Fort Wayne Music Lessons

f learning, musicianship and artistry. I have most recently taught in Jerry City, Ohio for Elmwood Jr./Sr. High School, and have also been active for the past six years as a master class instructor for St. Peter's Lutheran Church, located in Ft. Wayne, IN. I am very happy to be working with you!

*** Lesson Details ***
You will find my teaching methods rewarding, enriching and exciting as you grow and learn. Students will be encouraged to take their own individual journey in singing. You can expect to work on diction, theory, breathing, and developing a general healthy technique.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Piano and CD player. There is also seating for parents who wish to sit in on lessons.

*** Specialties ***
I am a classically trained singer and most of my training is in art song and opera. However, I do have a vast knowledge of musical theater literature and I would feel very comfortable in that genre. I am also well versed in choral literature and gospel.

coach for the Grammy Award Winning Pacific Boychoir. I also sang professionally for ensembles such as the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Clerestory, American Bach Soloists and San Francisco Pocket Opera.

I am currently a vocal instructor for Sweetwater Music Academy, music director for the Jesters (a theatre ensemble for people with developmental disabilities) and I sing for hospital patients as a Parkview Healing Artist. I have taught grade levels K-8 in private schools so I am accustomed to all age levels.

As a songwriter I have composed and performed music for MTV, VHI, E! and the Oxygen Network, and have acted on commercials for Southern Comfort, Old Spice, & Anthem Blue Cross.

I am also the songwriter and front man for the original regional RootsRock band, Fernando T. & The Wickersham Bros and have established myself as a teaching artist for young audiences through the Carnegie Hall Link Up Concert Series.

I look forward any questions you may have and hope to help you or your child find creative fulfillment from the most unique instrument in the world- your voice!

[PLEASE NOTE: I will be teaching exclusively online from June-December 2017 period and am happy to squeeze in as many in in location lessons you would like before then]

by serving many years as church musician in congregations of various different denominations, as well as performing at weddings, funeral services, and for musicals.

Ms. Johnson’s students have performed locally at the National Federation of Music Clubs Piano Festivals, National Piano Guild Auditions, MTNA Local and State Auditions, Pianorama, Music Field Day, American Piano Gallery - Home of Steinway, West Town Mall, Knoxville Fantasy of Trees, Knoxville Chocolatefest, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Ijams Nature Center Holiday Market, Farragut Community Nativity, and the General Morgan Inn, as well as opportunities at their schools and studio recitals.

Through her piano study with Dr. Paul Ridgway, Ms. Johnson follows in a teaching tradition that can be traced back to Ludwig van Beethoven. Ridgway was a student of Leon Fleisher, who had been a student of Artur Schnabel, student of Theodor Leschetizky, student of Carl Czerny, student of Beethoven.

Ms. Johnson is particularly noted by her students and their families as a calm, patient, and thorough teacher. Her students learn standard music theory, and to read music through instructional methods as well as supplemental pieces in various genres of music according to their interests including classical, sacred, popular, jazz, and more.

in several master classes with Angeleita Floyd, Sheryl Cohen, Jean Louis Beaumadier, Sammi Junnonen, Celso Woltzenlogel, Martha Councell and Michel Bellavance; and was Principal flutist of the Technological University Symphony Orchestra and the UTP Wind Symphony Band-Colombia 2010 through 2015.

Additionally, a principal flutist with the Chamber Orchestra of Southeastern Louisiana University in the Spring Season 2016 and principal flute assistant in Spring Season 2017. Andrés earned his Master in Music Performance from Southeastern Louisiana University where he got a full Scholarship and worked as a GA in the Department of The Performing Arts.

--Ear Training (any instrument, beginning to advanced)

--Arranging/Composition (any instrument, beginning to advanced

--Songwriting (any instrument, beginning to advanced)

--Piano lessons (beginning to intermediate)

*Since I charge the same rate for each of these subjects, many of my students request to split the lesson time into 2 or more subjects

If you have any questions about my specific lesson plans for a particular subject, please don't be afraid to shoot me an email!

Happy practicin'!

pend much of my classical technique in order to play both old-time and traditional Irish fiddle as authentically as possible; but I still retain my initial training and apply good basic violin technique to my fiddle and (of course) her violin teaching, while tailoring it to the musical idioms of each of students.

I have also studied voice, which again, however, I have never allowed to interfere with my performance of traditional songs--largely because I had developed a traditional approach to the singing of both American southern mountain repertory and traditional Irish song many years before receiving any formal instruction. This training, however, has given me greater insight into how to get the most out of your voice for almost any style.

I also taught myself to play lap dulcimer, basing my approach on the Eastern Kentucky styles associated with Jean Ritchie, Barbara Edwards, and Anne MacFie—that is, primarily using a small dowel stick or noter to sound the melody, and playing counter-melodies for song accompaniments.

My clawhammer banjo-playing is influenced by various Appalachian instrumentalists and accompanists (including Dock Boggs, Clarence Ashley, Hobart Smith, and Lily May Ledford), but my style is also influenced by years of playing with midwestern and southern-style fiddlers.

I welcome students ages 10 or above, and have learned to adapt my teaching style to the individual student, helping each one to make the most of his or her talents and enthusiasms, while emphasizing sound technique and good practice habits.

tors, and more empathetic in their daily lives. They also become more believable and dynamic performers onstage or on screen.

Every voice is unique, and I want students to discover the beauty of their truly personal instrument. Because of the personal nature of the voice, I strive to create a safe space to explore. My main priority is freeing the voice from unnecessary tension and supporting it with the breath so students' true sound can be discovered. I know many different exercises for each specific element of vocal technique. I transfer between exercises to actual music pieces until proper technique becomes muscle memory and replaces old habits.

I'm a firm believer in the joy of art. If we are not having fun, we should probably be doing something else. Right?