Dedication to Teaching
meet the teachers
Great Lakes School of Music Teachers
BARBARA WATKINS | FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
PIANO, BEGINNER – ADVANCED
Founder & Director, Barbara Watkins is a graduate of James Madison University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music. She has studied with Lowell Watkins (JMU, VA), Benjamin Whitten (West Chester State College, PA), and Benjamin Selman (Arkansas State University) while serving in the United States Air Force in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Ms. Watkins served on the faculty at The Cleveland Music School Settlement from 1989-1999 in the Performing Arts and Early Childhood Departments, as well as the Cleveland Municipal Schools extension program.
Aside from teaching, Ms. Watkins is an accomplished musician as a composer, arranger, and performer. In 1995, she was awarded the Lentine’s Music award for outstanding leadership in digital keyboard composition, arrangement, and performance.
Ms. Watkins led the 1995 Ohio Music Teachers Association (OMTA) Fall Seminar in Keyboard Technology and chaired the 1997 Music Festival at Judson Manor and 1998 and 1999 Music Festivals at Cleveland State University.
Barbara L. Watkins is an active member of the National Piano Foundation, OMTA, Steinway Educators Partnership, and the National Guild of Piano Teachers, in which Barbara was placed on the National Honor Roll of Guild Teachers for having successfully prepared her piano pupils for entry in the National Piano Playing Auditions.
Barbara was selected for the National Registers Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals.
Dr. SHEUNG – PING LAI
PIANO, BEGINNER – ADVANCED
Dr. Sheung-Ping Lai received her D. M. A. in Composition from The Ohio State University, her M. M. in Composition from Cleveland Institute of Music, and her M.M. in Music Education (Jazz Pedagogy Focus) from Capital University.
As a composer, her music covers a wide variety of genres and styles, and her compositions are frequently performed in public, including Western and Chinese instrumental music, choral music, electronic music, theatrical music, art songs, pop songs, and jazz, presenting a unique synthesis of the East and the West. Her jazz CD album Spring Nocturnes, released in 2021, is available on i-Tunes, Amazon Music, and Spotify.
As a music educator, Dr. Lai has substantial college teaching experience in the U. S. and in Asia. Since the COVID pandemic, she has been giving online music lessons to students across the globe. Dr. Lai takes pride in students’ accomplishments. She is a mentor to award-winning young composers, performers, and inspired music educators.
Dr. Lai believes that anyone can make music and have fun. Cross-cultural music making and education can enlighten souls, break cultural barriers, bring people close together, and achieve global harmony.
CATHY TOWNS GRADY
Violin, Viola, Fiddle, Cello, Voice, Theory, Guitar, Songwriting, Mandolin, Bass Guitar and Upright Bass
Cathy Towns Grady is a violinist, violist, songwriter, vocalist, and fiddler, with a wide range of styles and influences.
Her powerful alto voice commands an audience and her soulful songwriting brings the crowd in close. She blends blues, folk and country into her own unique style.
She has been teaching private and group lessons for over 30 years, blending a classical approach with a contemporary sensibility. She holds a bachelors degree in Viola Performance from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University and is a former member of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra. She studied voice with Paul Rowe and viola with John Kochanowski and Kathryn Plummer.
SHARI L. ARMSTRONG
BRASS
Shari Armstrong received her Bachelor of Music Education from the University Mount Union in 1992 and her Masters in Education from Malone University in 1995. While at Mount Union, she was involved in several ensembles, including the Wind Ensemble, Marching Band, Brass Choir, and other smaller groups.
The Brass Choir gave her the opportunity to perform in churches around the state of Ohio and Pennsylvania as well as performing at the National Cathedral in Washington DC. She has also played for pit orchestras for various musicals at the Carnation City Players in Alliance, Ohio.
Her career path has been a varied one over the years since college, including teaching music, working in child care, as a nanny, and most recently as a freelance writer and editor. She is also an active member at the Bible Baptist Church in Bedford, where she is on the Music Committee, performs special music with various vocal ensembles, and plays the French horn for offertory.
She has also directed the children’s Christmas program and Shari was a member of both the Cuyahoga Community College Orchestra and Solon Community Band.
JEFF BREZNAY
GUITAR & DRUMS
Jeff has played music in various bands starting in the early 70’s, mostly classic rock and rhythm and blues. Early on playing saxophone and learning guitar, he also did vocals, lead and back up. as well as recording sessions of original music. Jeff looks at music as an art form of expression; Learning an instrument allows this expression to come out and gives an inner satisfaction for ones soul.
In order to attain this one must learn an instrument and then perform to share it with others in order to achieve this feeling that is like no other. Learning an instrument, but not performing only, gets you halfway there; performing is like the cherry on top and the fruit of ones labor!
GARY SIPERKO
GUITARS, BASS, MANDOLIN, UKULELE
BMus: Berklee College of Music
Gary Siperko is a professional touring/recording guitarist and composer most notably associated with The Legendary Shack Shakers, Pere Ubu, and Rocket From The Tombs. Mr. Siperko has over 30 years of experience teaching and performing. He teaches Contemporary and Classical Guitar as well as Bass, Mandolin and Ukulele. Beginning lessons focus on fundamentals as well as playing basic songs.
Intermediate to advanced lessons focus on the application of Music Theory to the instrument to help students acquire strong compositional and songwriting skills, knowledge of chord construction, the ability to play scales proficiently, and gain necessary skills needed for solo improvisation, as well as sight-reading skills.
In addition to a wealth of teaching experience, Gary has earned a reputation as a virtuosic live performer and highly sought after professional guitar instructor.
In 2011, he joined Rocket from the Tombs for the USA ‘Barfly’ Tour, replacing Richard Lloyd(Television) in Peter Laughners’ former guitar position in the band. He has since toured with Rocket From The Tombs throughout the United States and Europe, as well as co-writing and recording songs for ‘Black Record’ (2015, Fire Records).
In 2016, he joined Pere Ubu and toured on the ‘Coed Jail’ Tour, followed by co-writing, recording and touring as a member of Pere Ubu in support the ’20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo’ album (Cherry Red 2017). In 2017, he joined the Legendary Shack Shakers and toured in support of their release “After You’ve gone” and appears in the official video for the song “Sing a worried song” from the album.
In 2018, he toured world-wide with JD Wilkes and The Legendary Shack Shakers in support of the release “Fire Dream”, in addition to more touring in Europe with Pere Ubu. Some highlights include performing at the Centre Pompidou Modern Art Museum in Paris, France with Rocket From the Tombs, and recording live at Sun Studios in Memphis,TN with The Legendary Shack Shakers.
BYRON NEMETH
PREMIUM VIRTUOSO SHRED GUITAR LESSONS BY ZOOM, FACETIME OR GOOGLE MEET ONLY DIRECT FROM LAS VEGAS.
AVAILABLE BY APPOINTMENT ONLY ON SUNDAYS, MONDAY AND TUESDAY’S — (NO IN PERSON LESSONS, ONLINE ONLY)
Website:
www.byronnemeth.com
Videos:
“You Know It’s True” – CLICK HERE
“A New Freedom” – CLICK HERE
Byron Nemeth, multi-instrumentalist and hard rock aficionado who has done tours and taken part in many stellar releases to date and knew at a young age that music was his true calling. Upon hearing Elvis & The Beatles from his wonderful parents as a birthday music gift he turned his attention to learning guitar and studying the styles of Randy Rhoads, Michael Schenker, Jimmy Page, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Joe Perry plus jazz and classical music. Throughout his career Byron has opened for notable bands such as Metal Church, Doro Pesch, Warrant, Winger, RATT, Y&T, Dream Theater, Rick Emmett, Vicious Rumors, Helix, Keel, Yes, Zack Wylde/Black Label Society, Richie Kotzen, The Sweet, Lynch Mob, Pat Travers Band and many more.
By going on tour with various bands throughout the east coast Byron began exploring his personal guitar style with Sacred Heart, Amon-Ra, Prodigy, and Electro-Motive-Force. The Vision 1985 cassette by Sacred Heart reimagined version was recently made available on Spotify along with the 1992 Amon Ra release of In the Company of the Gods also available reimagined on streaming platforms.
In 1997 Byron studied jazz and classical music at the Cleveland State University which provided him the music education foundation needed to blend in with a variety of musical genres, he was shortly thereafter commissioned to perform as first guitar with Richard Henrickson’s orchestrated Ozone Hour, a 90-minute Symphonic Rock Ballet with the Cleveland Chamber Orchestra and 33 dance performers.
