ARTS+ - Key Persons
Adam Collins recently finished his master's degree in Percussion Performance at Eastern Michigan University and is currently the Director of Bands at Independence High School in Mint Hill, North Carolina. He previously served as Director of Bands at Ypsilanti Community High School (Ypsilanti, Michigan), and Berkley High School (Berkley, Michigan). Adam has performed in several local, national, and international ensembles, including the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps, the Life Sciences Orchestra at the University of Michigan, the Kappa Kappa Psi/Tau Beta Sigma National Intercollegiate Band in Boston, Massachusetts and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project in Schladming, Austria.
Adam is a founding member of ...And We Were Heard, an initiative that seeks to "connect underrepresented composers with wind band conductor-educators to foster equitable programming practices through collaborative recording and digital dissemination."
Adam is consistently working with composers and music educators to bring greater knowledge and awareness to the teachers and public educators that mold the lives and experiences of today's children. He is an active advocate for the purposeful choice to create inclusive, diverse, and inviting musical programs as well as classroom environments for people of all genders and skin colors to thrive and feel welcomed in a creative setting.
Job Titles:
- Mixed Media, Painting
- Professional Artist
Alicia McDaniel is a professional artist, creative author, and educator who likes to explore the use of color and texture in her work. She was encouraged to pursue art by her mother, great-grandmother, and elementary art teacher. Alicia received a B.S. in Art Education from Wayne State University and an M.A. in Humanities from Central Michigan University. With over 20 years of teaching experience, she currently teaches preschool art for Arts+.
Job Titles:
- Music Around Choir Director / Learn More
Belinda Alexander joined the Arts+ family originally as a Music Around Choir Director. She has a degree in Elementary Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Belinda has a love for all things musical and is honored to share her passion for singing with her students. For the past 25 years, she has taught vocalist of all ages and is currently the Co-Director of Music and the Arts at Greater Vision United Methodist Church with her husband Fred Alexander, Jr. Belinda and Fred have 3 children: Tres, Jackson, and Bria. Her daughter, Bria, is a part of the Orchestra in Schools reunion class and was the 2017-2018 recipient of the Arts+ Outstanding Musician Scholarship for voice.
Beth Brown studied Suzuki violin instruction at the South Carolina Suzuki Institute at Furman University and at the Virginia Suzuki Institute at Emory and Henry College. Beth has completed additional teacher training for the O'Connor Method. In her teaching, she emphasizes blending the strengths of both the Suzuki and O'Connor violin methods. She enjoys teaching all ages and has taught music and movement group classes at Friends School of Charlotte, St. Martin's Preschool, and Plaza Presbyterian Weekday School. She is a member of the Plaza Family Band, which performs children's music at various venues and has recorded three CDs together. She has also been a member of and recorded with The Mike Strauss Band.
Job Titles:
- Carolina Suzuki Strings Artistic Director
Job Titles:
- Director of Visual Art Programs
Job Titles:
- CYC Assistant Director, Music Around, ArtsReach
Charlene Miranda Thomas is a pianist, vocalist, music director, and arts educator. She has over twenty years of experience in arts education teaching choir, voice, piano, and theatre. Charlene has worked with various organizations throughout the Charlotte area such as Children's Theatre of Charlotte, Blumenthal Theatre, Theatre Gap Initiative, Charlotte Christian School, and Mooresville Children's Theatre. She continues to work as a teaching artist teaching piano, voice, and music theory. She has been the Music Director for several shows in the Charlotte area as well. Some of her credits include Shrek the Musical, Violet the Musical, High School Musical, Percy Jackson, SpongeBob the Musical, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Charlene is also a published songwriter and music arranger under her own publishing company, Chala Bala Music.
Charlene earned her Bachelor's Degree of Music from Berklee College of Music and her Master's in Music Education from Columbia University. When Charlene is not teaching, writing, or directing music, you can also find her performing some funky tunes with her band - MarvelUs.
Job Titles:
- Digital Content Coordinator
Christine Van Arsdale has an eclectic musical background, growing up singing folk and church music, as well as popular jazz standards, before beginning formal studies on the piano and harp. Her grandparents were voice teachers, so a natural love for melody, rhythm, and phrasing were instilled in her at a very early age - much like the Suzuki method approach for talent development that she teaches.
Christine received classical harp training at Queens College, Winthrop University, and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she was awarded a full graduate scholarship. She loves to learn and enjoys expanding her musical skills. She has traveled the globe, studying fascinating aspects of the harp world such as the cross-strung Spanish harp, the Scottish clarseach, and the Breton wire-strung harp.
Christine's orchestra career has included many years as Principal Harp for various orchestras in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as Solo Harpist of the Orquesta del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain. She is a member of the Charlotte Symphony and currently teaches in the music department at Central Piedmont Community College.
Job Titles:
- Artist
- Studio 345 Instructor / Learn More
Claire Kiester is a fiber artist, printmaker, and educator from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She completed her BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2021 and now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. Claire uses printmaking and crochet techniques to reveal embedded personal memories hidden in everyday objects. Her work champions accessibility, often featuring recycled materials. She works to educate and inspire young artists within the discipline of printmaking.
Her work has been featured in galleries and events such as The McColl Center, Frank Gallery, The Compound Gallery, The Charlotte International Arts Festival, and The LeRoy Nieman Center. Claire was a part of the inaugural class of Project Protege. There, she worked with a group of emerging and established artists to create original work and curate an exhibition fighting for social change in her community.
Corey is a music teacher and percussionist in Charlotte, North Carolina. After graduating from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Music Education in 2014, he spent time as a high school and middle school band director before relocating to Charlotte to teach elementary general music.
Beginning his percussion career in 2010, Corey would later become a member of the ECU Percussion Studio and ECU Marching Pirates' drumline. While performing with ECU, he instructed numerous drumlines and front ensembles throughout the state while also maintaining a private percussion lesson studio. Upon graduation, Corey began his career as a music teacher. He has taught band and general music for the past seven years and has continued to perform with various music ensembles around North Carolina.
Outside of music, Corey enjoys playing tennis, watching sports, and playing video games!
Job Titles:
- Piano, Voice / Learn More
Crystal Briley, an accomplished vocalist and musician, received a Bachelor of Music from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. She also received a Master of Music from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Briley spent the beginning of her solo career singing with the Chicago Opera Theater, the Nashville Opera, and the Nashville Symphony Chorus. She has taught piano and voice at several universities, private schools, and music academies around the southern states for nearly 15 years. Currently, she is the General Music Teacher (K-5) at University Park Creative Arts Elementary in Charlotte, North Carolina. In her spare time, Ms. Briley enjoys crafting and spending time playing with her two dogs, Winston and Charlotte!
Job Titles:
- Studio 345 Instructor / Learn More
Dawn is a North Carolina-based singer, music educator, author, and playwright. Dawn enjoys artistic collaborations to build bridges across cultures, languages, and generations. Her children's musical, The Gift Way Up in the Closet, premiered at the Fullwood Theater in Matthews, North Carolina in 2019, based on her children's book of the same name. Dawn has shared tribute concerts for JazzArts Charlotte honoring the music of Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson. A collaboration that is particularly important to Dawn is a project with Greg Jarrell (local performer, activist and friend) called A Riff of Love. based on Greg Jarrell's book of the same title. The program interweaves music, stories, and visual art. This evolving program aims to inspire listeners and participants to create an atmosphere of justice and belonging. Dawn is a graduate of Queens University of Charlotte with a bachelor's degree in music.
Job Titles:
- Project Harmony Strings Instructor
Deborah Chandler has been teaching music for over 30 years, 10 of those years with Arts+. Deb grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she began violin lessons in elementary school. Her musical studies continued at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at West Chester with a B.S. in Music Education. While at West Chester, Deb received training in the the Suzuki Violin Method. She has taught orchestra for public schools at the elementary, middle, and high school levels in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. In 2003, she received her National Board Certification in Early and Young Adult Music Education and was re-certified in 2013. Deb retired from public school teaching in 2017 but continues working with Arts+ as a Suzuki violin instructor and Project Harmony Strings Instructor. Traveling, biking, and Green Bay Packers football games are a few of her interests.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- President
Diane Podolsky's substantial and varied career in the visual arts includes positions as a teaching artist, exhibiting artist, curator, and arts administrator. Ms. Podolsky's work has been collected widely by individuals, museums, libraries, and corporate collections and has appeared in several publications. In addition to her career as an artist, Ms. Podolsky completed Master Naturalist Training through Central Carolinas Master Naturalists. Ms. Podolsky celebrated a solo exhibition of her artist books at the Hickory Museum of Art in 2022.
Drew Skinner is a published singer and songwriter who started playing piano at age five and oboe at age eight. He graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Music in Oboe Performance in 1993, where he was first chair oboe in the University of Miami Band of the Hour. He was raised as a classical musician but has been playing guitar and singing rock, pop, and R&B for 25 years. He performs vocals and guitar for the Flannel is the New Black 90's cover duo and for his band, Principle Skinner. Drew has been teaching private lessons from his personal studio and has now joined the faculty at Arts+ where he teaches private lessons, group classes, and workshops. He has represented Arts+ at events such as the Levine Mini Arts Festival where he played music for children battling cancer at Levine Children's Hospital. He is also a proud husband and father of two sons, Baylor and Beckett.
Job Titles:
- Instructor With Studio 345
- Visual Arts Instructor
An instructor with Studio 345, Emily Núñez is a multimedia artist currently exploring drawing and painting on various objects. She was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and grew up in both the Dominican Republic and Charlotte. She graduated with her Associate in Arts from Central Piedmont Community College (2018) and a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Appalachian State University (2020).
As a social activist, Emily has successfully created and executed a project revolving around colorism for Studio 345 (2018). This project consisted of group dialogue which then led to individual pieces of artwork made by high school students based on their conversations on colorism. Those works were later displayed in the Levine Museum of the New South. In 2021, Emily participated in the winter camps as a teaching artist at the McColl center.
She has worked in collaboration with a group of artists brought together by a program named Project Protégé. This project consisted of "protégés" creating a body of work that had a common goal while creating connections with their mentors and other artists in the community. Mentorship has always been an important part of Emily's life, and this project emphasized the current need to come back and mentor the youth in Charlotte through Studio 345.
Her preferred mediums range from painting and drawing to photography and performance art. In her works, Emily explores her Dominican cultural background. She is currently continuing her work at the McColl Center in Uptown Charlotte.
Job Titles:
- String Orchestra Camp Director
Erica Hefner is an accomplished orchestral educator in the Charlotte region. She is entering her 14th year of teaching at the Northwest School of the Arts. Erica began her educational career in Charlotte in 2005 teaching middle school orchestra at Piedmont and J.T. Williams. Under her direction, these orchestras grew from 60 to 130 students in just a few years. In addition, she has been a leader in the arts for the International Baccalaureate Programme and has worked on many collaborative performances including leading the Charlotte Symphony arts team in a program titled "Interpreting History Through Art." Since teaching at Northwest, the orchestra program has grown from 40 to 85 students in four years. Her orchestras have received excellent and superior ratings at Music Performance Adjudication; taken successful trips to Disney, Universal, Nashville, Los Angeles, and the Grand Canyon; and maintained a fantastic relationship with the Charlotte Symphony and Charlotte Concerts. Northwest's orchestra's most recent accomplishments include performing at the 2017 North Carolina Music Educator's Conference in Winston Salem and at Charlotte Concerts' "A Musical Showcase" in April of 2018.
Before starting her educational career, Erica was a flutist who received a bachelor's degree in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. After teaching both band and orchestra in her first teaching position, she discovered a love for teaching stringed instruments and the students that loved those instruments. Erica serves on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' professional development cadre working to create meaningful professional development opportunities for CMS Orchestra teachers. She also performs as a freelance flutist and works as a clinician with orchestras. Outside of teaching, Erica enjoys running, yoga, visiting the mountains, spending time with her husband, Dave, and being Mommy to her two wonderful children, Jonas and Marley.
A Tennessee native, Erica's professional vocal experience began at Dollywood Entertainment Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and singing with the female trio Savannah in Nashville, Tennessee.
Erica has performed throughout the Southeast as Patsy Cline in "A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline," "Smokey Joe's Café," and her famed review "Decade Diva." In North Carolina, Erica has performed with Carolina Voices, Actor's Theatre of Charlotte, Charlotte Rep, and Charlotte Children's Theater. Over the years, she has appeared at such venues as Western Carolina University, Halifax University, The Cole Center at Richmond Community College, Lees McRae University, The Tennessee Theatre, and the Pinehurst Resort.
Erica is also a proud graduate of the University of Tennessee and recently received her MFA from Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles, California.
As a teacher, Erica was one of the founders of Carolina Kids Voices, directing their choral camps and performances for years; she was also a teaching artist with the Blumenthal Performing Arts Educational Institute. Erica also ran her own performing arts company in elementary education called Playground Players, offering musical theater instruction and choral performance summer camps. She was also the writer and director of children's holiday programs at Myers Park Baptist Church.
Erica is also a professional film, commercial, and voice over actress with appearances in spots for the NC Lottery, Harris Teeter, Food City, Lowes, and the Bristol Motor Speedway. She was also the voice for the NASCAR series "Driven to Win" on the Biography Channel and has voiced numerous national and regional radio spots. One of her favorite roles was in the film "Miracles from Heaven" alongside Jennifer Garner.
Erica has written music for many years but has been thrilled to present her original musical "Girls Raised in the South-GRITS: The Musical," based on Deborah Ford's book "GRITS: Friends Are Forevah." This show is very special to her, as it is a very personal project sharing her songs, written word, and family photos with the audience to best capture the essence of the South as seen through her eyes. She has appeared with "Girls Raised in the South-GRITS: The Musical" in NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, VA, and TN. She has also written a companion piece to this production called "Cinnamon GRITS: Christmas in the South." Her latest offering is a children's musical called "Cindabella: A Southern Fried Fairy Tale," and she is currently in workshops for her new show "DeWitched."
Erica loves writing and performing but has a special place in her heart for working with children in many different genres and helping them grow as artists and performers.
Job Titles:
- Board Chair / Wells Fargo
Job Titles:
- Studio 345 Instructor / Learn More
Jason Cline is a Charlotte native and veteran musician with more than 10 years of performance experience under his belt. His musical journey began at the age of 10 when he started playing trumpet. He went on to learn and play numerous brass instruments in his schools' ensembles and performed in marching and jazz bands.
Guitar has been an integral part of his life since his early teens, where he studied the instrument under Art Meehan, Bill Hanna, and Spencer Bloodworth. Throughout his career, Jason has performed with a number of bands across the musical spectrum, including Queen City Dub, Water Tower, and Space Canoe. You can find him performing regionally today with Featherpocket and David Taylor and the Tallboys. He has performed at the Visulite Theatre, the Neighborhood Theatre, the Charlotte SHOUT! Festival, and many more throughout the region.
Music has been a driving force in Jason's life, providing him with a sense of community, accomplishment, and purpose, and he believes that it can provide the same feelings for his students. Jason's passion for music is apparent in every lesson he teaches, and his goal is to create knowledgeable, creative, and confident musicians. To Jason, music is a powerful positive force to be enjoyed by all.
Job Titles:
- Project Harmony Winds Instructor
Job Titles:
- Project Harmony Strings Instructor
A talented performer, improviser, teacher, conductor, counter-tenor, piano/organ tuner, fiddler, and saw player, John Richardson delights in performing varied programs of musical rarities. He began playing the piano at the early age of three, and by age eight he was the organist at his father's church. John began formal organ study at the age of 16 under the instruction of Marie Johnson in his hometown of Lakeland, Florida. He made his concert debut at the world-renowned Spivey Hall at Clayton College and State University in Morrow, Georgia, where he was privileged to study under Virgil Fox's chosen student, Richard Morris. John is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied pipe organ performance with John Weaver. He was delighted to work as an assistant at the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ in Macy's Department Store in Philadelphia, playing the world's largest operational pipe organ. John has served as Director of Music and Principal Organist in several large churches and is currently the organist at Myers Park Baptist Church and First Church of Christ, Scientist in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Jonathan Grauel is a Charlotte-based artist who has gained international and regional recognition. Grauel's life has been shaped by his desire to create. He transforms that need into unique visual narratives.
Jonathan uses energetic line, whimsical shape, and vivid color to construct surreal spaces. Focusing on the places "we" travel, he portrays not just physical locations, like the coffee shops, pubs and parks he frequents but also constructs villages from mental, emotional, and spiritual territories. His work is a response to his surroundings and the relationships they contain.
Grauel participates in numerous gallery events, one-man shows, and group exhibits around the world. His paintings have received multiple awards. Jonathan recently was awarded mural art commissions for Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the Levine Children's Hospital. Grauel has been a member and partner/owner of Ciel Gallery in Charlotte. Grauel completed an artist residency in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland. Over the last few years, Jonathan has been awarded public art commissions, many of which involved collaborative work with fellow artists. Grauel has led numerous live art painting sessions in corporate and private settings. Jonathan teaches workshops and private lessons and has been a guest speaker in the classroom upon many occasions. In addition, he taught high school art and has a keen interest in arts education.
For many years, Jonathan's primary mediums were acrylics, oils, and oil pastels. In 2008, an accident with a table saw left him without an index finger on his dominant hand. After the accident, his wife and friends surprised him with an iPhone. He soon discovered a new joy in "finger painting." Jonathan added an iPad to his artist toolbox, and it has replaced his sketchbook as a constant companion. He enjoys the freedom of the digital medium and also continues to work with traditional 2D and 3D media.
Job Titles:
- Studio 345 Instructor / Learn More
Graduating from Maryland Institute College of Art, Jordan Jones has won the hearts of many through his artistic vision. From being featured on QTV to the Elder Art gallery, he has a variety of skills from mixed media to graphic design. His mission is to show the world that "you can have your cake and eat it too." Aside from teaching art, he loves designing wearable art for his brand Artful Blush as well as engaging in funny and insightful conversations while drinking coffee.
Judy Meister is a long-standing member of the Arts+ music faculty. She plays as an extra violin with the Charlotte Symphony and has participated in performances with the Out of Bounds Ensemble as well as with various other ensembles in the area. Before moving to Charlotte, Judy was a full-time violinist with the Virginia Symphony, during which she participated in VSO's Carnegie Hall debut, and before that, she played full time in the Knoxville Symphony. She received a Master of Music in Violin Performance and Literature from the University of Notre Dame and continued on their faculty; she later served on the faculty of the College of William and Mary. She has served as adjunct violin faculty for several schools in the Charlotte area, including Winthrop University, Wingate University, and Central Piedmont Community College.
Judy has enjoyed working with youth ensembles throughout her career. While in Norfolk, she conducted the Bay Youth Strings, the middle school group for the Bay Youth Orchestras. After moving to the Charlotte area, she continued her interests in this area by helping form the Union Symphony Youth Orchestra and acting as their first violin coach in conjunction with serving as concertmaster of the Union Symphony. Today, Judy is happy to help many aspiring and active violinists experience the joy in sharing music through the youth orchestras in the area as well as other ensembles throughout the state!
Job Titles:
- Suzuki Program Instructor
Kieran Kaczmarek began studying violin at the age of seven, having an immense interest in classical music from a young age. She is a registered Suzuki violin teacher with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. She received her certifications under Dr. Timothy (Terry) Durbin at the University of Louisville, where she studied music therapy, and Kirsten Marshall at Ithaca College. She later graduated from Valley City State University with a BA in music. She previously served as Concertmistress of the Kentucky Chamber Orchestra, Music Director of Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity, and an active Suzuki instructor in Louisville, KY.
Since moving to Charlotte, Kieran has taught in many public and private schools around the metro area. She has taught general music classes and violin, piano, and ukulele classes in both private and group settings. During this time, Kieran's students have been accepted into regional orchestras, various performing arts schools, and more. She currently serves as Suzuki Program Instructor with Arts+. In addition to teaching, she is continuing her education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte studying Japanese.
Job Titles:
- Melody Choir Director for the Charlotte Youth Choir
Job Titles:
- Designer
- Visual Art Instructor
Kimberly Turner is a jewelry designer, visual artist, creative director, and educator/educational consultant. She designs unique pieces of jewelry and art and uses them to tell stories for Elizabeth In Pearls, her business named after her grandmothers, Elizabeth and Pearl. She enjoys creating mixed media pieces, both as jewelry and on canvas/paper, and is inspired by color, pattern, texture, nature, and her ancestors.
As an avid supporter of music education, Kinsey Fournier taught in several capacities in school districts throughout Southeast Michigan after completing her master's in Clarinet Performance at the University of Michigan in 2015. She maintained a studio of over 40 clarinet students and had students selected for Michigan's All-State Orchestra and Band each year. While completing her Bachelor of Music Education and Clarinet Performance at Lawrence University, she was involved in the Young Band Project, an after-school education program designed for students to jump-start their musical careers. She has also performed with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Kinsey joined the Arts+ team in 2018 as the Student Services Coordinator. In her free time, Kinsey enjoys cooking, baking, and looking for hiking trails with her dog to burn off those sweet treats!
Job Titles:
- Studio 345 Instructor / Learn More
Job Titles:
- Project Harmony Instructor
Job Titles:
- Mixed Media
- School Programs Coordinator and Teaching Artist
Job Titles:
- Student Services Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Carolina Suzuki Strings Artistic Director
Job Titles:
- Director for the Charlotte Youth Choir
- Melody Choir Director for the Charlotte Youth Choir
Kimberly is the current Melody Choir Director for the Charlotte Youth Choir. She is a North Carolina native from Shelby who has always been involved with singing and participating in choirs. She is a graduate of Wingate University with a degree in music education. Her past teachers include Jenny Cabaness, Michael Martinez, Ginger Wyrick, Dr. Nana Wolfe-Hill, Dr. Jessie Martin, and Dr. Kenney Potter. In addition to CYC, she also teaches elementary music in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Kimberly is passionate about sharing her love of music with students of all ages. When she is not teaching, she sings in the Charlotte Master Chorale. Some of her hobbies are journaling and consuming various media including podcasts, books, and videos. She also loves to visit her two sisters, Katie in Winston Salem and Riley in Lincolnton.
Job Titles:
- Band Camp Director
- Director at Northwest School
Ms. Ashleigh Cook is the band director at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ms. Cook earned her bachelor's degree in Music Education from Western Carolina University where she graduated with honors. Prior to her appointment at Northwest School of the Arts (Fall 2021), she served as the Assistant Band Director at Porter Ridge High School for three years and as the Band and Chorus Director at Cherryville High School for seven years. Both Porter Ridge and Cherryville Bands regularly earned excellent and superior ratings at MPA, marching contests, and solo & ensemble. Ms. Cook's students are regularly seated in county, district, and state honor bands.
While at Cherryville Ms. Cook was awarded Kia Outstanding Educator of the Year, Teacher of the Year, Band Director of the Year for Gaston County Schools, and the Young Band Director of Excellence Award for the South Central District Bandmasters Association. In 2018, Ms. Cook earned her National Board Certification for Professional Teaching Standards in Music, and she is currently pursuing a master's degree in music education at East Carolina University. She has served as an honor band clinician and site host for Solo & Ensemble MPA and All District Auditions for the South Central Bandmasters Association. Ms. Cook recently began serving as chair-elect for South Central District Bandmasters Association (SCDBA).
Ms. Cook's professional memberships include National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Women Band Director International (WBDI), American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA), North Carolina Music Educators Association (NCMEA), and South Central District Bandmasters Association (SCDBA). Ms. Cook performs with Carolinas Wind Ensemble.
Job Titles:
- Studio 345 Instructor / Learn More
Job Titles:
- Associate Executive Director
- Development
Job Titles:
- Piano, Voice / Learn More
Job Titles:
- Visual Art Instructor
- Visual Arts Outreach Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Director of Music Programs and Artistic Director Charlotte Youth Choir
Wesley G. Smith is an accomplished choral director, arts administrator, and music educator based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wes is currently the Director of Music Programs with Arts+ (formerly Community School of the Arts) and serves as the Interim Artistic Director of the Charlotte Youth Choir (formerly the Charlotte Children's Choir). In his role as Director of Music Programs, Wes manages various music outreach programs across the Charlotte region in collaboration with a faculty of over 40 music instructors. He has served in a variety of choral conducting and teaching roles, directing singers of all ages.
Prior to moving to Charlotte, Wes taught middle and high school choral music as the Upper Academy Choral Director and Music Department Chair at Grand Center Arts Academy in St. Louis, Missouri. He has also served as the Director of the Asbury Children's Choir at Broad Street United Methodist Church in Cleveland, Tennessee.