Individual Instruction

Individual Instruction in
Piano, Voice, Visual Arts, Guitar, Banjo,
Mandolin, Violin/Fiddle and Martial Arts
Individual Instruction
for children and adults

Published: Tuesday, August 8, 2006

Individual Instruction

Introduction

Children and adults need to not only create but also to express themselves and to feel satisfaction for their accomplishments. Music lessons will provide this and more. Learning to play a musical instrument or to sing correctly develops concentration, coordination, and critical thinking and communication skills. It can also boost one?s self-esteem and is quite enjoyable. The Mountain Arts Center Arts Education Department has been offering individual instruction for the past several years in the areas of piano, voice, guitar, banjo, mandolin, violin/fiddle and martial arts. These private lessons are one-on-one instruction once a week for thirty minutes with a qualified instructor. The lessons range in fee from $12.50 to $17.00 per each thirty minute session.

Finding the Right Instructor

If your child or you are interested in music, it is very important to find a good instructor. You or your child will develop a special one-on-one relationship with their music instructor, who can help instill a lifelong love of music in your child. Just as all other professionals such as doctors and lawyers are not the same each music instructor will offer a specialized professional perspective. The instructor who charges the least, or who lives the closest, is not necessarily the best choice for you or your child. You will want an instructor who will inspire you or your child to be your best and to nurture you as you grow musically. The instructor?s techniques should also be appropriate for you or your child.

Another key in making music lessons successful for you or your child is parental involvement. Parental support in the learning process is a vital component of any educational endeavor. Be sure to make time to listen to your child play, provide a quality instrument and practice space, encourage them to practice, and celebrate with them in their continued accomplishments.

Interview Prospective Instructors

Instructors should have definite objectives and teaching techniques, and should be able and willing to explain them to you. Arrange to interview prospective instructors prior to making a commitment. Ask to sit in on a lesson. If the instructor thinks that attending a lesson would be too intrusive for the student, ask if the instructors? students will be presenting a recital, and attend it. Here are some sample questions that you could ask an instructor during an interview:

How much teaching experience do you have? What level do you teach? (Beginners, intermediate, advanced)
What is your professional and educational experience in music?

What are your studio policies regarding fees, cancellations and make-up lessons? (Ask to see a copy)

What are you doing in terms of ongoing professional development? (Such as subscribing to music education magazines, belong to professional associations, attend workshops)

Do you periodically conduct parent conferences to evaluate student progress?

What instructional materials and methods do you use? Do you tailor material to students? particular needs?

How much practice time do you require each day? Do you spend time during the lesson helping students learn good practice habits?

Do you teach students how to improvise? Memorize? Play by ear? Compose? Do you work on sight reading in lessons?

Do you provide performance opportunities for your students, such as recitals, festivals, competitions? Do you require students to perform a certain number of times per year?

Do you think learning music should be enjoyable? How do you do this and still make lessons productive?

Individual Instructors

The Mountain Arts Center is committed to providing the best instructors to meet the needs of their individual instruction students. Individual instruction is offered year round with most instructors performing at least two recitals a year. Each individual instructor is qualified in the particular area that they teach. All instructors must meet certain criteria in order to teach at the Mountain Arts Center. The following section provides a biography of each instructor.

Tamara Bustamante (piano) has a Masters of Music, Piano Performance from the University of Kentucky and is currently working towards her Doctorate of Musical Arts. She is Assistant Professor of Music, Piano Professor, and Concert Choir Director at Pikeville College and has taught private piano lessons for 14 years. She is an accomplished pianist having performed at the International Piano Recital and selected to participate in the Prague International Master classes for Piano.

Angie Carriere (violin/fiddle) is a native of Floyd County who graduated from Morehead State University with a Bachelor of Music degree. In the early 80?s Angie performed with her family?s band known as the ?Ratliff Family Band?. She taught the fiddlers of the group known as ?Kentucky Country? which performed world-wide included a five year contract at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Angie has performed in France, Japan and across Canada. She was featured for two years on a nationally aired television program called ?Big Sky Country?. In the late 80?s Angie co-wrote the theme song for the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team which was aired nationally for two seasons. Angie currently performs with her children, Staci and Josh (The Carriere Family), and regularly with the Kentucky Opry.

Janean Freeman (voice) has been an instructor of voice at the Mountain Arts Center since 2003. She comes to the Mountain Arts Center by way of Morehead State University where she?s coordinator of the Vocal Division and teaches Voice, Music Theory, the History of Rock and Roll, and serves as faculty director of Morehead State University?s Black Gospel Ensemble.

Her performance background is extensive and diverse. Janean Freeman has been cast in many operatic productions including Mozart?s The Marriage of Figaro, Strauss? Die Fledermaus, Gilbert and Sullivan?s Mikado, Menotti?s Amahl and the Night Visitors, and the world premiere of Orrego-Salas? The Dawn of the Poor King. She has also had lead roles in a variety of musical theatre productions including The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, and 1776. She has sung with the New York Philharmonic and has been lead by renowned conductors including Leonard Slatkin and Robert Porco.

Ms. Freeman continues to perform, specializing in opera, jazz, and pop. Janean Freeman is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has been a past NATS competition winner. Her students have also been winners of local, regional, state, and national vocal competitions.

Tommy Hitchcock (martial arts) is a martial arts instructor for the Mountain Arts Center. Tommy has been trained in and taught martial arts for several years. Tommy is a former student of Shane Hamilton.

Barbara Kelley (voice) is a former High School and Middle School Teacher and Choral Director. She is a graduate of Morehead State University with both a Bachelor?s Degree and a Master?s in Music Education. She has been a private voice instructor for several years and received training in voice since she was thirteen years old. She has initiated and developed an after school Chamber Singers group at Belfry High and Belfry Middle schools in Pike County.

Tiffany Glover (Dance/Artist-in-Residence ) is a native of eastern Kentucky. Her dance background includes a Bachelors of Arts degree in Dance and a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Performing Arts from Virginia Intermont College as well as a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from Florida State University. Tiffany is an expert educator and performer.

Chase Lewis (piano) has been instructed in piano for the past six years by Jennifer Hughes and is the pianist for the Kentucky Opry Junior Pros and also performs with the Kentucky Opry. He has taught in his own studio for the past three years.

Clyde Porter (guitar) is a Floyd County native. He has been playing music since his early childhood. Mr. Porter has instructed music for twenty five years. He teaches a variety of instruments; banjo, bass guitar, mandolin, low brass, percussion and more. Including his current teaching position at the MAC, he teaches in music stores within the area and has taught at area colleges. Clyde was a low brass major/guitar minor at Morehead State University. He has played with numerous gospel groups over the past thirty years and worked frequently as a studio musician.

Stephanie Sexton (piano) has been a private piano instructor at the Mountain Arts Center for seven years. She was seventeen years old when she started teaching. Stephanie graduated in May 2006 with a B.A. in Elementary Education from Morehead State University. She is currently a Kindergarten teacher at Duff Elementary. She is planning to start work on her Masters this fall. Stephanie enjoys sharing her knowledge of the piano with her students.

Jamie Wells (violin/fiddle/banjo/mandolin) is a native and life-long resident of Eastern Kentuckian from a musical family with roots deep in the culture and history of the region. Jamie played fiddle for two old-time string bands for nearly twenty years, the Bottom of the Barrel Bunch and The Troudhsloppers, playing in such venues as The Carter Family Fold, the Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music, the Kentucky Folk life Festival, Appalshop, and the Highlands Folk Festival and appearing in two KET productions and on ABC?s Good Morning America. He has taught fiddle classes at the Cowan Creek Music School and Augusta Heritage Old-Time Week as well as workshops at Appalshop. His repertoire includes tunes from the entire Appalachian region, a few modern tunes, and a few compositions of his own. For the past decade, he has been concentrating on learning tunes and technique from recordings of the old masters of Eastern Kentucky fiddling, such as Buddy Thomas, John Salyers, Clyde Davenport, Snake Chapman, George Lee Hawkins, Luther Strong, Hiram Stamper, and J.P. Fraley. He recently retired after a twenty-nine year career as a high school English teacher. He lives with his wife, an artist, and daughter in rural Johnson County.

Khrys Varney (visual arts) is the Arts Education Director for the Mountain Arts Center. Miss Varney has a BA in Studio Art from Berea College and a BA in Art Education from Pikeville College. She taught art for nine years in the Floyd County School System and also has her own art studio where she creates inspirational drawings, artwork on gourds, and craft projects. She is also a facilitator of Arts and Humanities workshops for the Mountain Arts Center. Khrys is also available to write grants for any person or organization that is interested.

Randy Lawson (visual arts)is a graduate of Morehead State University with a BA in Studio Art and Graphic Design. He has his own studio in Prestonsburg and creates a lot of commissioned artwork for regional businesses and people including the city of Prestonsburg. Randy is tbe visual arts instructor for most of the Arts Education classes that are offered by the MAC and has held this position for the past five years.