A proud UT-Austin alumnus, Korey Young is entering his fourth year teaching oboe in the Austin area. Outside of school hours, Korey plays Principal Oboe in the Laredo Philharmonic and will join the Central Texas Philharmonic as English Hornist for their 2023-2024 season. As a soloist, Korey was a semifinalist in the Young Texas Artists Music Competition and was invited to compete at the Barbirolli International Oboe Competition at age 19. He has spent summers at National Orchestral Institute, Eastern Music Festival, and most recently Kent-Blossom Music Festival, where he performed alongside The Cleveland Orchestra. Korey's primary teachers have been Dr. Andrew Parker, Jeffrey Rathbun, and Katie Steele. When he's not playing the oboe, Korey enjoys playing board games and feeding the ducks at Mueller Lake Park!

Cathy Teltschik was the Head Band Director at Leander Middle School for 36 years before retiring to teach Bassoon Lessons! 

Samu Jarvela is a clarinetist and music educator based in Austin, Texas. Samu has a Master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Bachelor’s degree in the Arts from Southern Methodist University. Additionally, Samu has attended numerous orchestra festivals such as the Rocky Ridge Young Artist Seminar and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Institute in Whistler. Samu has also freelanced with multiple groups in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, such as the Las Colinas Symphony. Samu’s teachers include Todd Levy, principal clarinetist of the Milwaukee Symphony, Gregory Raden, principal clarinetist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and David Shea, principal clarinetist of the Lubbock and Abilene Symphonies. As a devoted music educator and private lesson teacher, Samu maintains a studio of clarinetists around the Austin area and seeks to instill a strong sense of musicianship in his students through study of solo repertoire, etudes, and technique work.

From Orlando, Florida, Alexander Vaquerizo has been playing the clarinet for over a decade. He has a bachelor’s in clarinet performance from Florida State University, where he studied with doctors Deborah Bish and Jonathan Holden. He is currently studying with Professor Jonathan Gunn at Butler School of Music to attain a master’s in clarinet performance. Alex has performed in halls such as the Musikverein, the Mozarteum, and the Wiener Konzerthaus. He has many years of experience performing in orchestral, wind band, chamber, and solo settings.

He is determined to enhance the popularity of the pedagogical and tonal approaches of 20th-century clarinetists such as Daniel Bonade, Ralph McLane, Donald Montanaro, and Harold Wright, advocating for approaches such as French embouchure and careful reed selection and adjustment.

Outside of playing the clarinet, Alex also enjoys performing music from the Baroque and Renaissance eras on historical woodwind instruments. 

Dustin Hunter is an Austin based saxophonist and music educator. He holds a Bachelor’s of Music degree from Louisiana State University and a Master’s of Music degree from the University of New Mexico. Locally, Dustin performs regularly with Honey Made, a funk and soul band hailing from Austin, Texas, and the Austin Saxophone Ensemble, one of the only professional classical saxophone ensembles in the country. He has also performed with the San Antonio Symphony, Mid-texas Symphony, and various other ensembles of all genres of music. He has been a guest soloist with the Heart of Texas Concert Band and the Louisiana State University Wind Ensemble. As an educator he has been teaching professionally for over twelve years in Virginia, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas. His students have consistently won auditions in region, district, area, and state competitions, and have often continued their education at the collegiate level.

Dr. Shane Pitsch holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance and literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Music in Trumpet Performance from Eastern Illinois University, and a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance (jazz emphasis) degree from University of Texas at Austin. Shane has performed with artists such as Willie Nelson, The Drifters, Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave), Maria Schneider, Wayne Shorter, Steve Turre, Henry Butler, Spoon, What Made Milwaukee Famous, The Latin Breed, Johnny Bush, Ron Wilkins, and many others. 

Shane has been an active freelancer on the Austin music scene for over 20 years. As a leader, he led a 10-piece soul/rock group called Shane Pitsch and the Smokestack Revue, which you can hear on the album "Movin' On." You can also hear him on the album "This is it," by jazz group Global Soul, which he was a co-leader of. Shane currently leads two of his own groups, Gus and the Dirty Bones, and Shane Pitsch and the Dirty Six. 

As an educator, Shane maintains a healthy teaching schedule, teaching trumpet and jazz improv lessons, working with jazz bands, and giving clinics/masterclasses. He began teaching trumpet lessons while still in high school, giving him close to 40 years of experience. He has been teaching in the Austin area since 2002. 

Caitlynn Sandberg is a freelance educator and performer currently based in Austin, Texas. A Los Angeles native, she has taught students over the past eight years from the beginner to collegiate level and absolutely adores seeing her students grow as players and human beings throughout their time with her. As an active performer, she holds the Principal Horn position with the Sierra Vista Symphony Orchestra and subs with the Tucson Symphony and Tucson Pops orchestras. Her performances with various symphonies and chamber groups have taken her around the United States in the cities of Austin, Tucson, Sierra Vista, Los Angeles, and San Diego as well as around Central Europe performing in the countries of France, Czech Republic, Austria, and Italy. Stepping into the jazz scene, she has also performed in jazz recitals and performed the entirety of Miles Davis’s Birth of the Cool album with The New Nine in Long Beach, California.

She holds degrees from California State University, Northridge (B.M) and The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music (M.M) where she was a graduate teaching assistant for the Horn Studio and a member of the Fred Fox Graduate Wind Quintet. Her primary teachers are Annie Bosler, Dylan Hart, and Johanna Lundy. Outside of music she loves to travel (searching for the best coffee in a new city) and spending time with her partner Chris and tiny dog, Dakota.

Chris Porteous is a freelance bass trombonist and private lessons teacher based in Austin, Texas. A native of Tucson Arizona,he has been teaching, both in the classroom and privately, for eight years. He holds two degrees from the University of Arizona, both a M.M and a B.M in Bass Trombone Performance. Outside of teaching, Chris is a freelance musician playing in jazz bands, orchestras, musicals, and is currently the bass trombonist for the Sierra Vista Symphony Orchestra in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Outside of music, Chris enjoys spending time with his partner and their dog and cat, Dakota and Jelly.

Zach Bixler is a tuba player and private lesson teacher in North Austin and holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Texas Tech University. During his time at Texas Tech, He studied with Dr. Kevin Wass, an internationally respected pedagogue and member of the tuba euphonium community. 

Zach is a native of Round Rock and has been teaching with the Austin based tuba and euphonium camp, Teupha, since 2018. He also enjoys occasionally performing with groups such as the Austin Brass Collective, a North Austin based brass ensemble.

Outside of teaching, Zach is an avid reader, and he can often be found in the middle of a book. He also enjoys spending time with his family, friends, and dogs, as well as playing disc golf at many local courses.

Coming soon!