Aaron Toney

Instructor of the guitar, bass, drums, introductory piano, and introductory voice.

Aaron has been immersed life long in music, picking up Bass Guitar at 11 and learning multiple other instruments through private instruction and group education such as show choir and college musical classes. He has been a musical educator for over 7 years with experience teaching private lessons in studio, at home, and working inside of elementary schools. New to the city, he was originally located in Fort Worth Texas where he was the head of the band department at a local school for five years. Aaron also has much experience performing in a band setting across multiple genres locally in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and is excited to bring that experience into the lesson room. 

Adam Stern

Instructor of entry - advanced piano.

A lifelong student of music, and a professional musician for nearly five decades, Adam enjoys teaching to the fullest — as a way of encouraging a love and understanding of music, and of shaping the next generation of musicians and music-lovers. One of Seattle’s busiest conductors (Seattle Philharmonic, Federal Way Symphony, Sammamish Symphony), Adam is delighted to also be able to teach students of all ages at all levels. Adam firmly believes that “you’re almost never too young, and assuredly never too old, to learn about music!” An Academy piano instructor since 2017, Adam hopes to also take on any students interested in conducting and music history.

Amelia Albert

Instructor of saxophone, clarinet, and flute.

Amelia Albert has been teaching woodwinds (saxophone, clarinet, and flute) at the Academy of Music and Dance for over a decade. She also loves to teach the Music FunTime classes to the younger kiddos (ages 3-5), sharing her passion for music and music theory knowledge. As a Seattle native, Amelia grew up performing with the Roosevelt Jazz Band and went on to study music at the University of Washington. She has taught private lessons as well as coaching and teaching in Seattle Public School music programs. Teaching is her passion but Amelia also loves to perform around town with groups such as Tsubaki, Extra Thick Afrobeat, Filthy Femcorps, Magnolia Jazz Band, and Sebastian and the Deep Blue to name a few. When not playing music Amelia loves to swim and hike with her family and rambunctious dog.

Ayako OKANO

Instructor of the entry - advanced piano.

Ayako has been playing music in and around the Pacific Northwest for nearly 30 years. After studying formally at Northwestern University, she returned to Seattle and has been part of the music and arts community here since. She currently leads her rock band Tsubaki as songwriter and vocalist/pianist, as well as providing piano/keyboard support for various local artists, including scoring and performing onstage in the Strawberry Theatre Workshop production Fellow Passengers, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in 2023. Ayako shares her love and passion for music as a member of the faculty at both the Ballard and Shoreline locations — offering voice coaching within piano lessons for students who want to sing and play. She has also produced and hosted many shows in the local music community through the years, including the holiday season stalwart Tom Waits Tribute Night at Conor Byrne Pub, now in its 17th year.

Chris Pollina

Instructor of the drums.

I've been playing drums since I was 10 and love to share my passion for music. In addition to playing music in a variety of contexts for the past 25 years, I've worked with children in preschool settings, as an in-home nanny, and for the past decade plus as the director of children and youth programming at Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Church. Working to explain abstract and intangible concepts to children and youth of many different developmental levels has really helped to clarify and inform the way I teach music and drumming. I've played drums for Seattle's premier large funk ensemble, Eldridge Gravy & The Court Supreme since its founding in 2006 as well as psych rock group Midday Veil and Extra Thick, a large afrobeat ensemble.

CLARk grogan

Instructor of the guitar and ukulele.

Clark Grogan grew up in Clearwater, Florida where his involvement with music began at an early age with his participation in church vocal and bell ensembles. As a student of Music Theory and Jazz at the University of North Texas, and as a graduate student of Music Composition at Ohio State University, Clark composed and performed with a myriad of jazz and contemporary classical ensembles. As a composer he has written pieces for ensembles as varied as straight quartet, brass quintet, electronics, solo clarinet, and chamber orchestra. In May of 2000, Clark moved to Seattle, Washington. Within months of his arrival, Clark’s guitar studio was full. He became the guitar chair in the Issaquah Jazz Orchestra (later to be known as the Hal Sherman Monday Night Jazz Orchestra), began teaching guitar through Bellevue Community College, and was showcased in a variety of performances across the Eastside in it's most exclusive spaces. In the past fifteen years, Clark has earned a reputation as a masterful and dedicated guitar instructor, teaching 40 lessons a week to students of all ages and abilities. These lessons vary in style and range from rock to pop, folk, jazz, classical, and individual audio recording lessons. Many of Clark’s current and previous students have gone on to become fixtures in the local music scene—active as both performers and home recording artists.

COLIN HIGGINS

Instructor of guitar, ukulele, voice, and entry - intermediate piano.

Colin Higgins holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. With an emphasis in jazz guitar performance, he also studied composition, jazz arranging, classical and jazz music history, classical guitar and classical voice. Colin has thirty years of professional performance experience and over twenty-five years of teaching experience. His passion for music led him to Seattle where he performs a variety of genres including rock, funk, pop, and jazz. Colin enjoys teaching students of all ages. He believes learning how to play music helps one to grow as a person, push their limits to go further and achieve higher goals. Witnessing his students’ growth and realize their potential is the most rewarding part of teaching for Colin. Even seeing some of them go on to study music at the college level and share their music with the world. Occasionally, Colin gets approached by a former student or parent after a performance and they tell him of the positive impact he made on their lives. And what could be more rewarding than that?

Colt Valenti

Instructor of guitar and ukulele.

Colt Valenti is a classically trained musician, who is a rocker at heart. He holds an undergrad and graduate degree in classical guitar, was a Fulbright scholar to Italy, and is a former winner of the Northwest Guitar Competition. Along with his wife, Lacey, he opened the Ballard Academy in 2009 and the Shoreline Academy in 2017. For over 30 years he has been teaching all styles of guitar to students of all ages. When he’s not playing his guitar or working at the Academy, he likes to spend time with his wife, three children and four dogs.

Conor Fortune

Instructor of piano, voice, and the drums.

Conor Fortune is a singer/songwriter that teaches piano, drums, guitar, vocals, songwriting, music theory, and recording. He is a well rounded musician that has a back ground in multiple genres including rock, pop, jazz, funk, and classical music and has been working as a music teacher ever since graduating from college six years ago.

Having graduated from the distinguished Columbia College Chicago he obtained a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies. Conor was top in his class and earned a music scholarship as well. He also had the chance to learn not just jazz but different types of music from his eclectic music program’s ensembles. Some of them including Gospel Band, Latin American Percussion, RnB, Classical Repertory Ensemble and many more.

After moving to Seattle eight years ago, Conor started his own band that he fronts and sings in and began playing with multiple other bands throughout the city.

Hank Webster

Instructor of violin, viola, and introductory guitar.

Hank Webster is a multi-instrumentalist and teaching artist offering violin and viola lessons. He spent 6 years earning both a bachelors and masters degree from California Institute of the Arts and his experience ranges from orchestral playing to electronic composition. Hank can be found playing in venues locally with indie rock outfit Yost and country/Americana band The Wayside.

Joy Davenport

Instructor of introductory voice and piano.

Joy Davenport is a recent addition to the BAMD staff and teaches beginning voice and piano.  She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and has called Seattle home for almost three decades.  At 8 years old, Joy's first piano teacher nurtured the seeds of what would grow to be a lifelong love of music.  Since those first lessons as a child, Joy has participated in bands & orchestras, vocal small groups and choirs, and community theatre.  She was lead singer of and helped direct & manage the Seattle-based R&B/funk/soul band, Kissing Potion, and has been a guest & backing vocalist for various musical acts in NW Washington.  Outside of her own musical interests, Joy has been active as a tutor, organizer, and assistant in local public school music programs, has served as a co-op preschool chairperson, and manager of youth and adult sports teams.  As an instructor of beginning voice and piano, Joy hopes to promote a love of music and to help build a robust foundation of music theory concepts with her students.

Judd wasserman

Instructor of guitar and ukulele.

Judd is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle where he received a bachelor of music degree. Originally from Connecticut, he has been a Washingtonian since 1997. Judd currently teaches guitar and ukulele using a tailored approach to each student’s individual needs and goals utilising his versatile skill set and bank of knowledge. In college, he studied jazz harmony and composition, along with classical composition and songwriting, composing for string quartet and jazz ensemble, as well as writing and recording.

Locally, Judd has performed solo at The Neptune Theater, in bands and solo at Triple Door, Teatro Zinzanni and Tractor Tavern as well as touring as a solo musician incorporating looping. He has engineering and production experience, recording and releasing original content. Leasing and performing original content adds to his overall knowledge of music and the industry. He also enjoys playing electric bass and drums and incorporates piano in composing. Working with kids while still a teenager as a camp counselor in Connecticut followed by an Early Childhood Development course at Evergreen State College put him on a path towards teaching his music.

Kevin Slota

Instructor of clarinet, flute, trombone, trumpet, and guitar.

Kevin teaches trumpet, trombone, and guitar. In addition to teaching at the Ballard Academy, he also works with the nonprofit Michael J. Owen Music Education fund to coach band students at several Title 1 schools in the Seattle Public School district. Kevin also leads the West Seattle High School Jazz II Big Band. He is a member of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 76-493.

Kevin has performed with a wide variety of ensembles in the Seattle area including Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra, Sammamish Symphony Orchestra, Thalia Symphony Orchestra, Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Rock Orchestra where he performed twice at the Sasquatch Music Festival, Capitol Hill Block Party, Meltdown, several other summer festivals, large local venues, and a special performance with Devotchka at The Moore. He’s performed musical theatre shows with Renton Civic Theatre, Studio East, Driftwood Players, and Twelfth Night Productions. He plays solo trumpet in the nonprofit Geetanjali Tamil Band/Orchestra performing many Bollywood soundtrack favorites to raise money for education in India. He’s performed and/or recorded with several Seattle based bands including Vicious Petals, Knathan Ryan, Emily McViker, Okham’s Razor, Family Worship Center, Seattle Rock Orchestra Street Band, Twilight Motel, Wind Up Bird, Kithkin, Ravenna Woods, and Exohxo. He has participated in events for Musicares, Artist Home, and the annual Tom Waits tribute at Conor Byrne Pub. Kevin also performs yearly for Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas services at various churches in the Seattle area. 

Kevin studied audio engineering at Shoreline Community College and offers freelance studio trumpet services from his home studio in West Seattle. He also offers brass and orchestral arranging services for any style of music. 

Mark Ostrowski

Instructor of the drums and introductory piano.

Mark is a composer, percussionist, and improviser. Professional, Berklee College of Music educated musician with 30 plus years of composing and performing experience for concert stage, theater and film. Mark is available for lessons in drum set, beginning piano and music theory.

Paul Escalante

Instructor of beginner to intermediate piano and guitar.

Hi there! I’m Paul Escalante, a passionate piano and guitar teacher dedicated to sharing the joy of music through contemporary styles. With over 8 of experience, I’ve had the pleasure of guiding beginning students of all ages.

My background includes a bachelor’s in music from the University of Colorado, Denver where I immersed myself in various genres. While I have a love of all musical styles my true passion lies in contemporary music—think pop, rock, jazz, and everything in between. My goal is to help students discover their own musical voice, and a lifelong passion for music.

In our lessons, you can expect a relaxed and supportive environment. We’ll work on building technical skills, and I do my best to incorporate the musical interests of all my students.

If you’re ready to start your piano journey and have some fun along the way, I can’t wait to meet you and begin your musical adventure!

Reyes Gonzalez

Instructor of the guitar, entry - intermediate piano, and entry - intermediate voice.

Reyes is a classically trained musician. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Music (with classical guitar studies) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. At UCSB, he also performed in Jazz Ensemble groups, under direction of Jon Nathan, and the Ensemble for Contemporary Music, directed by Jeremy Haladyna.
Since obtaining his undergraduate degree, Reyes has studied jazz under John Storie in Los Angeles and Pat Kelley in Central Coast California as well as classical guitar under Marc Teicholz. In 2020, Reyes also obtained a Guitar Intensive Performance Certificate at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Marc Teicholz, David Tanenbaum and Judicaël Perroy.

Tracy Ferrara

Instructor of introductory piano.

Tracy Ferrara is a professional musician who has lived and performed in the Northwest for over 30 years. After graduating from both the Juilliard School of Music and Princeton University, she played saxophone with a band she co-founded in the 90’s in Seattle, touring non-stop internationally for almost a decade. For the last 20 years she has focused more upon teaching, although she still performs regionally with several bands. A recent addition to the BAMD faculty, Tracy teaches one day a week at the school, specializing in introductory piano for all ages. She is a fun and engaging teacher with a holistic approach to learning. Love of music and enjoyment of the process is always the goal in her sessions.

Vince Bigos

Instructor of the guitar.

Vince Bigos studied guitar performance at Central Washington University. He worked as a musician for Holland America Cruise Lines for 2 years. He currently performs solo throughout the Pacific Northwest. As an instructor, Vince brings a knowledge of many styles of music, a simple approach to music theory, and a focus on technique that will set every student up for success.