Amanda has over 12 years of experience in the non-profit sector. Her initial focus was on planning fundraising events, and she transitioned to grant writing for several local organizations. 

As a child growing up on the west side of Cincinnati, Amanda attended the Wyoming Fine Arts Center for piano instruction. She studied at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and graduated with a Bachelor of Science. She lives in Wyoming with her husband and two sons. 

Annie Roth is a painter and illustrator at heart, but is happy to explore a variety of mediums.  Her work varies from large scale paintings on wood panels, to small illustrations for greeting cards and wedding stationary.  Annie is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati's Design, Art, Architecture, and Planing program with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.  She has participated in both local and national art shows, and has a coloring book featured in the permanent collection of the Chattanooga Public Library's zine library. 

Annie has been involved in various Cincinnati based art organizations including membership in Broadhope Art Collective, interning at Homemeadow Song Farm, and consigning art through Robot Inside and Rock, Paper, Scissors, and instructing painting parties at Painting with a Twist.  She has also participated in local craft fairs such as Luminocity, Crafty Supermarket, and Craft Menagerie.

Bobbie McTurner is an art and architectural historian (M.A. in Art History and double B.A. in Art History and Fine Arts from University of Cincinnati) who has served in various roles for nonprofit organizations and municipalities over the last 15 years. She is a former Executive Director of Cincinnati Preservation Association and served on the City of Cincinnati’s Historic Conservation Board for several years. Other nonprofit involvement includes serving on the boards of ArtsWave, the Cincinnati Art League and the Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum. Bobbie enjoys helping non-profits strategize fundraising efforts and improve organizational development.  Bobbie also has a long-standing appreciation for the arts, including a background as a visual artist. 

I am 67 and a retired attorney, public school administrator, and adjunct professor at UC and Cincinnati State. I’ve been married for 45 years to my wife, Annie, who retired after 28 years as an elementary art teacher. We have three adult children and six grandchildren. We currently provide full time daycare and after-school care for the three local grandchildren (ages 7, 8, and 11) Both of my daughters played strings in high school (viola and bass) and both pursued fine arts in college. One with a BFA and one minored in ceramics. All three local grandkids have gone to art or music camps at WFAC and one takes piano lessons there.

My board experience includes four years on the Board of Crossroads Crisis Center in Lima, Ohio, eight years on the Finneytown Athletic Association board, six years on the Finneytown Board of Education, and currently as Secretary of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC) in Over the Rhine.

Caroline comes from a family that is passionate about music. Her most prized possession is a pair of Klipsch cornerhorn speakers — the best way to listen to music… if you can’t listen live. She is a civil right attorney with Friedman, Gilbert + Gerhardstein, where she represents those whose rights have been violated by the government, and when she isn’t working, she likes to cook (which she does reasonably well) and garden (which she does quite badly). She lives in Wyoming with her husband, Nathan, and their daughter Josephine, who loves to come to art classes at the Center. 

Carolyn is an energetic results-oriented professional administrator who is a collaborative, community-minded communicator and problem-solver with a high degree of integrity. She is a graduate of Florida A&M University and holds a BS in Business Administration, as well as an MA in Arts Administration from the University of Cincinnati. Carolyn has enjoyed a robust arts management career focusing on development, client relations, finance, and operations. Her professional motto is to have fun while working hard to accomplish goals that inspire personal connections through the arts. 

Cheryl Ann Raine is both a CCM and Miami graduate, with a Masters of Music Education in Supervision and a Major in Organ.  She has been active as a music educator and church musician for over 40 years.  Cheryl is in her 5th year as Organist at Fleming Road United Church of Christ.

After 10 years as an Adjunct Music Instructor at Mount Saint Joseph University , teaching Organ, Class Piano and Church music skills, she is focused on Piano Instruction at Wyoming Fine Arts Center with the Raine Music Studio at home.

Doodle, a rescued Shih-tzu provides hours of enjoyment and active companionship for walks, games and meeting other dog-owners. 

Instrument or Specialty:

Musik Kids

Piano (ages 4 through adult)

Voice (ages 9 through adult)

Darlene taught her first piano lesson as a teenager and loved her award-winning high school show choir. After earning her Music Education degree from Florida State University, she taught high school and middle school choir and trained church vocal groups in Florida.  In 1999, she moved to Cincinnati and established her private voice and piano studio; additionally, she taught preschool music classes and participated in church music programs.

Darlene loves to help people of all ages grow in ability and confidence as they explore the world of music.

Donald Broerman, a Cincinnati native, earned his BM in Classical Guitar Performance at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) under the direction of Clare Callahan, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2013. He has also studied with David Case at the University of Oregon (School of music), as well as, Jazz guitar with Mike Denny and Chris Sorenson and started his training at the Musical Arts Center in Cincinnati.

During his time at CCM, Mr. Broerman performed in master classes from internationally acclaimed artists such Oscar Ghiglia, David Russell, Robert Belinic and Rupert Boyd and participated in classes given by Zoran Dukic, Marcin Dylla, Carlos Perez, Johannes Möller, Daniel Lippel and others.  Coruses completed for degree include:  Guitar Pedagogy, Guitar repertoire and History, Guitar Ensemble.

Mr. Broerman is an active composer, whose compositions are primarily solo guitar works. He briefly studied composition with Terry McQuilken at the University of Oregon, Orchestration at CCM and private lessons with Jennifer Jolley (Composition Professor at Ohio Wesleyan, President and Co-founder of N.A.N.O. Works Opera Company). A budding interest in this field has led to performances of his own works at CCM’s North of Here, Classical Revolution and a commission by The Ascend Project.

Mr. Broerman serves the community through his work in non-profits. He is the current President of Greater Cincinnati Guitar Society, as well as, a member and guitar adjudicator for the Ohio Music Educators Association. Donald is a dedicated pedagogue.  His students have won gold medals in the Royal Conservatory of Music examinations. He currently teaches at Indian Springs Academy of Music, Wyoming Fine Arts Center and Leaves of Learning, select Cincinnati Public schools and is a co-director of and instructor for the CCM Guitar Youth Workshop.

Elise Edelman (Secretary) has worked as an Innovation and Human Potential Consultant for the past 8 years. She previously spent 24 years in Product Development at Procter & Gamble, where she uncovered consumer insights to guide technology development and bring products to market. Her experiences developing new product ideas led her to coach teams and leaders on strategy, creative problem solving, and holistic idea development. She specializes in assessing organizational dynamics and leadership coaching. She holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Toledo. She lives in Wyoming with her husband Ken and daughter Fiona, who participates in art and musical theatre classes.

Gayna Bassin teaches traditional violin to students from age 6 to adult, with emphasis on reading skills, technique and musical styles.  She has been on the faculty of the Wyoming Fine Arts Center since 1997.

Mrs. Bassin was a member of the First Violin section of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for twenty years.  She has performed as Concertmaster for Musica Sacra and the Cincinnati Community Orchestra.  During college, she performed in many international music festivals, including Blossom (Kent State University, OH), Tanglewood (MA), the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, and the Orchestra de les Jeunesses Musicales.  

Mrs. Bassin has been a soloist with Cincinnati Community Orchestra,the Colorado Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Windsor Symphony.  She has played many solo and chamber music recitals locally and is an active member of Matinée Musicale Cincinnati. She also plays klezmer violin in the Queen City Klezmorim band.

Mrs. Bassin received a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Ivan Galamian, Jaime Laredo, and Jascha Brodsky.   She received a Master of Music Degree from Indiana University at Bloomington, IN, where she studied with Josef Gingold.  She has been coached in chamber music by members of the Guarneri, Curtis and Budapest Quartets.

Greg Newberry is a professional storyteller, writer, director and producer. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America and alumni of the Sundance Institute Producers Conference. Greg has optioned four screenplays to Hollywood producers.

His first screenplay attracted the interest of Tom Cruise. His second screenplay was optioned by Oscar and Emmy-winning producer Mark Johnson (Diner, Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man, Bugsy, Donny Brasco, The Notebook, Narnia, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul). His third screenplay was optioned by the Samuel Goldwyn Company. His fourth screenplay was the last script Jack Lemmon was attached to star in before his death. His fifth screenplay was called “the most ambitious script I’ve ever read,” by producer Mark Johnson. His latest screenplay, Guerilla Marketing, is being shopped by former Executive Producers at Paramount and Warner Brothers.

Greg wrote, directed and produced two award-winning short films, Beemer Baby and Homefree, which played at prestigious international film festivals. Homefree garnered the Best Actor award at the Dublin Film Festival in Ireland. Independent film guru John Pierson, author of the book Spike, Mike, Slackers, & Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema, named Beemer Baby one of the top 20 short films of the year. Both Homefree and Beemer Baby were screened by the Cincinnati Film Society at the Cincinnati Art Museum in an exclusive presentation of Greg's work.

Greg produced and directed his first stage play, Riding Shotgun, at Northern Kentucky University’s Corbett Theater to outstanding reviews in 2010. In 2012 and 2018, he wrote and performed spoken-word stories onstage at Cincinnati’s True Theater. He produced and directed another of his stage plays, Who is Amos Otis? at Cincinnati Memorial Hall in 2019. It was voted “Favorite Local Theater Production” in Movers & Makers magazine and considered for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2020. He produced and directed it as an independent film in 2020. It received outstanding reviews, a 4.3 out of 5-star rating on Amazon Prime and won Best of Show and the Humanitarian Award at IndieFEST. It is distributed by Gravitas Ventures on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Tubi, Google Play and other streaming platforms.

In addition to movie screenplays and theatrical plays, Greg has enjoyed success in a wide range of writing disciplines that include branding, advertising copy, commercials, lyrics, poems, musicals, speeches, news releases, op-eds, brochures, themed entertainment productions, marketing plans, business plans, web sites and jingles.

Greg is also a producer, commercial director and creative director with over 30 years of advertising experience. He has written, produced and directed over 80 commercials and long-form film productions and won over 35 Addy, Telly and other advertising awards for his work.

In 2012, Greg spearheaded a Writing Workshop for Veterans sponsored by the Writers Guild of America and the National Endowment for the Arts to help veterans learn to write and discover their voice. The workshop was held quarterly at The Ohio State University for five years. He also conducts a Storytelling Workshop for corporations and non-profits. His latest workshop generated four award-winning short films by student filmmakers making their first film.

Greg is an adjunct professor of screenwriting at Cincinnati Stage College. He owns Squeaky Toy Advertising, a creative and branding firm as well as Squeaky Toy Films, a film and commercial production company.

A lifelong Wyoming resident, Jason Bartel grew up in a musical family and business. Jason’s father Paul, founder of the Baroque Violin Shop, as well as the Wyoming Fine Arts Center, exposed Jason to his passion for the arts at an early age.

After growing up in the family retail store, the Baroque Violin Shop, he chose this as his career path after graduating from the University Of Cincinnati with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Design. In 2011, Jason took his passion for music, and his experience in the orchestral string retail shop, and combined them into a new business, Maple Leaf Strings.

Maple Leaf Strings is an orchestral string manufacturer and national distributor that offers instruments from the student level to the professional level, as well as complimentary marketing and branding solutions for their customers.

Jill Phillips, mezzo-soprano, received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in voice from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. In addition to her studies, she has performed as an alto soloist with the Bach Ensemble of St. Thomas in Terrace Park, OH. In the fall of 2017, Jill sang the alto solos in J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor at Cincinnati's Christ Church Cathedral.

Jill performed as the alto soloist in the Peoria Bach Festival in 2017. In addition, she was the alto soloist in the Verdi Requiem with Bradley University in Peoria, IL, in the fall of 2016. During the summer of 2015, she was a Young Artist at Opera Saratoga, where she covered the roles of Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Cenerentola in La cenerentola.

She earned her Master of Music degree in voice from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.  While at CCM, Jill sang the roles of Marcellina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, the Old Prioress in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Baba the Turk in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress.  In addition, she participated in the Opera Fusion: New Works project with CCM and Cincinnati Opera.

Jill has been an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera and made her mainstage debut at DMMO in 2013 as the Zweite Mägd in the company's production of Elektra. She has sung with Kentucky Opera, NANOWorks Opera, Cincinnati Chamber Opera, and Dayton Opera. In addition, Jill has been a Studio Artist with Wolf Trap Opera.   

She has sung scenes from such operas as Anna Bolena, Cendrillon, La cenerentola, The Crucible, Dead Man Walking, Don Carlo, Giulio Cesare, L'italiana in Algeri, Peter Grimes, and Vanessa.

In addition to performing, Jill teaches private voice lessons at the Wyoming Fine Arts Center in Wyoming, OH. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.  While at Luther College, she performed in the opera scenes program and the spring opera productions.  

Joe Robinson was born and raised in Cincinnati by a family of musicians and has studied guitar for 17 years. He also plays bass guitar, ukulele, percussion, as well as the keyboard/piano. You can find him inspiring, enlightening, and empowering others in individual lessons, group lessons and master classes. Joe takes an individualized approach with each student to help them build the skills they need to progress and the passion for them to succeed in achieving their goals.

 Since 2018, Joe has been writing, recording, arranging, and distributing his own original music under the alias Coupe Knoobe. He is inspired by all genres of music, as well as the artistry that goes into the recording, engineering, and producing process. His goal is to not only teach how to play instruments, but to instruct students on how to be creative musicians! Outside of music, Joe enjoys spending quality time with the love of his life Katie, two beautiful daughters Teagan and Rowan, and four fur babies!

Kerri Bram, a veteran artist and art educator, is the owner of Tea Stained Studio, a stained glass studio located in the Clifton/University Heights area of Cincinnati, Ohio. After spending 17 years teaching in the traditional classroom, decided it was time to start focusing on producing on her own. Kerri specializes in the design, construction and repair of architectural stained glass windows.

As an artist, she uses natural elements as the media for her work (glass, metal, rocks, wood and fibers) to alter both one’s perspective and relationship with their environment. Whether it be through her sculptures or her windows, I hope to stimulate a sense of place in the environment.

And, at the end of the day, Kerri loves the sound of breaking glass.

Krista Helton has over 17 years of sewing experience. In 2007, she started a quilting business from her home, and built a positive reputation in Tampa with her quilting. She has made and donated ribbon quilts to various hospitals throughout the state of Florida.

Krista is a graduate of The School of Advertising Art, and worked as a graphic designer for 10 years prior to getting into sewing and quilting. She has been conducting kids sewing lessons since 2019. 

Kyle Michael is an attorney with The Cincinnati Insurance Company. He attended the University of Cincinnati and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, and is a graduate of the Leadership Council for Nonprofits' Board Orientation and Leadership Development (BOLD) program. Kyle lives in Pleasant Ridge with his wife, Katie, and two children.

Lainey Schwaner is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Cleveland, Ohio. She has lived and worked in Cincinnati since 2017. She graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) at the University of Cincinnati in the spring of 2022. Her current art practice focuses on printmaking and performance art. Her work aims to create a visual representation of memory, and is influenced by the things she sees, feels, and experiences. Interaction with the world around her is vital to making her work, as it is reflective of her life and experiences. 

Schwaner’s work has been featured in shows, including at PIQUE gallery’s 24-hour Perform-A-Thon at  the close of This Time Tomorrow, Basketshop Gallery’s Transmission 21: Circut Bending Event, and Sacramento Fine Arts Center’s National Juried Printmaking Exhibition: Aspiring Artists Debut. Schwaner’s involvement in arts organizations includes working as a Gallery Assistant at The Carnegie in Covington, Kentucky. She also runs an online art gallery, Alternative Gallery Space, and is working on forming an artist collective with like minded artists local to Cincinnati.

For two decades, Michael G. Ronstadt has entertained audiences throughout North America on cello, guitar, mandolin and voice. An exceptional musician-composer conversant with a wide range of styles, he not only executes captivating solo performances, but participates regularly in duo and trio situations with a diverse camp of young, innovative musician-songwriters including Lisa Biales, Serenity Fisher and David Trotta.

His versatile talents have been tapped for concert and studio work by such artists as David Bromberg, Linda Ronstadt, Muriel Anderson and Craig Bickhardt. Throughout his extensive performance schedule, he has been teaching steadily for the last 10 years in Arizona, Cincinnati, and the last 5 years in greater Philadelphia where most of his 12 students auditioned and blossomed in the Reading Youth Orchestra.

Working with students of all ages, Michael has also taught cello workshops for Common Ground On The Hill (Westminster, MD), Tucson Cello Congress (Tucson, AZ), Trappe Community School (Collegeville, PA), High Peaks Music Festival (Hunter, NY), as well as co-teaching with Scottish cellist Seylan Baxter at Patrick Burgh Halls (Glasgow, Scotland).

Michael displays genre-blending explorations on cello and guitar in complement to thought-provoking lyrics. He is a much sought-after studio musician, who has appeared on more than 75 albums in the last dozen years. Dan Buckley writing for The Tucson Citizen noted his “amazing command of the typical and exotic sounds of the cello, a true virtuoso and a man of instinctive musicality.” Michael holds both a Master and Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance and studied under esteemed pedagogues Yehuda Hanani, Nancy Green and Dr. Gordon Epperson.

Nancy Huey is a professional musician and educator specializing in sharing music and theater with children of all ages. Since graduating from DePauw University with a BA in Elementary Education, she has taught in elementary classrooms and music departments, and has taught and directed in both junior high and high school drama programs.

In 1999, Ms. Huey envisioned and founded the St. John’s Performing Arts Troupe, a drama/ musical theater group for sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, and still serves as director for the troupe.

Nancy is also a certified Musikgarten teacher, and currently teaches early childhood music as well as private lessons from her home studio.

A Cincinnati native, Peter McCutcheon began playing double bass as a way to learn a musical instrument but keep a safe distance from his older brother who played violin. Quickly, Mr. McCutcheon became passionate in performance, and at the age of 13 he debuted with the Cincinnati Community Orchestra, performing Mahler’s 1st Symphony and Holst’s The Planets. Over a decade later, Mr. McCutcheon has performed with various local orchestras, including the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and the Queen City Chamber Orchestra.

Before attending college at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), Mr. McCutcheon became interested in pedagogy when he began teaching private lessons to younger bassists. At the age of 18, he became Suzuki certified, becoming the only Suzuki-accredited double bass teacher in Cincinnati at the time.

Alongside being a double bass specialist, Mr. McCutcheon has incorporated his love of music into his faith. He is an active member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, where he can be seen playing bass guitar and double bass, arranging music, leading youth ministry, and other various musical tasks when called upon. More recently, he has taken on the role of Worship and Music Administrative Assistant, and now works actively each week in the planning and organization that goes into each worship service.

Mr. McCutcheon received his pre-collegiate instruction from Dayton Philharmonic principal bassist Debbie Taylor. He has earned a Bachelor of Music from CCM, and is now working towards his Masters degree, studying under Rachel Calin. During his Masters, Mr. McCutcheon is also serving as a Graduate Assistant of Music Education, where he can be found teaching String Methods to undergraduate music education majors. It was during his experience as a Graduate Assistant that Mr. McCutcheon grew fond of all of the instruments in the strings family, and now has multiple years of experience playing and teaching violin, viola, and cello in addition to his double bass expertise.

When not thinking about bass or music, Mr. McCutcheon enjoys solving advanced Sudoku puzzles, collecting vintage books, and collecting vinyl records.

Preston Charles III is a violinist that has had the best of both worlds; a standard private education in classical music and Suzuki as well as contemporary forms of music performance. This includes jazz, rock, funk, hip-hop, and pop. Performing since he was four, Preston’s passion for music encompasses a wide variety of musical interests from musical composition to playing flute and piano.

Preston realized his dream when he established Make It Happen Music in 2012. He is one of the city’s most active performers. Recent projects include: Blink 2022 (performing artist) in collaboration with Triple Sonicz and OTR Alit, the Cincinnati Hip Hop Orchestra in partnership with Elementz, Black and Brown Artist Grant ArtsWave award Recipient for film and music production, Cincinnati Music Accelerator, Maestro of Tomorrow judge, Books Alive, The Street Stage Project for CMA/ 3CDC, CSO MAC Award and opening for CSO Pops, the Conner Prairie Museum Center in Indiana for music composition and production, Double Forte Musician and Make Music Cincinnati.

Rachael is currently a controller with Sibcy Cline with a history of strong leadership and management skills when overseeing internal financial controls. She is a dependable, enthusiastic, and ambitious certified public accountant professional with strong attention to detail and a commitment to quality work. Rachel holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Business Administration from Thomas More College. She has also earned a Certificate of Accountancy and is a Certified Public Account. Rachel’s record of effective communication, building relationships, and adapting to evolving technology has allowed her to supervise and strengthen professional relationships.

Ramona is a knowledgeable and proven nonprofit leader. She brings experience and a solid track record in grant-writing, fundraising, and community engagement.  Her genuine passion for the arts and arts education has fueled a successful career of over 20 years, including work at the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Music Hall.  She serves on several nonprofit art organization boards and enjoys personal artistic pursuits in music, dance, and theatre performance.

“Everything in the world is created twice, a vision in the mind and again in the world. Creativity is the source of everything. I am thrilled to take my vision of community engagement to the Wyoming Fine Arts Center”.

For the past decade, Serenity Fisher has taught private piano lessons, songwriting, and playwriting at the Wyoming Fine Arts Center. Her extensive training in piano, vocal technique, musical theatre and writing fuel her passion for teaching. 

She offers a well-rounded, enjoyable musical experience for both children and adults. Lessons are tailored to the individual needs and interests of each student. The lessons may include: development of technique and theory using method books such as Faber, Bastien, and Alfred’s; using chord charts to play and sing popular music; songwriting and composition; and improvisation. Her teaching style is fun, inventive and engaging. Serenity’s teaching style emphasizes creativity and self-expression; maintaining a safe and respectful environment that values each students individuality; and fostering a lifelong love of playing music. 

Serenity is a dynamic group instructor, teaching groups of students the art of songwriting. She is also versed in teaching students to compose using not only their own voice, but also on piano, ukulele, and guitar. 

She provides opportunities for her students to perform outside of recitals, including playing at professional music venues and local festivals, sometimes opening for sets her own performances. 

She performs original music with her band, Serenity Fisher and The Cardboard Hearts, which features two other teachers from The Center: Rose Reidmiller Gowda on violin and Michael G. Ronstadt on cello. She’s released three studio albums: Watercolor Harmonies, Rogue Strawberry, and Carousel of Love. The band call their music: theatrical indie dream pop with a Tim Burton-esque twist. 

Serenity co-founded the Tangled Leaves Theatre Collective with playwriting partner Robin O’Neal. She’s written, produced, and acted in five original plays, three of which were winners of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival’s “Audience Pick of the Fringe” award. As a theatre instructor, Serenity enjoys helping students develop characters and story lines and to learn how to collaborate with others to create an entirely original theatrical production. 

Serenity is happy to call Cincinnati home, though she tours and teaches both nationally and internationally, including teaching piano, voice, and choral pieces at a music camp in Ireland. When not teaching or performing, she enjoys doing puzzles and listening to audiobooks. 

Spencer is a working musician. Outside of lessons, he plays across the Midwest with Zack Attack, the “Greatest Throwback Party Band Ever.” With Zack Attack, Spencer regularly plays clubs and casinos, weddings, private parties, and corporate events. At weddings, Spencer often provides lovely instrumental ceremony music, or lively instrumental cocktail music. 

Spencer plays as a soloist for private parties and events, performing jazz, classical, and solo guitar arrangements of popular songs. His “solo career” has had him performing at some of the most beautiful destinations for weddings and private parties across New England and the Midwest. 

As a performer, Spencer has gained valuable experiences that he gladly shares with his students. Through work with cover and event bands, Spencer has had to learn to transcribe by ear and prepare guitar parts to be performance ready. In lessons, he uses this training to transcribe songs that students want to learn. Through his work as a soloist, Spencer has had to arrange entire ensembles into a single guitar part. In lessons, he can arrange a guitar part to a particular student’s skill level. His transcription and arrangement skills allow students to learn almost any song they please. 

Spencer doesn’t just teach how to play songs, but finds connections between songs, patterns in songwriting and guitar parts, and directs each student’s lesson plan along a smooth arc of learning. This allows students to hone old skills while tackling new skills. 

Rather than just playing guitar, Spencer understands music. In part, this is due to his experience as a professional musician, but he also benefits from a Master of Music in Music Education (Boston University, 2013), and a Bachelor of Arts in Music (Otterbein University, 2006). The balance of higher education and practical application of that education has given Spencer a broad, open-minded approach to music and music education.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Mrs. Stella Bardetti received her B.A. in Music (Piano) and Certificate in Piano Pedagogy from the Northern Kentucky University. She also studied piano at the Chautauqua Music Festival in 1998 and 1999 where she received the Eleanor B. Daugherty Scholarship both times. In 2000, Mrs. Bardetti was a semi-finalist in the Eastern Ukraine International Piano Competition in Luhansk, Ukraine. She is a sought-after guest lecturer on the topics of Music Theory and the benefits of Early Music Education as well as an experienced adjudicator for various piano competitions and juried events. Mrs. Bardetti is a Certified Musikgarten Instructor. Various music festivals throughout the world that she has participated in include: Chautauqua Music Festival at the Chautauqua Institution in NY, the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Vietri sul Mare, Italy; KIIS in Salzburg, Austria; and the Aub Chamber Music Festival in Aub, Germany. 

The 2022-23 school year marks Mrs. Bardetti's 25th year teaching Piano and she is an active member of Music Teachers National Association. She also taught Voice for 7 years. From 2013 - 2014, she was a Representative for Steinway & Sons Pianos in the Tri-State area, and received intensive sales training at the famous Steinway & Sons factory in Queens, New York. Her duties for Steinway included organizing the Steinway Young Artist Concert Series, event planning, and being the liaison for all of the Steinway Artists who came to town to perform with the CSO and other organizations. A highlight of being a Steinway Representative was when she was given the high honor of being in charge of the famous Horowitz Steinway (CD503) when it came to the Greater Cincinnati area in 2013. As a pianist and vocalist, she has performed in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Austria, Italy, Ukraine, and France. A few years ago, Mrs. Bardetti became a licensed Musikgarten teacher. A lifelong learner, she is currently a student of concert pianist  Luiz de Moura Castro in Hartford, CT.  

Mrs. Bardetti and her husband, Michael, enjoy time with their family and friends, cooking, movies, and traveling.

Tom Buckley is one of the most in demand drummers and drum instructors in the Cincinnati area. While attending the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, he performed with a variety of ensembles including the Jazz Lab Band, the Jazz Ensemble, and numerous small jazz combos. He also played in several of the school’s highly acclaimed musicals. He was the first recipient of the now annual Bob Bodley award and scholarship, which is given to the student who most exemplifies characteristics of humility, creativity, and professionalism.

He has been teaching private lessons regularly for 11 years and has experience teaching students as young as 3 years old up through adults that are active, professional musicians. He has also instructed drum lines in the Cincinnati area and has taught at several marching band camps and drum set camps around the country.

In addition to his busy teaching schedule, Tom regularly performs with some of the best musicians in the area. He can be heard with his band FLOCKS, The Cincy Brass, the Brad Myers Trio, the Rick Van Matre Quintet, and the Buckley/Kline Duo. He can be heard on several acclaimed recordings including FLOCKS self-titled debut, Dan Karlsberg’s Tales From the Winter Solstice with JD Allen, Brad Myers/Mike Sharfe’s Sanguinaria, Buckley/Kline Duo Live at Filament, the Brad Myers Quintet album Prime Numbers, the Rick Van Matre Quintet album Lines Above, and Will Wedmedyk’s Awakening. 

Tom is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he started playing percussion at age nine.

Valerie received her Bachelor of Music from SUNY Potsdam, and her Master of Science in Education with a concentration in music education from the University of Dayton. Suzuki Piano Teacher Training, levels 1 through 6, was pursued at Capital University. Further professional development includes Kodaly music education from the Kodaly Institute at Silver Lake College, and Orff –Schulwerk music education. Additionally, Valerie is a licensed and certified Musikgarten instructor.

As an Ohio certified teacher of Music Education, K-12, she has taught in both public and private schools. Her professional experiences also include over 20 years as a liturgical choir director, choral accompanist, and ballet school accompanist.

 Soprano Victoria Ellington received her Master’s of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) where she studied with Professor William McGraw.  During her time at CCM, she was able to workshop several new operas including Blind Injustice and Awakenings with the Opera Fusion: New Works program, a joint collaboration between Cincinnati Opera and CCM Opera. In past seasons she has performed at Cincinnati Opera and the Kennedy Center among other places. 

Victoria earned her B.M in Voice Performance, as well as a B.A in Religion, from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music. While studying at Oberlin, she performed the role of La Feé in Cendrillon.  A versatile performer, Victoria also participated in performances with Oberlin’s Theater productions of Dessa Rose and for colored girls. Midway through her undergraduate tenure she started to study Jazz Voice under La Tanya Hall in addition to her classical studies with Timothy LeFebvre. In collaboration with Cleveland Opera Theater's New Opera Initiative, Victoria performed the role of Rachel in the Midwest premier of Nkeiru Okoye’s Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed the Line to Freedom.

Victoria has been the recipient of many awards, including First Prize in the George Shirley Vocal Competition and a recipient of the A. Grace Lee Mims award from the Cleveland Foundation for her work in preserving the art and performance of the Spiritual. 

Victoria has been teaching voice lessons privately for a few years. She specializes in Opera, Classical, Musical theater, Jazz , Gospel and Pop. Victoria is a teaching Artist with Cincinnati Opera, and teaches by guiding each student to form solid technical foundations to unlock their potential and allow let their voice soar.

Wendy is an Equity stage manager who has been a part of numerous productions at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, and Dayton’s Human Race Theatre Company. She has worked for Cincinnati Ballet as Company Manager and Production Manager and Cincinnati Arts Association as Event Supervisor/Manager on Duty at Music Hall. Wendy has stage managed in Chicago, toured nationally, and managed corporate special events. Since 2011, she has taught a course nicknamed “The Biz of the Biz,” also known as Survival Skills for the Freelancer, at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music. Her sons Sam and Spencer Bowden grew up taking lessons at the Center and are now continuing their musicianship at the college level. Wendy is a past board member of the Wyoming School Music Association and a graduate of Northwestern University.

As a Starling Competition first prize winner, Yuko studied at CCM where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance. While at CCM, Yuko was the concerto competition winner and performed the Tchaikovsky violin concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Upon completion of her studies at CCM, Yuko went on to receive Master’s Degree in Violin Performance from Indiana University with Violin Pedagogy as a cognate field. Her teachers include Naoko Tanaka, Franco Gulli and Won Bin Yim. Yuko is also a former member of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and has been on faculty at the Center since 1997.