Kenneth Foster, voice

Originally from New England, Kenneth has been studying voice across the country for more than a decade. He earned his undergraduate degree in voice in 2015, and completed his master's degree in vocal performance at the University of Washington in 2022. Along with the degrees he currently holds, Kenneth also has studied various areas of music at the graduate level including, music education, vocal pedagogy, and music therapy.

During his graduate studies Kenneth had the opportunity to study voice with prolific artists including Professor Katherine Ciesinski (ESM), Dr. Carrie Shaw (UW), Thomas Harper (UW), and vocal coaching with Dr. Russell Miller (ESM). Kenneth continues to train as both a performer and instructor with Dr. Kari Ragan.

Passionate about teaching private lessons Kenneth has been described by students as an energetic and compassionate teacher. He is trained in both the classical and musical theater styles and is comfortable providing instruction to students interested in all genres. Kenneth is adamant that every voice is worth working with, because every voice is one of a kind. His hope is that each student that joins the studio will find a safe place to explore the fullness of their voice's potential.

Jill Jaques, French horn

I believe music is a unique and direct form of communication and connection, and I teach from that viewpoint. I’ve been teaching private French horn lessons since 2004 and have taught students as young as 9, adults in their retirement, and all ages in between. I also have experience coaching small groups and lessons in schools, and orchestra sectionals. I am a coach for the Endangered Instrument Program, sponsored by Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra (SYSO) to encourage students to learn less commonly played instruments. Students from Jaques Horn Studio have been selected for All-State, SYSO, Cascade Youth Symphony, Interlochen Fine Arts Camp, and Marrowstone Music Festival.

My professional playing career has brought me to the Virginia Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, and Oregon Symphony. Locally, I’ve played with the Seattle Symphony, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the 5th Ave Theater. I can also be heard in many movie and video game soundtracks. I have a Masters degree from New England Conservatory where I studied with James Sommerville and Danny Katzen. I have also studied with Dale Clevenger and Andrew Bain. ​I play regularly with North Corner Chamber Orchestra (NOCCO), a self-led small orchestra that performs without a conductor. My love for teaching extends beyond the horn. I am also a yoga teacher, and in the summer I teach paddleboard yoga.

Mary Kantor, clarinet

Clarinetist Mary Kantor maintains an active career as an orchestra and chamber musician as well as teacher. She was principal clarinetist with the Bellevue Philharmonic from 1999 to 2011. They re-formed in 2014 as the Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra with the same personnel and the same conductor. She is currently Board President. As a Seattle Pacific University faculty member, she has participated in faculty recitals, Clarinet Choir Concerts, and their annual chamber music recital concerts. The annual “Clarinetissimo” organized by Sean Osborn and co-hosted by Ms Kantor at SPU is a Washington State clarinet highlight every year. As a soloist, she has performed the Mozart Concerto and Richard Strauss’ Duet-Concertino with Philharmonia Northwest. She has also performed as a section player with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, and the Austrian Radio Orchestra. Recent chamber music performances include “Pierrot Lunaire” with the University of Puget Sound faculty in October of 2019, a concert entitled “People of the Drum” with the Seattle Peace Chorus in November, that featured a lengthy bass clarinet solo depicting the Orca, and a chamber music concert with her own group, called “Tipping Point” in January and February of 2020. She has received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Washington and graduated from the Academy of Music in Vienna with Honors in clarinet performance, where she was in the class of Rudolf Jettel. As an educator, she coaches the Seattle Youth Symphony, Cascade Youth Symphony, and Bellevue Youth Symphony. She has also been on the faculty of Seattle Pacific University as clarinet professor from 1999 to the present. In addition, she maintains a private clarinet studio, many of whom go on to graduate from music schools such as Indiana University, Peabody, University of Michigan, etc. As the Washington state chair for the International Clarinet Association, she has published numerous articles in the Clarinet Magazine, and served as adjudicator.

Eleanor Legault, violin

Eleanor Legault enjoys a multi-faceted career as an educator, researcher, and performer. She has performed with the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, Evansville Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony, Lafayette Symphony, and Danville Symphony, and was a soloist with the Ravenna Strings Orchestra. Eleanor has performed internationally at the Tafelmusik Winter Institute, Urbino Musica Antica Festival, Interharmony Music Festival, Jeune Academie de l’orchestra, and the Zodiac Music Festival. As an avid educator, she has taught privately and coached ensembles at Shorecrest and Shorewood High School, Cornish College for the Arts Summer Programs, and served as Associate Instructor at the Indiana University Historical Performance Institute. Eleanor is a founding member of the ensemble Duo Moda, a historical violin and cello duo dedicated to researching and recording unknown works from the Classical and Romantic era. Eleanor holds a Master of Music in Historical Violin Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and both a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Arts from Lawrence Conservatory.

Harumi Makiyama, piano

Harumi leads an active professional life in the Seattle area as a concert and freelance pianist, piano teacher, adjudicator, and collaborative artist. She is now in her 6th season with Lakeside School Concert Choir and Middle School Choir, where she currently serves as a collaborative pianist. In her accompanying career, she also served for the Seattle Jewish Chorale for eleven years and Northwest Girlchoir for nine years. With a passion for teaching young people and thirty years of experience as a piano teacher, in addition to running a private piano studio, she has taught at Chopin Academy of Music, Academy of Music Northwest, and University of Washington and served on the collaborative staff at Central Washington University. She earned her Doctor of Musical Art degree in Piano Performance from University of Washington, Graduate Diploma and Master of Music degrees from New England Conservatory of Music, and M.M. and B.M. degrees from Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima, Japan. Her doctoral dissertation, Mental Preparation for Piano Performance Using Principles of Aikido, explores ways to alleviate Musical Performance Anxiety (MPA) through ancient Shinto and Zen wisdom found in the Japanese martial art of Aikido, which directly translates as “The Way of Harmony.” She is happy to work with students experiencing MPA.

Kelsey Mines, bass (upright and electric)

A Seattle native, Kelsey Mines is a performer, composer, and teacher of the electric and double bass. Kelsey earned her Bachelor of Music in Double Bass Performance from the University of Washington. She went on to complete a Masters in Double Bass Performance from Arizona State University under the direction of Catalin Rotaru. A recipient of the Holland Scholarship, Kelsey has followed her passion for the double bass to the Netherlands, where she studied at Prince Claus Conservatoire before returning to Seattle where she now teaches and performs a variety of styles, from jazz to classical to pop. Kelsey was awarded the Earshot Emerging Artist of the Year award in 2019. Wherever she may be, Kelsey aspires to create, collaborate, and perform music that enriches and enlivens the world around her.

Eric Patterson, digital music production

After more than a decade of playing and teaching in Los Angeles, Eric recently relocated back home to Seattle. Since graduating from USC, Eric has pursued professional jazz and music education with equal passion. While in Southern California, Eric directed the award-winning combos at Downey High School, and was on faculty with Children’s Music Workshop. Eric played saxophone in clubs, restaurants, and at weddings up and down the West Coast. Eric was the tenor saxophonist in James Gang, one of the most in-demand private event bands in the country. Eric now teaches the jazz band and digital music production at Lakeside School in Seattle.

Jerome Smith, trombone and tuba

Born in Austin, TX, Jerome Smith has been a professional musician for almost 20 years. Playing music has taken him all over the world including Los Angeles for the Grammys; Orlando for Disney World show bands; Beijing and Shanghai, China on orchestra tours; United Kingdom and South America on Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines; and teaching at the International School of Moscow, Russia, just to name a few. Jerome has also worked with Arturo Sandoval, Carlos Santana, Bobby Caldwell, Robert Glasper, and others in his professional career. He delights in teaching, as music enriches the soul.

Alicia Suarez, flute

Alicia maintains a vibrant studio of private students at her home studio in NE Seattle as well as coaching the flutists at Lakeside Middle and Upper schools, Roosevelt High School as well as Eckstein and Robert Eagle Staff Middle Schools. She has been the flute coach of the of Seattle Youth Symphony Summer Music program in Shoreline for the past two years. An active performer, Alicia has performed with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Pacific NW Ballet, Paramount Theatre and Fifth Avenue Theatre orchestras, most recently having performed Wicked at the Paramount Theater and with the Seattle Symphony for the Harry Potter Prizoner of Azkaban performances at Benaroya Hall. She is an experienced orchestral studio recording artist on flute, piccolo, alto flute and bass flute. She has also been called to play pennywhistle, recorder, ethnic flutes and pan pipes in her 30 year career as a professional flutist. In 1992 Alicia commissioned and performed "Sprindrift" for piccolo and piano by composer Ken Benshoof. She received her Bachelor of Music (summa cum laude) and Master of Music in flute performance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

Adrian Van Batenburg, drums and percussion

Adrian Van Batenburg is a drummer, music educator, and composer based in Seattle. Adrian has led his own band, Gems, for more than 10 years and has been a consistent performer in the Seattle music scene with a variety of projects. With two decades of teaching experience, he has many ways to inspire his students with an upbeat educational teaching method developing listening skills, technique, musical styles such as Jazz-Rock-Pop-Country, as well as sight reading and personal expression on the drumset. His lessons are fun, engaging, and always aim to bring out the best in his students. Adrian has a BM degree in Jazz Studies with a focus on drum set from the University of North Texas. His influences include Art Blakey, Ringo Starr, Cindy Blackman, John Bonham, Questlove, Tré Cool, and rising stars on YouTube like Anika Nilles.

Neil Welch, saxophone

Neil is a co-founder of the Seattle Saxophone Institute music camp series and a former Program Coordinator for the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra (SRJO) Jazz Scholars education program. Neil is proud to have an award-winning private saxophone studio that welcomes students of all ages and levels of ability. Neil has over 15 years of experience as a private educator, including classroom instruction, college level instruction, and non-profit work for Seattle’s leading music education organizations. He believes strongly in the power of mentorship, and knows that private lessons provide students an opportunity to grow as artists and as people. He values joyful learning as the cornerstone of his life as a teacher. Lessons are tailored towards the ever-evolving needs of each student. Neil has a passion for teaching and community-building, and always works hard to create a fun, engaging environment for each and every member of his studio.

Ivy Zhou, voice

“Sparkling high soprano” (Opera News) Ivy Zhou performs with opera companies across the country and is active in the Seattle area as a church singer and voice instructor. Most recently, Ms. Zhou debuted with Eugene Opera, singing Gretel in Hansel and Gretel and Rosalinda in the Fledermaus Fling Gala. During the 2023-24 season, she performed all around WA state as Francine in Seattle Opera’s touring children’s show, Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers. Earlier in the season, she starred as Adele in selections of Die Fledermaus with Northwest Sinfonietta. The 2022-23 season saw her as Mrs. Lee in Tacoma Opera’s world premiere production of Tacoma Method, Ming in Stuck Elevator at Nashville Opera, Fraulein Silberklang in Opera Bend’s The Impresario, Tisbe in Opera Columbus’ La Cenerentola, Adina in Opera Unbound’s The Elixir of Love, and premiering three new works with Seattle Opera’s Creation Lab. 

A lover of choral singing, Ms. Zhou is a staff singer at Epiphany Parish. She also serves as voice instructor and assistant musical director with Roosevelt High School's premiere musical theatre program, and individual voice instructor and choral coach at Lakeside School.