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 - serving as Assistant Band Director at Central High School, and as Assistant Band Director at Lone Star Middle School.  Mrs. Dearborn now serves as a counselor at Lakeview High School. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and earned her Master's in Music Education from Tarleton State University. She plays 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 musical.  

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 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.

Savannah Logsdon Floyd 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 makes her life creating and giving back to the community. 

Mrs. Floyd 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.   

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!  Mrs. Harkrider currently teaches Emmanuels outreach art classes at Fort Concho Elementary.

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.  She also enjoys spending time on stage in various community productions, volunteering with San Angelo Broadway Academy as a stage manager for their musicals and takes tap dancing classes at Ballet San Angelo.

Mykel Martin is a certified Texas State Music Educator and the Director of Orchestras at Central High School in San Angelo, Texas. Mr. Martin holds a Bachelor of Music in Strings from Angelo State University and a Master of Music Education from Texas Tech University.

Lead guitarist, background vocalist, and band leader Mykel Martin tours with Case Hardin playing country music with a touch of rock & blues. Having started music at age 10 (with his youth church band at home in Junction, Texas), he moved to San Angelo, Texas to become the guitarist for the Angelo State University Marching Ram Band. Mykel got his professional start in San Angelo after receiving the San Angelo Blues Society Jeff Strahan Memorial Scholarship in 2014 and began playing frequently with pianist Manny Campos - including opening for blues legend Johnny Rawls. His playing is strongly influenced by that of Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, John Mayer, Henry Garza, and DFW-native Michael Lee. 

Dr. Jessica Rosas Posada (DMA) is a native Mexican soprano, voice pedagogue, and Latin American Art song specialist. Dr. Posada is an Assistant Professor of Voice at Angelo State University. She has presented lectures on Voice Pedagogy and Mexican Art Song at state, regional, national, and international conferences.

Dr. Posada has been the soprano soloist for masterworks in Mexico and the United States. Repertoire has included Forrest’s Creation, Fauré’s Requiem, Rutter’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, and Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis. Her operatic portfolio includes the leading roles of Madame Herz in Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor, Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Hanna Glawari in Lehár’s The Merry Widow, and Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. 

Posada’s performing accolades include awards by the National Association of Teachers of Singing 1st and 2nd place division wins, an Aspiring Artist Summer Program Grant Award, and the Waldman Award for Best Performance of Spanish Song.

Posada is also a member of Pasión Professional Chorus and the Director of Vocal Editions with The Ponce Foundation. 

Prior to working at ASU, Dr. Posada held teaching positions at Eastern New Mexico University and Whitman College. Posada holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of North Texas, a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Texas Tech University and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Texas at Brownsville now UTRGV. 

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.

Brian Tillman has been a music educator for 30 years, serving as the band director for Irion County High School for the past 13 years. His bands at Irion County have won numerous awards including the UIL State Marching Band Championship in 2019 and the ATSSB Outstanding Performance Series in 2022, and UIL State Marching Band Champs again in 2024. He is a graduate of Angelo State University where he studied with Harris Brinson and the late Dr. David Fennell. While at ASU he was Drum Major for the Golden Ram Band and performed with the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, and Flute Choir. Brian was a founding member of the West Texas Jazz Orchestra where he continues to play tenor sax and has performed with many other music groups in the San Angelo area including the combo Jazz Concho and the San Angelo Symphony. 

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.