Josh Hou is an accordionist, pianist, composer, and arranger based in Seattle. Having grown up in three countries (United States, China, Malaysia), his work reflects the multicultural sonorities of his upbringing and heritage, both in music and language. He has two records out as a solo bandleader: Feeling of Home (2020) and Bilingualism (2019). 

His latest project is The Horn Bellows (2022), recorded and mixed with long-time collaborator and friend, Ray Larsen.

Josh, along with collaborator Max Holmberg, produced and hosted Jazztalk Seattle, a now discontinued monthly Seattle area jazz podcast that lasted for five years. He also continues to sing and play in How Short, a swing band co-led with guitarist Andy Short. 

Learn more about Josh at www.joshuahou.com

侯守仁是一位在美國西雅圖的手風琴手，鋼琴手，作曲家和編曲家。他在三個國家長大的背景（美國、中國、馬來西亞）使他的作品表達了其成長文化的多元和傳承，包括多种的語言和融合的音樂。他独立執行並發行了兩張專輯：「家感」（2020）和「雙語」（2019）。 

他最新的項目「The Horn Bellows」（2022），是與長期合作者兼朋友Ray Larsen一起錄製和混音的專輯。有興趣的觀眾可以在這裡聽。感兴趣的記者可以到這裡看EPK。 

侯守仁和Max Holmberg曾製作並主持了一個現在已經停播的播客，Jazztalk Seattle，是一個持續了五年的關於西雅圖爵士樂壇的月更播客系列。他和吉他手Andy Short一起帶領了搖擺樂隊How Short， 至今他們還仍一起演唱和演奏。 

Sarah Yates is a bassist and educator whose playing has been described as elegant, lyrical, and nuanced. She performs regularly in Seattle, Vancouver and Bellingham, where her curiosity leads her to take part in projects with styles ranging from jazz Manouche to 18th century chamber music and traditional Roma music to straight-ahead jazz.  In addition to performing with local ensembles such as Nuages, The Unknowns, and the Whatcom Sound Jazz Singers, Sarah directs a middle school jazz band and researches the influence of Debussy on the post-war style of Django Reinhardt. In her teaching, research and performing, Sarah seeks to explore and promote the connections between musical practice and lifestyle, with particular interest in intentionality, listening, and the value of play.

Contact Sarah at syates@whatcom.edu.

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Pat Nelson is the bassoon instructor at Western Washington University where she also teaches courses in pedagogy and chamber music. In addition, she teaches chamber music, music appreciation and music theory courses at Whatcom Community College and maintains a large private studio of bassoonists.  

Pat received her Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Master of Music Degree in Bassoon Performance from Northwestern University. Her teachers include John Pederson (North Carolina Symphony), Robert Barris (Dallas Symphony, Detroit Symphony) and William Dietz (Tucson Symphony). 

From 2001-2016, Pat performed and recorded with the highly acclaimed Westwood Wind Quintet and appears on 14 recordings on the Crystal Records label. Her dedication to new music has resulted in multiple commissions and premiers including her most recent performance at Boston University of works by Adam Billings.  

Pat is co-founder and President of the Bellingham Chamber Music Society, presenting traditional and contemporary chamber music and premiering works by new composers.  

Pat has performed locally with the Bellingham Festival of Music, the WWU faculty woodwind quintet (Fifth Inversion), the Pacific Northwest Opera, Melodious Notes on San Juan Island, and a newly formed wind trio “RIOT" She has been a featured soloist with the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, the Bayshore Ensemble and the Skagit Symphony.   

She is a frequent clinician and adjudicator in the Pacific Northwest and has been guest artist and instructor at Musicfest in Wales, Utah State Music Festival, Wright State University, and California State University at Long Beach.   

Contact Pat at pnelson@whatcom.edu.

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Sarah Lucas-Page is an award-winning composer and clarinetist who has dedicated her life to the art of music, activism, and continually pushing the boundaries of her creative expression. She has been creating and performing new clarinet music with the purpose of helping fight injustice and bring awareness to issues within the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as women and neurodivergent people. Lucas-Page has notable clarinet teachers including; Dr. Robert Spring, Dr. Joshua Gardner, and Dr. Stefanie Gardner, and Dr. Rachel Yoder. While not composing new music or playing her clarinet, she loves to cook delicious plant based food and hike with her spouse Angelica and two dogs, Beethoven and Padme.

Learn more about Sarah at www.lucaspagemusic.com

Contact Sarah at striggs@whatcom.edu

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Christian Casolary is a drummer, composer, and music educator living in Bellingham, WA. 

His music echoes the sounds of Jazz masters—past and present—creating a style that is dynamic, emotional, and open. His highly-developed technical abilities and musicality allow him to explore depth and breadth of expression while fulfilling the traditional role of a drummer. 

Christian holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Western Washington University, where he later taught as a Jazz Instructor. He is in demand  as a  bandleader and sideman throughout the Pacific Northwest.  Christian has studied and performed music with regional and national artists such as Chuck Israels (Bill Evans Trio), Ari Hoenig, Gregory Hutchinson, Mike Allen, Miles Black, Eric Eagle, and Dave Keim (Count Basie Orchestra). 

Aside from performing, Christian currently works as an Ensemble Coach and Educational Outreach Director for the Jazz Center of Bellingham, teaches Jazz and Drum Set at Whatcom Community College, runs his private teaching studio, and accompanies contemporary dance courses at Western Washington University. 

Learn more about Christian at www.christiancasolary.com

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

David Zagelow has taught flute since 2003.  David started as a Suzuki student himself in 1985.  In 1998 David went on to receive his Bachelors of Music in Flute Performance from Central Washington University.  In 2003 David became a certified Suzuki instructor and then in 2009 he became a certified Musikgarten instructor.  David has studied with Kenichi Ueda, Dr. Hal Ott, Daniel Rangel, and Autumn Woods Keller.  David has played with numerous groups throughout his career including the Skagit Symphony, META Performing Arts, Theatre Arts Guild, Willow Ensemble of Boston, the CWU Flute Choir, and the CWU Wind Ensemble.  David has also been a soloist at the National Flute Convention and was the principle flute and piccolo player for the world premier of Remembering 911. David  is an active performer in the area and teaches flute lessons in Bellingham, WA and online. 

Contact this instructor at dzagelow@whatcom.edu

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Robert T. McDonald III is a solo and collaborative guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, instructing individual and group guitar for all ages and levels since 2003. On both acoustic and electric guitar, Robert teaches a divergency of genres ranging from jazz and classical, folk and blues, to reggae and rock, metal and post rock. His guidance bolsters each student’s unique musical journey, providing a comprehensive overview with a path of application toward their musical aspirations.

McDonald holds a BA in Music from Loyola University Chicago, graduating cum laude with departmental honors applied to classical, jazz, composition and performance for guitar. While at Loyola University, Robert had the honor to study classical and jazz guitar with Steve Suvada, guitar ensemble with Peter Aglinskas, composition with Bjorn Berkhout and jazz improvisation with Chris White. While in Chicago, he studied old time finger picking and slide guitar at the Old Town School of Folk Music.

McDonald’s passion as a recording artist, audio engineer, and producer led to the creation of his independent recording label, Livingspectrum Recording, with the release of his debut solo guitar album “Robert T. McDonald III - You’re Already There” in 2015. He actively performs his guitar compositions and improvisations that explore contemporary steel string techniques combining alternate tunings, percussion, and tapping with traditional finger picking.

Robert maintains a music studio in Bellingham, offering lessons in person and remote lessons online to international, national and local students.

Learn more about Robert T. McDonald III at www.livingspectrum.com

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons with this instructor.

Classical guitarist Deborah Anderson makes her home in the Pacific Northwest where she is active as a teacher and performer.  She holds BA and MA degrees in both Guitar Performance and Music Theory from the University of California, San Diego. Her principal teachers were Celin and Pepe Romero.  She also studied with lutenist Jurgen Hubscher and performed in masterclasses with Celedonio Romero, Angel Romero, Manuel Barrueco, David Starobin and Christopher Parkening, among many others.  Ms. Anderson delights in teaching students of all ages and levels!  She loves the guitar and she loves her students!  She directs the Guitar Program at Whatcom Community College and maintains an active private teaching & online studio in the Bellingham area. 

Learn more about Deborah at www.deborah-anderson.com 

Contact this instructor at danderson@whatcom.edu

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Todd Smith is a guitarist, composer, and educator living in the Pacific Northwest. He is a music instructor at Western Washington University where he teaches a survey of popular music, all levels of music theory, and music composition. He also teaches mandolin, bass guitar, and music composition.

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Bellingham harpist, Alishia Joubert, is originally from Des Moines, IA where she began playing the harp at the age of nine. She was introduced to the harp at her church children’s choir when she was five years old and knew at that moment that she wanted to be a harpist when she became a “big girl”. To this day, Alishia encourages children (and adults!) to get up close to the harp and ask questions. This encouragement follows through to her teaching studio where she encourages students, young and mature alike, to tackle the challenges and joys of playing the harp.

Upon graduation from high school, Alishia went on to study harp performance at Northwestern University with Liz Cifani, principal harpist of the Chicago Lyric Opera. Throughout her studies, Alishia participated in numerous master classes with harpists Alice Chalifoux, former harpist of the Cleveland Orchestra; Jana Bouskova, professional solo harpist; Ray Pool, professional solo harpist; Natalia Shameyeva, current harpist of the Bolshoi Ballet; and Alfredo Rolando Ortiz, Paraguayan solo harpist. She has also had private lessons with Harvey Griffin, solo jazz harpist; Sebastian Lipman, former harpist of the Berlin Philharmonic; and Kira Sarandjavan, professional harpist, while living in Moscow.

Alishia enjoys performing in a wide variety of venues, most often with an eclectic style. While you will most commonly find her playing at gorgeous wedding ceremonies and elegant banquets, she has also performed with rap artist Aeon Grey, designed and performed music for Des Moines’ Shakespeare on the Lawn, encouraged runners at mile marker seven during the Des Moines Marathon, and was a founding member of the Latin jazz trio Trio, Trio, Arpa. She has entertained dignitaries such as Bob Dole, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Secretary John Ashcroft, as well as local and visiting politicians. A supporter of strong female role models, Alishia performed for three years in Des Moines, Iowa at the Smart Talk Women’s lecture series, the Chrysalis Foundation, and was the chosen artist at the launch of actress Jane Seymour’s furniture line.

Learn more about Alishia at www.alishiaharp.com

Contact Alishia at ajoubert@whatcom.edu

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Dr. Gabriel Mañalac has been an active performer and music educator in Louisiana and Washington State for the past decade.  He studied with Dr. John Murphy at Loyola University New Orleans where he earned his Bachelor of Music-Piano Performance degree magna cum laude, and with Dr. Robin McCabe at the University of Washington where he earned his Master of Music-Piano Performance degree. 

Gabriel earned numerous awards and scholarships that included winning the University of Washington Concerto Competition, the Liberace Foundation Music Scholarship, the Guy F. Bernard Scholarship, and the Helen A. Reynolds Endowed Scholarship of Music.   
As a performer, Gabriel enjoys playing solo and collaborative works.  He was the pianist and celeste player for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gulf Coast Symphony, and the New Orleans Opera.  Also, he is an avid chamber music performer with experience in organizing numerous public concerts in New Orleans and Seattle.   

Alongside his performance career, Gabriel taught piano to students of various levels.  His teaching experience include giving private lessons for children and adults, to organizing and teaching high school-age student group lessons at the New Orleans School for Math and Science.  Gabriel hopes to instill in his students the life-long love for all music as well as the desire to share his or her art with the world through performance and collaboration.  

Contact this instructor at gmanalac@whatcom.edu

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

David Decker started playing the saxophone at 10 years old and never stopped. He went on to attend Western Washington University where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in saxophone performance. David played with their wind symphony for 6 years and was the baritone player in the Equus saxophone quartet that won the chamber division of the Francis Walton competition in Seattle and appeared on an episode of KING FM’s NW Focus Live. After graduating from Western, David went to Renton Technical College to study band instrument repair. He now spends his days working at Bellingham Wind Works as a woodwind repair technician and repair shop manager. When not at the shop you can find David playing saxophone with the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, sitting in sax sections of swing bands around town, or juggling various woodwinds with musical theater groups such as SUGAR: A Cabaret and theater guilds in Mt. Vernon and Bellingham.  

Contact this instructor at ddecker@whatcom.edu 

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Amy Kavanagh is a performer and educator in Bellingham, WA. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in music from Western Washington University and a Master’s degree in music from the University of Denver. Her principal teachers include Warren Deck, Kathy Brantigan and Dr. Carla Rutschman.

Amy is an active freelance performer. She has performed with Denver Brass, Denver Municipal Band, Bellingham Chamber Music Society and Bellingham Music Club. Amy has received numerous awards for her performances from organizations including the Northwest Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference, International Women’s Brass Conference, and Lamont Convocation.

Amy has maintained a studio of tuba and euphonium students in both Bellingham, WA and Denver, CO including serving for two years as the low brass instructor at Cherry Creek Charter Academy from 2018-2020.

She has published an annotated bibliography on American protest music and her research on intersectionality in the Afrofuturist aesthetic was selected for presentation at the 2020 Lamont Colloquium and the 2020 New York State chapter meeting of the American Musicological Society.

Contact Amy at akavanagh@whatcom.edu

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Vince Green is a graduate of WWU, and completed his graduate Masters study at Arizona State University in trumpet performance. While in Phoenix he performed with the Phoenix Symphony, the Symphony Brass Quintet, and as principal trumpet of the Phoenix Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Green is a very active freelance player in the Northwest playing regularly with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Opera and the Seattle Symphony. Vince can be heard on dozens of recordings for movies, television and video games. He was first trumpet with the Cathedral Brass of St. James and a member of the Washington Brass Ensemble for more than 15 years. His primary trumpet teachers include Wayne Gorder, Anthony Plog and David Hickman.  

Contact Vincent at vgreen@whatcom.edu

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Heather Ray is an active performer and teacher throughout the Northwest. She held the position of concertmaster of the Port Angeles Symphony and Chamber Orchestra from 2012-2019. Prior to this, Heather was the violin instructor at Corban University in Salem, Oregon. She has also served as an orchestra teacher for the Wenatchee School District, and as a violin instructor for the Woods House Conservatory in Wenatchee, Washington. Currently, Heather teaches violin at Whatcom Community College and music appreciation at Western Washington University. She is a violinist with the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra and a coach for the Bellingham Youth Chamber Players. Heather received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in violin performance from Central Washington University.    

Contact Heather at hray@whatcom.edu

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.

Celeste Fraser, Canadian-American soprano, has performed a variety of roles throughout the nation. Her recent performances include Tatyana in Eugene Onegin with Hudson Opera, Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito with Opera in the Heights, Suor Angelica with MetroWest Opera, Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Magda in The Consul, Suor Angelica, Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda, Mimi in La Bohéme, soprano soloist for the Verdi Requiem, soprano soloist for Britten’s War Requiem, and soprano soloist for Mendelssohn’s Elijah. 

She is a frequent performer with Boston Lyric Opera and has been an apprentice with The Boston Opera Institute, Des Moines Metro Opera, Victoria Opera, and Opera North. She completed her opera studies as the Phyllis Curtin Scholar at the highly esteemed Boston Opera Institute and has been the recipient of several honors. Some of her recent achievements include winner of the 2021 Seattle Opera Guild Competition, first place winner of 2019 LYRA competition, and 2017 Berlin winner for the Pustina International Competition. She was also a 2015 finalist for the Opera Birmingham competition, and finalist for the Houston Grand Opera Studio/Eleanor McCollum competition, as well as the Bel Canto Competition Finalist and BRAVA award winner. 

Learn more about Celeste at www.sopranocelestefraser.com

Contact Celeste at cfraser@whatcom.edu

Office location: Heiner 103a

*Contact Music Discipline Lead Melanie Sehman at msehman@whatcom.edu to arrange for lessons from this instructor.