Deirdre grew up in southern California in a musical family of six siblings who all play classical violin, Celtic fiddle and step dance as well. Deirdre began learning violin from a Suzuki violin teacher when she was 4 years old. She continued with Suzuki and classical violin throughout her childhood years and also became immersed in the Irish and Scottish music world. She and her siblings attended fiddle camps every summer where they learned from the top Irish, Scottish and Cape Breton fiddlers and dancers. Their love and dedication to music and dance evolved into a family fiddle and dance band, Celtic Spring. Celtic Spring performed at festivals, schools, and theaters throughout the United States and brought them to shows in Australia and Europe. Their band was featured on multiple television series including Good Morning America, the Today Show, and America's Got Talent, in which they placed in the top five of Season One. After college, Deirdre began a fiddle/violin and stepdance school in California and her students performed at many local venues. Two of Deirdre's fiddle students have competed at the Scottish Fiddle Nationals in Pennsylvania and both won first in the Junior competition. In 2019, Deirdre, with her husband and kids, relocated to Maine and were thrilled to discover the wonderful music culture of Maine.
David Deas
Banjo, guitar & ukuleleDavid has been performing since age 5 in church, schools, media and various venues. He is experienced in vocals, vocal arrangements, guitar, electric bass guitar, ukulele, piano, key boards, banjo and various percussion instruments. David performs solo, duets, small bands and jazz bands. Genres include Gospel, Rock,Pop, Rhythm and Blues,Folk, Classic and Modern jazz, Reggae and Classical Guitar. David enjoys teaching music and collaborating with other musicians. He teaches privately and in group class room settings.
Fiddle & violin
Deirdre Becher
OudJawad Al Fatlawi
Andy taught in the Messalonskee School District for over twenty years. He received his B.M. in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire and his M.M. in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Massachusetts. His conducting experience includes directing ensembles at the University of Massachusetts, the Summer Youth Music School (SYMS) at UNH, the Mid Maine Youth Orchestra (MMYO), the Acadia Wind Ensemble, the Kennebec Valley Music Educator's Association (KVMEA), and the Maine Music Educators Association (MMEA) District II, III, IV, V, and VI Honor Ensembles. Mr. Forster currently serves as the President of MMEA. He was named the MMEA Music Teacher of the Year in 2012. Mr. Forster was the Kennebec County Teacher of the Year in 2016 and a Semi-Finalist for Maine Teacher of the Year in 2017.
He resides in Oakland with his wife, Alicia, and their two dogs, Koa and PJ. When Mr. Forster is not conducting or performing on his trumpet, he enjoys photography, audio engineering, hiking, biking, skiing, and volunteering as both an instructor and member of the National Ski Patrol.
Lizzie Henyan
Program Director & French horn teacherLizzie’s background bridges music performance, special education, and arts leadership. She holds a Master’s degree in Special Education, a Bachelor of Music in Music Performance, and a minor in Child Development and Family Relations, which informs her holistic, student-centered approach to program design and leadership.
As a French horn instructor, she remains deeply connected to teaching while leading programs that expand access to high-quality music education. She is known for being energetic, passionate, goal-oriented, and approachable, with a creative mindset and a strong commitment to making a meaningful impact in the lives of students and communities. Lizzie is especially driven by work that promotes equity, accessibility, and excellence in music education, and she values opportunities for collaboration, community engagement, and sustainable program growth.
Meagan Johnson
Drum setMeagan is a drummer and songwriter. She has been drumming in her punk rock band Random Ideas for over 15 years. Meagan, along with her bandmates, have taken their passion for human rights and social issues to write powerful, high energy music. She has recorded two full length albums with her band with Josh Small at the Husson University studio. She has years of experience playing gigs all over Maine and surrounding states.
Katie Little
Clarinet, flute, piano & saxophoneKatie grew up in the shore town of Highlands, NJ. She has received her Bachelors in Music Performance from The College of New Jersey, and her Master’s in Woodwind Performance from New York University. From a young age, Katie knew she wanted to be a teacher and has now been teaching music lessons for over 10 years. She had the privilege of teaching with The Calderone School of Music in New Jersey for 5 of those years where she helped students prepare for auditions, competitions, and exams. When the pandemic hit, she started teaching lessons remotely and was able to help students from all over the country to reach their musical goals. She has had the pleasure of performing with many groups over the years such as The Glen Rock Pops and New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra. She currently plays with the Augusta Symphony and the Colby Orchestra as a mentor. Katie uses a very supportive and positive teaching style and is always excited to meet new students and share the joy of music.
Jo Mueller
Guitar, piano, voice & violinJo Mueller grew up in Haysville, Kansas, and moved to Maine in 2021 where she now lives happily with her husband and three cats. Jo teaches kindergarten through 3rd grade in RSU #38 Maranacook serving the towns of Readfield, Manchester, Wayne, and Mt. Vernon. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She also holds Level I Orff Certification. Jo also recently began performing in the violin section of the Augusta Symphony under the direction of Jinwook Park. In her classroom Jo teaches a mixed pedagogy with Orff and Dalcroze at the center, focusing on using movement and language to facilitate musical connection. Jo teaches privately on a variety of instruments including ukulele, piano, guitar, and violin. Jo takes the most joy in helping the youngest of students stay engaged and excited during their music lessons, and also enjoys helping adults and seniors start their musical journey in a gentle and stress free way during busy lives. When not teaching or performing music Jo enjoys hiking, reading with her book club, and baking!
Sophia Scheck
Violia & violinShannon Thurston
VoiceShannon is a trained vocalist and vocal performer with lengthy studies in vocal performance and vocal anatomy and psychology. Her goal is to find a singer's natural quality, challenge it, and help them evolve and skillfully access tools for successful vocal use. Studying and performing all over the world, Shannon is excited to finally settle in Maine and bring years of knowledge, experience, and passion.
“The singing teacher and singing student relationship is that of trust. I trust the student to tell me what’s going on in their mind, body, and heart when we work exercises, and they trust me to tell the truth about what is needed for a successful, and healthy sound.”
Jawad is an American Oud Master. Jawad is known for his innovative approach to the oud—a traditional stringed instrument central to Middle Eastern music—Jawad transforms its evocative, resonant tones into musical narratives that are both deeply emotional and uniquely modern. As a teacher, he’s celebrated for his ability to make the oud accessible to newcomers while preserving its ancient essence.
Alex Fulton
Songwriting & Music Production
Andy Forster
Alex is a music producer and the founder of music-driven media production company Fulton Street Media Group. He has 15 years of professional experience producing records with artists and custom music for Film, TV, and Advertising, and represents a roster of 80+ artists from around the country. He has placed music on TV shows for CBS, Showtime, Netflix and BET, and in commercials for Nike, Google, Mazda, John Deere, Nature Valley, Ralph Lauren, and more. His current focus is on the ways music encodes and recalls memory and evokes emotion, and how that can be harnessed for health and wellness, education, storytelling, and business.
Trumpet, trombone & tuba
Kinsey Johnson
Acoustic, bass & electric guitar, Onsite CoordinatorKinsey is a guitarist, singer and songwriter in the band called Random Ideas from right here in Waterville, Maine. Random Ideas is a triplet punk rock/alternative band that has taken their passion for music and human rights to write powerful high energy music. I have 14 years of experience as a working musician, playing gigs all over the east coast and releasing two albums. In my 14 years of being in our band and being a musician, I’ve found that what’s most important is having fun and sharing the love for what you do through music.
Wendy Large
Bassoon, clarinet, flute, oboe, piano & saxophoneWendy received her Bachelor of Music Education degree and Master of Performance and Literature degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. After playing in the Savannah Symphony she returned to her native New Jersey, where she spent 40 years as a freelance bassoonist in the NJ/NYC area, and where she began her teaching career. She opened a private lesson studio, and taught for Tuxedo Park School, Future Musicians of America, Solomon Schechter School, and Newark Academy. She coached for the New Jersey Youth Symphony and performed many Childrens' concerts as a member of the Phoenix Woodwind Quintet. Wendy moved to Maine in March of 2023, where she is building a new private teaching studio and is Director of Music at the Readfield United Methodist Church. She is so happy and grateful for the opportunity to be part of Elm City Community School.
Nick Mather
Drum set, guitar, piano, music theory, songwriting, voice, ukuleleNick grew up in Topsham, Maine and has 20+ years of experience as a private music instructor for all ages. He graduated from the University of Maine in 2009/2011 with a B.A. in Music Education and a M.M. in Music Performance, with a concentration in classical guitar. After graduating he was employed at UMO for several years as the Guitar Ensemble lead instructor, as well as teaching applied lessons to guitar majors. During this time Nick formed a band the likes of which had never been seen, and they called themselves “Big Charlie’s Rubber Band.
Driven by his passion for the singer/songwriter genre, Mather and BCRB moved to Portland, CT and then later Nashville, TN to pursue opportunities in the field. While in CT, Mather also worked as a guitar instructor at the Connecticut Valley School of Music, meeting a core group of musicians in the area. With support from colleagues Mather wrote and produced several albums that showed his eclectic acoustic rock style. The band evolved to a new name, “Inner Compass’ and released one song/music video called ‘Love Brought Us Here’. BCRB eventually broke up due to Covid related issues and Mather moved back to Maine to be close to family and enjoy the way life should be.
There is flexibility in his pedagogy, adapting his teaching methods to accommodate diverse student needs and learning preferences. He has found helping others to find their ‘voice’ or ‘medium’ in music is a true inspiration and motivation to continue to grow the musical community in Maine.
Lori Scheck
ViolinLori grew up in Endicott, New York, and began playing violin at the age of 8. After her first year of lessons in public school, she began taking private lessons and studied the Suzuki method until the age of 18. After moving to Maine in her early 20’s she took a 14 year hiatus from playing the violin. After some child rearing and other major life changes, she resumed playing violin in late 2001. She has studied privately with Steve Kecskemethy, principal violinist of the Portland String Quartet. Lori attended Suzuki teacher training classes for Suzuki instruction at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, Hart Music School in Hartford, Connecticut, and Stanford University in Paolo Alto, California. Lori is an active board member of the Maine Suzuki Association and is a certified Music Together teacher. She is also a member of the Colby College Symphony Orchestra in Waterville, ME. Occasionally, she plays piano trios and string quartets with other area musicians. In her spare time, Lori enjoys playing violin and cello duets with her husband for public events and just for fun.
Torin Smith
Drum set, guitar, percussion & voiceTorin grew up in Dexter, Maine. He graduated from The University of Maine in 2022 with a Bachelors of Music Education, focusing on Percussion. He just finished his first year of professional education teaching General Music at George J. Mitchell Elementary School in Waterville. He has taught middle school level private lessons focusing on Snare Drum and Bells, and has conducted a high school level Percussion Ensemble in Old Town, Maine. Torin has performed in many different ensembles, including the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, University of Maine Symphonic and Concert Bands, Percussion Ensemble, and played in the pit orchestra for the University’s production of Into The Woods. He has also sung in The University of Maine Singers and been a co-section leader in Euphony for the past year. He currently lives in Winslow, Maine and can be found enjoying some local food.
Brendan Wilson
Piano, music theory & Taiko DrummingBrendan teaches private lessons and music theory at the Arts After School Program at Snow Pond Center for the Arts. Brendan was born in Ivins, Utah, starting piano at age 5. He continued to play some piano and sing through high school until making a decision to pursue Music Education at the University of Vermont, receiving a Bachelor's in 2014.
Brendan has worked in summer camps as a Music Specialist and Accompanist for camp Broadway Shows, including Seussical, Rock of Ages, James and the Giant Peach, Hello Dolly and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown! He has had the opportunity to work on a variety of music projects such as Music Composition and Fine Arts collaboration projects of composing music associated with album designs created by students. He is currently a Piano Accompanist at Hall-Dale Schools, the Pineland Suzuki Strings program, and Penney Memorial Baptist Church.