Faculty Gallery

Deirdre Hutton has enjoyed a varied career as a teacher, chamber musician and orchestral player.  Many of her violin students have gone on to study at prestigious music schools throughout North America including: The Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Texas at Austin and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.  In addition, her students have been featured on the radio show From the Top and have participated in such summer festivals as the Heifetz Institute, Aspen School of Music, Bowdoin Music Festival, the New York String Seminar, National Youth Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Meadowmount and National Orchestral Institute.

Deirdre completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance at the Eastman School of Music as a student of Oleh Krysa.  At Northwestern University she was teaching assistant to Almita and Roland Vamos while earning a Master of Music degree. Additional studies included intensive private study with Itzhak Rashkovsky, Royal College in London.

She has given masterclasses through the US and internationally. Deirdre has been violin coach for the Greenville County Youth Orchestra’s Young Artists Orchestra for the last ten years, as well as leading violin sectionals for numerous South Carolina Regional and All State Orchestras.

In addition to her work as a teacher Deirdre is an active chamber musician. As violinist and founding member of the Poinsett Piano Trio she has performed concerts throughout the US, Germany and New Zealand over the last decade. http://poinsettpianotrio.com

Deirdre has performed in numerous orchestras in the US and Europe including the New World Symphony (Miami, Florida), the Schlossfestspiele Chamber Orchestra (Heidelberg, Germany), the North Carolina Symphony, the Charleston Symphony (South Carolina), the Knoxville Symphony (Tennessee), and the Greenville Symphony (South Carolina). She was Assistant Concertmaster of the Roanoke Symphony (Virginia) and was Assistant Concertmaster for the last two seasons with the Spartanburg Philharmonic.

Prior to joining the SCGSAH faculty in 2019, Deirdre taught as Adjunct Professor at Furman University for 14 years.

• deirdrehutton@scgsah.org
• Phone: 864.282.3759

Landon Baumgard is a vocal coach and collaborative pianist hailing from the Los Angeles area.  He has collaborated with all the preeminent Los Angeles musical organizations, including LA Opera, the LA Phil, and the LA Master Chorale.  Baumgard holds degrees from California State University, Northridge (BM), Indiana University, Bloomington (MM), and University of Michigan (DMA), where he studied vocal coaching in depth with Martin Katz. His prior teaching positions were at Pepperdine University, California State University, Northridge, and the Faber Piano Institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

• landonbaumgard@scgsah.org
• Phone: 864.282.3763 

A native of Westchester County in New York, Ian Bracchitta performs as a bassist in the classical, jazz and popular idioms. He is the assistant principal bassist of the Greenville (SC) Symphony Orchestra and the principal bassist of the Spartanburg Philharmonic. Ian performs in the bass sections of the Charlotte, Charleston and Hendersonville Symphony Orchestras. As a jazz bassist he has  performed with Dianne Schuur, Kevin Mahogany, Kate McGarry, Freddie Bryant, Pat Harbison, George Mesterhazy, Hod O’Brien, Chris Vadala, John Stowell, The Tommy Dorsey, Nelson Riddle and Cab Calloway Orchestras among many others.Additionally, he performs frequently in the southeast in duo, trio and quartet settings. Ian has performed extensively in musical theatre playing with the Broadway national tours of  Anastasia, Hello Dolly, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, West Side Story, Beautiful-The Carol King Story, Legally Blond, A Chorus Line, Chicago, The Sound Of Music, The Producers, Young Frankenstein, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Evita, Pippin, Grease, 9 to 5, Fiddler on the Roof, Camelot, My Fair Lady, Annie Get Your Gun, Something Rotten, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Cinderella, Billy Elliot, Mary Poppins, The Drowsy Chaperone, Ragtime, The Boyfriend, Victor Victoria, Sweet Charity, White Christmas, Annie, The Scarlet Pimpernel among others. He has played orchestrally or as electric bassist for a host of performers including Edwin McCain, Celtic Woman, Burt Bacharach, The Fifth Dimension, Marvin Hamlisch, Shirley Jones, Carol Channing, Martin Short, Rich Little and Red Buttons among many others. Recording credits include Reflections with jazz guitarist Steve Watson, Canadian jazz guitarist Mark Guest’s Happy Together,  the duo of Garah and Gregory Landes- Synchronicity: Like Minds, Rebecca Nagle Synthetic Dances - Music for Oboe on Centaur records, Joe Burke Simply Romantic on Revere records, Oracle Evasive Actions and Peggy Haden I’m Glad There Is You among others. Additionally, he has performed on regional commercials and industrial soundtracks. A dedicated teacher, Ian’s students have distinguished themselves by attending many of the finest music schools in the country. Ian is on the adjunct faculties of the South Carolina Governors School for the Arts and Humanities, Clemson and Furman Universities. He was the visiting lecturer of Double Bass at the University of South Carolina’s School of Music from 2002-2006 and at UNC-Asheville from 2003-2013. Additionally, Ian maintains a private studio. He received a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, additional studies at the Berklee College of Music. He attended the Westchester Conservatory during high school. Ian is very thankful for his teachers Jack Budrow, Donald Palma, Orin O’Brien, Salvatore Macchia, Michael Moore, Anthony Beadle, Arnold Schnitzer and William Blossom.

Education

• B.M., University of Massachusetts-Amhearst

• Additional Studies, Berklee College of Music

Training Under:

• Salvatore Macchia, University of Massachussetts-Amhearst

• Bruce Gertz and William Curtis, Berklee College of Music

• Winston Jack Budrow, Donald Palma, Orin O'Brien, Michael Moore and William Blossom, Independent study

• ianbracchitta@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758

Over the last 25 years, Alisa Caldwell has created and perfected an amazing blend of African dance, contemporary movements, and creative choreography, performed to the captivating power of drum rhythms. This technique exercises both mind and body, and also feeds the spirit. She has a strong personal and professional desire to share the beauty, culture, and passion of West African dance. In 1988, Alisa began her primary dance training at the Imani School of Dance in Greenville, South Carolina, where she eventually began instructing and choreographing creative and traditional African dance routines. She performed in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. She also trained with Chris Thompson and the Cultural Ensemble and Nubian Roots Cultural Center under the direction of Gerri Chisolm in Charlotte, North Carolina. Having the desire to perfect her art, Alisa continued her training with The Larocque Bey School of Dance Theatre under the direction of Master Dancer/Drummer Baba Jerome Hunter in New York, New York. Alisa has performed in numerous cultural and international festivals and has served as instructor, choreographer, lecturer, and judge at various dance conferences, workshops, and competitions. Through her extensive experience in African, Creative, and Liturgical dance, she is now a much sought-after teacher, performer, and choreographer.

Originally from Lake Mills, Wisconsin, violist Kathryn Dey is active as a soloist and chamber musician and has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Ms. Dey is a Surdna Foundation fellow and was awarded a grant from that organization to study and perform works for unaccompanied viola by Lillian Fuchs. She performs regularly with organist David Turner as The Lila Duo and recent projects include performances at Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Virginia,  and a series of recitals in France and Germany. Together the duo founded the Haiti Music Project, an outreach program connecting musicians in the United States and Cange, Haiti. 

Active as an educator, her teaching has been recognized by the American String Teacher Association, Strings Magazine, Music Teachers National Association, the American Viola Society, the South Carolina Alliance for Arts Education, and the South Carolina Music Educators Association.  Students from her studio are now performing and teaching around the world. Ms. Dey has given workshops to teachers and students throughout South Carolina and helped build rural string programs in Chester, Fairfield, Jasper, Laurens, and Pickens Counties. She is a frequent presenter at music teaching conferences and has been recognized nationally for her interdisciplinary work in the fields of music, creative writing, and acting. Ms. Dey is on the faculty of the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts, the Eastman Summer Viola Workshop, and the Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival. She earned degrees in viola performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a student of Sally Chisholm, and at the Eastman School of Music, where she served as teaching assistant to John Graham. Ms. Dey speaks fluent German, practices hatha yoga daily, and together with her husband, cellist Robert O’Brien, has been renovating a historic home in downtown Greenville, South Carolina, for the past twelve years.

• kdey@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3764

Thomas Dickinson received his Master of Music degree from the Yale University School of Music where he was a student of Richard Cross. He also holds an Artist Diploma and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he was a student of Richard Miller. At Oberlin he served on the staff of OBSVAC, a cutting edge vocal arts lab that utilizes technology to illuminate the art of singing and was awarded the Ruth Cogan scholarship for excellent service to the Lab. Mr. Dickinson also served as an Associate Instructor of Voice at Indiana University while studying with Giorgio Tozzi. His Studies have taken him to Europe where he was enrolled at the Salzburg Summer Festival. Mr. Dickinson spent two years in residence with the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program where he performed the roles of Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Masetto and Commendatore in Don Giovanni and in concerts throughout the northwest. Other operatic roles include Pistola in Falstaff, Schaunard in La Boheme, Collatinus in Rape of Lucretia, Escamillo in Carmen and Melchoir in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Mr. Dickinson’s career had taken him across the United States including appearances with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Glimmerglass Opera, Hartford Symphony, Yakima Symphony, Norwalk Symphony and as an apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera. He has performed locally with the Greenville Symphony, the Augusta Chorale and Greenville Light Opera Works. 

• tdickinson@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3762

Conductor Nse (EN-say) Ekpo enjoys a varied career as a performer, educator, and content creator throughout the United States and abroad. Recent engagements have taken him to Berlin, Germany where he conducted the Berlin Sinfonietta, and Pazardjik, Bulgaria where he has guest conducted the Pazardjik Symphony Orchestra. In 2018, Ekpo was named a finalist in two categories of The American Prize: Professional Orchestral Conducting, and the Ernst Bacon Award for the Programing of American Music (Professional Division). In the summer of 2018, Ekpo was invited along with 17 other creative artists from the US and abroad to be a resident at Rockland Woods Artist Residency Pilot Program in Illahe, Washington.

Prior to his arrival at The SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, Dr. Ekpo was the Concert Band Director at Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington. While at Lakeside, Ekpo created Music Among Friends: A faculty chamber music series, the Middle School Flash Festival, which was one of Lakeside’s first live-streamed events, and the Business Club at the Upper School. While in the Seattle area, Ekpo guest conducted the Puget Brass, West Seattle Community Orchestra, Issaquah Philharmonic, Boeing Orchestra of Flight, Seattle Pacific University Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Wind Symphony, the Lake Union Civic Orchestra, and the Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra. A champion of diversity in the concert hall, his 2015 doctoral dissertation was on the orchestral music of Black American composers. In 2020, Ekpo spearheaded a commission by composer James Lee III for the Issaquah Philharmonic. Winner of the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, Dr. Ekpo earned his doctoral degree from the University of South Carolina upon completion of his document, Expanding the American Canon: The Orchestral Music of Black American Composers (https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/3098/).

Prior to his appointment to Lakeside, Ekpo taught Music Appreciation at the University of South Carolina, and applied clarinet lessons at Lander University (SC).

A GOMAP fellow at the University of Washington, he conducted the University of Washington Wind Ensemble on its tour of Japan in 2007. He has also conducted the Beijing Opera Company, the Xian Conservatory Orchestra while on tour as a conducting fellow at the Conductor’s Institute of South Carolina. As a scholar, Ekpo has twice presented at the Northwest National Association for Music Education (2011, 2017) and has been published as an assistant editor and contributor to Merideth Music’s A Composer’s Insight series (volumes III, and IV respectively).

He completed coursework at the University of Washington while concentrating on wind band conducting and repertoire with Tim Salzman. While at the University of Washington, Ekpo conducted the Concert Band, the Symphonic Band, and the Wind Ensemble. Ekpo was also the Graduate Assistant Director of the University of Washington Husky Marching Band for the 2007-2008 season where he was the chief architect of the 2007 Washington vs. Washington State Apple Cup halftime show. He received his master’s degree in orchestral conducting and his bachelor of music in music education from the University of South Carolina. 

Primary conducting teachers include Donald Portnoy, Timothy Salzman, Peter Eros, and Lee Mills. He has also attended conducting master classes led by Colin Metters, former head of conducting at the London Royal Academy of Music, Gustav Meier at The Peabody Institute, and Sarah Ioannides, Music Director and Conductor of Symphony Tacoma. In addition to his musical training and accomplishments, Dr. Ekpo also holds a master of business administration (MBA) from the Darla Moore School of Business.

An active performer, Karen Hill is currently the Principal Clarinetist of the Spartanburg Philharmonic, Principal Second Clarinetist of the Asheville Symphony and a member of the Arbor Wind Trio. She has appeared as a soloist with the Spartanburg Philharmonic, Brevard Chamber Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, Hunan Symphony Orchestra, Yellow River Symphony Orchestra, the Converse Symphony Orchestra, and collaborated with the American Chamber Players. She has also served as Principal Clarinetist with the Hendersonville Symphony, the Brevard Chamber Orchestra, and the French Broad River Woodwind Quintet. A freelance musician in the area for over 20 years, Mrs. Hill also has performed with the Asheville Lyric Opera Company, Augusta Symphony Orchestra, Augusta Opera Company, Charleston Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Greenville Symphony, North Carolina Symphony and the South Carolina Philharmonic. Mrs. Hill has traveled to China multiple times as a performer and teacher in cities such as Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Zhengzhou, Changsha and Qingdao.

Mrs. Hill has been on the faculty at Converse since 2000. She also serves as Special Assistant to the Provost for International Programs, promoting and coordinating Converse’s partnership programs in China. Prior to 2000, she taught at Brevard College, Mars Hill College, Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, Union, and the School for Gifted Students in the Arts. A high school graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Mrs. Hill holds degrees in clarinet performance from Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, where she was a full-tuition Fellow. She is a former student of the world-renowned clarinetist Robert Marcellus.

A summer music enthusiast throughout high school and college, Karen spent her summers at music festivals such as the Banff Center, Brevard Music Center, Interlochen, Music Academy of the West, and the School of Orchestral Studies, a summer affiliate of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has also performed at Piccolo Spoleto, the Cullowhee Music Festival, and at Wild Acres, as a Woodwind Quintet Artist-in-Residence. She currently spends her summers at the MasterWorks Festival at Converse University. 

• karenhill@scgsah.org
• Phone: 864.282.3758

Shannon Hoover, from Greenville SC, is a freelance performer, composer, music educator, and music director / co-founder of The Greenville Jazz Collective (501c-3 nonprofit). He plays electric and acoustic bass, piano, and brass. A graduate of Anderson University (SC), Shannon has a B.A. in Double Bass Performance (minors in piano and music education) and will earn a M.M. in Music Education in the fall of 2023. He teaches private and virtual lessons in Greenville at Music on Mitchell. He has taught music for over 20 years to students of all ages and levels, including adjunct positions at the university level for 15 years. Shannon is currently an adjunct music instructor at Furman University.

Shannon plays many styles, focusing on jazz, classical, commercial, and world music. Recently, Shannon has had the opportunity to play with Victor Wooten, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Branford Marsalis, Harry Kim, Ike Stubblefield, Vincent Gardner, Lizz Wright, Jiggs Whigham, John Ellis, Kobie Watkins, Ron McCurdy, Jason Marsalis, Col. Bruce Hampton, Craig Wagner, Adam Nitti, Justin Stanton, Bob Moses, Ranky Tanky, Chris Vadala, Terreon Gully, Geoff Achison, Buzz Amato, Jeff Sipe, Derek Trucks, Mondre Moffett, Edwin McCain, Delfeayo Marsalis, Bobby Lee Rodgers, Veronica Swift, Pharez Whitted, Dionne Warwick, Yonrico Scott, Bill Evans, Kofi Burbridge, Chris Bullock, Scotty Anderson, Walter Blanding, Jr., Roy "Futureman" Wooten, Jason Marsalis, Mondre Moffett and Clarence Clemons.

Shannon has been busy the last few years building a foundation for jazz in Greenville, SC with educational programs and performances with the Greenville Jazz Collective since 2012. The organization promotes jazz awareness and education in the Greenville area, visiting local schools and offering concerts, camps, and clinics.

Along with being a recording artist for other musicians, Shannon released a CD entitled "Follow Me" in October 2012, featuring original compositions. He has been working on several new projects including a Jaco Pastorius Tribute Band, transcription and recording projects, a second studio album of original compositions, a solo electric bass album, and an electric bass
method book.

Find out more about Shannon Hoover and the Greenville Jazz Collective:

www.ShannonHooverMusic.com

www.GreenvilleJazzCollective.com

Education

• B.A. in Double Bass Performance (minors in piano and music education)  Anderson University
• M.M. in Music Education (anticipated completion fall of 2023)

• shannonhoover@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758

Walter Hundt received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from Bob Jones University and continued graduate study at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music working as a pianist in the opera department. Walter is a staff pianist at the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities as well as music director/organist at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Simpsonville. He accompanies various soloists and ensembles throughout the area and has worked with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, the South Carolina Children’s Theatre, the Greenville Little Theatre, the Warehouse Theatre, and the Greenville Opera. 

• walterhundt@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758

Kristen Whitworth Ironside is an active collaborative pianist, whose work has given her performance opportunities both across the United States and Europe. Kristen has been on the collaborative piano faculty at the MasterWorks Festival, and has been a collaborative pianist at both the Vianden International Music Festival in Vianden, Luxembourg, and the Saarburger Serenaden International Music Festival in Saarburg, Germany.

Kristen is based in Greenville, South Carolina, where she collaborates with guest artists, faculty, and students at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities (SCGSAH), Furman University, and other universities around the state. She has recently performed with visiting professors from Oberlin Conservatory, the Eastman School of Music, and New England Conservatory, and performed a concerto with the Bob Jones University String Orchestra. An avid supporter of contemporary music, she has also worked with composers Jon Grier and Lance Hulme to premiere and record new works. She currently coaches chamber music at SCGSAH, and has served on the faculty of Presbyterian College, in Clinton, SC. Kristen is a member of the Hendiatris Piano Trio, and frequently performs with her husband, violinist Brandon Ironside, as part of the Ironside Duo.

• kristenironside@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758

Craig lives in Greenville, SC enjoying and active and varies performing and teaching career. He has degrees in trumpet performance from Yale University School of Music (MM) and Furman University (BM). He performs frequently with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, GAMAC Orchestra, West End Brass Quintet, GSO Quintet, Greenville Jazz Collective Big Band, and on occasion the Asheville Symphony, Spartanburg Philharmonic, and South Carolina Philharmonic. Past highlights include performances at Avery Fischer Hall and New York City's Lincoln Center and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Broadway shows on local stops, Ringling Bros Circus, opening band for Wilco, and orchestras with Johnny Mathis, Edwin McCain, and Bela Fleck. 

In addition to teaching trumpet and coaching brass ensembles at SCGSAH, Craig teaches trumpet at Converse College, Lawson Academy of Arts, and North Greenville University, where he also serves as Director of Jazz Band. Craig recently released an album of his original music, Blue Metropolis, on vinyl, CD, and streaming services. In his off time, Craig is painting portraits, cooking, and roasting coffee.

• craigking@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758

Amanda Montgomery, DMA, enjoys a diverse career as a pedagogue and pianist. In addition to her position at SCGSAH, Amanda is also an adjunct professor at Furman University and maintains a private pre-college piano studio. Prior appointments include Claflin University, North Central Texas College, and Louisiana State University. 

Amanda received the DMA in Piano Performance with a minor in Piano Pedagogy from Louisiana State University. She also holds degrees from James Madison University and Furman University. Her former piano and piano pedagogy teachers include Michael Gurt, Steve Betts, Eric Ruple, and Derek Parsons. 

Her students consistently perform well in competitions, including a winner in the South Carolina MTNA Young Artist Competition. Amanda has served as the Vice President for Competitions and is currently the President-Elect for the SCMTA.

• amandamontgomery@scgsah.org
• Phone: 864.282.3761

Born in Princeton, NJ, Robert O'Brien began started playing the cello at age eight.  Mr. O'Brien plays regularly throughout the Southeast and has appeared recently as a soloist with the Foothills Philharmonic and the Macon (Georgia) Symphony.  As a chamber musician his programs have been heard on Peachstate Public Radio and on South Carolina Educational Radio.  Recent performances include solo recitals in Kinston, NC and Greenville, SC.  A former instructor at the Columbus (Georgia) Academy of Music, Mr. O'Brien was part of the first successful HUD sponsored Suzuki string program.  Through this innovative program he was involved in bringing Suzuki and traditional cello instruction to public housing projects in western Georgia.  In addition to his position as cello instructor of the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Mr. O'Brien is assistant principal cellist of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra.  Mr. O'Brien holds a degree from Peabody Conservatory in cello performance where he was a student of Stephen Kates.  He has also worked with Leonard Rose, Janos Starker and former Fine Arts Quartet violinist Abe Loft.  Mr. O'Brien was recently the recipient of a grant from the Surdna Foundation to study Baroque cello technique with members of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and cellist Pieter Wispelwey of the Netherlands.  Mr. O'Brien performs on a modern cello made in 2002 by David Burgess.

• robertobrien@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758

Lauren Piccirillo Waid is the Bassoon Instructor at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. She holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Martin James and William Winstead. She teaches privately in the Upstate, serves as the wind coach for the Greenville County Youth Orchestra, and is Bassoon Professor at Furman University. Lauren has performed with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Asheville Symphony Orchestra, Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Richmond (IN) Symphony Orchestra, Springfield (OH) Symphony Orchestra, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, and many others. Lauren taught at Franklin College, IN for six years, where she was a full-time professor of Music Theory and Applied Woodwinds. Lauren has taught private piano and woodwind lessons for over twenty years, and she has also designed programs for and taught preschool music and upper elementary Montessori music. Lauren taught at Cincinnati’s prestigious Walnut Hills High School, where she grew the bassoon studio from one to eight bassoonists within five years. She served as Music Chair for the Three Arts Scholarship board, where she had the pleasure of awarding many college-aged musicians significant scholarships. Lauren is a member of the International Double Reed Society. She also makes and sells her own bassoon reeds and was cofounder of Double or Nothing Reeds, LLC. 

• laurenwaid@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758

Elliott Smith, D.M.A. was born and raised in Greenville, SC where he attended Furman University and earned a degree in piano performance. From 2005-2010, he attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he received graduate degrees in piano and conducting. He recently received his doctorate in conducting from the University of Notre Dame, where his research interest was continuous practice of the Baroque and Classical eras; further, his thesis examined W.A. Mozart's "Great" C-minor Mass. His primary teachers include Ruby Morgan and Elisabeth Pridonoff, piano and Elmer Thomas, Earl Rivers, Brett Scott, Annunziata Tomato, and Carmen-Helena Téllez, conducting. 

• elliottsmith@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758

Michael Taylor serves on the faculties of Anderson University, Lenoir-Rhyne University and North Greenville University where he teaches tuba, euphonium, chamber ensembles, and brass methods. He is also the coordinator and conductor of the annual Hickory, NC Tuba Christmas event. Past teaching appointments include Furman University, Brevard College, Presbyterian Association of Music and Musicians, and the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities.

Mr. Taylor has served as principal tuba with the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra since 2002. In addition to his duties with the HSO, he has performed with several symphony orchestras throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Mr. Taylor has also performed and toured with Mr. Jack Daniel’s Original Silver Cornet Band, the Harvey Phillips Tuba Company, and the Tuba Santas while maintaining an active schedule as a performer and clinician in the southeastern United States.

Mr. Taylor received his Bachelor of Music degree from Western Carolina University and his Master of Music in Performance degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University-Bloomington where he was awarded the William Bell Memorial Scholarship for Tuba. His principal instructors are Dr. Harvey Phillips, Dan Perantoni, Dr. Ken Kroesche, and D. Wynn Justice.

Michael Taylor currently resides in Morganton, NC with his wife, Kimberly and their daughter, Savannah Lee.

• michaeltaylor@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758

Anne Kelly Tromsness has worked as a theatre educator and teaching artist for over 20 years.  A veteran actor and director, she regularly works in regional theatre and consults on productions in higher education as well. Anne formerly served as the Education Director at Greenville’s The Warehouse Theatre where she developed and implemented local and regional programming in theatre education, performance, and community engagement, building a nationally recognized Shakespeare touring program. Most recently, she served as the ARMES Drama and Theatre Foundations instructor at the Fine Arts Center, where she was recognized as the SC Theatre Association Outstanding Theatre Educator for 2020, and the 2021-22 District Teacher of the Year for Greenville County Schools. She has taught at Christ Church Episcopal School, SC Children's Theatre, served as lead teacher for the SCGSAH IGNITE program, a summer intensive in creative process for middle school students, and as a teaching artist for the Metropolitan Arts Council's SMART ARTS. She worked with the SCGSAH outreach department and the SC Arts Commission, developing  SPARK!, a program using theatre arts integration to boost literacy in  elementary students in Williamsburg and Jasper counties. In 2020, the program was recognized with a research initiative award through the Arts Schools Network, and has since been expanded to a year-round program in additional districts statewide, as part of the SC Arts Commission's Arts Grow SC initiative. Anne was a founding Co-Artistic Director for The Distracted Globe Theatre Company, in residence for ten years at The Warehouse Theatre. She previously served as the Director of Outreach, and Community Service and Service Learning Coordinator at the SCGSAH. Anne holds a BA in Women’s Studies from the University of South Carolina, and an MA in Arts Administration from Winthrop University. Other areas of special interest include collaborative practice, improvisation, arts integration, and applied theatre. In 2018, Anne completed her teacher certification in the Michael Chekhov Technique for Acting and Directing, through the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium. She is a member of Actors' Equity Association, the union representing professional actors and stage managers in theatre in the United States. 
 

Jeff Vaughn (MM, BME) is a percussionist, educator, and rhythm-event facilitator based in Greenville, South Carolina. Leveraging sound as a vehicle for experiential learning and personal development, Mr. Vaughn encourages others to explore the world within and beyond themselves as expressive beings. His programs often combine sound and social connection with creative play to facilitate enriching life experiences that engage participants with diverse learning styles. 

Growing from childhood encouragement and deep curiosity, Mr. Vaughn’s teaching style has developed through study of world musical perspectives, ancient-american rudimental drumming traditions, popular and commercial music, contemporary percussion concepts, and interactive music-making techniques. On the concert stage, Jeff regularly performs with the South Carolina-based band, George Fetner and the Strays (“GFATS”) and with both the Rock Hill Symphony and Augusta Symphony Orchestra. 

Mr. Vaughn recently moved to Greenville from Columbia where he served the USC School of Music as Assistant Director of Spark: Music Leadership at Carolina. Past teaching positions include Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and Newberry College.

Mr. Vaughn earned his Master of Music  in Percussion Performance from The Ohio State University (‘11) and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Slippery Rock University (’09).  Additionally, Mr Vaughn is a graduate of Village Music Circles Drum Circle Facilitator Leadership Trainings and Beat the Odds, a social and emotional skill building framework embracing group drumming and shared experience. 

• jeffvaughn@scgsah.org
• Phone: 864.282.4240

• laurenvaughn@scgsah.org
• Phone: 864.282.3760

Oboist Petrea Warneck performs extensively throughout the Carolinas as an orchestral and chamber musician. She is a tenured member of the oboe section of the South Carolina Philharmonic. In addition, throughout her years in the southeast, she has performed frequently with the North Carolina, Charlotte, Charleston, Greenville, Asheville, Augusta and Spartanburg Symphony Orchestras. She has a distinguished reputation as an educator and teaches oboe masterclasses, reed-making workshops and Alexander Technique workshops and clinics nationally. In this capacity she has been a guest artist and lecturer at several top music schools in the country, including the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati (CCM), the University of Georgia and the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, to name a few.

In her home state of South Carolina, Ms. Warneck maintains a teaching, studio in Greenville, and she on the artist faculty of Furman University and the SC Governor’s School for the Arts in Greenville, SC. In past years she has taught oboe at USC-Columbia, Clemson University, Presbyterian College (Clinton, SC), and UNC- Wilmington.

Dedicated to the health and wellness of performing artists, Ms. Warneck is a devoted advocate of the importance of the Mind-Body connection. She teaches Alexander Technique lessons, workshops and classes in person and online via video conference coaching. She is a Certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique through Alexander Technique International.

Ms. Warneck has had an active career in the field of arts management in New York City and Berlin, Germany, and in 1994 she co-founded The Chamber Music Society of Wilmington (NC) and served as the executive director for the first decade of the series.

Ms. Warneck is passionately involved in the performance of new music for her instrument, and she has commissioned works for world premieres at the International Double Reed Society Conferences in 2007 and 2012, the former of which is a tribute to the legendary oboist, John Mack - former principal oboist of the Cleveland Orchestra and Ms. Warneck’s primary teacher. She credits his influence and teaching pedagogy for her continual development as a musician and educator throughout her career.

Ms. Warneck plays on the Yamaha Custom Oboe 841 and is a Yamaha Performing Artist through Yamaha Corporation of America.

For more information please visit: 

EaseforMusicians.com

• petreawarneck@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758

Ben Weston is a Certified Associate Drumming Instructor with Tam Tam Mandingue Djembe Academy (TTM) Winston-Salem, a branch of the TTM international school of West African drumming. Locally, he runs classes, conducts workshops and presentations, and performs. At the Governor's School, he plays for West African and Modern dance classes.

• stevewilson@scgsah.org
• Phone: 864.282.3758

Anneka Zuehlke-King currently serves as Principal Horn of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Principal of the Spartanburg Philharmonic, as well as Third Horn of the Asheville Symphony Orchestra. On her free weeks, Anneka also performs with the Charlotte Symphony, the Hendersonville Symphony, the GAMAC Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra Augusta. She is also a member of several chamber ensembles, including Triptych Musica, the West End Brass Quintet and the Converse Faculty Wind Quintet. In addition to teaching horn at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, Anneka is the Adjunct Horn teacher at Converse College and Furman University. Anneka is proud to have studied with Sylvia Alimena in high school, Myron Bloom and Jerome Ashby at the Curtis Institute of Music where she received her Bachelor’s of Music, and William Purvis when studying for her Master’s from the Yale School of Music.

• annekazuehlke@scgsah.org
• Phone:864.282.3758