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Aaron O'Keefe, Owner
Like many musicians,
Aaron started studying music to impress a girl.
Wayyyy back in 4th
grade a girl named Katie played piano and Aaron figured that the best way to
get her attention was to also play piano. So he asked his mom for
lessons and diligently began learning such classics as "London Bridge" and
"Mary Had A Little Lamb". He even wrote a love song or two :)
But one day he said to
his Mom, "I'd like to quit lessons now." After she stopped laughing, his
mom said, "You made a commitment to the piano. Let's give it a little more
time." Years later, he learned that "a little more time" is a very vague
term that apparently lasts anywhere from a few minutes to 9 years.
Fortunately, Aaron grew
to enjoy music, eventually studying voice, guitar, drums, double bass,
vibraphone, clarinet and saxophone.
At
St. Xavier High School he studied music theory, joined several bands and performed
at Bogarts, Sudsy's, Southgate House, Never on Sundays and The Mad Frog. In
1996, although very passionate about music, Aaron decided to pursue a
bachelors degree in Secondary English Education at Miami University.
After graduating from
Miami University Aaron taught for 4 years at Mount Notre Dame High School.
In addition to teaching American Literature, World Literature and a film
class, Aaron was the music director for litigurical services, providing
praise and worship music for school functions.
In 2004 Aaron realized that
he didn't want to teach The Scarlet Letter for the millionth time or set his
alarm ever again. So, he decided to pursue a career in music.
He began
teaching private lessons out of his home and through word of mouth built a
successful studio. After careful research and planning he opened
Maineville Music Academy in the spring of
'08.
"Ultimately, I want the
lessons and recitals to develop the students' confidence and self-esteem.
Every four months I ask them to perform in front of a crowd of more than a
two hundred people. Many of them even sing for the first time.
In my opinion, moments like these can be life changing and give students the
courage they need to succeed in sports, academics and beyond."
Piano and Voice
Emily Wood
 Emily
Wood received a Bachelor
of Music degree in Vocal
Performance from the
Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory of Music in
2008 and has been teaching private voice & piano lessons since 2005. It has
been Emily’s life-long dream to bring the joy of music and performance to
others. “Though my training is classically-based, I believe every type of
music starts with the same basics. No matter what your personal goals are
for your lessons, it is my goal to help you achieve them.”
Her mother, a high school band director, and father, a professional trumpet
player and amateur opera singer, assured she was surrounded by music as soon
as she was born. Emily began playing the clarinet at 8 years old, and later
learned piano, oboe, and English horn. She also played the xylophone in her
high school marching band. After seeing musicals at the high school for
which her mother worked, Emily fell in love with the stage. She began
performing on stage at the age of 13, and shortly thereafter began studying
voice and drama.
Emily has performed with both the Cleveland and Dayton
Opera companies professionally and has performed several roles in opera,
music theater, and classic theater over the past 13 years. Overall, she has
performed in over 30 stage productions. She hopes to continue her education
to the master’s and doctorate levels within the coming years. Ultimately,
it is her aim to teach private lessons, teach at the collegiate level, and
to continue to perform professionally.
Drums
Eric Blume
 Eric
Blume’s years of dedication to drumming and music, has inspired many
students and fans. Fulfilling an early interest in recording, he founded The
Rubber Room Recording Studio in the early ‘nineties, recording a significant
number local and national acts from the blues scene and beyond. His
association with Columbus Americana Bluesman Ray Fuller began shortly after
a stint with Columbus Icon Willie Pooch. and found him not only drumming for
the veteran rocker but also engineering three of his albums including, “Pearlene,”
“Twist of Fate,” and ” Live @ The Thirsty Ear.”
As a student of the art
of drumming and music, it is Eric's goal to continue to work with veterans
of the music world. Eric also enjoys sharing what he has learned with his
students, in the hopes that they will have similar kinds of positive
experiences.
Piano, Drums and Voice
Kristin Agee
Kristin Agee has been studying music since she was 8 years old. She
began playing drum set and piano when she was ten years old, and started
performing with her parents and brother at the age of 12. Since then,
she has studied many styles of music, from classical to rock, and has
performed all over the world.
Kristin holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts and an Masters of Music degree
from The Ohio University. She
has been awarded scholarships to study in Toronto, Canada with the
percussion group Nexus, and to study in France at the Academie de
Musicale Villecroze with Sandeep Das and Mark Suter of the Silk Road
Ensemble. She has had lessons with Jim Rupp, Aurthur Lipner, Payton
MacDonald, William Sallak, and Bill Albin, and has studied most
intensively with Roger Braun and Guy Remonko at Ohio University.
Kristin has performed with artists such as the Ethos Percussion group,
Bernard Woma (Ghanaian Gyil Master), and jazz drummer/composer Roland
Vasquez. Currently Kristin performs as one half of the Agee/Van Hassel
percussion Duo, who were invited to perform at the Percussive Art
Society International Convention in 2007. She performs regularly with
the Hamilton Fairfield Symphony Orchestra and the Ohio Valley Symphony
Orchestra. She is also the drummer and backing vocalist for the rock
group A Fragile Design.
Her
eight years of
teaching experience includes private lessons, master classes, music
workshops, and marching band drum line and pit instruction. The
McGuffey Music Camp, which she started in 2006 in Oxford, Ohio, is
anticipating its biggest program yet in 2008.
Kristin teaches drum set, snare drum,
voice, piano, vibraphone, and hand
percussion. She teaches students as young as 6 years old
and of all ability levels on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at MMA. For
more information about her policies please click
here.
Testimonials
"Kristin
has been teaching piano to my 7 year old and I have been very pleased
with the progress I have seen my daughter making in her piano skills and
musical knowledge. Kristin is a talented musician and seems to be very
natural teacher. She has a very calm and positive demeanor and does her
best to motivate and encourage her students to do their best. My
daughter is enjoying her musical lessons at Maineville Music academy and
is making great strides
under Kristin's guidance." --Robin Johnson
"We are
relatively new to the Music Academy but we have been very pleased with
how the lessons are going. The Music Academy in Maineville is one of the
best kept secrets. It was only after I started to look around
for something different from the
school band experience that I found the Academy. My son is
taking drum lessons right now and is enjoying himself." --Jeff
Goodman
"Ryan LOVES
your lessons! He comes home all excited about the drums, and he raves about
the CDs and music you share with him. As a mother, I am tickled to see my
child learning to read and play music. Thank You!" --Amy Davis
"Kristin Agee is an excellent percussion
teacher! She obviously loves to teach drums and it shows in our son's
continued interest in his lessons. She makes it fun for the young
student while providing real knowledge about playing an instrument. She
does a great job with communication both after each lesson and through
email regarding business matters. Kristin rocks!" --Kim Riekena
Piano and Trumpet
Rachel Clair
 Rachel
Clair holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Carnegie Mellon University and
has been studying piano and trumpet for nearly twenty years. A native of
Rochester, New York, Rachel has studied trumpet and piano with some of the
finest teachers in the upstate New York area, several of which currently
serve on the faculty of the world-renowned Eastman School of Music. She has
studied piano with several prominent teachers in Rochester and at Carnegie
Mellon University and trumpet with Herb Smith of the Rochester Philharmonic,
jazz trumpeter Clay Jenkins, and George Vosburgh, Principal Trumpet of the
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Rachel comes from a musical family and was constantly surrounded by music at
home. Her father (and Rachel's first brass teacher) co-founded Swing Shift,
a highly successful big band in the Rochester area that can be heard at
numerous high-profile corporate functions, outdoor summer festivals, and
other outlets. As a young trumpet player, Rachel performed for several
years with the prestigious Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and
toured with the Hochstein Youth Symphony Orchestra through Austria. After
high school, Rachel continued her musical studies at Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh, PA, where she performed with such varied and
diverse groups as the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic, the Carnegie Mellon Wind
Symphony, the Carnegie Mellon Jazz Ensemble, and several chamber ensembles.
As a member of those groups, she performed everything from Stravinsky's Rite
of Spring in Pittsburgh's famed Heinz Hall to staples of the wind ensemble,
contemporary jazz ensemble, and brass quintet literature.
Rachel brings a wealth of musical experience to teaching and hopes to share
that passion and invaluable insight with young students. Rachel has over
five years of teaching experience and has taught private students of all
levels in classical and jazz piano, trumpet, general music, composition, and
music theory.
Guitar
Michael Pringle
 The
magic of music showed up early in Michael’s life; specifically in the person
of a Chicago Symphony Orchestra string player, who demo’ed the instruments
of the Viol family. Michael decided he HAD to play the viola, because it
sounded so incredible! Fast-forward through Suzuki string classes,
elementary school and onward to junior and senior high school, with private
lessons for most of this time. Michael’s orchestra conductor began pestering
him to consider going to music camps like Interlochen, getting one of the
“right” teachers, and getting on the road to CCM for classical music.
However, at about 13 years old, Michael had concurrently taken up… the…
guitar. Concentration on private lessons and viola practice began to fade,
and playing the guitar began occupying every spare moment.
Michael has studied jazz theory with several wonderful teachers, including
CCM Theory & Composition grad Keith Bowers, and Rick Fitzgerell of the
Manhattan School of Music. He has played in several blues, pop and country
cover bands, and currently is working with a keyboard collaborator, writing
and recording original music in the project studio in his home; Michael is
also a pro-level slide guitar player. He is also responsible for the dubious
scientific discovery that if you have played for four hours, you can put
toothache gel on the tips of your fingers, and play for another four hours.
“I feel that any song that the student would love to be able to play can be
a jumping-off point for learning not only the song, but also the ‘nuts and
bolts’ of how music works, and different techniques their favorite players
may be using. There is a magic to seeing someone’s favorite song come
together under their fingers, and realizing, ‘This is how my favorite song
is really played!’”
Guitar and Piano
Jeremy Singer
 Jeremy
Singer has been performing music in the Cincinnati area for the past
sixteen years and studying music nearly all of his life. There actually
are home movies of infant Jeremy groovin' to The Beatles in the middle
of the living room carpet.
At age 8, Jeremy began piano lessons with some reluctance. His father
explained to him that if he first learned the fundamentals of music on
piano he would be better prepared to play any instrument. At age 12,
Jeremy discovered the guitar and drums. He first learned folk and bluegrass styles, and then the blues. These
were closely followed by the classic rock of the 60's and 70's.
Jeremy began high school at Cincinnati's School for Creative and
Performing Arts where he studied classical guitar and music theory. He
played guitar with the school's jazz band, music theater band, and for a
number of other productions before graduating in 1993. At age 16, Jeremy
joined an original rock band with some older friends and began playing
in local and regional clubs and bars. This would be the first of many
such groups which resulted in a smattering of self releases and many
fond memories.
After spending two years at University of Cincinnati's College
Conservatory of Music, Jeremy decided to turn his focus on learning the
recording arts. In 1998, he attended The Recording Workshop in
Chillicothe, OH. After completing the course, Jeremy was
given a position as a paid intern at the school and was allowed to study
and teach for an additional four months. He left Chillicothe with a
renewed appreciation for music as well as a strong understanding of how
records past and present are made.
Jeremy has been writing and recording his own music for the past ten
years and has learned to play bass, banjo, lap steel, dulcimer, and
mandolin. But guitar and piano have remained his true loves. In Spring of 2006
he began giving private lessons to a friend and quickly realized that
teaching offered yet another fulfilling way to enjoy music. Since then
Jeremy has been sharing his knowledge with contagious enthusiasm. He has
taught guitar and piano from beginner to intermediate levels and from age 9 to age
50. Jeremy is committed to exciting his students about music and
inspiring them to play. He does this by teaching the fundamentals
through each individual's favorite style of music.
Jeremy teaches on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Testimonials
"After choosing MMA
for our son's guitar
lessons
we were excited to have our son begin lessons with Jeremy.
Throughout the lessons, he has been very patient, positive, and
motivating to our 9 year old son. Jeremy gives our son the individual
attention our son needs to stay interested as he continues to learn the
basics of guitar." --Jenny Chacon
"Jeremy Singer is a
very talented musician, especially with the guitar, and seems to truly
enjoy sharing his love of music with his students. He is a patient,
flexible and enthusiastic teacher and seems to work well with students
of all ages. He has a unique ability to meet the student on their level
and is very attuned to their interests which helps him to encourage and
inspire young musicians to develop their talents. His style is very
positive and personable and he clearly conveys to the students that he
is excited about and engaged in their personal development as musicians.
He truly seems to enjoy working with the kids and has really helped to
minimize any anxieties my daughter had about getting started learning to
play the guitar. Maineville Music Academy
will be sure to keep their reputation glowing and maintain their already
successful track record if they continue to keep teachers like Jeremy on
the front line guiding and inspiring our children in their exploration
and development of their musical talents and interests." --Robin
Johnson
"We have nothing but
good things to say...Both my husband and I feel you truly have a gift-
both with your guitar and your abilities with children. We are blown
away by Jacob's progress, and truly appreciate your skills and
patience. He absolutely loves that you give him popular songs to work
on- and he feels like a star after each lesson. We feel very lucky
to have found you as his guitar teacher." --Jennifer Boldman
"Jeremy Singer is a really cool guy. What I like about taking lessons
with him is that he helps me learn my guitar better and he has really
fun ways to do that. He challenges me to play harder songs and helps me
learn something if I don't understand it. He picks out the kind of music
that I like and also gives me examples of music that I haven't heard
before. I like his laid back style of teaching." --Kevin Geohagen
Music Transcription
Dan Willard
 We're
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