Select an instrument family from the list below to view bios of our teachers:
BRASS TEACHERS
DRUM TEACHERS
GUITAR TEACHERS
PIANO TEACHERS
STRING TEACHERS
VOICE TEACHERS
WOODWIND TEACHERS
BRASS TEACHERS
Dale ELENICH started teaching trumpet in the summer of 2002. He also coaches on the cornet, flugelhorn, and the piccolo trumpet. Classical, jazz, and Latin are his game in the classroom and when playing out, salsa, polka, and Broadway come in to play. Dale is a professional performer who teaches not just music, but performance attitude and maturity.
Elizabeth OLSON is the Program Coordinator for the Milwaukee Youth
Symphony Orchestra. After earning her Master’s degree in French Horn
Performance, she was a member of Civic Orchestra of Chicago and is currently
a member of the Wisconsin Philharmonic (WI), Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra
(WI), and the Wisconsin Wind Orchestra. Additionally, Elizabeth has
performed with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra (WI), Bel Canto Chorus
Orchestra of Milwaukee (WI), Green Bay Symphony Orchestra (WI), Festival
City Symphony Orchestra (WI), Racine Symphony Orchestra (WI), Sheboygan
Symphony Orchestra (WI), Water City Chamber Orchestra (WI), Manitowoc
Symphony Orchestra (WI), and has been an associate member of the New World
Symphony (FL). She has been under the esteemed baton of Pierre Boulez,
Leonard Slatkin, Bernard Haitink, David Zinman, Cliff Colnot, and Edwin
Outwater; as well as performing with prominent artists such as Lynn Harrell,
Chris Brubeck, and the *Kansas *Rock Band. Elizabeth has performed in
theater orchestras for the *Wizard of Oz, Evita, Cats, Oliver, Joseph and
the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Sound of Music, West Side Story, “The
Who’s” Tommy, *and Broadway’s production of Irving Berlin’s *White
Christmas. *Elizabeth can be heard on jazz, classical, chamber, new music
recordings, and the soundtrack for the motion picture *Solitaire. *She has
participated in the Banff International Music Festival (CANADA), the Aspen
Music Festival (CO), and the Burgos Chamber Music Festival (SPAIN). As an
educator, Mrs. Olson has taught at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music,
Waukesha County Conservatory of Music, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra,
Birch Creek Music Performance Center, and currently is the horn instructor
at Brass Bell Music.
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DRUM TEACHERS
Matthew BUGENHAGEN is in his 12th year as a full-time drum instructor, with over 6,000 documented lessons to his credit. His thoughtful and comprehensive approach to the drum set has worked for students from the very beginner to the most advanced. Many of his students have gone on to study at such prodigious universities as Berkeley, Northwestern, and UW-Madison. Matt was recognized for teaching excellence by the Pro-Mark drumstick company in 2002. This 1993 graduate of UW-LaCrosse has racked up an impressive list of recording credits for Warner Bros. Records, plus notable live performances which include opening for Jimmy Buffet and at Summerfest. Matt is a charter member of the Drum Instructors' Guild. Whatever your style, Matt will help you set your goals to be the best you can be!
Alex CAIN is primarily a drum set player, however he specializes in other areas of percussion. He is part of a local indie rock band called The Candliers. Besides the band he has been a teacher at Brass Bell for a year and has a degree in Percussion from UWM. He is fluent in jazz, Latin, and African styles, and has a classical training in percussion. He has been playing in bands for ten years and can introduce anyone to the right style.
Michael KETTLER has been teaching privately since 1989 and performing professionally since1985. As a performing musician Michael works in a variety of styles, from jazz to rockabilly, and has performed and recorded as both a leader and a side-man with such notable musicians as Jack Grassel, Steve Peplin, Berkley Fudge, Annie Dennison, Hal Miller, and Kirk Tatnall.
Matt LIBAN is our resident jokester and quite a popular drum instructor who describes the instrument he teaches as "tub thumping," but we know better! He has been teaching for twelve plus years, and is best known locally for the bands 5 Card Studs and Chief. This self-proclaimed "wise witty and handsome" fellow encourages pupils to study "all the live-long day," and was strongly influenced to rock out by Gene Simmons of Kiss.
Chris VINCENT is a Milwaukee native with sixteen years of experience with drum set and concert percussion. Chris is a graduate of UW-Madison's School of Music and he has also studied at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. He has performance credentials both on stage and in studio settings. His curriculum focuses on drum set styles in rock, jazz, blues, latin, and progressive music. It is Chris's personal mission to give his students the power to achieve their personal goals while expanding their understanding and appreciation of the limitless possibilities of musical expression. Apart from teaching at Brass Bell, his current projects are an original rock trio The Daniel Nathan Band (www.danielnathanband.com) and the progressive quintet The Secret Society of Starfish (www.myspace.com/secretsocietyofstarfish).
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GUITAR TEACHERS
Neil DAVIS teaches guitar.
Scott HLAVENKA Scott teaches guitar and bass at the Bell. He plays solo on the Edelweiss boat on Sundays and jams to gypsy jazz, funk, and pop. Scott considers himself personable and professional and prefers his students to practice � hour every other day, at a minimum.
Colin O'BRIEN left his native Michigan in 1992 for Seattle, Washington where he studied classical guitar at Cornish College of the Arts. After just one year of study (intense study!) he was awarded 2nd place in The Seattle Classic Guitar Society competition. In the fall of 1993 he enrolled in the Guitar program at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. In 1997 O'Brien released his debut recording "Pressure in the West" co-produced by Willy Porter. It received great reviews from international publications such as Billboard Magazine. Right about 1999 O'Brien was bitten by the "banjo bug." This led Colin to Salt Creek. Salt Creek was honored as "Best Bluegrass Band" in Wisconsin by the WAMI in 2004, '05, and '06. The past couple of years have found O'Brien pioneering into exciting territory with his "One Man Dancing Band" solo show, which takes multi-tasking to a whole new level! O'Brien also plays for the elderly at nursing homes and retirement facilities.
Larry PUMPIAN Larry is our resident veteran rocker at the Bell with 20 years of teaching under his belt. Best known for his well-loved RocKamp program here on Wednesday eves, Larry plays with his band, 2 Guitars for weddings and private parties and would love to strum in Jamaica some day. He'd ideally like his students to practice "always and forever," and the band that inspired him to pick up his "pick of destiny," was the Rolling Stones.
Paul RUPPA is a teacher of such diverse instruments as guitar, mandolin, ukulele, and blues harp. He holds a master's degree and has been teaching at BB for the last 2.5 years. You can enjoy listening to Paul locally with his Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra. His fave tunes to play and listen to fall in the categories of finger-style guitar, country blues, and ragtime. An easy-going, reliable, professional, Paul was convinced to play by none other than "the King" himself, Elvis.
Paul TERRIEN has been Brass Bell's own master guitarist and bassist since 1998. He's been imparting his musical know-how since '92 and has a BFA in guitar performance from UWM. He has been on the faculty at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music also since '92 and has toured both nationally and internationally. Most recently, he played New York, Germany, and Japan! Terrien tears up the stage with his respective bands, Beatallica, The Crusties, and the Underwood Baptist Praise Band covering the diverse genres of metal, rock, punk, and worship. He describes his teaching style as 'strict-ish,' but tailors his planned course to include student's interests.
Lena VINZ is our lone female guitar instructor here at BB, hailing all the way from Ukraine. She's been a teacher since 1990, instructing on classical, electric, and bass. Besides classical, Lena also deals in jazz and rock. Lena holds a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education with a Teaching Major in Music. For more information about Lena, please check out her website.
Brian WEST is a classical and flamenco fellow, guitar, that is. Having taught since 2000, he will also tutor in the ways of fingerstyle and rock. Brian is enrolled at UW-Milwaukee, working toward a BFA in Classical Guitar Performance and a Flamenco Minor.
Gary WILLIAMS Gary is a seasoned guitar and bass sage here at the Bell, having instructed some of the other teachers, in fact. He's been sharing his knowledge for the last 29 years and plays regularly at Trocadero and the Envoy Lounge, to name a few. He yearns to play Europe and pens himself amiable, unpretentious, and mature. The Beatles convinced him that he must play, and is human companion to 3 dogs, 1 cat, and a turtle.
Nick ZWIRLEIN is a triple-threat teacher on guitar, bass, and cello- since 2000! Classical, rock, and beginner jazz are his realm and he performs out and about with his rock band, Fabric Motive. This patient chap earned a degree in Cello Performance in May 2006.
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PIANO TEACHERS
Andrew BLACK began his piano teaching career at Brass Bell in 1999. He has a BA in Music from UW-Milwaukee and the genres of piano he teaches in are classical, pop, rock, blues, jazz, improvisation, and accompaniment. He will teach students by ear, but after the student has some knowledge of chord structure and progressions. He is patient and adapts his approach to meet each student's needs. Andrew has a goal-oriented teaching style; he holds student recitals and helps his students enter music competitions and festivals, such as the National Federation of Music Club. He also stays active in professional music organizations such as MAPTA and MTNA. Oh yes, and Andrew rides a motorcycle to lessons.
Anna BRINCK is working on a B.A. in Music, and already holds a B.A. in Physics! She will begin students as young as 6 on piano and jazz/pop improv and theory are her areas of expertise. She also teaches in the styles of rock, classical, and salsa. She calls herself focused with high expectations, but not "strict." Anna wants you to know that she is easy get along with, too. She also plays guitar, bass guitar, and the drums. You can find her out performing with her band, Ether Ore, a soul/dance/rock group.
Maria Schlei is certainly a favored piano teacher here at our store, largely due to her lovely personality- she is always a pleasure to be around. Maria has performed with 4 different symphony orchestras. She won a scholarship at UW Milwaukee for all of her studies, and was the winner of not 1, but 2 National competitions in Venezuela. Maria would like her students to be well-rounded and at the same time have fun while they are learning.
Mark DeSANCTIS has been a teacher of piano since Oct. 1997 and also plays the alto sax. He performs background/lounge music for various functions in his spare time, as well. He most enjoys teaching classical, pop, ragtime, and beginning jazz. A quote from Mark: "I'm pretty easy going. I'll usually ask what their goals are and work from there� Most students seem to like me!!"
Tom FOLEY is a passionate piano teacher with a sense of humor enjoyed by staff and students alike at Brass Bell. He teaches classical, jazz, and popular standards to students 8 and up.
Lauren McCRAY is a regular one-woman band. Although saxophone is her forte, she also plays flute, clarinet, beginning piano, and a little oboe. Patient, fun, and dedicated, this saxophonist has been teaching for five years. Strongly influenced by John Coltrane, she digs bebop jazz, funk, blues, classical, and world music. You can find her gigging around town freelancing and with the Karma Quartet. "Tinkerbelle" the cat keeps her company.
Joe NICOLAY Joe is our fun, serious, positive piano tutor here at Brass Bell. He has been showing off his teaching talents for twenty-some years. Such bands as the Beatles and Miles Davis rock Joe's world- "he loves music!" He also has a pet dog, a long coat Akita, by the moniker of "Kijo Kuma," which translates to "Lady Dear."
Kathy SCHIERENBECK teaches piano.
Jeanmarie STRAWBRIDGE teacher piano.
Renato UMALI Renato has been playing piano a year after his older brother got into it. He studied classical music at Northwestern University. While he believes in the technique the study of classical music imparts, he also understands the need to be able to play in more modern styles. Given that, he was the keyboardist in several Milwaukee bands, including The Paragraphs, Eric Blowtorch and the Inflammables, and The Horn Band. An ardent fan of ragtime music, he has played live music to silent films at the UW-M Union Cinema for the past several years.
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STRINGS TEACHERS
Nicole BLOAM teaches violin at all levels and viola from beginning to Book 3. She has done graduate work at UWM and has been a teacher since 2005. She daydreams of traveling to Europe and Russia to go on tour, and calls herself friendly, fun, and understanding. The first time she saw someone play a solo for violin she wanted to try it and hasn't been able to stop since!
Cathy KOLB is both a violin and viola teacher at Brass Bell. She prefers to use the Suzuki method when teaching. She is an experienced musician with several years of violin and of piano training. A member of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Symphony and String Orchestras, Cathy is also a studio recording back-up violinist.
Travis LEANNA teaches violin.
Heather LEWIN-TIARKS is a teacher of violin, viola, and cello. She's been playing for twenty-eight years and teaching for nine, performing with such groups as Athas, The Mighty Lumberhorn, Consorte of Somesorte Roberts Quartet, O'Shyttes, Slainte L'Chayim, and The Bootless Harlequins. Her specialities in music are Irish, Bluegrass, Blues, Rock, and Classical.
Robert MURPHYRobert Murphy began violin studies with Eric Chu and Piotr Swic. He received his BM in performance at the Dana School of Music in Youngstown, Ohio, and his MM in violin pedagogy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Mr. Murphy studied violin with Myron Kartman, Bernard Zink and John Wilcox, and chamber music with Stefan Kartman. He studied orchestral conducting with Margery Deutsch and string pedagogy with Darcey Drexler, Robert Gillespie and Bob Phillips. He has played in materclasses for Jamie Laredo, Dorothy Delay, William Preucil, the Cleveland Duo and Robert Hanford. Mr. Murphy has performed in the Youngstown Symphony, Ashtabula Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Richmond Symphony, the Warren Chamber Orchestra and others. He has also performed with such artists as Hootie and the Blowfish and Crystal Gayle. Mr. Murphy has attended a number of festivals including the Gateways Music Festival, Spoleto Music Festival USA, the Brevard Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, the Mid-America Chamber Music Institute and the Milwaukee Chamber Music Festival. He is currently the Middle School Orchestra director at Whitefish Bay Middle School and teaches privately in Glendale. Currently studying violin with Katherine Rapoport.
Nick ZWIRLEIN is a triple-threat teacher on guitar, bass, and cello- since 2000! Classical, rock, and beginner jazz are his realm and he performs out and about with his rock band, Fabric Motive. This patient chap earned a degree in Cello Performance in May 2006.
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VOICE TEACHERS
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WOODWIND TEACHERS
Becky HINEMAN instructs students in clarinet, sax, flute, and oboe (for beginners). She holds a Bachelor's degree in Instrumental Music Education (K-12) and has been teaching privately for a little over 10 years. Becky says her clarinet idol is Benny Goodman and swings herself with such local groups as the Wauwatosa Community Concert Band, Tosa Jazz, New Berlin Jazz Players, and The Modjeska Theater Pit Orchestra to name a few. Incidentally, Becky is human companion to a cat named Maggie (after Maggie Simpson).
Andrea (Andi) KREJCI has been teaching at BB since 2002. Her primary instruments are flute and piccolo, and her secondary instrument is saxophone. Andrea is currently working towards a Bachelor's degree in Music and Psychology. She has played with UWMS Wind Ensemble, Symphony Band and Orchestra, as well as The Racine Philharmonic, and The La Berceuse Quartet. In addition to teaching, Andrea also works in fundraising with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. She has been involved with the Safezone Community Arts Program, teaching music to underprivileged children.
Lauren McCRAY is a regular one-woman band. Although saxophone is her forte, she also plays flute, clarinet, beginning piano, and a little oboe. Patient, fun, and dedicated, this saxophonist has been teaching for five years. Strongly influenced by John Coltrane, she digs bebop jazz, funk, blues, classical, and world music. You can find her gigging around town freelancing and with The Karma Quartet. "Tinkerbelle" the cat keeps her company.
Mike MILLER fell in love with the tenor sax in middle school and has been playing it ever since. He toured the Northeast in the 19th Army Band with such luminaries as Grover Washington, Jr and Billy Cobham. At that time he studied in NYC with jazz great Joe Henderson. Mike considers it great good fortune to have worked with such legendary local groups as Junior and The Classics, The Esquires, and Vic Pitts and The Cheaters. From there Mike traveled on the road with many groups including Jackie Wilson. While performing with Motown recording artist Chuck Jackson, he played shows with Gladys Knight, David Ruffin and Dianna Ross and The Supremes. Mike's travels have taken him to Germany, Paris, India, Miami Beach, and Myrtle Beach where he met and became friends with soon to be stellar bass player Steve Bailey. Along the way he added flute, clarinet and all the other saxophones to the list of instruments for performing and teaching. At North Texas State University he studied with James Ogilvie and Denis Diamond. Presently, besides playing with the super talented people in The Mike Miller Group (mikemillergroup.com) he continues to teach privately at Brass Bell Music since 1994 and at Milwaukee Public Schools as a traveling music teacher and co-conducted at two Milwaukee Biennial Music Festivals.
Lindsay RICHTER is all about the clarinet. A teacher since '98, she holds both a Bachelor's and a Masters degree in Clarinet Performance. A firm but understanding instructor, she works primarily in classical music. She likes to give each student a planned course based entirely on their needs, interests, and goals. Lindsay enthuses: "I love teaching and am very devoted to my students as musicians and people! I have high musical expectations, but I will always tailor those expectations into reasonable and rewarding goals for each student. Ultimately, I would like all my students to have a greater love, appreciation, and understanding of making music."
Sharon WEGNER retired in June of 2005 after teaching instrumental music in the Richfield School District #1 for 33 years. Her major instrument is saxophone, but while teaching in public school she also owned and played flute, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone. She has been a member of the Knightwinds Wind Ensemble, playing alto saxophone for the last seven years. Ms. Wegner is a graduate of UWM, which she attended as a scholarship student. She has also taken numerous classes in music pedagogy from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago.
Jenny WSZALEK, truly queen of the woodwinds teaches flute, piccolo, oboe, clarinet, and saxophone. She has a BS in K - 12 Instrumental Musical Education and has been instructing for the last 11 years. She plays with the La Berceuse Quartet for weddings and corporate events and most enjoys listening to and playing classical and jazz. Self-described as an outgoing, cheerful, and demanding teacher, she once had a pet fish named, "Hedwig."
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