Hixson Instructors

Jon Colston – Guitar (Hixson & E Brainerd)
Jon has been teaching music three decades. His focus is on practical music theory and improvisation. Jon has taught guitar and non guitar students his approach to improv. He has toured professionally throughout the U.S. Has recorded with Michelle Young on her Marked For Madness album and toured with Leah Seawright. Jon is currently the lead guitarist for the band Voodoo Slim. Check out Jon’s website.

 

Rachelle Steele – Piano, Violin, Cello, & Viola (Hixson & E Brainerd)
As a young person, Rachelle Steele enjoyed playing violin, viola, and cello in various school and church orchestras. She attributes much of her ability to concentrate and excel in what she does today to those early music education experiences. For this reason, Rachelle is a passionate and encouraging teacher, with a heart to see every one of her students excel. She began accompanying church and youth choirs at only sixteen years old, while touring much of the West Coast, including outdoor arenas in the beautiful Redwood forests of California, where she was able to hone her acoustic folk guitar skills. After graduating from Biola University in La Mirada, California with a major in Christian Education and a minor in Piano, Rachelle went on to accompany and lead various children’s, youth and adult choirs in California and Colorado. Aside from Tennessee, she has taught music in San Jose, California and Colorado Springs, Colorado, where one of her violin students took first chair in the Children’s Symphony Orchestra. She is currently a member of Abba’s Army, the adult choir at Central Baptist Church of Hixson. One of her passions is to join with other church choir every year in an annual Worship Chattanooga event sponsored by the Nehemiah Project. Rachelle has found this event to be a marvelous way to connect with the community through music dance, and other creative arts.

Kelly Ballard – Piano & Voice (Hixson)
Kelly has had a deep love and passion for music her entire life. She began playing the piano at age four, and began singing at age 10. She played the flute in her junior high and high school band, sang in her junior high and high school choirs and was also a member of the Roanoke College Children’s Choir in Roanoke, Virginia. Kelly studied vocal music at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and was a piccolo player in the “Pride of the Southland” Marching Band. In 2005, she was selected as the first and only female Drum Major of the “Pride.” She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music in the fall of 2008. She has since then substitute taught for many musical ensembles in Hamilton County Schools for 2 years and currently works as a teaching assistant at Big Ridge Elementary School. She believes that no one is too young to begin learning an instrument and with that in mind, she is currently learning the guitar. She enjoys bringing the joy of music to all of her students and loves what her students bring to her life.

 

Paul Porceddu – Violin (Hixson & East. Brainerd)
Paul has been teaching violin since 1986. He was Concert Master of an orchestra during the years he lived in Sarasota FL. As a child and early adult he won several state and national level fiddle contests, and appeared with the cast of Hee Haw twice, later he played in different bands of various styles as well. Classical, bluegrass and fiddle music, jazz, blues, folk, improvisation.

 

Jeanni Highlander – Piano, Guitar, Voice, Ukulele and more (Hixson & East Brainerd)
Jeanni earned her BA in Music Education from UTC in 1981 as a clarinet/instrumental music major. In 1982 she began her career with Chattanooga Public Schools and then later with the merged system of Hamilton County. She spent 30 years in Elementary General Music as a certified teacher of grades 1-8 with responsibilities that included teaching beginning band, classroom percussion, Orff instruments, and hand bell ensembles. During this time she has directed numerous musical theater productions and choirs. Jeanni earned her Master of Arts in Education from Tusculum College in 2003. She teaches clarinet, flute, piano, beginning guitar and voice with Music Instruction Studio.

 

John Cook – Piano, Keyboard & Accordion (Hixson)

    There are two ways to play the piano or keyboard. The traditional way to play is by reading music. The alternative way to play is by using chords and lead sheets. Ideally, a musician will learn both ways to play the piano or keyboard. John Cook, who recently joined our teaching staff, utilizes both methods to play. He learned the traditional method by taking nine years of piano instruction. He learned the alternative method by playing in bands and by accompanying singers throughout his life. After retiring from his career in the legal field, John is now teaching students piano and keyboard using both the traditional and alternative methods of playing. For those adults who took piano lessons when they were young, but never learned to simply sit down at a piano and play, John encourages those adults to learn the technique of playing the piano using chords, lead sheets, and improvisation. If you would like to learn how to play a piano or keyboard for singers or for enjoyment without having to read a complicated piece of music, John can teach you how to do that. John played in rock bands when he was young, and in later years led a church band playing contemporary Christian music. He has studied music theory at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and he plays for groups who want to enjoy singing a myriad of different songs in what John calls his “live Karaoke.” John also plays guitar, accordion, and saxophone, and he is available to teach accordion in addition to piano and keyboard.

 

 

Brandon Wade – Guitar (Hixson)

More to come

 

David Fogle – Guitar (Hixson & E. Brainerd)

   David’s formative years were spent playing and recording rock and pop guitar in various groups around the southeastern United States. Intending to broaden his musical perspective, David enrolled at Chattanooga State Community College to study piano and music theory and quickly fell in love with the classical guitar, studying with Adam Hale. David moved to Baltimore to study with renowned pedagogue Ray Chester at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He worked with the entire guitar faculty at Peabody, and has had private lessons and ensemble coachings with Serap Bastepe-Gray, as well as performing in master classes for Julian Gray and Manuel Barrueco.

    David teaches a wide variety of styles of music and is excited to be a part of Music Instruction Studio. The skills one uses learning and playing music are beneficial to the student the rest of his or her life. Beyond that, music is life-changing and fun!

 

Jerry Haynes – Guitar, Bass Piano & Drums  (E Brainerd & Hixson)

Jerry Haynes started playing guitar at the age of 8, after receiving an acoustic guitar as a present from his grandfather. Now, at 50, he is an accomplished musician and teacher with a Professional Certification from Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA and a BA degree in Music Composition and Theory from UTC. He has been teaching private lessons for 27 years. He started out teaching guitar and bass, and now teaches piano, drums and ukelele as well.