Teaching Artists
ALANA RANCOURT PHINNEY (DANCE)
Vermont-based artist, Alana holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from Smith College. She is currently based in Montpelier, Vermont, with her husband and nine year-old son. Alana’s recent work includes practicing site-specific improvisation, facilitating community dance using improvisational structures, and composing sound, spoken word and song for dance.
ANDREA YUN (MUSIC)
Andrea Yun is a cello teacher in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is a member of the Michigan Opera Theatre and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, and performs widely with orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout the Midwest. Andrea is one of 40 Suzuki cello teacher trainers in the Americas, and travels around the country to work with students and teachers alike. Andrea has held positions at the University of Michigan, University of Texas at San Antonio, Bowling Green State University, Pioneer High School, and Okemos Chippewa Middle School. Andrea holds a dual bachelor's degree in music education and mathematics; a master's in cello performance from Indiana University; and a doctorate in cello performance and pedagogy from the University of Michigan. Andrea is an avid swing dancer and loves to roller skate.
ANNIE BARLEY GIVLER (MUSIC, CONNECTED ARTS FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR)
Building community through music, Annie Barley Givler is the general music teacher at Greene Street Friends School in Philadelphia, PA, working with students in Pre-K-8th grade. She is also in high demand as a Suzuki cello teacher and clinician, teaching and leading workshops all over the world. Annie is a skilled pre-K-12 music curriculum developer, teacher, and strings specialist - with a focus on equity and inclusion in music education. As a performer, Annie is an incredibly versatile cellist and has played in ensembles ranging from professional symphony orchestras to Kanye West’s back up band. She maintains a private cello studio in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where she lives with her husband Harley and their three amazing kids. Annie can be heard on Bridge and New Amsterdam Records.
ANNALISE OHSE (MUSIC)
Annalise holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, where she received her Suzuki teacher training. After moving to New York, Annalise revisited her Suzuki studies and received additional teacher training from the School for Strings in New York City. She is dedicated to life long learning, and has taken numerous enrichment courses to expand her knowledge of the Suzuki method and strengthen her skills as an educator. Her primary teachers include Brian Lewis and Katie Lansdale. Her Suzuki mentors include Christie Felsing, Teri Einfeldt, Allen Lieb, Cathy Lee, Mark Mutter, and Katerina Gerson.
Annalise began lessons with her father at age 4 and at age 15, attended the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy. Growing up near the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival in Winfield, Kansas, Annalise was exposed to alternative styles at an early age. As a child, she won numerous youth fiddle competitions throughout Texas and Kansas. Today, Annalise incorporates some of the skills and benefits of the fiddle tradition to classical violin students. Annalise now lives in Nashville, TN and directs the Ohse Violin Studio.
AUSTIN WAGNER (MUSIC)
Austin is the Director of Percussion and Handbells at the Shipley School and holds a BM in Music Education and Jazz Studies from Temple University. Before teaching at Shipley, Austin directed general music programs, ensembles, and private lessons for Northeastern Music Programs and Community Music Scholars.
Outside of the classroom, Austin maintains a busy performance schedule. He is a founding member of Chelsea Reed and the Fair Weather Five and tours internationally playing jazz festivals and swing dances. He is also the drummer for multiple big bands in the Philadelphia region: John Vanore’s The Abstract Truth and The South Philly Big Band. In addition to performing in these ensembles, Austin has recorded drums for a diverse array of musical styles including: the Jack St. Clair Orchestra; singer-songwriter Liz Fulmer; The Bachelor Boys Band; Philadelphia based indie band Brother Martin; and The Grand Slam Trio.
CHRISTIAN OATTS (MUSIC)
Philadelphia based saxophonist, composer and educator Chris Oatts has been hailed as “a force to be reckoned with,” by All About Jazz. Oatts has performed, recorded or toured with the likes of Seal, Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, Chelsea Reed and the Fair Weather Five, Terell Stafford, the Philly Pops, Prism Saxophone Quartet and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Oatts is the nephew of alto saxophone great, Dick Oatts whose debut album as a leader, First Quintet was released in 2017.
Currently, on faculty at Temple University, Oatts directs a dedicated saxophone group as well as the Swingin’ Owls – two 16 piece big bands that offer students and community members an opportunity to take part in playing iconic big band music. Oatts also teaches at The Shipley School located in Bryn Mawr, Pa, where he teaches Music Theory and Composition, small and large ensemble jazz playing, and private saxophone instruction.
CHRIS SOUZA (MUSIC)
A native of Massachusetts, Chris Souza is a registered Suzuki instructor and an active professional violinist and violist. Chris maintains an active private teaching studio in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. As a popular Suzuki teaching-artist and clinician, Chris teaches violin and viola and conducts student orchestras across the country in Suzuki institutes and workshops throughout the year. He is the conductor of the Pocono Junior String Orchestra. As a freelance musician, Chris has enjoyed performing with touring artists and ensembles such as the Indigo Girls, Natalie Merchant, Sixpence None the Richer, Twila Paris, Josh Groban, Neil Sedaka, Sarah Brightman, Johnny Mathis, Celtic Woman, Celtic Thunder, Clay Aiken, Mannheim Steamroller, and Manhattan Transfer.
CONOR COLEMAN (VISUAL ART)
Conor Coleman is a Fulbright Scholar and visual artist living and working in Pittsburgh PA. Coleman sees spontaneous artful expression as a window into the psyche, and is interested in using art to discern our relationships with self, other, and with the natural environment.
DANIE OCEAN (MUSIC)
Danie Ocean is a professional singer songwriter based out of Philadelphia. She has been singing and performing for over 20 years with a focus on jazz, R&B, soul and folk. She teaches vocals and guitar lessons from an air training and body training approach, helping students hear and feel the notes before learning theory. Her Blindness plays a role in her approach, and this approach has some more joy centered approach around music. https://windingwayrecords.com/artists/danie-ocean-2
GARETH DYLAN SMITH, (MUSIC)
Gareth Dylan Smith is a drummer based in East Stroudsburg, PA, and Assistant Professor of Music at Boston University. He is a board member of the International Society for Music Education and immediate past president of the Association for Popular Music Education. Gareth has taught at numerous colleges including University of Michigan, Westminster Choir College, and New York University. His duties as an external examiner have taken him to Malaysia, India, Singapore, China and Wolverhampton. He’s published eight scholarly books and over 80 peer-reviewed papers, along with an instructional book – Sound Advicefor Drummers – based on his monthly teaching column in Rhythm magazine. Gareth is founding editor of the Journal of Popular Music Education. Before moving to the United States, Gareth taught for several years at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance in London while maintaining a busy performance schedule in London’s musical theatre scene and on the road across the UK and Europe with punk bands, rock tribute acts and singer-songwriters. He has been teaching fellow drummers since 1995.
GIL TEIXEIRA (DIGITAL ARTS/MUSIC)
Gil Teixeira is a prolific artist and educator that sees Sound as the unifying core of his many practices. A native of Portugal, Gil grew up studying classical guitar and holds a Bachelor degree in Guitar Performance. Alongside his classical studies, Gil started the post-rock band La La La Ressonance, a group that pushed the artistic boundaries of what a band is and does. In 2012, Gil moved to London to pursue a Masters in Music at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where he developed a keen interest in the exploration of technology in collaborative music-making contexts and started working on CEEMI, a virtual band that anyone can join regardless of their training . His artistic practice also shifted from playing music into a more experimental and abstract exploration of Sound, more in tune with Sound Art and Multimedia Installation. His recent work in this field includes performances/installations for the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (Portugal), the Barbican Center (UK), Lydgalleriet (Norway) and the Thrival Festival (USA). Gil has taught guitar, led workshops, composed music, devised installations and performed all over Europe and the U.S. He moved to Pittsburgh, PA in January of 2015.
HANNAH GIVLER (VISUAL ART)
Hannah holds an MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a BFA in Sculpture from The Ohio State University. Prior to teaching at the University of Iowa, Hannah taught sculpture courses at the University of Chicago and collaborated with Art and Public Life Arts Incubator workshops. She has been an artist in residence at the Chicago Artist Coalition, ACRE, Vermont Studio Center, 8550 Ohio, and Umoja Center for the Arts. Her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as The Cultural Center in Arusha Tanzania, The Banff Centre, 4th Ward Project Space, Logan Exhibitions, Chicago Artist Coalition, Flatland Gallery, and DEMO Projects. Hannah works in installation and exhibition design, and builds sculptures using primarily wood and metal in her studio practice. For more information about her work, please visit www.hannahgivler.com
DR. HARLEY GIVLER (MUSIC)
A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, Eastman School of Music, Yale and Stonybrook Universities, Dr. Harley Givler holds BM, MM, and DMA degrees in French horn performance. He currently serves as the Chair of Music Department at The Shipley School, in Bryn Mawr, PA where he is also the Director of Winds and Brass. As top-tier performer, Harley plays with several regional orchestras and is a member of Revolution Winds, a woodwind quintet based in the Philadelphia area. Dr. Givler was one of the first in North America to be certified in the Suzuki brass method of music pedagogy. Also an accomplished conductor, Harley studied conducting at the Conducting Institute at Bard College. In addition to leading the Shipley Symphony Orchestra during the school year, Dr. Givler serves as the Director of Orchestras at the White Mountain Suzuki Institute in Lyman, New Hampshire in the summers.
JESSEE BERMUDEZ (FILM)
Bronx-based artist, Jessee Bermudez holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Film & Video Production from Lycoming College. Jessee’s recent work includes the Open Emotion Project with Linda Selima, his award winning documentary film MCCLENTY, and currently in pre-production for his next film for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. He focuses his efforts on providing something of meaning to the audience by educating them with story.
JILL WRIGHT CRIST (MUSIC)
Jill Wright Crist is cello professor at Otterbein University and Columbus Cello School, LLC, as well as an ensemble coach for Chamber Music Connection. She completed her long term Suzuki cello training at the University of Denver in 2004. Jill previously directed Suzuki Cello at Capital University and Suzuki Music Columbus. Jill is an active freelance and symphony musician, chamber music coach, and frequent guest teacher for workshops, institutes, and clinics across the nation.
JOANNA ABEL (VISUAL ART AND DANCE)
Joanna Abel has been a teaching artist since 2007 workIng independently, with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and with Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. She focuses in mixed media visual arts, performing arts, and STEAM. She is also a professional dancer and owns and operates a studio in Pittsburgh.
KARMEN PATERSON (VISUAL ART)
Karmen Paterson is currently a homeschooling, blogging, graphic designing, fun-loving mom of 4 with lots of teaching experience. She's a Jane of all trades with a passion for writing, art and art history, science, and web design. Prior to her homeschool career, she followed many different career paths, gaining valuable experience in many different fields. She was an accountant, human resources manager, market manager, social media marketing guru, and copy editor. Karmen holds degrees in Graphic Design, Economics, and Agricultural Business and Environmental Science. She now owns her own web design studio, Little Daisy Media. Along with teaching her own kiddos, Karmen teaches Art in the Park monthly for a local homeschool group. Her amazing virtual teaching in in high demand on both Outschool and Thinkers Meetup.
KIKI BARLEY (MUSIC)
Katherine Monsour Barley, better known as Kiki, has been involved in Suzuki education for more than 40 years as a piano teacher, teacher trainer, Suzuki parent, workshop and institute clinician, and director of the Greater Pittsburgh Suzuki Institute. Having presented all over the world, Kiki maintains a private piano at her home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She teaches both Suzuki students and teachers wishing to become certified Suzuki piano teachers.
KLEMENTINA BUDNIK (DIGITAL ARTS)
Klementina runs KXB Studio, an animation production company and animation school based in the Philadelphia area. She specializes in traditional animation techniques and loves stop motion. http://kxbstudio.com/
LARA LILLIBRIDGE (CREATIVE WRITING)
Lara Lillibridge is a writer and editor living in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the author of four books: Dragon Brothers; Globetrotting Grandmas; Mama, Mama, Only Mama; and Girlish: Growing Up in a Lesbian Home. She is also the founder of Furtive Grunion Books, a micro-press dedicated to publishing diverse books for children, and currently serves as the Interviews Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Lara has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from West Virginia Wesleyan College and mentors emerging writers through AWP’s Writer to Writer program. She is the mother of two kids, ages 12 and 14, and the caretaker of two cats. Find her online at Lara.Lillibridge.com.
LIZA BARLEY (MUSIC)
Liza Barley's work is driven by her belief that the arts are a powerful medium through which to connect people from all walks of life, empower communities, and charge individuals to think creatively. Liza works as a freelance musician and multimedia artist, creative workshop leader, and teaching artist, and is the founder and executive director of Umoja Arts Project, a U.S.-based non-profit that works in the community arts sector both in the U.S. and in Tanzania, East Africa. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her partner, Gil Teixeira, and enjoys running, hiking, biking, gardening, generally being outdoors, cooking, and a good cup of coffee.
SARAH SMALE (MUSIC)
Sarah Smale (violin/viola) began her musical studies on violin, viola and piano in Oxfordshire, England. She attended the Birmingham Conservatoire where she received a BA with honors. She continued her studies at the Guildhall School of Music in London. In Hartford, CT, she studied with the Emerson String Quartet and acquired her Suzuki training with Linda Fiore and Teri Einfeldt. Sarah has won several awards, including the Birmingham Conservatoire string quartet scholarship and the Herbert Lumby Viola prize. She has worked with world-renowned artists such as Pierre Boulez, Yuri Bashmet, Nicholas Kramer, Steve Reich, Sir Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev, and Roger Norrington. Her experience includes numerous concerts and seminars with talented quartets and orchestras including: Takacs Quartet, European Chamber Orchestra, Russian National Ballet, and the Emerson Quartet, to which she was the assistant. Sarah has also played with numerous choral societies as principal viola, recorded television work for the BBC, and recorded extensively for Radio Suisse. She performs with the European Festival Orchestra in Neuchatel, Switzerland, where she is principal viola.
TENARA CALEM (PLAYWRITING)
Tenara Calem is a playwright, educator, and an ensemble theatre maker based in Philadelphia, PA. Tenara’s written work has been featured all around the country, including with the Jewish Plays Project National Competition, the Young Playwrights Festival with Horizon Theatre Company in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Annual Midwestern Jewish Playwriting Contest at Continuum Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Her work has earned her a Young Playwright award nomination from the Dramatist’s Guild. She has worked with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Trinity Repertory Company, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Lightning Rod Special, Strange Attractor, and InterAct Theatre Company. Tenara is a second year playwright with The Foundry, an emerging playwriting lab out of PlayPenn, and the Lead Facilitator of the Philadelphia-local performance company Lupine Performance Cooperative.
ZACHARY SWEET (CELLO)
Zachary Sweet is currently instructor of cello at Nazareth College, Binghamton and Colgate Universities, and on the faculties of Ithaca Talent Education and Music Together of Ithaca. Nationally, he is respected as a clinician having lead workshops, masterclasses and institutes in Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. In February, 2020, he was accepted as a Teacher Trainer candidate by the Suzuki Association of the Americas.