Pamela Knopka is the owner of Strike a Chord Music Studio. She began piano lessons at the age of 5 and studied with her mother, Mrs. Jeanette Swiderski. Upon entering high school, she studied under renowned Mrs. Vivien Harvey Slater. She then attended Onondaga Community College for music, with a major in piano.  She also plays the flute and piccolo. She teaches both piano and kindermusik.

Sarah DePalma is a vocal teacher with over 17 years of experience in the public school system. She currently teaches vocal music at Whitesboro High School, where she conducts the mixed chorus, chamber choir, a tenor/bass “barbershop” ensemble, and a treble “Sweet Adelines” ensemble, and teaches vocal lessons. Mrs. DePalma regularly prepares students for NYSSMA Solo Festival annually, and annually sends students to participate in the Zone 4 Area All-State choral ensembles, Junior High All-County Chorus, and the NYSSMA Conference All-State choral ensembles. She has experience teaching private vocal, piano, and guitar lessons. Additionally, Mrs. DePalma directs the high school musicals and has proudly presented recent show titles such as Hadestown, School of Rock, and Addams Family. 

Mrs. DePalma was trained at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music and holds both a bachelors and masters degree in vocal music education. She is a classically trained singer and has performed professionally in both solo and choral settings. She participated in the 2007 International Choral Festival in Beijing, China as part of the Crane Touring Choir. Mrs. DePalma also has extensive vocal jazz experience, having sung professionally with the local jazz troupe “Above Standards”. Currently, she is an active vocalist in the area, performing for weddings, funerals, and with local theater productions. She looks forward to partnering with Strike A Chord Studio to offer private vocal instruction! 

Kierra enjoys both singing and playing the piano. She has been in many musical performances throughout her high school years and continues to sing and play the piano. She will be teaching beginner piano and kindermusik!

Jacob has been playing piano since he was a very young boy. He started teaching as a student teacher for the studio in 2016 and has continued to do so ever since. Jacob also took music classes at SUNY Oswego and played the trumpet in the school's band for many years. Currently, Jacob plays keyboard in local high school musicals. He has recently played in Les Misérables and High School Musical. He will be teaching piano!

Jamie has been playing guitar (acoustic and electric) for 27 years. He also started singing in 4th grade and continued singing throughout his entire life. He is currently the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of his own band called A Dying Breed. Jamie will be teaching both electric and acoustic guitar!

Pam has been involved in music, movement and dance since she was a child. For 28 years, she was a student, local instructor and owner of Take A Bow Dance Studio. After the birth of her son Gabriel, she closed her studio to become a full time Mom. But her love for children and her passion for teaching brought her to the Piano Lab for Kindermusik. She has been licensed through Kindermusik International since 2003.  She looks forward to meeting your family!