performing in a wide variety of venues including the bar at Yoshi’s Lounge, one of San Francisco’s premier jazz venues, and PLACE for Sustainable Living, an educational collective in Oakland, CA. She has written, recorded and released two albums on which she plays piano and sings. In addition to her work as a jazz vocalist and a singer/songwriter, she has sung backgrounds for various indie artists, including Derek Sup, Anita Stryker and Andy Mason. Over the years, she has also lent her voice to a few commercial and t.v. spots with companies such as Disney, Pepsi and Barbie.

Nate has been teaching drums, guitar, and trombone for over 15 years, first starting on drum set 24 years ago, learning both drum set and trombone from teachers at the University of Connecticut while in elementary school. He graduated with honors from Wesleyan University in 2008 with a Bachelor’s degree in music. Nate is currently in his third year of doctoral studies pursuing a PhD in Ethnomusicology at the University of North Texas, with research focused on African traditional and contemporary music.

Nate offers a balanced mixture of teaching styles, stressing the importance of reading music notation while valuing the development of a musical ear. Nate tailors lesson plans to the interests and abilities of the individual student, challenging the student to make noticeable progress while maintaining a fun and positive environment.

Originally from Northeast Tennessee, Peyton fell in love with music at a very early age and started playing piano at the age of ten. Her love for music only grew as she got older. She began singing and playing piano for her church. In high school, she was a substitute piano, voice, and guitar teacher at her local arts center. She continued teaching a few young students throughout college as well.

Peyton recently graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Music and Culture. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Music Therapy at Texas Woman’s University.

For the past four summers, Peyton has had the opportunity and privilege to be a counselor at the Fresh Air Home, a camp for underprivileged children in Tybee Island, GA. At the Fresh Air Home, she led music with all campers and worked primarily with six to eight year-old girls. She has always loved kids and is grateful to be able to continue to share her passion for music through teaching

Ruusamari grew up in Finland and began playing the piano at the age of four with her mother and continued at a formal school of music a year later. Her entire family has a love for and a very close connection to music. Her great, great grandfather on her mother´s side was the great composer Jean Sibelius and she has a lineage of folk musicians from her fathers side. In Ruusamari’s mother´s family basically everybody plays an instrument. On her father´s side there are fiddle and guitar players. Ruusamari plays the piano, fortepiano, harpshichord, and organ. The piano is her first instrument, the big love of her life. She later chose other keyboard instruments of which the fortepiano she has the closest relationship.

Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Schuberts, Schumann, Sibelius, and Tschaikovsky are the composers that Ruusamari most admires. Of the great performers she loves Emil Gilels, Pinhas Zukerman, Gil Shaham and Yefim Bronfman to mention a few. Her mentors Vladimir Viardo, Christoph Hammer, and Elvia Puccinelli have been the greatest influence. Beyond classical musicians she loves Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Freddie Mercury, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, and Bill Evans. The first tunes that really awoke her love to music were Mozart’s Andante and pieces by J.S. Bach.

Ruusamari has received two second-place prizes in the Bradshaw and Buono piano competition in NY, NY and the Petroff piano competition in San Antonio, TX. She regularly tours with fellow musicians. She played 40 concerts with Finnish cellist, Jussi Makkonen all aroung the US in 2015. The engagements for the summer 2016 include concerts in Germany, Italy and Finland. Ruusamari has performed and interviewed on radio and television in the US and Finland. She received a NOVA scholarship from the UNT College of Music and Finlandia Foundation Scholarship as a highest ranking applicant.

Ruusamari has artist certificates from the Prague Concervatory, Czech Republic and the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, Hungary. Her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in piano performance is from UNT, class of Vladimir Viardo. She is currently working on her DMA in Collaborative piano performance at UNT with Elvia Puccinelli and Steven Harlos. She also has related field fortepiano studies with Christoph Hammer and Paul Leenhouts. Ruusamari has participated in master classes with Dmitry Bashkirov, Yefim Bronfman, Matti Raekallio, Natalya Antonova, and others.

Ruusamari practices from 2-4 hours every day. She uses warm ups, scales and finger exercises as a part of a daily practice routine. She regularly adds new repertoire and technically challenging spots that require extra time, repetition and new creative way of practice. She has been teaching music since she was 20 years old.

Ruusamari wants to be remembered as an honest, sensitive and passionate musician and a happy and friendly human being. The quote from Goethe – “Music starts where the words end” sums up her passion in regard to her work as a musician and teacher. Her great, great grandfather, Jean Sibelius’ words inspire her to be the best she can be – “Music is for me like a beautiful mosaic which God has put together. He takes all the pieces in his hand, throws them into the world, and we have to recreate the picture from the pieces.”

Shelby started her training in the arts at age 4 in dance class. She soon found her true passion after participating in her first musical in the second grade. That interest grew exponentially and led Shelby to pursue a degree in Musical Theatre. In May 2020, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music in Musical Theater (plus a minor in Marketing) from Baldwin Wallace University. Her program, BWMT, is ranked in the top 10 Collegiate Musical Theatre programs in the country according to Playbill.com, OnStage Blog, and many other reputable sources. Favorite past roles in school include Sally in Cabaret, and Bridget in Bring it On. While earning her degree Shelby spent her summers as a working actor at high level regional theatres across the country. She recently portrayed Julius Caesar in Julius Caesar and Ethel Toffelmier in The Music Man at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Great Lakes Theatre.

Prior to college Shelby grew up in Orlando, Florida where she took private piano and voice lessons, constant dance training, and above and beyond involvement in school theatre and choir. She was chosen for FMEA All-State choir five times and received top scores at Solo and Ensemble throughout the years. Beyond school she was part of the elite youth performance troupe “Powerchords” through Orlando Repertory Theatre(2014-15), and starred in her first professional musical at 16 yrs old at The Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, FL. Her family moved to Texas her senior year where she attended JJ Pearce High School in Richardson, TX. She won the Dallas Summer High School Musical award for Best Featured Actress in 2016.

Throughout all of her training Shelby has had a passion for teaching. During high school she was a student choreographer and director for mainstage musicals. In 2016, she was a Camp Counselor for the youth summer camps at Casa Manana. Throughout college she was a Keyboard and Music Theory tutor for fellow conservatory students, and her most recent work with children was as the dance captain for The Music Man. She assisted the choreographer in teaching the show to the child cast of elementary aged kids and maintaining their performance throughout the sixth month run. All of Shelby’s success she attributes to her stellar private coaches, drama teachers, choir directors, and collegiate mentors. Shelby hopes to do the same for promising youth interested in the art of storytelling. Teaching is more than just sharing

information, it’s spreading a passion. She looks forward to doing just that through NSSOTA and changing the world one new artist at a time. To learn more about Shelby visit www.shelbygriswold.com , or check out her instagram @shelby__griswold.

Spyros is a Greek American concert pianist and started to play the piano when he was 9 years old, performing his first solo recital a year later with works of Bach, Mozart and Chopin. Early musical training includes the violin, french horn, music harmony & counterpoint and conducting. Spyros is the recipient of many scholarships, prizes and awards around the world. He has performed recitals in Austria, Germany, Italy, France, England, Czech Republic and Spain. Recent American performances in Texas, Kentucky and Antigua, Guatemala.

He is equally at home with standard repertoire and new music. He enjoys composing, accompanying singers and instrumentalists. Spyros is also a dedicated piano teacher and believes in a healthy and balanced approach between technique and music interpretation. He has taught piano and theory lessons for many years with successful results. Many of his students get the highest ratings in festivals and competitions around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Spyros has taken lessons and participated in masterclasses and piano festivals around the world with famous pianists and renowned pedagogues such as Misha Dichter, Eliso Virsaladze, Leonid Margarius, Pavel Gililov, Andrej Jasinski, Peter Lang, Rolf Plagge, Daniel Pollack, and Alan Feinberg among others.

He earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Piano Performance & Pedagogy (both summa cum laude) at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria studying with Prof. George Kern, distinguished pianist and student of the legendary Rosina Lhevinne. Currently he pursues a Doctoral degree in Piano Performance at the University of North Texas with Dr. Steven Harlos.

Spyros Karavias is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, Alpha Chi National College Honor Society, Golden Key International Honour Society, and Music Teachers National Association.

Tara is an educator and vocalist. Her training and experience have spanned the genres of opera, musical theatre, folk and jazz. A few of her favorite roles she’s played are Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, Clarice in A Servant of Two Masters, and Jeanette in Barbara’s Blue Kitchen.

Finding her love for classical singing at the age of 14 in West Point, New York, she began training under the guidance of soprano Catherine Flynn. There she sang with NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) Area All State Choir and in the Boston Music Festival. Both her voice teacher and her choir director, Chris Reynolds had a profound effect on her life as they encouraged her to pursue singing and demonstrated a pedagogy rooted in the joy of music. Tara remembers her voice teacher taking her to see the St. Olaf Choir sing at Carnegie Hall and how it felt to have an educator truly invest in the growth and enrichment of their students.

In college, Tara first studied with Gerald Dolter at Texas Tech University. During her time in Lubbock, she appeared in productions with the Texas Tech Opera, Texas Tech Theatre and Lubbock Moonlight Musicals. She was a soloist for the Texas Tech Jazz Combo, Choral Scholar at First Christian Church and a soprano in the Lubbock Chorale. Under the baton of John Dixon, she toured England with the Summer Choral Institute of St. John’s College, Cambridge University premiering pieces by Eric Whitacre. One of her fondest musical memories is singing beneath the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral and hearing the long echoes up and down the aisles.

Tara went on to study voice at the University of North Texas with Jeffrey Snider and Inci Bashar, who was named 2009’s Teacher of the Year’ by Classical Singer Journal. While in Denton she was the music director for ‘Alice in Wonderland’ with Denton Community Theatre’s Summer Camp and has appeared in productions with Denton Music Theatre and Denton Black Box Theatre. She is currently the Artistic Director for ‘Cirque du Horror’ composed by local musician David Pierce.

After college, Tara taught voice, piano, aural skills, theory and early childhood music at the Julio D. Perfecto School of Music, a non-profit aiming to make quality music instruction accessible to lower-income students. This project of love furthered her determination to hone her pedagogical skills. She realized she enjoyed teaching as much as performing and loved passing on the excellent technique and the joy of music that had been instilled in her by her teachers.

Tara has also taught English in both Japan and Mexico and is grateful for the musical exchanges and experiences these stints abroad have brought. She was a soloist at the Jozenji Jazz Festival in Sendai, Japan and the first American to play taiko drums in the Mito, Ibaraki Summer Matsuri, a traditional Japanese festival.

Tara now lives with her husband in Denton, Texas. Her current projects include creating life-size puppets for a vaudeville style musical circus, performing with local literary and artist collective ‘Spiderweb Salon’, and writing songs for use in early childhood education.