Cristina has been playing the piano since first grade. Thanks to the patience and grace of her piano teachers, she slowly discovered her love for playing the piano, and eventually even majored in music in college (BA in Music Ministry from the University of Sioux...
Rachel Allai moved to Kansas from St. Louis to study wildlife biology at Baker University. She studied classical violin with the Suzuki method during school and found bluegrass fiddle while attending university. She is continuously inspired by the natural world...
Brian Handeland is a versatile and in-demand woodwind musician who is equally at home on all of the different saxophones, flutes, and clarinets. Brian’s musical journey has taken him to numerous countries across Asia (as a member of the pit orchestra for Shrek the...
Music is a wonderful thing to have in our lives, and it has always been my biggest passion. Working with beginners is one of my favorite things because I love sharing the gift of music and introducing others to the thing that has brought so much joy to my life. I...
Meet Alison! We are so excited to welcome this accomplished voice, piano and early childhood music education dynamo to our teaching ranks at Americana Music Academy. Alison has experience both in the public education classroom and teaching private, one-on-one lessons...
Aleia González holds a Master of Music degree in guitar performance from UMKC. As a performance artist, she is constantly seeking for opportunities to collaborate with singers and instrumentalists of the Kansas City area. Part of this personal initiative include...
Vineel is an award winning actor, singer and professional performer with appearances at opera houses and theaters from Hong Kong to New York to Cincinatti to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Trained at NYU and with experience teaching at that prestigious university in New...
Justin Harbaugh is a professional musician and instructor of clarinet in Lawrence, Kansas. He has taught on faculty at Emporia State University. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Clarinet Performance from the University of Kansas in 2019. Justin holds a Master...
Ian Ly is a guitarist in Lawrence who has competed in top flatpicking contests and was a top 5 finalist in the Walnut Valley National championships in Winfield, Kansas. Ian grew up in the Northern California bluegrass scene and has been surrounded by music for most of...
Kendra Switzer is a coloratura soprano from Joplin, MO. New to the Lawrence area, she is pursuing her second masters degree in Musicology at the University of Kansas. She graduated with her first masters degree in Vocal Music Performance from Pittsburg State...
Allen Macfarlane started playing the lap dulcimer in 1980 and the hammered dulcimer in 1997. He’s been giving workshops to beginner through advanced players since the mid 1980s at music festivals, club meetings, and other events across the Midwest. He’s recorded two...
A lifelong musician, Ven grew up in Huntington, IN and has been teaching piano and horn since 2000. Since then they have had the opportunity to work with students of all ages in individual and group settings. Ven studied composition at Oberlin Conservatory, jazz piano...
Jacob Bigus is a singer-songwriter and electric guitarist based in Lawrence, KS. His love of music began at an early age learning to sing prayers with his family at Synagogue. He played clarinet in the various school bands during his years in middle and high school in...
Chad grew up in Lawrence and started his musical journey on the tuba and then electric guitar. He immersed himself in the vibrant local music scene, playing rock n roll and attending many all-ages shows at the Bottleneck. In high school, he picked up the banjo sitting...
Jim has been playing guitar since his teens, and fiddle and banjo since the early 1980s. He has performed and toured with such groups as The 97th Regimental Stringband and The Euphoria Stringband. Jim specializes in finger-picking guitar, old-time contra-dance...
David has played music professionally since junior high school in various groups and styles. His most recent ventures include the Lawrence City Band, Ottawa Symphony, several rock and country dance bands, and a ballroom dance band called the Prairie Dogs. After...
Josephine is a professional bluegrass and country fiddler originally from Kansas but now residing in Nashville, Tennessee. Josie taught at Americana Music Academy previously and is now available for virtual lessons from Music City! Josie has toured regionally and...
Matthew Mulnix is an alternative pop/rock musician from Lawrence, KS. Performing both originals and covers through the filter of coffee shop guitar and vocals, Matthew loves entertaining audiences with his honest, yet accessible live sets. Mulnix has released two...
Michael Paull was born and raised in Ft. Collins, Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. He moved to Lawrence in 1993 ("I thought I'd go see what the horizon looked like.") where he has lived ever since. In January of 2003 he became a staff teacher at the...
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