Crescendo Academy’s faculty members are highly qualified music educators. Nearly all teachers earned bachelor degrees or higher in music education or music performance. Crescendo maintains close ties with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra; KSO Artists in Residence* are KSO players who teach private students at Crescendo.
Almost all of the faculty members perform professionally in West Michigan in a variety of chamber ensembles as well as the following organizations:
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra
South Bend Symphony Orchestra
Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Southwest Symphony Orchestra
Kalamazoo Philharmonia
Current Faculty
Paul Bauer—Drum Set/Percussion
Georgiy Borisov*—Clarinet
Jerzy (George) Bugaj—Piano/Voice
Jeanna Cervantes-Hickman—Music Together®
Luke Cook—Cello
Carol Corey—Viola/Violin
Thalea Davis—String Bass
Brent Decker—Saxophone/Piano
Michael Evans—Low Brass
Beverly Guthrie—Music Together®
Christopher Guthrie—Percussion
Mark Guthrie*—Percussion/Drum Set
Sarah Hedlund—Violin/Viola
Kip Hickman*—Trombone
Patricia Kates—Violin
Micaela Kingslight—Acoustic/Electric Guitar
Penny Kohns—Flute/Piano
Dan Adam Koshelnyk—Piano/Accompanist
Miles Kusik—Classical Guitar/Mandolin
Audrey Lipsey—Violin/Executive Director
Stacy Little—Piano
Bethany McKnight—Piano
Adam O’Donnell—Brass
Mark Portolese—Violin/Piano
Gabriel Renteria*—Oboe
Corlyn Longer Schreck—Voice
Adam Schumaker—Music Theory/Composition/Guitar FUNdamentals
Shannon Scoles—Voice
Silvia Sidorane—Cello
Cathi Smits—Music Together®
Joanna Steinhauser—Violin
Jesse Williams—Clarinet
Michael Wood*—French horn
Sarah Zegree—Accompanist/Piano
Olga Ziabrikova—Viola/Violin
Jackie Zito—Mandolin
