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
Brent Decker—Saxophone/Woodwinds/Piano/Accompanist
Beverly Guthrie—Music Together®
Christopher Guthrie—Percussion/Drum Set
Mark Guthrie*—Percussion/Drum Set
Sarah Hedlund—Violin/Viola
Kip Hickman*—Trombone
Melissa Holso—Piano/Accompanist
Patricia Kates—Violin
Micaela Kingslight—Acoustic/Electric Guitar
Penny Kohns—Flute/Piano
Dan Adam Koshelnyk—Piano/Accompanist
Noah Krzan—String Bass
Miles Kusik—Classical Guitar/Mandolin/Ukulele
Susan Lawrence—Piano/Accompanist
Audrey Lipsey—Violin/Executive Director
Stacy Little—Piano
Bethany McKnight—Piano
Mark Portolese—Violin/Piano/Accompanist
Gabriel Renteria*—Oboe
Corlyn Longer Schreck—Voice
Adam Schumaker—Music Theory/Composition/Guitar/Trumpet
Shannon Scoles—Voice/Piano
Mira Shifrin—Flute/Piccolo
Cori Somers—Violin
Thalea Davis Stokes—String Bass
Laura Tribby—Trumpet
Jesse Willliams—Clarinet
Michael Wood*—French Horn
Sarah Zegree—Piano/Accompanist
Olga Ziabrikova—Viola/Violin
Jackie Zito—Mandolin
