Faculty

Jeannine Ary (Bearcat Singers Director) has been a member of the music faculty at KCD since 1995. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a Master of Music in Music Education from Ithaca College, both with a major in piano. She also studied piano at the Vienna Conservatory in Vienna, Austria. At KCD, Jeannine teaches Third and Fourth Grade General Music, Middle School Piano Lab, and is the director of the Choral Theater Players and Bearcat Singers. Jeannine is a certified Choristers Guild conductor and is a board member of the Greater Louisville Music Teachers Association. A number of her piano students have been selected to perform at the Kentucky State Honors Recitals and have also played at the National Guild of Piano Teachers auditions. She has completed Levels I and II of the Write an Opera program with the Royal Opera House - Covent Garden.

Contact: jeannine.ary@kcd.org

Kayla Collier (LS Music Teacher, Ukulele Ensmeble, Bearcat Singers 1-2) 

Kayla Collier (she/they) is the Lower School music teacher and joined KCD in 2024. Originally from Illinois, they have a Bachelor’s of Music Education from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She completed all three levels of Orff-Schulwerk training as a part of a Master’s of Music in Music Education at the University of Kentucky and is a certified Orff-Schulwerk educator. They also hold a Master’s of Education in Teacher Leader Competency-Based Learning Specialization from Spalding University. She is the current President of the Kentucky Orff-Schulwerk Association and has been published in The Orff Echo, the American Orff-Schulwerk Association’s quarterly journal for practitioners. 

She comes to KCD with 11 years of teaching experience in public education. In her general music classroom, she focuses on facilitating active music-making experiences. Students use multiple modalities such as singing, speech, body percussion, movement, and instrument playing to imitate, explore, improvise, and create their own musical ideas.

Contact:  kayla.collier@kcd.org

Hannah Gruver (Piano & Voice)  Hannah Gruver joined the KCD faculty in 2020 as the Choral Director. She is active locally as a vocalist and pianist and enjoys playing jazz, pop, and classical music.  Hannah holds a Master of Music in Pedagogy and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Louisville. She currently serves as the State Competitions Chair for the Kentucky Music Teachers Association.  Hannah has taught private piano and vocal lessons in Louisville for many years and has enjoyed serving as a Lecturer at the UofL School of Music.

Contact: hannah.gruver@kcd.org

Dr. Charlie H. Mitchell (Piano), organist, pianist, music educator, church musician, private piano teacher, and recitalist has been active in the Louisville music scene for decades. As a private piano teacher, a number of his students have participated in KMTA’s All-State Keyboard Ensemble and received Superior ratings in KMTA’s Keyboard Festival. Dr. Mitchell is nationally certified (NCTM) through Music Teachers National Association as a piano instructor. 

Contact: chmitchell1@gmail.com

Lydia McCracken (Music for Little Mozarts, Piano) holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance with a focus in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Louisville, graduating with Highest Honors. She teaches individual piano lessons at the Boaz Academy of Music and the Middletown Academy of Music, as well as group piano lessons through the Portland Piano Program. Lydia has been the leader and accompanist for the Youth Choir at Greenwood United Baptist Church. She also enjoys accompanying for voice students at the University of Louisville, and is the accompanist for the Adult Choir at First United Baptist Church. Ms. McCracken is the lead teacher for the KCDAA Music for Little Mozarts groups.

Contact: mccracken.lydia@gmail.com

Brehnan Miller (Drums) is a Louisville-based musician who moved to the city in 2014 to attend the University of Louisville School of Music, graduating in December of 2017 with a Bachelor of Music Performance on Jazz Drum Set. He has played in and around the region for nearly two decades, both in bands and as a hired drummer. In 2018 he began teaching both drums and keys, as well as teaching groups of all ages, at School of Rock Louisville. Apart from teaching, Brehnan also composes and produces production music (music for television). He also serves at Trinity Chapel Assembly of God, lending his gift to ministry through music. He enjoys spending his free time with his wife, Paige, and his daughter, Hattie.

Contact: brehnan.miller@gmail.com

Marian Nozaleda (Piano) comes from Madrid, Spain, where she began her musical journey as a young pianist. At just eleven years old, she earned third place in an international piano competition, and the following year she was selected to perform for the King and Queen of Spain in a special recital honoring the 150th anniversary of the Royal Conservatory of Madrid. After completing her degree in Piano Performance in Madrid, Marian continued her musical studies in Paris at the École Normale de Musique. There, she trained under the Bulgarian pianist Krassimir Stoitcheff, a direct student of the renowned pianist Géza Anda. Through this artistic lineage, she gained access to Anda’s distinctive and rarely taught technique—highly sought after today—which she integrated into her already solid foundation in the Russian school of piano. This combination enriched her artistry with a unique blend of expressive nuance, technical refinement, and interpretive depth. Throughout her career,  Marian has been consistently praised for her sensitivity, musical depth, and sophisticated technique. Marian is passionate about nurturing the next generation of musicians. She welcomes both young beginners and advanced students, including those considering a future in piano performance. Her teaching is grounded in artistry, clarity, and a genuine love for helping students discover and develop their unique musical voice.

Contact: marian.nozaleda@kcd.org

Monica Potter (Piano, Piano Ensemble, Voice) earned a B.A. in Piano Performance from Bellarmine University and was awarded the Piano Studio Outstanding Student Award for her graduating year. She has been teaching private lessons and working as a pianist and vocalist for over a decade, both as a solo artist and with various ensembles. She has performed at several notable local events and concerts, including Waterfront Wednesday, the Mayor’s Music and Arts Series, and WFPK’s Live Lunch, and was featured on an album that won a Louisville Music Award for the best Jazz/Avant Garde record of 2016. Monica prefers Classical music but also enjoys playing and listening to many other genres, and incorporates the exploration of different styles and artistic ideas into her teaching philosophy. Monica teaches private piano lessons and the Piano Ensemble for students in grades 7-12 and has served as accompanist for KCD Choirs.

Contact: monica.n.potter@gmail.com

James Racine (Strings) was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, into a family of musicians. He began playing the violin at the age of four. He attended the University of Kentucky and received degrees in Music Performance and Music Education. He has played with the Lexington Philharmonic, The Louisville Orchestra, and held teaching positions at Cincinnati College Conservatory and Jefferson County Public Schools. At KCD, he directed the orchestra program and teaching students from grade one to twelve before becoming KCD's first Director of D.E.I.. James continues to honor performance commitments at public events and many festivals across the nation.

Contact: james.racine@kcd.org

Chris Roseland (Classical Guitar, Popular Guitar, and Bass) holds a Bachelor in Music Performance with an emphasis in Jazz Guitar from Bellarmine University and a Masters in Classical Guitar from University of Louisville. While obtaining his undergraduate degree, he studied with Jeff Sherman and Craig Wagner for his jazz education while simultaneously studying Classical Guitar with Stephen Mattingly and David Walker. Chris has been featured as a soloist with organizations such as the Louisville Guitar Society, University of Kentucky Guitar Society, and Bellarmine University Music Department. During the 2013 Guitar Foundation of America Festival, Chris, along with the University of Louisville Guitar Ensemble, premiered Gerald Garcia “Blue Nose Ballads” before an evening concert of Aniello Desiderio. He has been lucky enough to experience master classes with a great deal of brilliant artists such as Marcin Dylla, Dale Kavanagh, Denis Azabagic, and Oscar Ghiglia. Rosalind has placed and won prizes in competitions such as the University of Louisville Guitar Festival, Memphis International Guitar Festival, Middle Tennessee State Guitar Competition, and Eastern Carolina University International Guitar Festival and Competition. Chris began teaching at Transylvania University in the Spring of 2017 and currently serves on the faculty of Bellarmine University and Indiana University Southeast.

Contact: croseland01@gmail.com

Dr. Michelle Salerno (US Drama, Bearcat Singers 1-2) earned a Ph.D. in Theatre History, Literature, and Criticism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with graduate minors in Gender and Women’s Studies and European Union Studies. Michelle has taught a variety of courses in the humanities at several institutions and works frequently as a director, playwright, and dramaturg. Her most recent publications include a chapter in Politics and Horror (Palgrave 2020) and entries on the film Rosewood and the actor Paul Robeson for The Encyclopedia of Racism in American Film (Rowman and Littlefield 2018). Michelle teaches 9th-grade English at KCD and serves as the English Department Chair. 

Sabrina Stein (MS Drama, Bearcat Singers 1-2,  Acting Coach/Monologues) has been working at KCD since 2015 and became a full-time faculty member in 2021. She teaches improv, audition skills, Shakespeare, Commedia dell’Arte, scene work, playwriting, and more to the Middle School. She also directs the Middle School productions. Sabrina is an alumna of the University of Louisville, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English, Theatre, and Humanities. In 2010 she graduated from the Walden Theatre acting conservatory. She worked there from 2011 to 2018 directing, teaching, doing city-wide outreach, and prepping high school students for performing arts college auditions. She has been a director, producer, and performer with several local theatre companies. A few of these include Kentucky Shakespeare, Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company, The Bard’s Town Theatre, Pandora Productions, and Derby City Playwrights. She is the co-owner of The Bard, a local Restaurant-Theatre-Pub and is the Artistic Director of The Bard Theatre. Sabrina is still an active artist in the Louisville theatre scene. Always remember to support local theatre!

Sarah Stone (voice) Specializing in musical theatre, classical, and commercial voice, Sarah Stone holds degrees in Vocal Performance and Literature, and Stage Direction from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

She has held voice teaching engagements at Indiana University, Vincennes University, and Central Michigan University. As a performer, Stone's credits include performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Center, Kentucky Opera, Dorian Opera Theatre, IU Opera, and the Bay View Music Festival. She frequently tours the country with her multi-media ensemble, Yara. Previously, Stone served for seven summers as the resident stage director and Acting for Singers instructor with the Bay View Music Festival in Petoskey, Michigan.

Stone’s voice students have attended prestigious programs such as the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, ArtsBridge, UC-CCM Music Theatre Workshop, and Bay View Music Festival. They have consistently received top honors in NATS State and Regional auditions and KMEA Solo and Ensemble assessments. Her students have continued their studies at institutions including New York University (Tisch and Clive Davis Institute), Indiana University, and the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (CCM), and have gone on to work in Broadway tours and Off-Broadway musicals.

At KCD, Stone teaches Music 5–8 and serves as the Artistic Director for the KCD Fine Arts Academy. She is also the founder and Artistic Director of the KCD Singing for Stage Intensive program (KCDSSI), a Governor's School for the Arts and college audition preparatory program.

Contact: sarah.stone@kcd.org

Diane Stretz-Thurmond (choreographer) A founding member of Bunbury Theatre

and Eve Theatre, Diane has been a theatre artist in the Louisville area for 25 plus

years. A talented actor, singer, dancer and choreographer, she has worked with

numerous theatre and dance companies in leading and featured roles. She was

the choreographer for the upper school shows at KCD for 15 years. She is happy 

to return to KCD to serve as the choreographer for Choral Theatre Players and 

prepare young singer-actors for KY Governor's School for the Arts and other auditions.

Contact: sarah.stone@kcd.org

From a young age, Zach Taylor (Electric Guitar & Electric Bass) was fascinated by rock music. Zach has been playing bass and electric guitar since he was a teenager. He also played trumpet in his high school marching band and in the University of Louisville marching band. Zach has played bass and guitar with various groups over the years. Currently, he sings and plays guitar in a local cover band. When he is not playing music, Zach also shares his talents as the School Counselor at KCD Middle School! 

Contact: zach.taylor@kcd.org