Our Teachers & Staff
Ewa Kobacka-Bugala ~ Visual Arts
Ewa was born and raised in Poland where she received her art education. When she moved to New York City she stayed involved with art and her creativity bloomed when she work as an artist-designer for a commercial decorating company where she held a head designer position. After moving to Arizona she worked for the … Continue reading Ewa Kobacka-Bugala ~ Visual Arts
Stephanie Peigne ~ Ballroom Dancing
Stephanie is a Co-Owner of Peigné Dance Studio and has been dancing and teaching Ballroom and Latin for eight years. She is a licensed ballroom instructor and has trained with renown coaches in the dance industry. Throughout her career, she has successfully won competitions professionally with her students as well as a top teacher title. … Continue reading Stephanie Peigne ~ Ballroom Dancing
Caryn Wickersham ~ Piano & Voice
Caryn was born in the great state of Indiana, her family moved to Phoenix, Arizona when she was 3 years old. She was blessed to grow up in a musical family. Her father sang, played the trumpet, and was a worship leader in the church. Her mother, sang, played piano and worked alongside her father … Continue reading Caryn Wickersham ~ Piano & Voice
Dani Shraibman ~ piano
Israeli Pianist, Dani Shraibman, began studying the piano at the late age of 14 and half, but within three short years, graduated with honors from the Conservatory of Music in Ashdod, Israel under the renowned professor, Yanina Kudlik. Mr. Shraibman continued studies receiving a Bachelor of Music from the Buchmann-Mehta School at Tel-Aviv University with … Continue reading Dani Shraibman ~ piano
Helen Brons ~ Piano
Helen was born and raised in the Netherlands, and in 2000, her family moved to a small town in Iowa. In 7th grade, she started to accompany her grade school choir, which sparked her interest in accompanying/collaborative piano. In high school, she became the accompanist for the Siouxland Boys Choir for 6 years, recorded 12 … Continue reading Helen Brons ~ Piano
Armand Sanchez ~ Guitar
My musical journey began when I was fairly young. Although no one in my family was a musician, I was greatly inspired but the music my father played around the house on his old vinyl records. I picked up the clarinet in the fifth grade and learned how to read music, count, and understand basic … Continue reading Armand Sanchez ~ Guitar
Alyssa Craft ~ Dance
Alyssa Craft was born in Columbus, Ohio and started dancing the age of 4. She quickly fell in love with the Art and continued with a new studio when she moved to Arizona at the age of 8. Through this new studio where Alyssa was fortunate to receive a wide range of experience including competing … Continue reading Alyssa Craft ~ Dance
Filip Voia-Tipei ~ Drums
Born and raised in Romania, Filip Voia-Tipei grew up in a musical environment from an early age. At the age of 7, he was enrolled into a music school and studied violin for the next few years. While there, he won several local and national competitions. This helped establish a strong musical education and performing … Continue reading Filip Voia-Tipei ~ Drums
Michelle Lowry ~ Violin, Piano
I have been teaching violin since 2000. I started playing violin at the age of 10 and have continued through college and since. I played in the Clark College Orchestra and have done so for 18 years. I played in the Metropolitan Youth Symphony in Portland, Oregon for 5 years, during which time I went … Continue reading Michelle Lowry ~ Violin, Piano
Christina Lafferty ~ Piano & Voice
Christina Lafferty was born and raised in Arizona. She started piano and violin lessons temporarily as a child and picked back up her music education in college at Mesa Community College, where she was studying to be a Choral Conductor. She later transferred to Grand Canyon University and began studying Vocal Performance. She graduated from GCU with … Continue reading Christina Lafferty ~ Piano & Voice
Devin Simpson ~ Guitar & Piano
A native from Phoenix, studied music and classical guitar at the University of Southern Mississippi. Graduated with a Bachelor’s in music and a minor in audio production in 2014. After graduation, he returned back to his roots to teach music and guitar. Thankfully, Kat’s Artist Tree gave him the opportunity to do what he is … Continue reading Devin Simpson ~ Guitar & Piano
Michael Benner ~ Piano, & Voice
Michael was raised in southern Ohio. His hometown was fortunate to have a highly trained piano teacher whose pedagogy began with Beethoven. After high school he was accepted into and graduated from the College-Conservatory, University of Cincinnati with a BM in Music Theory and an MM in Choral Conducting. While at CCM he studied Music … Continue reading Michael Benner ~ Piano, & Voice
Ewa Medynska ~ Fencing
Ewa Medynska has been coaching internationally and locally for 21 years. She was a fencing coach in AZS Wroclaw and AZS-AWF Wroclaw team (both are academic sporting clubs) from 1990 to 1996. The fencers trained by her achieved high scores in junior’s classifications and tournament in Poland and Europe. Ewa held also duties in the … Continue reading Ewa Medynska ~ Fencing
Bob Strahota ~ Piano, Guitar, Voice
For many years, I was an amateur musician in the truest sense of the word, pursuing music simply because I loved it, even though I often was not very good at it. With the exception of several months of guitar lessons where I learned basic major, minor and 7th chords, I was mostly self-taught. By … Continue reading Bob Strahota ~ Piano, Guitar, Voice
Jenny Bement ~ Brass & Guitar
Jennifer was born in Laredo, Texas and was raised in Glendale, AZ from the age of two. She was born into a musically inclined and artistic home. Music and arts have played a major part of her upbringing. Suffering from a learning disability, Jenny was unable to learn and had little interest in school other … Continue reading Jenny Bement ~ Brass & Guitar
Brittany Johnson ~ Woodwinds & Piano
Bio Coming Soon!
Sidni Powell ~ String Instruments
Bio Coming Soon!
Mercedes Conner ~ Reception
Mercedes was born and raised in Peoria, Arizona. From a very young age she has had a passion for music and theater arts. At the age of 11 she was introduced to a trumpet and instantly fell in love. She played throughout grade school and marching band at Peoria High School. In high school she … Continue reading Mercedes Conner ~ Reception
Ernie Gutierrez ~ Administrative Assistant
Originally hailing from Southern California, Ernie Gutierrez is now proud to consider Arizona home. From a very young age he has always had a passion for theater and film. Through junior high and high school, Ernie took part in several theatrical productions both on-stage and in behind-the-scenes roles. It was during this time that he … Continue reading Ernie Gutierrez ~ Administrative Assistant
Fran Valladares ~ Voice, Piano
Soprano Francis Valladares, an Arizona native, has been involved with music since she was 7 years old. She was exposed to piano and cello first, and shortly thereafter began taking voice lessons with Isola Jones, a former mezzo soprano with the Metropolitan Opera. In high school she was involved with the school’s symphony orchestra, and … Continue reading Fran Valladares ~ Voice, Piano
