Our Staff

Ciara Emily Newman is a soprano and an Alaska native. She recently  graduated with a Master’s degree in vocal performance and pedagogy from Penn State University. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ciara has

David Shaffer earned his BFA and MFA at California Institute of the Arts where he studied percussion and many Non-Western music systems including the Ewe Music of Ghana, North and South Indian

Matthew Costello is a guitarist and composer originally from New York. He attended Five Towns College where he received a bachelor’s degree in Jazz and Commercial music with a concentration in Composition.

Eric Fairfax is a professional musician/recording artist/music producer/audio engineer from Berea, Ohio. Eric’s main instrument is the saxophone which he has played for twenty-two years. His secondary instruments are flute, (15 years)

Composer and flutist Bryan Kennard has written extensively for jazz ensembles and small groups, chamber ensembles, and full orchestra. His music has been performed at the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals,

Violinist and educator Amos Fayette made his solo debut at the age of 8 with the Stony Brook University Orchestra in his native Long Island, NY.  Since  then, he has gone on

Katniss Bi is a mezzo-soprano who has earned her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has been in a lot of stage productions during

Laura Morabith started playing by ear at the age of 6 at which time she also began learning to play the violin. When she began, She was fully self-taught and learned how

Gary Siperko is a professional touring/recording guitarist and composer most notably associated with The Legendary Shack Shakers, Pere Ubu, and Rocket From The Tombs. Mr. Siperko has over 30 years of experience

Samantha Loomis is an active voice teacher in the Cleveland area, offering private voice lessons and piano lessons at the Lakewood Music Academy. Samantha also directs the Children’s Choir at Westlake United

Fred Clark obtained his education at the University of Tampa, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Music degree in Music Education. While in Tampa, he performed in many different situations, from

Thomas McKeon is a Lakewood native who has been teaching and performing in the Cleveland area for over 10 years. Thomas received his Bachelor’s degree in Trumpet Performance from Otterbein University before

David Debick has served as director of music at Brecksville United Church of Christ since 2002, where he directs an adult choir, a children’s choir, a soprano recorder/dulcimer/guitar ensemble, and a youth

Ben Wolgamuth is a Lakewood-based music producer, audio engineer, songwriter, and working multi-instrumentalist. He was the lucky recipient of a roundabout music education, including an Associate of Arts degree from the small

Meghan Galloway teaches K-8 general music on the west side of Cleveland. She received her Bachelor of Music in music theory from Ithaca College. Meghan attended Eastern Illinois University to study music

Sara Simonovska was born in Kumanovo, Macedonia on June 14, 1994. Her father is a professional drum set player and from him she inherited her love of music. She started playing drum

Dr. Victor Liva, Associate Professor, Coordinator of String Studies and Conductor of Orchestras. Dr. Liva began his musical career as a violininst, studying first with his father, Ferdinand Liva, a well acclaimed