Instructors
BANJO
Louis Landry Billie Feather BASS (GUITAR) Will Postlethwait Billie Feather BASS (UPRIGHT) Will Postlethwait Billie Feather CELLO Ken Stewart Emily Austin Smith COMPOSITION Ken Stewart Jackie Fears Lorenzen DOBRO (RESONATOR GUITAR) Mike Grigoni GUITAR (ACOUSTIC, ELECTRIC) Louis Landry Elisa Lazzarino Will Postlethwait Ken Stewart Spencer Mobley Billie Feather GUITAR (CLASSICAL) Elisa Lazzarino Billie Feather GUITAR (LAP STEEL/PEDAL STEEL) Mike Grigoni MANDOLIN Louis Landry Spencer Mobley Billie Feather UKULELE Louis Landry Ken Stewart Will Postlethwait Billie Feather PIANO Louis Landry Megan Stewart Jackie Fears Lorenzen VIOLIN Elisa Lazzarino Megan Stewart David Binanay Reginald D. Patterson VIOLA Megan Stewart Reginald D. Patterson |
Instructor bios
Elisa M. Lazzarino :: Violin, Acoustic Guitar
Elisa Lazzarino began her violin studies at the age of 7, and classical guitar at 13 at Buffalo Suzuki Strings in Buffalo, New York. She has performed with a variety of symphonies and was a founding member of the CSUS New Music Ensemble. For two years in a row, she performed in the Festival of New American Music in a violin, marimba and saxophone trio by Robert Aldridge, and more recently a violin and marimba duo by Bay Area composer Steve Adams. Elisa excels at teaching very young children but also has a wonderful rapport with beginning adult players for both guitar and violin. Dr. Ken Stewart :: Cello, Guitar, Ukulele, Composition
Ken brings extensive experience to High Strung as a cellist, composer and guitarist. His strong academics (advanced degrees in music from Duke University, Rice University and the University of Arizona), plus experience in teaching, performance and composition make him a versatile and popular teacher. Ken also pursues instrument building and redesign in innovative and creative ways, combining a love of traditional instruments with a fascination and facility for the alteration of sound through electronics and digital forms of expression. Will Postlethwait:: Guitar, Electric Guitar, Ukulele, Upright Bass and Electric Bass
Will Postlethwait brings more than ten years of teaching experience to High Strung, with the versatility of both bass and guitar instruction. Will holds a degree in music from UNC-Greensboro, and has been a section player in the Greensboro & Winston-Salem Philharmonic Symphonies. His enthusiasm for teaching is coupled with a proven ability to create and adapt his curriculum to meet the needs of the individual student. His students always seem to leave their lessons, smiling! Louis Landry :: Guitar, Ukulele, Piano, Mandolin and Banjo
Louis Landry is a musical instructor and performer with a Bachelors degree in Jazz Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University. He teaches piano, guitar, ukulele, banjo and mandolin to students of all ages and skill levels. He has been teaching at High Strung for over five years. During that time he has performed and recorded with The LL Orchestra, Curtis Eller’s American Circus, Katharine Whalen, Scott Solter, Ironing Board Sam, the Wiley Fosters, and many others. He has provided music for local theater works including Manbites Dog’s “The Best of Enemies,” Little Green Pig’s “Maccountant,” and Duke Theatre’s “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well.” He has also taught music at Durham Community Preschool and Wake Forest Montessori. He was previously based in Austin TX where he taught at Red Leaf School of Music, toured regionally, recorded extensively, and performed with Ryan Bingham, The Invincible Czars, Charlie Robison, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He writes and produces original music including the 2015 album “JJ vs the Digital Whale” which can be experienced in multi media at www.LouisLandryMusic.com. Megan Stewart :: Violin, Viola, Piano
Megan teaches students from beginner to intermediate. She primarily teaches classical style, but also fiddle/folk style of playing. When teaching Megan emphasizes the importance of using proper technique. She uses several different methods of teaching including the Suzuki method. Although focusing on proper technique, she also facilitates heartfelt artistic expression. A recent transplant from Oklahoma, Megan has solo and ensemble performance experience playing in the string quartet "Bows & Arrows" and the Enid Symphony Orchestra. She is also a composer of solo piano music and contemporary Christian praise and worship vocal music. Jackie Fears Lorenzen :: Piano, Composition
Jackie teaches students of all ages. She began piano lessons at the age of 7 and voice lessons at the age of 14. She graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Meredith College with a primary study of composition and secondary studies of piano and voice. She was a member of the Meredith Vocal Ensemble and Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity. Jackie has 3 years experience teaching music in the elementary school system, 5 years teaching private piano lessons, and 2 years teaching voice lessons. She loves teaching and also composing music. Emily Austin Smith :: Cello
Emily teaches students who have a love for the cello. She began playing the cello at age 8 and has enjoyed a life full of performing and teaching music ever since. She has earned bachelors degrees in Cello Performance and English Literature from the Peabody Conservatory and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and recently graduated with her Masters degree in Cello Performance and Pedagogy. While living in Baltimore, Emily taught at the Carroll County String Project, the Baltimore Symphony OrchKids program, the Bridges Orchestra Program, and Baltimore School for the Arts, and performed with the Peabody Symphony, Peabody Camerata, Occasional Symphony, Classical Revolution, and many other chamber music groups. Billie Feather :: Electric and Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Ukulele, Bass Guitar and Upright Bass
Billie Marie Feather is singer/songwriter/guitarist/banjoist/double bassist who originally hails from Johnstown, PA. Billie attended The University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Classical Guitar Performance for her last year of high school and college. Since then, Billie has performed in a variety of genres all over North Carolina as well as the USA and Europe. While being a performer comes naturally to Billie, she also has a passion for music education (she founded a teaching studio in Winston-Salem) and instrument repair (worked at Separk Music, Wes Lambe Guitars and currently, The Luthier’s Workshop & High Strung Violins & Guitars). Billie, being a lifelong learner, is continuing her education at North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC where she is working on her second undergraduate degree in Jazz Guitar. David Binanay:: Violin
David started his violin studies at a young age with the Suzuki Method and has gone on to experiment with jazz, swing, fiddle and improvisation. Performing since a young age, his experience ranges from the local stages of Motorco to Carnegie Hall and the White House. He has studied with the concertmaster of the NC Symphony, Brian Reagin as well as Tracy Silverman and at the Mark O’Connor string camp. David believes that anyone can master the violin and “groove” with hard work and a good attitude. He has training in audio production and has recorded with producers Chip Shearin and Chris Sharp. He also is the Chairman of the Board for a local non-profit, Music Over Mind, Inc., which focuses on healing mental illness through music. Reginald D. Patterson:: Violin & Viola
For the past 10 years, Durham has been Reginald's home despite his in and out travels from Europe and the Caribbean while completing his Ph.D. in Romance Studies at Duke. Having played the violin since the age of 6 and the viola since 14, he is very committed to teaching music and sharing the opportunities which it has offered him touring in chamber orchestras in Italy, France, Cuba, Mexico, leading to a B.A. in Viola Performance at Oberlin Conservatory when he had the opportunity to teach in Panama. Reginald teaches Bach, Beethoven, the Blues and everything in between. |
