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Jessie has lived in Denton for the past 5 years and has been teaching music since she was 18. She was homeschooled, had voice lessons from the age of 8, and was classically trained for piano by a Russian teacher in the Russian School of Music. Her passion for writing and performing music led her to create the Jessie Frye Band, which has made a name for itself in DFW, regularly playing festivals and clubs.

Jessie has shared the stage with Pat Benatar, the Avett Brothers and more, and won a fan-voted competition to play Edgefest in 2014. She even met with Tori Amos backstage for an article in the Dallas Observer.

www.jessiefryeband.com

Teaching philosophy: Encourage individuality, work hard with each student to bring out the best of them in a way that feels natural and comfortable

Lessons Taught: piano, voice, guitar and songwriting

Interesting Fact: Tori Amos said of Jessie, “I know I’m going to be hearing about you. I’ve done this a long time, honey, and you’re a superstar.”

Proudly from New Jersey, Matt has lived in Texas for 20 years. He received a B.A. in Jazz Performance from U.N.T. and currently lives in Denton with his happy family of 6. He has been a performer, clinician and educator since 1989. A two-time Grammy-nominated artist, Matt has played with various international hard rock acts and been an invited drum clinician in Croatia, Denmark, New Zealand and locally. Impressively, he has played with over 100 groups in over 40 countries.

www.mattthompsondrums.com

Teaching Philosophy: Try to understand the student and what his/her needs are; push as hard as I can while still being positive and complimentary

Instruments Taught: drums, piano, guitar

Interesting fact: Matt is an avid fan and collector of all things Futurama, and his favorite literature is sci-fi short story.

Kaela moved from Sarasota, Florida to Texas 7 years ago. She received a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies degree from U.N.T. with a concentration in vocal performance and a minor in music theory. She’s been playing piano since she was 8 years old and competed in her first vocal competition in the 4th grade. Kaela makes a full-time living as a musician: the last five of her six years teaching music have been at HMPS, and she’s also a studio singer for jingles and commercials. Kaela is a five-time winner of the prestigious Downbeat award, the Dallas Observer named her a 2014 Artist to Watch, and her album of original music has won multiple local awards, including 2013 Best Album of the Year by the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

www.kaelasinclair.com

Lessons Taught: voice, piano, songwriting, music theory, guitar, pop choir, all-girl ensembles

Teaching Philosophy: Use a combination of practical basics and music theory combined with creativity; use different tools, techniques; combine classical and contemporary styles to keep the student engaged; find out what motivates the student and teach to the individual

Born and raised in Texas, Kristen has been involved in and surrounded by music from a young age. She received a B.A. in music from U.C.L.A. and an M.A. in Vocal Performance, Opera Studies from U.N.T. As a professional singer, Kristen has sung with the Dallas Opera and the Fort Worth Opera, and has done studio and commercial work for companies such as Kodak and Disney. She was a semifinalist in the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition.

Kristen can sing in all styles, a tribute to her classical training. She and her opera singer husband live in Dallas.

Instruments Taught: voice, piano

Interesting fact: Her grandfather owned a record shop.

Justin Schenk grew up in Southlake and graduated from Carroll High School. He started playing guitar at age 13, and started playing jazz at age 14. By 17, he was teaching beginner and intermediate guitar lessons. While occupying the guitar chair in Carroll High’s top jazz band, he received from various jazz competitions awards that included: Outstanding Jazz Soloist, and Outstanding Musician 3 years in a row. During his Senior year, he was honored to receive the Louis Armstrong Award for Jazz. He then attended the University of North Texas where he played with several jazz combos and big bands as well as spending several years in the school’s latin jazz ensemble studying the music of Puerto Rico and Cuba. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies with a minor in Music Theory in 2010, and is currently working as a freelance guitarist in the D/FW area. He has experience playing and teaching a multitude of different genres including: rock, country, blues, R&B, pop, various latin styles, and jazz.

A Texas native, Androo has been performing on and off stage since he could walk and talk. He began songwriting at age 7, playing piano at age 10, gigging on multiple instruments with various bands since 8th grade, and sang in choir in high school and college. At U.N.T., he majored in Composition, minored in Music Theory and received a B.A. in Music with a concentration in voice. Androo has been teaching private music lessons for 10 years, with the last six at HMPS. There he started the Home Grown CD series that encourages students to create their own music and provides them with studio experience. He also teaches music theory, ensemble, and creative music classes at DFW PAC.

Androo has been a studio musician and singer on various albums of all styles; been individually contracted for jingles and music beds for radio, television and film; and produced over two dozen albums for others and for his own music. His original music both sells and has been written about in magazines internationally and domestically. Androo is also the band instructor and performance coach for The Robotix who were finalists on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Androo, his wife and their son live in Denton.

Lessons Taught: voice, piano, guitar, bass, drums, composition/songwriting, music production

Teaching Philosophy: Customize to the individual student’s style of learning and enjoyment. Music shouldn’t be a chore.

Interesting fact: At age 6, he serenaded a large group of nuns with Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”.

At a very tender age, David Hall recognized his passion and flair for music. He studied with several instructors throughout his life, however the one constant that always remained was his drive and compelling need to expand his musical technique, theory, repertoire and compositions. With countless hours and years of study behind him, it came as no shock to anyone that Hall chose to attend the University of North Texas in 1997. Choosing “Jazz Studies” as his major was also a given. By 2001, he had received his Bachelor’s from UNT in Jazz Guitar Studies. So, what would he do next after graduation? Hall made the inevitable, yet risky move of catapulting his passion into his livelihood. He began offering private instruction to students at all ages and all levels in 2002. Presently, 8 years later, Hall Music Productions has grown to become a state of the art fully functioning music studio…..a success which Hall doesn’t take lightly and is proud of. While both directing/teaching at Hall Music Productions , Hall has also been able to hone in on the performance and songwriting aspects of his band, Earthyvibes. He, along with his band have put out their third album this year, XY as well as continue to tour along the Southwest in order to provide some good old Texas entertainment to packed audiences. MUSIC is Halls life and he plans to pass that down to all who are willing to learn.

Listen:

http://www.earthyvibes.com/