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Piano Player

  Our Teachers   

 Music Teachers   

 Pat Ahrens 

Percussion / Drums / Vibraphone – Pat Ahrens graduated from Bellarmine in 2014 with the first-awarded Bachelor of Music degree – Emphasis in Percussion Performance. He has previously taught at St. James Elementary school in the Highlands as music instructor. Pat has performed extensively as percussionist with orchestras and classical ensembles around the Louisville area, including the Louisville Civic Orchestra and Orchestra Enigmatic. His studies with renowned vibraphonist Dick Sisto have led to several opportunities to perform with this local music legend. Pat’s main musical influences are Red Norvo, Milt Jackson, Gary Burton, Chick Corea, and Bill Evans.

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 Sarah Barry 

Voice -- Sarah Barry is a recent graduate of Bellarmine University. She graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance where she studied under Dr. Mark Kano. While an undergraduate, she was part of Kentucky Opera's chorus for their production of Puccini's La bohème. She also spent a summer in Wichita Falls, TX with Red River Lyric Opera performing in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. Throughout her many years in choir, she was a featured soprano soloist for multiple works including Orff's Carmina Burana. She is an avid lover of Musical Theater as well as Classical voice. Sarah is thrilled to be teaching voice!

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 Christina Booker 

Voice -- Christina Booker is a recent graduate of the University of Louisville where she received her MM in Vocal Performance. She recently performed as a soloist for Bach’s Magnificat in D major and Vivaldi’s Gloria in D major at the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica and performed as a Guest Artist with Kentucky Opera’s educational tour of Oh! Freedom!. Her opera roles include Belinda in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Veronique in Bizet’s Le Docteur Miracle, Aline in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Sorcerer, and Amanda/Ameliora in Sterling Tinsley’s Daniel and the Dreamcatcher. She has also been a featured soloist in choral masterworks such as Mozart’s Requiem in D minor. Christina served for two years as a member and soloist with North Alabama’s SOLAS, which performed across North Alabama and Mississippi. She also holds a Master’s in Education with a concentration in Kodály Music Education from Loyola University in Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama.

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 Brady DeWitt 

Guitar - Brady DeWitt is a guitarist who studied with Craig Wagner at Bellarmine University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Guitar Performance in 2021. He studied jazz during his undergrad, but also has a deep love for other genres such as blues, rock, and metal. Brady also has been teaching while achieving his Bachelors and found a love for the art. Brady finds teaching to be fun, challenging, and rewarding all while making himself a better person and guitar player.

 Hank Evans 

Piano - Hank Evans is a 2013 graduate of Bellarmine University with degrees in Piano Pedagogy & Accompanying and Jazz Studies.  In 2016, he earned a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Louisville.  Hank has been teaching piano lessons in the Louisville area for over ten years and currently serves as the Director of Worship and Music for Holy Trinity Parish in St. Matthews.  When he isn't teaching, he performs with local groups including Tony and the Tan Lines, 64West, The Players Club, and Funkasaurus.

 Jane Halliday 

Violin (Classical and Jazz) – Violinist Jane Halliday, is a versatile musician with extensive performance experience in a variety of musical genres. She studied violin with Paul Kling, Philipp Naegele, Peter McHugh, and Timothy Baker, and has performed with orchestras and ensembles throughout Kentucky.
She has a B.A. in English from Smith College, and a B.M. in Music Performance and an M.A. in
Humanities and Civic Leadership, both from the University of Louisville.


Jane’s professional expertise ranges from solo performance to work with various chamber
ensembles and orchestras in Kentucky. She frequently plays in ensembles supporting artists
such as Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban, and Rachel Grimes, and can be found in ‘the pit” of the
Broadway Series at the KY Ctr for the Arts. Jane is a founding member of the Carnegie Quartet
(carnegiequartet.com), an outstanding string quartet based in Lexington KY. She also plays gypsy
jazz (swing39.com) and collaborates on original music written by her singer/songwriter sister,
Marion Halliday (trickstersister.com). Find out more about Jane and listen to her music at Jane
Halliday@YouTube.

 Dr. Louie Hehman 

Piano / Program Director – Louie Hehman serves assistant professor of piano and music theory at Bellarmine University, as well as director of the Preparatory Music Program. Dr. Hehman is highly active as a performer, educator, clinician, and researcher, and has performed or presented at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), the MTNA Collegiate Symposium, and the Indiana, Kentucky, and South Carolina Music Teacher's Association State Conferences. He is also a two-time recipient of the Steinway and Sons Top Teacher Award, and in 2021 was awarded a gold medal in the Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition.

 

In 2018, Dr. Hehman spent a summer studying in Vienna, Austria under acclaimed Schubert interpreter Hafez Babashahi, and in the same year participated in the South Carolina premier of Leonard Bernstein's MASS. In summer 2022, he received an appointment to teach at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. Important teachers have included Charles Fugo, Kate Boyd, and Meme Tunnell; pedagogy mentors have included Sara Ernst, Scott Price, and MTNA president Karen Thickstun. Louie has an interest in both jazz and classical styles, and in addition to his coursework at South Carolina also holds an MM degree in piano pedagogy from Butler University and BA degrees in Music and History from Bellarmine University.

 Todd Hildreth 

Jazz Piano - Todd Hildreth is instructor of jazz piano at Bellarmine University where he also teaches courses in Jazz, Pop, and Rock History. Todd's musical interest began with the accordion at 10, and moved to Jerry Lee Lewis, Frank Zappa and Queen at 12. He enrolled at Bellarmine University in 1985 with the intention of becoming an English teacher, but discovered Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett by the end of his first semester and has never looked back. He has founded or been in collaboration with groups such as The Java Men, King Kong, Liberation Prophecy, Squeeze-bot, Vgroove, The Louisville Improvisors, and the Todd Hildreth trio. He teaches at the annual Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops, leads the music program at Ascension Lutheran Church, and is the musical director for The WHAS Crusade for Children's annual telethon. Todd has performed or recorded with Don Braden, Stephanie Courtney (Flo from the Progressive commercials), Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, Dave Liebman, Rufus Reid, Joan Rivers, Bobby Shew, Dave Stryker, and many others.

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 Dr. Anna Johnson 

Piano – Dr. Anna Vander Boon Johnson is an accomplished pianist and flutist who is committed to community engagement and bringing music to the underserved. She has volunteered as a music teacher in San José, Costa Rica, led a musical instrument workshop for local children in Haiti, performed a solo recital for the disabled in Valencia, Spain, and taught for Portland Piano Program, which partners with a local school to provide free lessons for underprivileged students in Louisville’s west end. Dr. Johnson earned a BA in Music and completed Dr. Helen Marlais’ Piano Pedagogy Certification at Grand Valley State University, received two MM degrees from the University of Louisville, both in Piano Performance and Pedagogy and in Flute Performance, and recently graduated from Texas Tech University with a DMA in Piano Pedagogy, which she supplemented with a Graduate Certificate in Collaborative Piano. In 2022, Anna was certified by Music Teachers National Association as a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music.

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 Elise Major 

Piano – Elise received her Bachelor of Music in Piano Pedagogy and Accompanying from Bellarmine University, where she studied piano under Meme Tunnell and Dr. Louie Hehman and cello under Allison Olsen. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Piano Performance under Dr. Anna Petrova at the University of Louisville. Elise is a member of the Music Teachers National Association and has presented research at local meetings and state conferences. In addition to her work with the Bellarmine Prep Program, Elise teaches piano and cello lessons at Christian Academy of Louisville, where she also leads cello sectionals and works in special education.

 Terry O'Mahoney 

Drums - Terry O’Mahoney is Adjunct Professor of Music at Bellarmine University, where he teaches Jazz Drums, Applied Percussion, Rock Drums, Percussion Ensemble, and Jazz Combo. He is an active performer in the Louisville area with various jazz and classical ensembles, including the Louisville Orchestra. He was formerly a Professor of Music at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish (Nova Scotia, Canada), where he taught classical and jazz drumming, World Music, and directed the Latin Jazz, Percussion Ensemble, and small jazz ensembles. He is active as a performer, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the US and Canada. He holds a B.M.Ed. from the University of Louisville and a Masters in Jazz Performance from the University of Miami (FL). He also studied privately with jazz drumming legend Jeff Hamilton (Los Angeles, CA). He has performed on drumset with numerous jazz artists (Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Phil Woods, Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Heath, Lew Soloff, and others) in addition to his frequent symphonic performances with Symphony Nova Scotia (Halifax, NS) on percussion and drum set. He has three books in print - Motivic Drumset Soloing, Jazz Drumming Transitions, and 100 Essential Drumset Lessons - for the Hal Leonard Corporation. His articles have appeared in Modern Drummer and Percussive Notes magazines and his compositions have been published by Per-Mus Publications. He plays Vic Firth drumsticks and Crescent Cymbals exclusively.

 Asia Vincent 

Piano -  Asia Vincent is a recent graduate from the University of Louisville where she received her Bachelor’s of Music with an emphasis in Music Therapy. Her principal instrument of study was piano under the guidance and teaching of Dr. Anna Petrova and Dr. Naomi Oliphant. Asia loves discovering the joy of music-making with students, and has taught private lessons to beginner piano students throughout her college career. In the summer of 2021 she had the privilege of teaching the summer music program in Portland, Louisville to students from underserved families. 

 

Asia has been a member of the National Guild – Teachers Division of American College of Musicians for the past three years in order to give her students the opportunity to challenge themselves by presenting their pieces to a judge annually. Asia is also currently serving as Treasurer for the Greater Louisville Music Teachers Association. She is extremely grateful and excited to be working with Bellarmine’s Prep Program to bring music to more students and families.   

 Theater Teachers 

 Megan Burnett 

Megan Burnett (Actor, acting teacher, director) is BU’s Theatre Program Director.  She studied at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Shakespeare & Company and with John Basil of American Globe Theatre.  She was a teaching artist for Kentucky Shakespeare Festival and Folger Shakespeare Library.  She received her MFA in Theatre from the University of Louisville.  Megan will offer one-on-one acting classes in contemporary, classical, and Shakespeare styles.  Group acting classes in scene work will be offered when possible.

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