Meet The Teachers & Staff
-Studio Owner, Retired Piano & Voice Instructor-
Julie Chambers, Capital University graduate, studio owner, and teacher has been teaching since 2008. She has her state teachers license, Bachelor’s and Master’s in music education, Kodaly certification, Music Pedagogy diploma, and has begun her Estill Voice Training. She has experience teaching public school music, preschool general music, choir, piano, and voice lessons. She currently performs regularly at Grove City United Methodist Church as organist, accompanist, and vocalist.
–Piano & Percussion Instructor-
–Cello, Piano & Voice Instructor-
Max Kramer (he/him) is a current student at Capital University studying Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. He graduated from Kettering Fairmont High School where he participated in multiple choirs, a cappella groups, and theatre. In high school, Max was awarded the Most Valuable Singer of the 2021-22 school year as well as Outstanding Section Member 3 times in 3 different sections.
Now at Capital, Max sings in the prestigious Chapel Choir, where he serves as bass section leader apprentice and choral administrative assistant. He also sings with the chamber ensemble, Philomel, and actively participates in the Opera/Musical Theatre department. Max was awarded the Agnes Fowler Award for Outstanding Freshman Music Performance at the 2023 Capital University Conservatory Annual Scholarship Competition. Most recently, he was named a finalist in both the 2024 Capital University Conservatory Annual Scholarship Competition and the 2024 Red School of Music National Art Song Competition. Max also serves as a Chorister Section Leader at Christ Lutheran Church and as the Music and Assistant Directing Intern for the Singing Buckeyes Barbershop Chorus.
Outside of music, Max loves to spend time with his friends, family, roommates, and brother, Paul. He loves attending shows around Columbus and working out. After graduating, Max hopes to go into a career in performance and continue to teach private voice.
– Piano Instructor-
Pufan Wang is a pianist and music teacher who holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Western Michigan University, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Ohio State University with Prof. Steven Glaser. Pufan has extensive performance experience in both solo and chamber music settings, having performed in concerts in China and the United States. In addition to performing, Pufan is also an experienced piano teacher, having taught students of all ages, from young children to adults. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes creating a positive and enriching learning experience for her students, and she strives to help her students develop a love an appreciation for music in their studies.
–Piano Instructor-
Ejiela has been teaching piano lessons since 2013 to students of varying ages in the Columbus area. Her primary area is classical piano, but she has had experience with other genres and encourages her students to explore other genres as well. She graduated from Capital University in 2015 with a degree in Piano Performance. Her performance experience includes masterclasses with Dr. Nelita True and Gale Berenson as well as solo playing, accompanying, ensemble playing, and competitions in the Indianapolis and Columbus areas. Contact us now to get scheduled for piano lessons with Ejiela!
-Director of Communications-
Julia Price is currently in college for business management. She loves ballroom dancing, houseplants, and afternoon tea. Julia believes in doing her best in all she does and looks forward to helping your Chambers experience be the best.
Sarah Ministeri is a graduate of Capital University with a Bachelor’s in Flute Performance. At Capital, she played flute and piccolo in the Conservatory’s premier wind ensemble, the Symphonic Winds, the Capital-Bexley Orchestra, and the pit orchestra for A Little Night Music and Kiss Me, Kate. Sarah is a multi-instrumentalist who played oboe in the university Wind Symphony, Orchestra, and several woodwind quintets. She has extensive chamber music experience, having performed in the Brillante Flute Quintet, Flute Choir, and Clarinet Choir. As a student, she received the Outstanding Flutist Award and the Conrad Award, and she was inducted into the American musical honors Society of Pi Kappa Lambda. She has played flute and piano at several churches in Columbus and northeast Ohio. In addition to her various instruments, she also studied composition and music theory at Capital. Her teachers include Lisa Jelle (flute), Lisa Nahm (flute), Melissa Stevens (oboe), Dina Lentsner (composition), and Tony Zilincik (composition).
–Piano, Voice, & Jazz Voice Instructor-
Anne Todt has taught piano and voice for over twenty years at Capital University’s College-Preparatory and Adult Education Departments. She enjoys teaching classical, musical theatre, and jazz voice. She has sung professionally in Cantari Singers, Lancaster Chorale and Columbus Bach Ensemble. The Columbus Chamber Singers, which Anne directs has performed in Austria and Italy. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education Degree from the Ohio State University (voice emphasis) and a Master of Music Degree from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.
Besides music, Anne enjoys swimming, riding her bike, reading and movies. Check out our Get Started page now to get scheduled for lessons with Anne.
–Percussion, Guitar & Piano Instructor-
Jim Lindroth is a percussionist living in Columbus, Ohio and has been teaching in various capacities since 2014. Jim has a Bachelors degree in percussion performance from the University of South Carolina and Masters degrees in performance and ethnomusicology from Ohio State University. Along with his extensive background in classical percussion, Jim is an avid fan and performer of various folk music styles, having studied West African drumming, Zimbabwean mbira, Irish bodhrán, Irish guitar, Scandinavian guitar, and North and South American folk percussion. Jim takes a holistic approach to music education, hoping to encourage lifelong musicians through social engagement and creative music-making. When not getting excited about music, Jim can be found drinking coffee, carving wood, or petting his cats.
Patrick is a Columbus Ohio native, with over 15 years of experience in gigging, writing, playing, and enjoying music of all styles. Currently, he is studying at Capital University in pursuit of a degree in Jazz Studies/Guitar Performance, which he will finish April of 2023. He has studied with musicians such as Stan Smith, Tom Davis, and Michael Cox. He enjoys playing all styles of music, but has most experience in Jazz, Funk, Rock, and Metal.
He started playing guitar at the age of 7, in 2008. His early inspirations to play guitar was his family’s influence of music on him. His earliest memory that inspired him to play was hearing Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning”.
Some of his biggest musical inspirations include Frank Zappa, Yes, King Crimson, Steve Hillage, Pat Metheny, Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, A.C Jobim, among many others.
Patrick has a lot of experience playing with others, and values musical connections to others in his life. Patrick has performed in a variety of ensembles including Big Bands, Jazz Combos, Rock bands, and his own bands, such as Caterpillar Protolith and Crabswithoutlegs.
Patrick has won many awards for his performances and compositions, including the Mark Flugge Jazz Award, Nicholas Perinni Scholarship, and the River Richards Memorial Scholarship.
Kevin Hagans began his violin studies at the age of nine and studied violin at Capital University. He embarked on his violin teaching career in 2016 and in 2018 he earned his Suzuki Unit 1 Teaching Certification from The Suzuki Association of the Americas. The Suzuki Method is a popular and successful method of teaching which incorporates ear training and natural learning styles based on the way children learn their native language. While Suzuki is an excellent teaching style, Kevin recognizes what teaching styles work for each individual student and tailors the lessons appropriately. Kevin enjoys working with both beginner and intermediate violinists, beginner cellists, and beginner ukulele students looking to grow their understanding of music and the instrument. In addition to classical studies, he also teaches improv, bluegrass, rock, jazz & music theory.
Kevin believes that music is supposed to be fun, and he emphasizes this attitude into his teaching style with both children and adults. In addition to teaching, Kevin is an active performer and improviser across Columbus.
Kevin is a well-versed multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. He has performed all of his life, and his experience ranges from rock bands to orchestras, jazz combos to musical theater, and even as a stage and screen actor. He has been featured on public and national television and toured nationally. He holds performance degrees in classical trumpet and voice, and currently serves in the 249th Army Band where he plays bass, guitar, trumpet, and sings for various ensembles. As a teacher, he has taught private lessons for over 15 years. He comes from a family of artists and educators, and has a passion for teaching anyone who wants to learn. At Chambers, he’ll be offering guitar, voice, electric and upright bass, trumpet, beginner piano, ukulele and banjo. His students will not only learn their chosen instrument, but also the fundamentals of theory, developing their ear, performance concepts, and specific things the student wants to learn. He strongly believes in an individualized approach to education, and will meet every student where they are at and work to teach them in the way that they learn best.
–Piano & Voice Instructor-
Alyse Hancock-Phillips has been singing for her whole life and is a 2023 graduate from Capital University as a double major in Vocal Music Education and Vocal Performance. She has performed with the Capital University Chapel Choir, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus, Blossom Festival Chorus, and several musicals. She has a compassionate and gregarious personality that allows her to help students express themselves through the music they are performing.
Brenna Kitchen is a 2024 graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Choral Music Education. While at Ohio State, Brenna was a 5-year member and squad leader in the Ohio State University Marching Band where she played the e-flat cornet. Brenna was also involved for 4 years in the Ohio State University Women’s Glee Club where she served as a section leader and the Vice President of Musicianship. She also is one half of the music duo known as The Sightseers, where she sings, plays trumpet, and plays piano. Brenna has been playing trumpet for 13 years and has experience in jazz bands, youth orchestras, marching bands, concert bands, pit orchestras, solo trumpet repertoire, brass quintets, and trumpet quartets. Brenna is also a vocalist that has been singing since she could speak, with experience in classical voice, musical theatre, choral music, popular music, and folk music.
Shiloh has been in love with music since her first violin lesson at age 8. She is a graduate of Mount Vernon Nazarene University, where she double-majored in music education and violin performance. She is certified to teach K-12 music in the state of Ohio and was an elementary music educator before coming to Chambers. Shiloh is passionate about many different genres of music, and has performed as a violinist in everything from orchestras to worship teams to folk bands. She is also an accomplished fiddler and has won multiple awards in Ohio fiddle competitions. Shiloh’s goal is for every student to feel confident in their own unique musicianship. She is an energetic, caring teacher who lets each student’s interests and goals guide their instruction. In addition to music, Shiloh loves baking, crafting, and exploring new places with her husband Zach and golden retriever Zeus.
–Percussion & Piano Instructor-
Ryan is a Columbus based drummer, composer and educator, with a M.M. in Jazz Studies from The University of North Texas, as well as a B.M. in Jazz Studies from Capital University.
Throughout his 15+ year career, Ryan has played across the US and Canada, including New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington DC, Dallas, an Toronto.
Ryan is currently the touring drummer for Emmy and Grammy nominated comedian Randy Rainbow. He is also a proud endorser of InEarz audio.
Robert Firestone has been playing guitar for almost 50 years. He is versatile in a wide variety of genres including jazz, classical, classical-rock, jazz-rock, country-rock and just about about everything else!
After several years of teaching, he decided to return to school and pursue a Master’s Degree after becoming fascinated with the sounds of Impressionism on the classical guitar. University of Akron was the choice for this endeavor. Robert studied with Stephen Aron and Douglas James.
Robert has over 40 years of teaching experience! He wants to help more students pursue music degrees and become professional guitarists. Robert is very focused on technique and help student achieve higher level of playing, but the same time he enjoys helping beginners to explore the magic in guitar. A real love of teaching has endured through the years and enabled Robert to teach all ages and all levels of study.
Henry Seifried is a student at Capital University studying Vocal Performance with Emphasis on Opera/Musical Theatre and minoring in Marketing. He primarily teaches voice and piano. Growing up in Toledo, Ohio, Henry started taking voice lessons at Forte School of Music, focusing on various genres of music, that being jazz and musical theater. Throughout high school, he would participate in numerous shows within his musical theater department, including Les Miserables, Young Frankenstein, Next to Normal, and Newsies. His astounding musicianship and leadership led to him being rewarded with the National School Choral Award in 2019.
Since his arrival at Capital University, Henry has achieved several awards, such as placing 1st in the Ohio NATS Lower-Level Musical Theatre Category in 2021, placing 3rd in the National NATS Lower-Level Musical Theatre Category in 2022, and being recognized as a finalist in the Annual Capital Conservatory Scholarship Competition in 2022 and 2023. He also sings with the well renowned choral ensemble, The Capital University Chapel Choir, where he serves as the section leader for the bass section. In addition, he is involved with the small chamber ensemble at Capital University, Philomel. He is an active participant in the Opera/Musical Theatre department, where he finished performing the role of Gordon Michael Schwinn in the musical, A New Brain.
Outside of music, Henry loves watching soccer and supporting his favorite teams (Columbus Crew and Chelsea!). He likes to collect records and enjoys trying different foods. After graduating, Henry hopes to continue his studies in Vocal Performance and aspires to create his own private vocal studio.
Gavin Newton has his Master’s of Music in Trumpet Performance from The Ohio State University and Bachelor’s of Arts in Music Education from Muskingum University. He is a performer and trumpet instructor around central and south-eastern Ohio; where he can be found performing with a variety of ensembles. As a music educator, Gavin has been a trumpet instructor both privately and for schools across Ohio. Providing insights from his performing experiences, life experiences, and vast music education. Being versatile in many genres such as jazz, classical, latin, classic rock, and musical theater, Gavin uses that experience to better instruct his students in one on one lessons. He performs regularly with the Dave Schubach Big Band, the Muskingum Valley Symphonic Winds, Zanesville’s Memorial Concert Band, and also plays in pit orchestras for musicals. He has performed in the pit for more than 30 different musicals, two of which being world premieres; Sella for OSU’s 2021 Homecoming and Surviving the Moonlight at the Short North Stage in 2022
