Monthly Archives: May 2015

Originally from Woodstock, NY, Jesse has lived in Texas for 7 years. He earned a B.A. in Jazz Performance from the New School in N.Y. Since 2006 when he joined the internationally acclaimed band Midlake, Jesse has toured the U.S., Europe, and Australia. He has played on stage with such acts as Pearl Jam and Norah Jones. He currently lives in Denton with his wife, two sons and their Yorkie.

www.midlake.net

Teaching Philosophy: Tailor the lesson to the student’s needs.

Instruments Taught: piano

Interesting Fact: Jesse and his bandmates were the subject of the documentary Midlake: Live in Denton, which was produced and directed by actor Jason Lee and director Eric Noren. The feature-length film premiered at the 2015 Thin Line Film Festival and in Glastonbury, England.

Originally from Minnesota, where he also played professionally, Mike has been in Texas for the last 20 years studying, teaching, and playing music professionally. He received a B.A. in Jazz Studies with a concentration in guitar performance from U.N.T. Currently, Mike plays guitar for two popular but varied groups, Dallas cover band High Definition and Celtic rock band The Killdares, which performs regularly in DFW and around the U.S., including a cruise gig alongside Celtic Thunder!

Mike and his wife currently live in Denton.

www.killdares.com

www.highdefband.com

Interesting fact: Mike has several chickens!

Instruments Taught: guitar, bass, beginning drums and piano

Teaching Philosophy: Teach the language of music through theory; include both the styles of music that interest the student as well as new styles; every student is different