Jenny Ridout (she/her)
Jenny Ridout is an accomplished flutist and pianist and has spent the past decade performing and teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area and Houston. Jenny received her B.M. in flute performance from San Jose State University under the tutelage of Catherine Payne (San Francisco Symphony), and her M.M. in flute performance from the University of Houston studying with Aralee Dorough (Houston Symphony). While at San Jose State, Jenny acted as principal chair flute in the school's top ranking Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra, and her senior recital was acclaimed by SJSU faculty as having been one of the "best student recitals ever held at the school." During her time at the University of Houston she acted as principal flute and solo piccolo with the Symphony Orchestra and performed with them at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Jenny has received instruction from and performed in master classes in the United States and Europe from a number of today's top flutists including Catherine Payne, Keith Underwood, Jim Walker, Christina Jennings, Leone Buyse, Robert Stallman, Carol Wincenc, Timothy Day, Sergio Pallotelli, Sooyun Kim, Ian Clarke, and Aralee Dorough.
Jenny has an undeniable passion for musical expression as well as music theory and enjoys passing this along to her students. She helps offer them the tools and direction needed so that they too may discover how they want to express themselves through music. Her students show improvement very quickly and are active participants in recitals, school band programs, youth orchestras, master classes and competitions. Lessons with Jenny are tailored to each student’s unique musical goals, as every student has different interests!
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Jennifer-Ridout-1
Nik Singleton (she/her)
Nik Singleton was born and raised in the Southwest, and has been singing since early childhood. She discovered her love for harmonies at a young age, and spent most of school singing in choir. When she graduated high school, she took her singing out of the classroom and onto the stage, playing in a multitude of bands over the past 15+ years. Specializing in harmony work, she also has many years of experience in the studio and as a session singer and producer.
She has worked with a wide range of projects across multiple genres, sung on many records and live streams, and appeared on season 13 of “The Voice.” She has over 15 years of performance experience, resulting in an abundance of practical application knowledge for live performance, both on stage and in the studio.
Her goal is to instill confidence and expand skill in her students, and encourage artist expression and joy. She aims to create a comfortable space for exploration of the voice, including expanding knowledge of vocal health practices. She has much knowledge to impart on the topics of harmony singing, stage presence, and wants to help you discover you own personal sound and confidence as a performer.
She loves the ocean, and is an avid surfer and scuba diver. She loves to cook, and is happiest when she’s connecting with and meeting new people.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @NikSingleton / Paypal singnikkising@gmail.com
Kevin Murphy (he/him)
Kevin Murphy picked up the guitar when he was 10 years old. At the age of 14, he formed his first band and performed around Seattle opening for established local bands, including Mudhoney. In 2006, Kevin formed the rock/folk band The Moondoggies which led to 4 full length albums on Sub Pop subsidiary Hardly Art. The Moondoggies have toured and performed alongside bands such as The Lumineers, The Cave Singers, The Head and The Heart, Blitzen Trapper and Dawes. Kevin has also shared the stage with legendary artists Robbie Robertson, CSNY, Brandi Carlile, Dave Mathews, and more.
Kevin’s teaching philosophy is based on learning the instrument in a fun, creative and personalized way connecting to each individual student and their own mode of expression. He believes there are songs to be learned and songs to be written. Kevin’s goal is to ignite a fire in one’s self expression and a confidence in playing that will remain with them during their whole life, whether it’s onstage or in their living room. He feels music is incredibly valuable to communicate the feelings we can’t always put into words and that it has the ability to rewire our brains for the better, especially in the minds of young students. Kevin is the father to two wonderful young girls, Sonnie and Zuma.
Brian Spenser (he/him)
Brian is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who grew up in Seattle. He has been playing drums since he was 8, and learned from legends including Michael Shrieve and Jerry Garcia. He has been touring for a dozen years with bands including Isenordal, Impulse Noise, Endorphins Lost, Wilt, and Asymmetric Warfare, among others. Brian volunteers at local all-ages DIY venues and loves encouraging and empowering young people to build their own joy, freedom, and culture through the egalitarian DIY approach that has always been so important to him. He is fun-loving, non-judgmental, and has worked with students from the ages of 4 to 64.
A lesson with Brian usually focuses on a song (or some parts of it) that the student has identified or expressed interest in. Brian loves the opportunity to help students connect not only with what an artist played but also the music theory and culture that informs how and why they played it that way. During lessons, he often makes quick observations about the theoretical structure or cultural tradition of the song so his students are able to naturally pick up important music theory concepts from multiple different examples without feeling lectured. Brian has great success relating to and working with students who have attention disorders or learning disabilities.
Brian has a broad taste in music ‒ he likes everything from Brutal Deathgrind to Funeral Doom. Sometimes he even listens to music that isn't some obscure subgenre of heavy metal! Actually, Brian loves all kinds of music and is happy and able to dive into any style students are interested in. Some of his favorite styles include post-punk, black metal, '70s jazz fusion/prog, and modern opera.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Brian-Spenser / Paypal brian.spenser@gmail.com
Brandon Bermudez (he/him)
Brandon has been a working musician, producer, and engineer in the Seattle/Tacoma area for the past decade. He regularly plays in and around the Seattle area and sometimes tours in other countries. Brandon frequently collaborates with many professional musicians in the area. Recently, he's played bass with prog-rock band Bone Cave Ballet and alt-rock band Starry-Eyed Samurai, and drums with both new-wavers Trick Candles and pop-fusion band Nitrogen Lion Society.
Brandon believes that consistency, versatility, and attitude are the traits that make great musicians. With his interactive-guidance teaching approach, the student controls the pacing of each lesson, which alleviates classroom anxiety and helps the lesson material become more comprehensible. With a heavy emphasis on creativity and technique, Brandon will improve their understanding of rhythm and the ability to perform in many styles of music by sharing his 20+ years of composition and performance experience.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Ezekiel-Lords
Dick Cady (he/him)
In 1978 Dick Cady attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, in the 2-year diploma program for writing and arranging. On returning to Seattle in the mid 80's, he studied with the storied jazz piano teacher Jerome Grey for 3 years. Since the late 90's he has attended many of the Golandsky Institute summer seminars, first at Williams College and later at Princeton, and studied with many of the staff including John Bloomfield and Kendall Feeney. In 2004 he began studying with Charlie Banacos for several years.
He was a regular on the Seattle music scene for many years doing club dates with his own group and many other instrumentalists and singers including Ernestine Anderson and Pete Seeger. He was the music director for the Orion Street Youth Theater. Dick has been providing instruction steadily for over 25 years to all ages and levels.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @ladyerin — Use memo line: FOR DICK CADY
Ricky Claudon (he/him)
Ricky brings together his background as a tutor and paraeducator with his lifetime experience in music for an individualized approach to music education that focuses on memory, fluency, and music appreciation. As a working musician, he has spent time developing his skill by adapting and learning a variety of styles on piano and guitar.
In piano, he specializes in theory, memorization, performance, and improvisation has a deep knowledge of classical style, and teaches popular Baroque and Romantic repertoire. Ricky also teaches Blues, R&B, and Rock & Roll styles, and in general, encourages his students to explore a diverse range of music.
In guitar/uke/bass, Ricky enjoys teaching fingerpicking style, improvisation, and basic theory. He also teaches students who want to learn to sing, play and write their own music. He specializes in combining rhythmic and lyrical styles and teaches techniques on how to effectively memorize lyrics and changes in songs.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @rickytimesricky / Paypal ermarchantc@gmail.com
Erin Rubin (she/her)
Erin is the owner of Mode Music Studios and founder of Mode Music and Performing Arts. She teaches piano and voice. Erin started on piano at the age of four. At twelve, she was on stage with the local working musicians at various Seattle venues and festivals. She has written music for and performed with many Seattle bands including: Wesafari, The Exploding High-Fives, The Quiet Ones, People Eating People, Nouela, and Danny Newcomb. Erin has worked and currently works as a hired studio musician since the age of 17 in Bellingham, Seattle and Los Angeles areas. Erin found her calling as a teacher in her early twenties and believes a healthy balance of technique, theory, and arranging in the context of songs the student loves, is the fast track to any student’s success in music lessons.
Emily Jensenius (they/them)
Emily Jensenius was born in Issaquah, WA, into a family of music lovers that includes several pianists, an opera singer, and a zither player. As a teen, Emily played viola in the Seattle Youth Symphony and also performed on Classic King FM radio with their string quartet. Emily went on to study viola performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice University, and Florida State University. Their major teachers were Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey, James Dunham, and Pamela Ryan. At FSU, Emily received assistantships to coach viola and chamber music, as well as to play with the College of Music's Eppes String Quartet, which collaborated with student composers on new works. The Eppes was coached by cellist Greg Sauer and mentored by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.
As an orchestral musician in Florida, Emily played with many professional ensembles, including the Tallahassee Symphony, the Columbus Symphony, Sinfonia Gulf Coast, and the Albany Symphony. After graduation, Emily was fortunate to live in Oxford, England, for a few years, where they taught privately and performed as a member of the Oxford Chamber Orchestra and the Oxford Sinfonia. Emily currently lives near Washington, D.C., and teaches for Mode online.
Emily encourages students to be self-directed and will follow each player's musical interests while also fostering healthy technique and critical listening skills. A lesson with Emily will typically focus on the physical setup, pitch and rhythmic awareness, style and phrasing, and strategies for efficient practice. Emily's goal is for every student to enjoy being a musician and to feel increased self-confidence as they improve. Some of Emily's other interests are distance running, watching video essays, listening to oldies, folk, or pop music, and baking pies.
Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @ej_viola