LONESTAR MUSIC ACADEMY - Key Persons
Andrew is an experienced multi-instrumentalist and award-winning educator. He is proficient in piano, bass and ukulele and welcomes students who want to learn these instruments in his studio. Andrew served as teaching fellow at the University of North Texas' ‘Commercial Lab Band' from 2022-2024. Under his direction the ensemble earned the Downbeat Magazine student award for ‘Best Blues/Pop/Rock Group' in 2023. Andrew has years of private teaching experience, and has taught students of all ages. He takes pride in helping students learn & master their favorite songs. Andrew also has served as an international clinician, teaching the University of Chihuahua Mexico's summer improvisation camp.
Bruno Ribeiro, a native of Porto, Portugal, started studying piano at Vilar do Paraiso's Academia de Musica at the age of six. Bruno attended the Escola Superior de Musica e das Artes do Espetaculo in Porto where he earned his degree in Piano Performance. Bruno obtained his first Master's Degree in Chamber Music at Stellenbosch University in South Africa where he studied with Luis Magalhaes. During his time at Stellenbosch, Bruno was chosen to perform solo with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, and also won the Lionel Bowman prize for the best interpretation of a Beethoven sonata.
Bruno went on to Stephen F. Austin State University to earn his second Master's Degree in Piano Performance, where he studied with Dr. James Pitts. While studying at SFA, Bruno performed with the Orchestra of the Pines as part of the Concerto Aria competition. Bruno is currently working on his Ph.D. in Music Theory at the University of North Texas, where he studies piano with Mr. Vladimir Viardo.
Bruno has extensive piano teaching experience including serving on the faculty of the Music Preparatory Division at SFASU and adjunct faculty at Tyler Junior College. As a teacher, Bruno strives to adapt his teaching to the needs and aptitude of each student. His hope is that his students will develop a love for music that will benefit them in many areas of life.
Job Titles:
- Voice, Beginner Piano / Learn More
Job Titles:
- Piano Instructor / Learn More
Job Titles:
- Piano Instructor / Learn More
Dr. Yum is an experienced piano teacher and is very passionate about piano education regardless of student's age or skill level. Through her extensive training in performance as well as music education during her doctorate program at UNT, she is keenly aware of the importance of having a philosophy of music education for successful teaching. In her teaching, she incorporates her study in piano pedagogy to promote healthy progress in her students. She joined Lone Star Music Academy in She 2012 and she is a sought-after instructor. She believes that music should be accessible to everyone and she is happy to help her students cultivate their love of music regardless of their age and musical background.
Job Titles:
- Violin & Viola Instructor
Elijah Evans is a highly accomplished international violinist and violist based in North Texas. An El Paso Texas native, his studies began at Coronado High School (El Paso) and eventually led him to study Violin Performance at the University of Texas at El Paso. During that time, Mr. Evans served as the concertmaster of the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras (2008-2009), Principal Viola of the UTEP Symphony Orchestra (2010-2011), and associate concertmaster of the UTEP Symphony Orchestra (2010-2012).
In 2014, Mr. Evans transferred to the University of North Texas where he continued his violin studies as well as adding degrees in Spanish and Linguistics. During that time, he frequently performed as a soloist both locally and abroad, being a featured artist in Texas, New York, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Canada, Mexico, Africa, and Italy. He was also involved with numerous symphony orchestras (Vicenza International Lyric Academy Orchestra, El Paso Symphony Orchestra, Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra, Juarez Symphony Orchestra, UNT Symphony Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra, Fort Smith Symphony, Texarkana Symphony Orchestra, Abilene Symphony Orchestra, Monroe Symphony Orchestra).
In addition to his rigorous performance schedule, Mr. Evans has also established himself as a highly desired educator (both US and Internationally). His students are consistently selected for TMEA all region orchestra. He also coaches numerous students each year for TMEA all state. Mr. Evans pedagogical skills are highly sought out, serving regularly as a judge for TMEA events (UIL, All Region, Solo/Ensemble). He also serves as the Head Counselor and Coordinator of UNT's Summer String Institute, one of the most prestigious string chamber music programs in the United States.
Christina Kim started her musical training on piano at age of 5 in Seoul, Korea. After she trained at Sun-Hwa Art middle school and high school, she recieved her bachelor's degree in piano performance from YonSei University in Seoul, Korea.
She came to U.S. in 1991 and pursued her master's degree in composition specializing in computer music with Professor Philip Winsor at the University of North Texas. She earned her second master's degree from University of North Texas in 2007 as the first student of collaborative piano studying with Dr. Steven Harlos and Dr. Elvia Puccinelli.
She has performed at a summer music festival in DaeGu, Korea with Professor Eugene Osadchy and Dr. Susan Dubois from the University of North Texas. She has also performed for the Lewisville Lake International Chamber Series, as well as for the Basically Beethoven Festival.
She has played as a rehearsal pianist in several productions at UNT's Opera Theater, including Sour Angelica, the Concert for Hope, and La Traviata. She worked as a coach and a répétiteur for a Opera in the Ozarks in 2008. She has been an active collaborative pianist playing for several studios at UNT and musicians in the DFW area. Along with teaching at Lone Star Music Academy, she is a staff accompanist at Texas Women's University.
Job Titles:
- Associate of Applied Arts
Hannah C. Goodwin received an Associate of Applied Arts degree in Professional Music from the School for Music Vocations where she was a student of Grammy-nominated Dr. Jeremy Fox, Tobi Crawford, Kathryn Severing-Fox, & Ryan Howe + Tommy Boynton of the iconic Four Freshman. She graduated in May of 2022. During her studies, she was involved in numerous vocal and instrumental ensembles including the award-winning vocal jazz group First Take, a songwriting group, Multiplicity, that released an album in the fall of 2022.
Hannah studied jazz voice, classical voice, arranging, theory, ear-training, conducting, studio/production, jazz piano, classical piano, violin, and songwriting at SMV. She is very proficient in teaching all of these musical instruments, voice and various musical genres. She has played multiple gigs in the central Iowa area during her time there, gone on tour, and recorded multiple albums with the SMV ensembles. Hannah has a lot of teaching/conducting experiences, such as co-directing the vocal jazz choir Sound Byte, conducting the SMV Chamber Choir, tutoring, and private lessons.
Hannah is currently finishing up her degree at the University of North Texas where she is majoring in Jazz Voice. She is a student of Rosana Eckert and Jennifer Barnes. Currently, she is in the award-winning vocal jazz group Jazz Singers where she performed at the 2023 Jazz Education Network, recorded music, and arranged for the group.
Hannah has worked with Grammy-nominated group säje (Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, Johnaye Kendrick, and Erin Bentlage), The Real Group, Michael Mayo, Jacob Collier, Kate Mcgarry, Laila Biali, and Darmon Meader. Also, she has received multiple Downbeat awards including Vocal Jazz Soloist for both 2021 & 2022.
Hannah has been recognized for her hard work, dedication, talent and passion for teaching. Her warm, encouraging and cheerful teaching style brings out the best out of her students.
Hannah joins LSMA with years of performance and teaching experiences. She looks forward to meeting the new students and helping them to continue to grow musically.
Héctor Alfonso Torres González was born in Puerto Rico where he started his guitar studies at the Preparatory School of the Puerto Rico Music Conservatory. In 2007, he started his Bachelor studies at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, where he studied until 2012 with the distinguished Puerto Rican guitarist Juan Sorroche. From 2012 to 2014 he worked on his Master's degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee under world renowned guitarist René Izquierdo. Recently he finished his DMA in classical guitar performance at the University of North Texas under guitarist Thomas Johnson, with a related field in Early Music. While at UNT, he served as a Teaching Fellow of classical guitar and a Teaching Assistant for the UNT Baroque Orchestra. | He has concertized around Puerto Rico, China, Spain, and the U.S., and has been invited to perform and judge in festivals like the 3rd Latin American Guitar Festival in Chicago, 12th Annual Festival of Contemporary Music in San Francisco, the G.H.M. International Guitar Art Festival in Shenzhen, China and the Boston Early Music Festival. Apart from being an active performer, he has received top prizes at international guitar competitions, including the 4th Annual Baldwin Wallace International Guitar Festival and Competition, the 2nd Annual Mountain View Guitar Festival, the 16th Annual International Tennessee Guitar Festival, the 2016 Mississippi Guitar Festival, the 2018 New Orleans International Guitar Festival, the 4th Annual Lone Star Guitar Festival and Competition, and the 24th Annual Appalachian Guitar Fest and Solo Guitar Competition. | As a private instructor, he has taught students of all ages. Some of his students have received prizes in international competitions and started their own professional musical careers. He focuses his teaching on understanding each student's need, and addressing the specific technical, musical, and creative aspect which they need to overcome to be able to communicate their artistry at the highest level.
Job Titles:
- Guitar Instructor / Learn More
Job Titles:
- Director and Co - Founder of Lone Star Music Academy, Exhibits Equally Strong Performance and Education Abilities in Classical and Jazz Music
Jiyoung Johnston, director and co-founder of Lone Star Music Academy, exhibits equally strong performance and education abilities in classical and jazz music.
Native of Korea, she started piano at the age of 5 and was trained in classical music. While in Korea, she won 1st prize in numerous competitions including the National Student Piano Competition (1992) and Honam Art Competition (1993). In 1992, she was one of the winners at the concerto competition at the Tong-Il Han Piano Institute summer festival and performed her winning piece Saint Saens piano concerto in g minor with Daejeon Symphony Orchestra.
After receiving a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Piano Performance from the prestigious Seoul National University, Jiyoung decided to come to the states in pursuit of the study in jazz at the University of North Texas. While at UNT, she received a Jamey Aebersold performance scholarship and was recognized as an honor student for academic excellence. She graduated from UNT with a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies (piano performance) in 2003. Since she came to the states in 1999, Jiyoung has performed with several legendary musicians including Grammy-award winning clarinetist, Eddie Daniels and Jazz composer and performer, Russ Ferrante of the Yellowjackets. She has toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and has been a featured pianist for the Dallas Wind Symphony.
Jiyoung is respected as an educator as well as a performer. As a private piano instructor, she has taught students of various ages and levels since 1994. She is praised by her students and their parents for being a teacher who is excellent in motivating, challenging, and bringing out the best in her students. Some of them have won awards in competitions. Aside from private teaching, she has served as an assistant choir director at Liberty Christian School (2003-4) and she was on the faculty as a visiting scholar at Brookhaven College teaching Humanities, Eastern Asian Cultural Studies, Jazz Improvisation class, and private lessons in jazz piano (2004-2006). Currently, she is the director of Lone Star Music Academy and a happy wife and a proud mom of two sons.
Job Titles:
- Voice & Early Childhood Music Instructor
Lindsay Day is a vocalist, pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Lindsay was born and raised in Denver, Colorado and began studying piano and voice at the age of 6. She continued her training at Denver School of the Arts, where she studied musical theater, choral, jazz, and classical voice as well as assistant directed the middle school choir.
Lindsay holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas. As a member of the award winning UNT Jazz Singers vocal ensemble, Lindsay received several downbeat awards, toured, and performed with guest artists Kurt Elling, Michelle Nicole, and Sinne Eeg. Lindsay also frequently worked in the studio with this group, including recording an arrangement of hers to be released on the upcoming album. Lindsay was also the featured vocalist for several big bands and small groups during her time at UNT. With a passion for creating more equitable music education and professional musical environments, Lindsay served as the president of the UNT Jazz and Gender Equity Initiative.
In 2019, Lindsay was invited to perform at the Washington Women in Jazz festival to collaborate with other up and coming female jazz musicians from around the country. Lindsay was also named one of North Texas' 20 Under 20 in an article by NPR music in October of 2019. With her quartet, Lindsay performs original arrangements and compositions at venues such as Dazzle Jazz in Denver. Lindsay also performs lead and backup vocals on several live and studio projects.
Lindsay believes that everyone can find joy in learning music! Through focus on healthy technique, strong musicianship, and individual emotional connection, Lindsay seeks to provide the tools necessary for her students to reach their unique goals. As an educator, Lindsay's first and foremost goal is to instill a love of music in her students and a willingness to grow and connect with others.
Job Titles:
- Voice, Piano, Drums, Guitar, Theory / Learn More
Michael Martin is a multi-instrumentalist, performer, songwriter, producer, recording artist, and music mentor based out of Denton, Texas. Born in New Mexico before relocating to Texas as a child, Michael grew up listening to Classic Rock and Mid-2000's Rock which heavily influenced his drumming style. He played in the Honor's Concert band as a percussionist and as the drummer for the Tivy High School Gold Tones, an award winning High School Jazz Big Band. The summer after graduating high school Michael joined Ingram's Point Theater Production of "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," as a singing drummer and an actor. The show was a huge success, selling thousands of tickets and catapulting the group to local Hill Country Fame. The members of the band decided to continue playing together as a 50's and 60's tribute group, covering Buddy Holly, Elvis, The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Richie Valens and many more all over the greater Texas Hill Country for the last 11 years.
After graduating from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Arts in English (Rhetoric), Michael began teaching lessons privately for a small studio based out of College Station. It was here that he fell in love with teaching music to students as young as three and as old as 70, devoting his energy to the study of music pedagogy and interpersonal development all while performing in as many as five different bands at a time. In pursuit of a greater appreciation of music and its study, Michael relocated to DFW and began taking classes at Collin College, where he sang in Chamber Choir, Jazz Choir, Opera, and played drums for several small combos. Here he took private lessons in Classical Voice, Commercial and Jazz Voice, Jazz Drum Set, Jazz Guitar, Jazz Piano, and Classical Piano, while also garnering Excellence Awards in Music Theory, Sight Reading and Ear Training, and Musical Performance. He also competed in the Texoma NATS Advanced Men's Classical Division for Opera, winning first place in the Spring of 2019 and later received an Associates in Music from the college.
Michael then transferred to the University of North Texas where he studied jazz voice and performed regularly with many of the Vocal Jazz Ensembles, singing with the top group, Jazz Singers, his senior year. It was at UNT that he truly sharpened his skills and his voice, as well as his arranging and notation engraving skills. Under the direction of Jennifer Barnes, Rosana Eckert, Tyler Thomas, and Marion Powers, Michael learned the power of not only proper technique and artistry, but the habits and practices of a professional musician. He currently plays drums and sings for Odd Folks (Mid-00's Rock), plays keys and drums for Billy Law (Americana/Folk), plays drums and sings for The New Buddy Holly Band (50's and 60's tribute band) and performs and records for various bands and projects all while teaching 30 students a week. Michael is a fun, kind, and energetic teacher who thrives on helping students become not only better musicians, but better people through the study of music.
Natalie Wagner is an award-winning jazz saxophonist, holding a Bachelor's Degree in K-12 Music Education, Secondary Education, and Jazz Performance from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. She is now pursuing her Master's Degree in Jazz Studies with a focus on saxophone at the University of North Texas. Natalie is a trained jazz musician, but is also classically trained on other woodwind instruments as well. During her undergraduate studies, she took intensive lessons on the Bb clarinet, while also improving her skills as a flautist, and taking piano class. Natalie is capable of teaching beginning-advanced jazz saxophone, beginning-intermediate classical saxophone and clarinet, beginning flute, and beginning piano. Growing up in the Seattle area, Natalie has been surrounded by high level performance at all stages of her musical development. Her desire to teach began early on during her middle school years, inspired by her band director, and further inspired by her high school band director. She began teaching as early as the 10th grade by volunteering at summer camps to teach young students and gained more experience during college as a music education major, and was offered a job teaching a highschool piano lab and guitar lab until she left to pursue her graduate studies. Natalie has always loved teaching music and sharing her experiences as a musician with her students. She works to cultivate joy within the musical practice and to teach her students to always believe in themselves. She has a firm belief that every student can be as successful as they want to be with the right amount of passion and commitment. Every student deserves the chance to explore what music means to them, and Natalie loves being a part of that journey and seeing the light switch on when a student really starts to get excited about music and feels like they've found a place they belong in. Natalie is excited to meet students to help them achieve their musical goals.
Also, Noel has been active as a recording artist and has performed on over 50 albums. His keen musical talent to perform various genres of music enabled him to play on different projects including jazz, rock, gospel, pop, country, and more. Over the years, he has performed and/or recorded with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and nationally known Jazz, Blues and gospel artists such as Alex Acuna, Vinnie Colaiuta, Andre Crouch, Sheila E., Fred Hammond, Israel Houghton, Monica Mancini, Lucky Peterson, Kenny Wheeler, Gary Willis, and many more.
Noel is a solo artist on his own (4 albums as a leader), but also can be seen and heard as the electric guitarist in the house band of the "Daystar" TV network's "Marcus & Joni Show" (daily live show), at Bethesda Community Church (Fort Worth, TX), and in various other sideman projects throughout the DFW area. Noel teaches at UNT and Lone Star Music Academy. He is a loving husband and a proud dad of two sons.
Miss Doan has served as Collaborative Pianist-in-Residence at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 2005, and Adjunct Professor of Piano at the University of North Texas in 2008-2009, teaching piano classes to undergraduates. Miss Doan also maintains a private studio in the DFW area. Since she was diagnosed with focal dystonia in her right hand, Miss Doan continues to specialize in music for the left hand, both in performance, and original compositions and transcriptions.
Job Titles:
- Director of Education for the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth
- Violin Instructor
Sarah Price is an active performer of chamber music and frequently travels throughout the country performing for a wide range of audiences.
Sarah began studying the violin at the early age of three and performed with the Wichita Falls Youth Symphony Orchestra for several years. She later attended the UNT Violin and Piano workshop where she studied under Julia Bushkova. Sarah is an alumni of the Hot Springs Music Festival and Miami Music Festival.
She later received her Bachelors in Music from the University of North Texas and was awarded membership into the Phi Theta Kappa and Sigma Kappa Delta honor societies. While at UNT, she studied under Professor Philip Lewis, the Artistic Director of Chamber Music International. Other teachers and coaches have included Joel Smirnoff of the Juilliard string quartet, the Grammy nominated violinist Andrés Cárdenes, and Gary Levinson, Senior Co-Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Professor of Violin at Michigan State University.
Ms. Price has performed as an orchestral violinist under the baton of many of the leading Maestros including: Joel Smirnoff, Yuriy Bekker, Hector Guzman, Peter Bay, and David Effron.
Job Titles:
- Member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music
- Piano Instructor
Spyros Karavias is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, Alpha Chi National College Honor Society, Golden Key International Honour Society, and Music Teachers National Association
Job Titles:
- Piano and Voice Instructor
Job Titles:
- Voice, Guitar, Beginner Piano, ECM / Learn More
Will Huebner is a drummer/percussionist hailing from coastal plains of Brazoria, Texas. While growing up in a small town he found a curiosity and passion for music. The public school curriculum of classical, marching and jazz left his thirst for knowledge unquenched, leading to active involvement in the local music scene and performing praise and worship for various churches in the area.