James “LaMont” Allen has more than 20 years of saxophone playing and teaching experience.  As a performer with Air Force Tops and Blues, Mr. Allen toured more than 30 countries and almost all 50 states playing alto & tenor saxophone, and percussion.  Mr. Allen has played the saxophone as a guest with the Air Force Band, as well as performing regularly with the ASU Wind Ensemble, ASU Orchestra, ASU Jazz Band, and San Angelo Community Band.  He has also played euphonium with the ASU Symphonic Band.   

Mr. Allen is a retired United States Air Force Master Sergeant with Associate's degrees in Intelligence Studies, Aviation Maintenance, Military Science, and Korean.   He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Education from Wayland University and Music Education degree from Angelo State University.  Mr. Allen is the former Band Director at San Angelo Christian Academy, and a saxophone instructor for the Angelo State University (ASU) summer band program.   

David Cox has been involved with music for more than 30 years and has over 23 years of teaching experience. He attended South Plains College where he studied Music Education and Performance.  In addition to teaching at Caldwell Music and Tarpley Music of San Angelo for 15 years, Mr. Cox has taught group guitar classes at Angelo State University, Goodfellow AFB, and music ensemble classes teaching guitar, bass, keyboard and drums at Calvary Lutheran Church. He has played in various bands and church groups on different instruments throughout the years and played studio recording sessions as well. He currently plays guitar and occasionally drums for Calvary Lutheran Church. Mr. Cox has taught at Emmanuel School of Fine Arts since it's inception and offers lessons in acoustic and electric guitar, electric bass, baritone ukulele, music theory, songwriting and piano and keyboards/synthesizer. 

Mrs. Stephanie Ellis-Dearborn has been a music educator in San Angelo for over 11 years - after serving as Assistant Band Director at Central High School, she is headed to serve as Assistant Band Director at Lone Star Middle School this coming school year. She earned her bachelors degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and earned her Masters in Music Education from Tarleton State University. She has played handbells at several local churches, is an active member and soloist with the San Angelo Community Band, plays flute and piccolo for San Angelo Ballet’s Nutcracker, and regularly plays woodwinds in San Angelo Broadway Academy’s spring shows.  

Lois Droegemeier has been involved with music since starting piano lessons in the 2nd grade. In 5th grade, the school band director called her mom and suggested that Lois join the band. Following in her mother's footsteps as a clarinet player, Lois continued with clarinet and piano all the way through high school. 

Mrs. Droegemeier graduated with a BA in applied music from Whitworth College (now Whitworth University.) After earning her teaching credentials she taught K-12 music (vocal and instrumental) in Culbertson and Wibaux, in rural Montana. After three years of teaching, Mrs. Droegemeier enlisted in the United States Air Force as a clarinet player in the AF Band of the Pacific Northwest (McChord AFB, WA) and later the Air Mobility Command Band (Scott AFB, IL.) She served 7 years as an Air Force musician. 

Mrs. Droegemeier also holds an Associate of Arts in Band Instrument Repair from Western Iowa Technical Community College. Currently, Mrs. Droegemeier repairs instruments, plays in the San Angelo Community Band, maintains a private studio with piano and clarinet students, and conducts the Home School Band at ESOFA. 

Zoe Flores is an artist with a passion for vibrant art in all forms. They mostly work with acrylic paints and digital canvas, painting the world from a fresh point of view. Zoe's artwork can be seen all over San Angelo, including Pink Floyd, the gorilla statue in front of TLC Home Health, the peacock mural behind Firestone, several murals in Paintbrush Alley, the new downtown library sheep "Frida Read" and a brand new mural next to the train depot.

Zoe's creative inspirations include the vivid writings of Shel Silverstein, Shigeru Miyamoto's video game series The Legend of Zelda, the 1984 cartoon Rainbow Brite, and favorite musicians Dan Avidan, Eddie Van Halen, and Ben Barlow. 

Zoe continues their artistic adventures not just for themself, but to honor and remember their best friend, Kyle Ybarra, who took his own life in 2018. Zoe spends every day of their life trying to make the world a kinder place for people who feel like they're alone, and uses bright colors in their artwork to express this.

Outside of professional work, Zoe enjoys singing in local choirs, competing at cosplay conventions with hand-made costumes of their favorite video game characters, and spending time with Rexx: a Poodle with a mohawk.  Zoe facilitates weekly preschool art classes and summer art camps at ESOFA.

Fred Handley is a retired music educator with 52 years of teaching experience.  He began his teaching career in McKinney, TX in 1971.  After moving to San Angelo in 1977, he taught at Glenn JHS, Central HS, and Lake View HS.  While teaching at Central and Lakeview, he was designated as the Supervisor of Instrumental Music for SAISD.  He was responsible for the instrumental music programs on 16 elementary campuses, 4 junior high schools and 2 high schools.  He retired the first time in 2003, but was rehired on a ½ time contract for the orchestra at Lakeview HS and retired from Lake View in 2013.  In 2015, he and his wife, Lori Handley, started the Handley Music Studio and began teaching private lessons to students in our community.  Presently, in addition to teaching at ESOFA, he is currently teaching band and orchestra at Trinity Lutheran School. 

Mr. Handley holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from West Texas State University (now known as West Texas A&M) and a Master’s Degree in Music Supervision from The University of North Texas.  He is a retired member of Texas Music Educators’ Association, Texas Bandmasters’ Association, Texas Orchestra Directors’ Association, and an active member of Texas Music Adjudicators’ Association.  He has served as a UIL music adjudicator in many locations in Texas.  Mr. Handley brings a wealth of knowledge to our growing school and we are excited to watch our strings program expand under his direction!

Hollie Harkrider is a certified K-12 Texas State Art Educator.  She is a San Angelo native who graduated with her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from McMurry University in Abilene, Texas.  Mrs. Harkrider continues working together with The Grace Museum in Abilene, where she offers exciting summer enrichment opportunities to children of all ages.  Sharing her love and knowledge of art with kids is her hobby, career, and passion!

Suzanne Horner is a Texas State Certified Art Teacher with over 25 years of experience teaching. She has worked for public schools with a focus on secondary education, covering all aspects of the visual arts. Her specialty is 3-dimensional concepts with a background in ceramics, but has taught introductory Art, drawing, painting, and AP studio. She comes to Emmanuel School of Fine Arts after retiring from SAISD and will continue her focus on art education in the community, along with outreach programs with SAMFA and the Concho Clay Studio. She is the current High School director for the Visual Arts Scholastic Event (V.A.S.E.) for region 15 and mentor’s programs for the Middle School and Elementary divisions.

Mrs. Horner attended Texas Tech University for design and studio art, earned her Bachelor of Arts at Angelo State University, and completed her secondary education certification with Brigham Young University. She has lived in San Angelo for over 30 years. She loves her community and all it has to offer for those who find joy and meaning in their art and creative expression.

Dr. John Irish is Professor of Music at Angelo State University. In addition to his duties with the high brass studio, he directs ASU brass ensembles. Prior to this position, he taught at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

His career includes performances with the Southwest German Radio Orchestra, the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic, the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, many chamber orchestras, brass quintets, and a wide variety of dance bands and commercial projects. He currently holds the position of principal trumpet of the San Angelo Symphony Orchestra and is active in the musical life of the area as well as a founder of Jazz Concho, a jazz sextet made up of local professionals.

This university position follows a distinguished career in the Air Force Band system in which he performed in all fifty states, Canada, Mexico, and Western Europe. Dr. Irish has recorded often, premiered new works for winds, and soloed with bands and orchestras. 

Karyn Kuniyuki is a certified Texas State Art Educator with degrees in Art Education, Photography, and Printmaking from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, the University of Arizona, and a Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Angelo State University. Mrs. Kuniyuki has also been an active member and participant in TCEA Robotics competitions and Region 15 Lego Education Seminars since 2016.  She is currently serving as the Director for the Emmanuel School of Fine Arts, where she also teaches private and semi-private lessons in a variety of visual arts disciplines, LEGO Robotics, and STEAM based arts exploration.   

Savannah Logsdon was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.  She received a BA (Honors) Degree in Animation from the LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore.  Ms. Logsdon is a renaissance artist whose primary passion is storytelling. Her life's passion is to always expand horizons and find new and unique ways to tell stories.  Through many avenues including theatre, drawing, music, and animation, she is constantly creating and giving back to the community. 

Ms. Logsdon lives in San Angelo where she works as the Marketing Director for Ballet San Angelo and continues to do freelance animation and illustration.  You may have seen one of her live animations projected onto the Murphy Performance Hall during Ballet San Angelo's Sharing Dance Day and Light Up the Night events.  You can find her on the stages of Be Theatre and Angelo Civic Theater both directing and performing regularly with B.A.D. Improv.   

Jon ‘Dirk’ Ross is a Music Performance Major at Angelo State University (ASU). Mr. Ross competed and earned first place for the Harold Stark Encouragement award during the 2023 Southwest Region NATS Competition. Ross has also performed notable roles since beginning his musical theater career with the San Angelo Broadway Academy (SABA) in August 2022, including the ‘Phantom’ in Phantom of the Opera and ‘Shrek’ in Shrek the Musical, under the direction of Angela Shanks. Mr. Ross has sung in multiple opera scenes within the newly revived opera program at ASU, led by Dr. Mark Covey. These scenes include roles such as ‘Figaro’ from Il Barbiere di Siviglia, ‘Don Giovanni’ from Don Giovanni, ‘Papageno’ from Die Zauberflöte, and ‘Hamlet’ from Hamlet. 

Mr.Ross performed at Carnegie Hall in March 2023 alongside members of the San Angelo Chorus and other Collegiate Ensembles under the direction of Dr. Allen Hightower from the University of North Texas. Mr. Ross was a featured soloist at the Permian Basin Opera Company’s Gala at the Gardens in April of 2024.  Most recently, Mr. Ross was admitted into the emerging artist program during the 2024 OperaMaya International Music Festival during which he traveled and performed notable arias throughout rural areas of Mexico.  Mr. Ross has sung in four different collegiate ensembles since beginning his education at ASU, these include the Angelo State Chamber singers, Chorale, Glee Club, and the San Angelo Chorus under the direction of Dr. Eric Posada. 

Jimmy Shanks attended Angelo State University studying percussion and music theory, and his main musical influences are jazz, funk, and Latin music. He has toured Canada, Europe, and coast to coast in the United States. Mr. Shanks has been a member of the pit orchestra and house band for more than 10 musical productions with Angelo Civic Theatre, Angelo State University Theatre Department, Be Theatre, and First United Methodist church’s production of Godspell. Most recently Mr. Shanks was the Associate Music Director for San Angelo Broadway Academy’s production of School of Rock. He has played drums on countless studio sessions including an EP recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, at the famous Sun Records. Mr. Shanks has recorded over a dozen songs with Grammy Award winning Producer Sylvia Massey.  He has been teaching private lessons for 18 years.

Michaela Zimmerman is a Piano Performance major at Angelo State University with Dr. Steven Keniston.  She is also pursuing degrees in mathematics and sociology at ASU.  Ms. Zimmerman has been teaching piano lessons since May 1999.  She is the pianist at St. Mark’s Preysbyterian Church and accompanist to the John Glenn Middle School Choirs in San Angelo.  Ms. Zimmerman is a frequent guest musician for several churches, including the Cathedral Church of the Sacred Heart, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, and First Preysbyterian Church, as well as a UIL accompanist for local music students.  She has won several competitions in piano, the most recent being the Angelo State University Concerto Competition in the Spring of 2020, with the First Movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D Minor, No. 20, K. 466.  She performed this concerto with the Angelo State University Symphony Orchestra at the River Stage, San Angelo, Texas in March 2021.  Ms. Zimmerman has played piano in the Angelo State University Symphony Orchestra, the San Angelo University Jazz Ensemble, and the Angelo State University Wind Ensemble.