Neal Adams

Neal has worked a music educator for the last 20 years. After completing his Bachelor of Music in Jazz Composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he attended California State University Fullerton and studied with 7 string guitar master Ron Eschete and received two scholarships from the “Friends of Jazz.” He has played in several jazz, funk, and soul ensembles and performed in various musical theatre productions. Native to the Los Angeles area, Neal has made Seattle his permanent home as of 2015. He’s been lucky enough to learn and share the stage with greats such as Milo Peterson, Brad Rabuchin, Larry Knoose, David Becker, James Moody, Bob Florence, Mark White and Garrison Fewell to name a few.  Neal enjoys teaching students of all ages from beginning to advanced. Jazz, blues, rock, folk, reggae and classical are some of his favorite styles. He’s both passionate about teaching the music he finds inspiring and the music you love!

Neal’s approach teaching is first with the mindset, "let’s have fun" mixed in with building real skills and techniques that give you the ability to make the most out of your instrument! The process of learning music helps all aspects of our lives and can help find your place in the art form. Neal’s satisfaction in teaching is inspired by watching a student grow, build skills and open up to different styles of music. Nothing is more rewarding than watching a student achieve their own personal goals!

Robin Cain

Robin teaches Piano, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Ukulele, Electric Bass, Upright Bass, Music Production, and Music Theory. He has over 24 years of experience studying instruments and over 10 years teaching. This includes receiving a BM in Jazz Studies from Capital University and Masters level study at New England Conservatory in Boston. He continues to enjoy a 7 year bass performance career. This included 2 years of working as a bass player on Norwegian and P&O Australia Cruise Ships, and playing every kind of music you could imagine.

Robin has a never ending patience and passion for teaching and is excited to work with all ages and skill levels, especially beginners. As a teacher, he is dedicated to motivating and inspiring his students and tracking progress whilst still finding a way to have fun!

When not teaching, Robin is practicing all of his instruments, and performing with local cover Band The Nines and local world music group Cordaviva. He also makes creative lo-fi beats and composes with Logic X music software while arranging his own music for small groups. Robin likes to spend time with family and friends, and play for kids at a weekly Kaleidoscope Play and Learn group led by his wife Joy. He looks forward to sharing the joy and inspiration of music with students of all backgrounds!

Maho Sasaki

Maho has been a happy piano player ever since her grandmother gifted her a toy grand piano at age 1. Classically trained, Maho has received her B.A. in Music and M.M. in Keyboard Performance from Washington University in St. Louis, and M.M. in Music Therapy from Sam Houston State University. She studied under Seth Carlin at Washington University in St. Louis. Originally from Japan, she has a unique background of moving cities more than 7 times before age 20, and has always kept up with piano lessons and studied under acclaimed piano teachers from Chicago, San Francisco, Hokkaido (Japan), Gorizia (Italy), and St. Louis. Since Maho spent most of her adolescence communication challenged due to the frequent international moves, music lessons were the only mode of sane community interaction for years. This background has inspired her to pursue music therapy later to broaden her involvement in providing positive musical experiences for a wider population in the community. Maho is also a board-certified music therapist with a specialization in neurologic music therapy.

With more than 10 years of experience teaching piano and providing music therapy services, Maho recently moved from Texas to Washington and is excited to start sharing her passion for music with the Seattle community. Maho’s lesson mottos are 1. To always respect the fundamentals, 2. It’s never too late to improve; she looks forward to welcoming a diverse range of students.

Carl Miller

Carl Miller is an experienced performer and educator in a variety of genres. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and started his musical journey at the age of 8 playing cello but soon found his passion for playing guitar at the age of 12. In middle school, Carl started a band with friends playing classic and contemporary Rock and Blues music. The group went on to open for notable acts such as "Little Brazil" and "Drake Bell" in high school as well as coming in 1st place at a Battle of the Bands competition in Omaha. After High School, Carl went on to study classical guitar under Maestro Hadley Heavin at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in 2013 Carl taught and performed in many different capacities. His teaching experience includes teaching all ages from complete beginner to advanced and encompassing performance styles from blues and rock to classical and flamenco music. He has performed as a soloist at weddings, parties, and concerts as well as in various duets with singers, violinists, and cellists. In 2014 he formed a "Bossa Nova Rock" group called "Carl Miller and the Thrillers" that quickly became one of the hottest new groups in Omaha according to local magazine “The Reader”. The Thrillers shared the stage with Conor Oberst, Sinkane, and Dolores Diaz and the Standby Club to name a few.

In 2019, Carl and his wife decided it was time to move to a bigger city to pursue music education and performance and set their sights on Seattle because of the rich and eclectic music scene. Since then, they have been teaching all ages and experience levels around the Seattle area. Carl’s teaching style caters to the students’ individual needs. His method focuses on balancing between developing strong technique with the pure joy of guitar playing. Whatever style or approach that may be, Carl is enthusiastic to help students of all backgrounds reach their goals.

Dan Schwindt

Dan has been a professional guitarist for 25 years based primarily in Seattle, Dallas and Denver's music markets and has recently relocated back to his hometown after a 20 year residency in Denver, CO. He has toured extensively throughout the United States performing various genres of music including Jazz, Rock, Funk and R&B. Pre-Covid Dan was averaging over 200 gigs a year while maintaining a full teaching schedule, regular studio work, and a first call orchestra pit musician at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra (CSO). As an adjunct music instructor at University of Colorado Denver, Dan taught beginning sight-reading and improvisation, commercial guitar styles, electric guitar styles, guitar ensemble, pop-rock ensemble and private lessons.

Dan is the son of a professional opera singer and voice teacher and was thrown into the world of music education at a young age. From the subconscious mind of a child hearing private lessons every night to over a decade teaching at a University, Dan has had a multitude of educational opportunities and experiences to create a successful learning environment. Dan believes learning is a very individualized process. Because individual students have different learning styles and contexts, the “one-size-fits-all” approach to teaching is convenient but ineffective. Thinking outside-the-box, maximizing the learning process and making it as individualized as possible and adaptive to the individual student will always achieve better results. Learning what creates inspiration is the key. If you can find what inspired the student to pick up the instrument in the first place, then you have found the spark to light the fire.

Paige Sandusky

Paige is originally from New Jersey where she received her B.A. in Voice Performance from Montclair State University and is an alumni of The LaGuardia Performing Arts High School, "The Fame" School, in New York City. After college, she performed in New York City at renowned venues such as Cafe Wha? and The Groove. She also had the honor to perform on the same stage as countless iconic artists at Amateur Night at The Apollo Theater.

After a decade of living in the concrete jungle, the mountains were calling her name. Paige moved to the Denver, CO area in 2014 where she was the lead vocalist for soul/r&b band BeatSpeak and played in various funk, soul, and r&b groups as well as keeping a full-time teaching studio for voice and piano. She's since relocated to Seattle where she continues to perform, create and pursue her diverse musical endeavors. She strives to teach her students proper technique all the while staying in tune with one’s natural musical instincts. Just as she experienced with her mentors along the way, she hopes to create an open, fun, and creative learning environment for her students. 

Cole Cribbs

Cole Cribbs is a Musician from Tulsa Oklahoma who recently moved to Seattle. He first started playing piano in second grade and became fascinated with music. He had a great ear but struggled to learn how to read music for the first few years of lessons. He moved into playing guitar and trombone in 5th grade in the local middle school band program. Cole played his first professional gig at the age of fourteen at a sushi restaurant where performing on bass and has been gigging regularly ever since. All of this musical background culminated in Cole being accepted into the University of Tulsa piano performance program in 2019. 

He loves composing and arranging original pieces for strings and piano as well as playing guitar and bass in rock bands. Cole graduated from the University of Tulsa in May of 2023 with a Bachelors of Arts in Music and Spanish and taught piano and bass throughout college. He loves teaching and sharing his passion for music with students and has experience in many different fields of performance including classical, jazz, rock, and bossa nova. In Seattle, he currently plays around town and collaborates with a variety of different musicians as well as teaching piano, bass, and guitar. 

Cole believes that lessons should be fun and intuitive, and that you should leave every lesson with more "tools" at your fingertips to help you build your musical vocabulary. He also believes in having diverse musical interests, and not always adhering to what you are used to. Alongside consistency and discipline, creating and experimenting are an equally important part of the process!

Ben Rea

Ben is a passionate Washington native with over a decade of teaching and playing experience. Upon graduating from The Art Institute of Seattle in 2013, Ben has since spent his time recording bands, playing shows, composing music, and traveling. In 2018, Ben was able to start his own private recording studio, where he has written, recorded, produced, and collaborated on many albums with other local musicians. With an overflow of demand, Ben and his friends started their own record label, Sifter Grim. His musical projects have taken him around the world. In the fall of 2021, Ben’s solo project toured Europe and the following year his band toured the US and Canada, completing upwards of 46 shows in a 7 week period.

In addition to being a mentor and teacher to all ages and walks of life, Ben is knowledgeable of various other stringed instruments, genres, techniques, and theory. He believes that small steps over time yield great rewards and that having fun is a key ingredient for motivation and accomplishing goals. Ben also believes that setting smaller goals more frequently is the gateway to progress, achieving harder techniques and more proficient skills. With 20 years of playing experience, Ben can speak many musical languages such as pop, alternative, metal, jazz, bossa nova, blues and more. He believes lessons should be fun and motivating which is a vital component of learning and progress.

Katherine Allen

Katherine is a singer, pianist and guitar player originally from Pullman, Washington. Although she has been singing since she could speak, she truly fell in love with music at the age of 12 when she started taking formal voice lessons, and her passion only grew as she spent the rest of her childhood and teenage years in choirs, musicals and competitions. This passion led her to pursue music at a post-secondary level, where she completed her Bachelor's of Music degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Victoria just across the water in Canada. For the last 5 years she has lived in Victoria, studying music as well as teaching privately. It is here that she discovered her love for not only performing music, but also for being a part of other people's musical journeys. Inspired by the amazing teachers that consistently shaped the trajectory of her life,

Katherine prioritizes creating a welcoming, fun and judgment-free teaching space. She has gained expertise in many different genres including classical, musical theater, contemporary and jazz, and enjoys building an individual and customizable lesson plan for each student depending on their desires. Katherine whole-heartedly believes that everybody has the potential to be a great musician and looks forward to contributing to the community!

Morgan Wick

Morgan Wick began playing Guitar at the age of 12 and quickly found his passion. His first love has always been rock music. He played in several rock bands growing up in Palmer, Alaska. After a few years he decided to get more serious and began studying classical and jazz guitar, as well as performing in one of the top concert choirs in the state.

Morgan decided to pursue music as a career and attended the Lionel Hampton School of Music, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Guitar Performance in 2010. In his time there he studied under Professor James Reid, as well as working extensively with Vern Sielert, Professor of Jazz Studies, and Daniel Bukvich, Professor of Percussion and Composition. Having performed in a variety of bands ranging from Rock, Metal, Blues, Funk, Fusion, Jazz, as well as classical ensembles, Morgan has a diverse number of styles at his disposal. His most notable influences are progressive rock and metal bands such as Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree and Rush as well as jazz fusion and instrumental guitar music. Primarily an electric guitarist, Morgan likes to blend technical proficiency with the soulfulness of blues and jazz, and the sophistication of classical music. He has performed with dozens of ensembles across the Northwest and has composed for rock bands, jazz combos, choirs, and video games.

Carrie Jennings

Carrie Jennings is a vocal performer and multi-instrumentalist based in Seattle, WA. She has been teaching music for over a decade, sharing her love of the arts with audiences and students across the West Coast. 

Born and raised in Nevada, Carrie was involved in the performing arts from a young age as both a musician and a dancer. Her passion for performing took her to Colorado where she received a BM in Classical Performance from the University of Denver. While spending ten years immersed in the Denver music scene and touring the West Coast with indie-soul band Mama Magnolia, Carrie has been honored to open or acclaimed artists including The California Honeydrops, Snarky Puppy, and Booker T. Jones. She’s performed at notable venues including Mission Ballroom, Coors Field, Mishawaka Amphitheatre and at festivals including South by Southwest, Sawtooth Valley Gathering, and Whale Rock. After moving to Seattle in 2022, Carrie launched her solo career as a singer-songwriter and released her debut EP “Good Tension” in October of 2023. Since then, she has been performing her own original music with her husband, Thomas Jennings, as well as collaborating with other phenomenal artists throughout the Pacific Northwest. 

As both an artist and educator, Carrie believes that art is an essential component of our human experience, and that time devoted to any type of creative practice represents a deep investment in ourselves. She believes that this type of self-exploration cultivates awareness, joy, connection, and transformation.This fuels her desire to be a teacher. Carrie has a goal-oriented and student-led approach to education and works to cultivate a fun, intentional and flexible learning environment for her students.

Matt Greisen

Matt Greisen was born and raised in Seattle, WA. After embarking on his own musical journey at the age of 12, he began teaching guitar lessons to his peers in high school. Matt devoted hours each day to refining his skills while mastering solos by guitarists like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. He developed a deep passion for music and the guitar when he joined his first band a year later. Matt pursued higher education with music at Seattle Pacific University, majoring in Music Production and studying guitar under Greg Fulton. During this period, he further honed his skills in jazz and classical guitar while performing at various Seattle venues and weddings with his quartet. He later ventured to Cuenca, Ecuador, where he spent a year performing jazz in bands and duo guitar settings. Throughout his time abroad, he continued teaching students online across the US and in-person in Ecuador. Upon returning home, Matt reintegrated into the music scene, performing at gigs, weddings and local jam sessions with his quartet.

Matt is dedicated to helping others gain musical knowledge while efficiently learning to play their instruments. He believes in the importance of structure and commitment in music lessons, while also ensuring they are enjoyable. Matt values the sense of community that music fosters, viewing it as an integral aspect of personal and musical growth. He teaches various styles with a focus on musicality, expression, improvisation, and promoting efficient and healthy technique.