WE'RE NOT YOUR AVERAGE MUSIC TEACHERS
Music is not an easy subject, but the best teachers make it much easier. They make sure their students have a strong musical foundation before diving into advanced concepts. And they know how to break those concepts down to match their students' learning style.
The best music teachers have extensive knowledge of the subjects they teach, and have learned from the best music teachers themselves. They have experience with all elements of music: learning, writing, teaching and performing. They know how to listen to and support their students’ goals rather than weigh them down with arbitrary assignments.
The best music teachers have been teaching for many years and are masters of their craft. They know when to challenge their students and when their students have been challenged enough. They know how to balance technique and discipline with joy and fun.
We're not your average music teachers.
We're the best music teachers.
The best music teachers have extensive knowledge of the subjects they teach, and have learned from the best music teachers themselves. They have experience with all elements of music: learning, writing, teaching and performing. They know how to listen to and support their students’ goals rather than weigh them down with arbitrary assignments.
The best music teachers have been teaching for many years and are masters of their craft. They know when to challenge their students and when their students have been challenged enough. They know how to balance technique and discipline with joy and fun.
We're not your average music teachers.
We're the best music teachers.
Dunja Marcum
Clarinet Teacher
Clarinet Teacher
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DUNJA MARCUM is the clarinet instructor at Lewis & Clark College in Portland and has been an active performer and educator in Portland for over 30 years. Dunja is also the Program Director for Vibe of Portland, a nonprofit seeking to provide equal access to music and arts education for the Portland Metro area.
Ms. Marcum has a successful private clarinet studio serving the Portland Metro area. Many of her students perform in top band and youth orchestra programs throughout Oregon. Her studio ranges in age from 9 years through graduate school and is also in demand as a clarinet specialist for some of the top high school band programs in the state. Ms. Marcum received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from the University of Oregon where she was a student of Dr. Wayne Bennett. In addition she has received her Master of Arts in Teaching from Lewis & Clark College; Dunja has been a student of Yehuda Gilad and the late Rosario Mazzeo. |
Currently Dunja is working on her new project, The Clarinet Room, which offers virtual and asynchronous learning options. While she has had experience working with students at all levels, Dunja is always excited to work with beginners and students in their first few years of playing.
Adam Easley
Guitar, Violin, Mandolin, Ukulele, Fiddle, Music Theory, Songwriting, Composition & Audio Recording Teacher
Guitar, Violin, Mandolin, Ukulele, Fiddle, Music Theory, Songwriting, Composition & Audio Recording Teacher
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ADAM EASLEY started playing the guitar in middle school. At the age of 12, his enthusiasm for the guitar accounts for his perfect attendance in guitar class. He discovered a love for playing music and spent every spare moment practicing. When the time came to join the high school orchestra, Adam had already added the violin to his instrumental capabilities. Throughout high school he thoroughly delighted in the challenges of inter-changing the violin and guitar and the diversity of performing in the orchestra, jazz band, and several rock bands. At age 18 he taught a guitar/ukulele class at Bellehaven Elementary School. He was inspired by the young students and decided to pursue music in college.
Adam’s journey through the academics of higher education spanned several schools before graduating from Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA with a degree in Audio Engineering. It was at the Conservatory of Music at the prestigious University of the Pacific where Adam first learned about Irish fiddle music. |
He was later chosen to present a lecture on Irish music in the Conservatory’s “Music of the World’s People” class. Adam went on to study jazz at San Francisco State. He is quick to recount how performing with Hafez Modirzideh in the Creative World Ensemble was a personal highlight. It’s no surprise that, by this time, Adam had expanded his instrumental proficiency beyond the guitar and violin to include piano, fiddle, mandolin, and percussion.
After more than 20 years of teaching students of all skill levels, Adam’s calm and pleasant demeanor still lights up when a casual conversation provides an edge of new understanding that he can share with his students. Adam customizes his lesson plans to fit the goals of each student. He believes in a well rounded musical education including technique, theory, and repertoire. This method gives his students the tools to learn and play for the rest of their lives! His musical knowledge and passion inspire students and keeps them interested in playing. Adam always shares his joy in playing and performing and that comes through in his fun lesson style. His students engage in a variety of musical activities like reading music, jamming, and exercises.
You can see Adam perform with Portland’s premier Celtic fiddle group, the Katie Jane Band where he plays guitar, fiddle, and mandolin. He also enjoys arranging and recording on their albums.
After more than 20 years of teaching students of all skill levels, Adam’s calm and pleasant demeanor still lights up when a casual conversation provides an edge of new understanding that he can share with his students. Adam customizes his lesson plans to fit the goals of each student. He believes in a well rounded musical education including technique, theory, and repertoire. This method gives his students the tools to learn and play for the rest of their lives! His musical knowledge and passion inspire students and keeps them interested in playing. Adam always shares his joy in playing and performing and that comes through in his fun lesson style. His students engage in a variety of musical activities like reading music, jamming, and exercises.
You can see Adam perform with Portland’s premier Celtic fiddle group, the Katie Jane Band where he plays guitar, fiddle, and mandolin. He also enjoys arranging and recording on their albums.
Alex Bumpas
Voice, Piano, Trumpet, Guitar, Electric Bass, Ukulele
Voice, Piano, Trumpet, Guitar, Electric Bass, Ukulele
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ALEX BUMPAS is a singer, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger well versed in classical and commercial music. Alex studied voice and jazz trumpet at the University of North Texas. While still in college, he began touring with Blood, Sweat, & Tears saxophonist Bill Tillman where he both sang and played trumpet. Upon graduation, Alex joined the national tour of the critically acclaimed original musical Three Redneck Tenors. In 2006, they were finalists on NBC’s America’s Got Talent.
Alex is an accomplished musical theater performer having shared the stage with Tony Award Winning artists including Carol Lawrence and Cathy Rigby. He has been a soloist with numerous orchestras around the country and abroad including the Cleveland Pops, Russian National Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Opera and most recently as the tenor soloist in Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem for the Durahm Brass festival in Durham, United Kingdom. As a chorister he has performed with the Verdigris Ensemble, Vox Humana, Orpheus Chamber Singers, and the Grammy nominated South Dakota Chorale. |
He has been involved in a number of large scale area concerts with Game of Thrones Composer Ramin Djawadi and internationally acclaimed tenor Andrea Bocelli.
As a trumpeter, Alex specializes in commercial music having performed with numerous Top 40 artists in a variety of genres from pop artist Taylor Dayne to jazz singer Steve Tyrell. In 2011, Alex was selected by Marilyn Horne to attend the Music Academy of the West as a singing fellow. He is also an accomplished studio musician having recorded trumpet, piano, guitar, electric bass, drums and vocals for various independent and commercial record labels.
He continues to be a high demand trumpet player, pianist and electric bassist performing regularly with numerous professional groups in the Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex and around the country. In addition to music, Alex has worked as a comedic actor and has been seen on national and local television, the LA Improve, Pittsburg Improv and the Las Vegas strip. Alex has been teaching privately for over 17 years.
As a trumpeter, Alex specializes in commercial music having performed with numerous Top 40 artists in a variety of genres from pop artist Taylor Dayne to jazz singer Steve Tyrell. In 2011, Alex was selected by Marilyn Horne to attend the Music Academy of the West as a singing fellow. He is also an accomplished studio musician having recorded trumpet, piano, guitar, electric bass, drums and vocals for various independent and commercial record labels.
He continues to be a high demand trumpet player, pianist and electric bassist performing regularly with numerous professional groups in the Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex and around the country. In addition to music, Alex has worked as a comedic actor and has been seen on national and local television, the LA Improve, Pittsburg Improv and the Las Vegas strip. Alex has been teaching privately for over 17 years.
Sarah Collins
School Director; Piano, Guitar, Voice & Composition Teacher
School Director; Piano, Guitar, Voice & Composition Teacher
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SARAH COLLINS has been selected as one of Portland’s top piano teachers every year since 2016. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theater from Sam Houston State University. She’s performed professionally in plays, musicals and operas; sung professionally in choirs, rock bands and weddings; and opened and run her own music school. She’s taught preschool at Childswork Learning Center, group music classes for kids at various schools in Austin and Portland and has been teaching private music lessons since 2004.
After years of teaching, Sarah began to create new lesson offerings. Her Piano Plus Voice lessons - which focus on helping pianists add singing to their playing - kicked off in 2015 and remains one of her most popular lesson styles. The following year she began Piano Plus Composition lessons - helping pianists learn to compose - which is also immensely popular. Her composition students have partnered with Portland’s Echo Theater Company to create music for their shows and have been selected to participate in the elite Young Composer’s Project. |
These pandemic years have been a big shakeup as Sarah had to close the doors to Mount Tabor Music School on southeast Hawthorne. But out of that ending came a big new beginning as she moved to North Carolina and began Mount Tabor Online Music School. She’s amazed by the increase in learning she’s seeing with remote music teaching and excited to create a space for folks to find all the best online teachers she knows.
“Sarah, with her sense of humor, grace and nerves of steel took on our football playing, rough housing, tough guy 9-year-old and taught him to sit down, play piano and love it.” -Eamon, parent
“Sarah is one of those rare people who can connect with a child (and adult) and allow them to open up to learning and creativity.” –David, parent
“Sarah, with her sense of humor, grace and nerves of steel took on our football playing, rough housing, tough guy 9-year-old and taught him to sit down, play piano and love it.” -Eamon, parent
“Sarah is one of those rare people who can connect with a child (and adult) and allow them to open up to learning and creativity.” –David, parent
Onyie Nwachukwu
Voice Teacher
Voice Teacher
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ONYIE NWACHUKWU is a musical theatre performer, voice teacher and recording artist in NY. Previous work includes the Cirque Dreams and Rent national tours, the Off-Broadway World premiere of Daddy at the Signature Theatre and Sistas Off Bway. And most recently the Off Bway World Premiere of Heather Christian’s Oratorio for Living Things at Ars Nova (coming back in the Spring)! When not on stage, she’s recording BGVs/demo vocals for folks as a freelance recording artist among many other vocal/composing endeavors. YouTube/Instagram: Onyie Sings!
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Beth Wood
Songwriting, Guitar, Performance & Voice Teacher
Songwriting, Guitar, Performance & Voice Teacher
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BETH WOOD is a modern-day troubadour, poet, and believer in the power of word and song. Beth has been writing, performing, and teaching full-time for twenty-four years — delighting and inspiring audiences with her exceptional musicianship, intelligent writing, powerhouse voice, and warm and commanding stage presence. Texan-raised and Oregon-based, Wood has morphed from a young classically trained, folk-tinged singer-songwriter to a wailing southern rock band leader to a college-circuit acoustic coffeehouse sweetheart to a well-respected nationally-touring poet and troubadour. Through all of these incarnations, Wood has remained true to herself and to her artistry; she has done it her way.
Beth’s work has expanded to include teaching and song coaching as well as leading and facilitating workshops, classes, and retreats. In addition to her eleven solo albums, one duo album, and one collaboration live album, Beth has released three books of poetry, Kazoo Symphonies, Ladder To The Light (2019 finalist for the Oregon Book Award Stafford/Hall award for poetry and 2019 Winner of the Oregon Book Award Readers’ Choice Award), and Believe The Bird (Winner of the San Francisco Book Festival Poetry Award), a collection of forthright, shimmering poems that examine the stories we tell ourselves. |
Beth also released Facepalm, a whimsical collection of stories recounting some of the most awkward conversations she has experienced on the road. Beth’s skills in the craft of songwriting and poetry have been recognized by the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Award, The Sisters Folk Festival Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Award, the Billboard World Song Contest, The Oregon Book Awards, and many more.
Beth is the director of Sisters Songworks, a series of intimate writing retreats in collaboration with the Sisters Folk Festival. During the challenging year of 2020, she co-founded She’s Speaking along with friends and fellow Oregon singer-songwriters Bre Gregg and Kristen Grainger She’s Speaking, a collective that creates forums/spaces for women’s voices and women’s stories to be heard, launched a YouTube channel showcasing over 50 original songs a by women artists about inspirational women. Beth also created a livestream concert series called Joyful Measures and a vibrant and growing community of supporters on Patreon, a membership platform that makes it easy to give direct support to your favorite artists.
Beth says, “It is my dream to make art, live simply, and be of service to my community and to the world. To move something with my art, whether it’s a swirling emotion or a curious mind or tapping feet, is the most glorious feeling, and I can never get enough.” It’s what keeps the songs coming and the words turning. It’s what keeps her dreaming in music at night.
“A woman with the heart of songcraft in her blood and the exceptional musicianship to back it up.” — The Corvallis Advocate
Beth is the director of Sisters Songworks, a series of intimate writing retreats in collaboration with the Sisters Folk Festival. During the challenging year of 2020, she co-founded She’s Speaking along with friends and fellow Oregon singer-songwriters Bre Gregg and Kristen Grainger She’s Speaking, a collective that creates forums/spaces for women’s voices and women’s stories to be heard, launched a YouTube channel showcasing over 50 original songs a by women artists about inspirational women. Beth also created a livestream concert series called Joyful Measures and a vibrant and growing community of supporters on Patreon, a membership platform that makes it easy to give direct support to your favorite artists.
Beth says, “It is my dream to make art, live simply, and be of service to my community and to the world. To move something with my art, whether it’s a swirling emotion or a curious mind or tapping feet, is the most glorious feeling, and I can never get enough.” It’s what keeps the songs coming and the words turning. It’s what keeps her dreaming in music at night.
“A woman with the heart of songcraft in her blood and the exceptional musicianship to back it up.” — The Corvallis Advocate
Rick Martinez
Drum and Percussion Teacher
Drum and Percussion Teacher
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Portland, Oregon Drummer, Percussionist, and Composer, RICK MARTINEZ is enjoying a diverse career fusing together and performing countless different genres and styles. Having studied classical Percussion in his youth at Baltimore's prestigious Peabody Conservatory, he has performed as principal timpanist with the Peabody Youth Sinfonietta, percussion and timpanist at Tanglewood music festival and has also performed in the Berklee World Percussion Festival among others. He has performed genres ranging from classical to jazz and heavy metal throughout the United States as well as in Europe and more recently the Caribbean. Rick holds a bachelors degree in jazz performance from New York University, and has had the privilege of studying with jazz greats as well as pillars in classical percussion including Tony Moreno, Wayne Krantz, Mike Richmond, Dave, Pietro, Tim Genis, Jonathan Haas, John Hadfield, Martin Wind and Dafnis Prieto.
Rick teaches students of all ages and skill levels. He is also endorsed by Anchor Drum Co. “My boys loved working with Rick. He brought incredible knowledge, experience and professionalism to every lesson.” -Bill D. “Extraordinary coaching and incredible passion for making beautiful music.” -Mario S. |
Jeffrey Mettlewsky
Piano, Guitar & Ukulele Teacher
Piano, Guitar & Ukulele Teacher
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Beginning piano lessons at the age of 5 and the guitar in his teens, JEFFREY METTLEWSKY is a multi-instrumentalist musician based in Portland, OR. He was drawn to composition and songwriting early on, and realized he was going to be a musician after being selected in a national songwriting contest. Jeffrey continues to release his own music as an independent artist.
Jeffrey completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in music at Simon Fraser University, Canada where he was able to compose and produce music across multiple contemporary genres. Further studies were funded by Canada Council for the Arts, which lead him to obtain a masters degree in a year while at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. One of many highlights includes having the opportunity to perform in an ensemble at the Queen Elizabeth Theater in London. Jeffrey has been teaching piano, guitar and ukulele continously for over three years in the Portland, OR area. He has a teaching style that is relaxed and positive, and his goal is to help his students develop the skills to continue in the lifelong enjoyment of playing an instrument. |
“Jeffrey does an amazing job of making virtual guitar lessons engaging and effective. My daughter learned the foundations of music theory and felt confident playing songs after just a few months. She continues to look forward to her lessons.” -Anne H.
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