Chick Piano

Chick Music Academy offers music lessons for most instruments, including piano, guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, violin, clarinet, flute, sax, trumpet, drums and voice. Lessons are $20.00 each for a 30 minute lesson once a week. Chick Music Academy is under the direction of Christy Shepherd Rochon.
She may be contacted via e-mail at christy@chickmusic.net.

Piano Teachers

CODY KUJAWA
Cody has been playing piano for almost 15 years. Much of this time has been devoted to playing various styles of music in his local church and throughout the community. He has been privately teaching for almost 4 years and enjoys pouring his gift of music back into people of all ages. Cody has had the privilege of studying classical piano and piano pedagogy under Dr. Emma Pettyjohn and he owes a great deal of his success musically to her and the rest of the staff at Emmanuel College. He will receive his Bachelor of Arts in Church Music and Piano Performance from EC this year and plans to continue on to a Masters Program. Cody has a wonderful wife and daughter at his home in Commerce.

SUZANNE OLIVER
Suzanne received a M.M from Georgia State in Piano Performance and a B.M. from Wesleyan College in Piano Pedagogy. She has 27 years teaching experience and enjoys teaching students of all ages and at all levels.

VICKI GATTIE

BARBARA MCEACHIN
Barbara has been teaching, tutoring and performing for over twenty years. Grounded at an early age in private instruction in South Georgia, Barbara began her church pianist career at age 9. As an adult she has received encouragement and confidence through private tutelage from a Juliard trained professor and a Princeton trained professor outside of New York City. She has been instrumental (no pun intended) in church planting in the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association.

MELINDA SMITH
Melinda, originally from Lenoir, N.C. has lived in Bogart, Georgia for the past 13 years. She is married to her dynamite husband, Tim Smith, and they have three beautiful daughters.
She graduated from Gardner-Webb University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education and Vocal Performance. Since college she has been on staff at 4 churches as Music Minister and taught private voice and piano lessons for 25 years. She had been assistant director of the Singing Christmas Tree of Prince Avenue Baptist Church for several years. Currently she is assists in the Music Ministry at Prince Avenue Baptist Church. Melinda enjoys performing opera, Christian music, and performing in musicals and dramas and teaching others the joy of music.
Teaching and ministering to others is a pure joy and brings lots of pleasure!!

Guitar Teachers

WADE HESTER
Wade has been a professional musician for over 30 years. He has performed with numerous bands of various styles, both cover and original, ranging from rock, pop, blues, R&B and fusion to country. He has performed onstage in concert with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members REM and Percy Sledge; as a supporting act for Grammy winners The Bach Boys, Indigo Girls and Bela Fleck as well as other recording artists. Locally he has played with The Debonairs, The Electrik Eelz, The Genteels, Dirk Howell Band, Strawberry Flats, The LandSharks, Dos Guys, The Athens Santana Tribute Band and others. Wade also has several record, radio, TV and film credits. He continues to perform professionally. Wade's teaching approach is geared toward the beginning to intermediate player, learning the fundamentals of guitar, ear training, advancing overall technique and enjoying the process.

RICK LAWRENCE
Rick studied guitar with Mary Akerman at Kennesaw State College and John Sutherland at the University of Georgia. He won the Award of Excellence in 1999 from the Georgia Music Teacher's Association guitar competition. Rick has taught at several Schools of Music in the Atlanta area. He has also attended masterclasses taught by Oscar Ghiglia and Christopher Parkening.

TREY EITEL
Trey majored in classical guitar at Armstrong Atlantic State University and graduated from UGA with a degree in History. He is active in the Music Ministry at Watkinsvile First Baptist. Trey has a diverse background in music performance from clubs to cathedrals. Trey's passion is for kids to learn to love music!

KEVIN FLEMING
Kevin earned a Bachelors in Music from Kennesaw State University and a Masters from Florida State University, both in Classical Guitar. Kevin also went on to complete one year of his Doctorate of Musical Arts Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. Kevin has been teaching music for 10 years and playing and performing for almost 20 years. Kevin has earned many accolades such as 1st prize in the Georgia Music Teachers Association Competition in 1999, 1st prize in the 2007 Mississippi Guitar Festival, 4th prize in the 2007 East Carolina Guitar Festival, and several semi-final awards at the 2003-04 Appalachian State Guitar Festival and the 2004 Columbus State Guitar Symposium. Kevin teaches all styles including rock, metal, country, blues, folk, fingerstyle, classical, and alternative. He also teaches beginners in Bass Guitar and Banjo.

Banjo Teachers

RICK LAWRENCE
Rick has taught and performed on Banjo for several years. Please view his Bio listed under Guitar Teachers.

KEVIN FLEMMING
Kevin teaches beginning banjo. Please view his Bio listed under Guitar Teachers.

Mandolin Teachers

RICK LAWRENCE
Rick has taught and performed on Mandolin for several years. Please view his Bio listed under Guitar Teachers.

String Teachers (Violin, Viola, Cello)

Violin
PHIL REESMAN

Philip has been playing the violin for seventeen years and is now pursuing Bachelor's degrees in both Violin Performance and Music Education at the University of Georgia. He performs with the University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra as well as other chamber ensembles. Reesman was concertmaster of the Gwinnett County Youth Symphony as well as sitting concertmaster with his own schools' orchestras: the Dacula High School Philharmonic and the Mill Creek High School Philharmonic. He was the winner of the Mill Creek Concerto Competition and was appointed co-Student Conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra and was selected to perform with the Georgia All-State Orchestras in 2003, 2004, and 2005. Reesman is also a prolific composer and has won many competitions with his music. He competed in the PTA Reflections competition several times and placed at district and state levels in both Texas and Georgia. He continues to compose for string and chamber ensembles, but also wrote the words and music to the Mill Creek High School Alma Mater.

JULIANNE KING

Julianne began violin and piano lessons at the age of seven. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and was actively involved in such organizations as the Atlanta Suzuki Strings Orchestra, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra 2003-2004, and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra 2004-2005.
She was accepted to Georgia All-State in 2004 and 2005, the latter in which she served as principal second violinist. Her involvement in the UGA Symphony Orchestra, UGA Philharmonia. and the Athens Symphony Orchestra have given her performance opportunities on double bass, cello, viola, and violin.
A recent graduate of the University of Georgia, she earned a BMUS (Bachelors of Music) in music education and a BMUS in violin performance under the tutelage of Dr. Michael Heald. As a member of the Collegiate Music Educators National Conference and the American String Teachers Association, she stays very active in the music world.

Woodwind and Brasswind Teachers

Clarinet
BRAXTON THOMPSON
Braxton is currently in his third year of pursuing a B.A. in clarinet performance at UGA. He is currently studying under Dr. D Ray McClellan and has studies with Mrs. Laura Moates-Stanley. He also studies piano under Mr. Jason Bennett and has studies with Mrs. Jane Lester.

Flute
DANIEL SELF
Daniel has had several years of performance experience on flute, clarinet, piano and voice playing in a variety of settings and styles ranging from big band to classical. Daniel is a strong advocate of community music and is currently an active member of UGA's collegium musicum, the Athens Symphony Chorus and various small instrumental groups in the greater Athens area. Daniel has received numerous awards and special recognitions for solo, small ensemble, and voice competitions at the regional and state level. He strives to provide a customized and balanced curriculum to help each player achieve their personal performance goals.

Sax
MOLLY MARTIN
Molly received her BA degree in Music Performance from the University of Georgia and she studied with Dr. Kenneth Fischer. She received the Hugh Hodgson Award and has performed with numerous groups. Molly has been teaching privately for several years and she enjoys teaching students of all ages and skill levels.

BRENT WEBBER

ERIC SHUGART

Oboe
STEPHANIE HENKE

Trumpet
PETE LAWLESS
Pete received his BA degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, with studies in trumpet performance, music composition and theory. He received a Masters in Music Performance on trumpet, under the direction of W. Fred Mills, founding member of the Canadian Brass, and Dr.Edward Sandor. Pete is currently completing his Ph.D. in musicology under the direction of Dr. Stephen Valdez.

JEFF CROUCH

Low Brass
GREG LEATHERS
Greg received his bachelor of music education from the University of Georgia and a Master of Music Performance from Manhattan School of Music (New York). Some of the festivals he has performed in include the Interlochen Arts Camp and Aspen Music Festival and he has performed in the American Wind Symphony. Some of his teachers include Dr. Philip Jameson-University of Georgia, Per Brevig- Manhattan School of Music and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and Joseph Alessi-First Trombone, New York Philharmonic. Currently he teaches at Truett-McConnell College and has students in schools all over Gwinnett and Fulton counties. He is also currently freelance playing in the Atlanta area and is a substitute musician with the Columbus and Augusta Symphonies.

Voice Teachers

MELINDA SMITH
Melinda, originally from Lenoir, N.C. has lived in Bogart, Georgia for the past 13 years. She is married to her dynamite husband, Tim Smith, and they have three beautiful daughters.
She graduated from Gardner-Webb University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education and Vocal Performance. Since college she has been on staff at 4 churches as Music Minister and taught private voice and piano lessons for 25 years. She had been assistant director of the Singing Christmas Tree of Prince Avenue Baptist Church for several years. Currently she is assists in the Music Ministry at Prince Avenue Baptist Church. Melinda enjoys performing opera, Christian music, and performing in musicals and dramas and teaching others the joy of music.
Teaching and ministering to others is a pure joy and brings lots of pleasure!!

Drums/Percussion Teachers

FRED COLGLAZIER
Fred has been teaching the art of drumming in Athens and surrounding areas for over 20 years. His specialty is in snare drum and drumset studies including double bass work. His teaching offers studies in Jazz, Latin, Rock, Blues, Metal and Improvisation. His instructors have included Leslie Rucker and Dr. Thomas McCutchen. He has participated in drumset workshops under Ed Sopph and Steve Houghton. Fred believes in the value of true musicianship and performance techniques; therefore he endeavors to share these values with each student and professional colleague.