Corey Christensen

Corey Christensen has taught his own brand of music and theatre to children and adults for over 15 years. Corey was born and raised in southern Oregon where he spent his youth performing live music and theatre on stages like the Ross Ragland Theatre, The Linkville Playhouse, Oregon Stage Works, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has been playing the guitar and drums, as well as acting and directing, since he was 12 years old. As a teenager he created Klamath Teen Theatre in Klamath Falls, Oregon and was also guest teaching after-school programs for local elementary and middle schools. His band in high school, “4 out of 5 Dentists” won several talent shows in Klamath Falls Oregon. After High School he went on to work on movie sets as a Production Assistant in Hollywood and continued to play music up and down the West Coast.
After completing his BA in Sound Design and Theatre for Youth at The Evergreen State College, Corey worked for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland Children’s Theatre and ran his own puppetry company “steppuP Puppets”. He has also worked for The Helen Hayes Theatre Awards in Washington DC, Blue Sky Puppet Theatre in Maryland, and Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp in Steamboat Springs Colorado. While working for Blue Sky Puppets he was honored to perform for the Obama Administrations’ Children’s Inaugural Ball.
Prior to moving to Silverton, Corey comes to Silverton Oregon from the Portland/Vancouver area, where taught music and theatre for the last 6 years at places like Musical Beginnings in Vancouver Washington and Full Life in Portland Oregon. Corey believes in the power of mentoring, loves puppetry, plays the drums, guitar, bass, ukulele, banjo, and keys. Notably, Corey's old bluegrass band, took 1st place in 2010 at the Spirit Mountain Casino “Country Ruckus” competition. He's also recently played and performed with other Country/Americana/Blues bands in the area.
Currently, Corey also currently serves on the board of directors for the Silverton Country Historical Society. Corey is a proud husband and father, he wouldn't be who he is without his wife Shana, his son Brant, and his daughter Sephy!
After completing his BA in Sound Design and Theatre for Youth at The Evergreen State College, Corey worked for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland Children’s Theatre and ran his own puppetry company “steppuP Puppets”. He has also worked for The Helen Hayes Theatre Awards in Washington DC, Blue Sky Puppet Theatre in Maryland, and Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp in Steamboat Springs Colorado. While working for Blue Sky Puppets he was honored to perform for the Obama Administrations’ Children’s Inaugural Ball.
Prior to moving to Silverton, Corey comes to Silverton Oregon from the Portland/Vancouver area, where taught music and theatre for the last 6 years at places like Musical Beginnings in Vancouver Washington and Full Life in Portland Oregon. Corey believes in the power of mentoring, loves puppetry, plays the drums, guitar, bass, ukulele, banjo, and keys. Notably, Corey's old bluegrass band, took 1st place in 2010 at the Spirit Mountain Casino “Country Ruckus” competition. He's also recently played and performed with other Country/Americana/Blues bands in the area.
Currently, Corey also currently serves on the board of directors for the Silverton Country Historical Society. Corey is a proud husband and father, he wouldn't be who he is without his wife Shana, his son Brant, and his daughter Sephy!
Michael Paul Reed

Michael Paul is a guitarist and singer/songwriter from northeast Wisconsin. Over the past 20 years Michael has performed a variety of events averaging well over 100 performances a year to include: festivals, weddings, funerals, benefits assisted living and memory care facilities, coffee houses and clubs. He recently performed live on WKOM in Columbia, TN during his stay in the Nashville area. Michael has many years of experience working in a professional studio setting as a recording artist, producer and engineer, most recently recording a full length EP at Pearl Studio in Canton, MI. After two years of independently touring the Midwest, Michael has decided that Oregon will be a great place to settle and share his talents. Michael studied music at the University of Wisconsin in Marinette under David Geibler. In addition to this, he has studied under a personal guitar coaches and has been furthering his musical education daily ever since. The drive behind Michael Paul's creative energy is to inspire others to set and achieve personal goals in music writing, performance, recording, and in daily living. Check out some of Michael’s music by going to his artist page facebook@michaelfcmusic.com
Michael teaches guitar, ukulele, piano, and drums.
Michael teaches guitar, ukulele, piano, and drums.
Ed Kopp

MUSICIAN/SINGER/SONGWRITER/INSTRUCTOR
Ed has over 25 years professional playing, recording and teaching experience on guitar and bass, he has been successfully gigging in bands since the age of 14. He can play multiple styles (rock, blues, jazz funk, folk) on guitar and bass and has been writing songs for almost forty years. Ed is a very a fun and engaging performer. Over the past 25 years he has taught hundreds of students from ages 6 to 60 on guitar and bass. Ed aims to provide a fun relaxed atmosphere for each student that fosters learning and growth. Can play and teach all the rhythm section instruments (guitar, bass, drums, vocals). In addition to his amazing music instruction Ed also wrote, produced and directed his own short film “Deadbeat” about a band in addition to composing all the music in his film!
Ed has over 25 years professional playing, recording and teaching experience on guitar and bass, he has been successfully gigging in bands since the age of 14. He can play multiple styles (rock, blues, jazz funk, folk) on guitar and bass and has been writing songs for almost forty years. Ed is a very a fun and engaging performer. Over the past 25 years he has taught hundreds of students from ages 6 to 60 on guitar and bass. Ed aims to provide a fun relaxed atmosphere for each student that fosters learning and growth. Can play and teach all the rhythm section instruments (guitar, bass, drums, vocals). In addition to his amazing music instruction Ed also wrote, produced and directed his own short film “Deadbeat” about a band in addition to composing all the music in his film!
kevin kelley

Kevin recently moved to Oregon from Texas after spending 28 years working for Kilgore College, first as Music Director, programming 16 hours of classical music per day for the radio station KTPB-FM, then moving up to the Music Department upon completing his Masters in Music from Stephen F. Austin State University, where he taught private guitar, bass and composition lessons, as well as Music Appreciation (online and in the classroom) Popular American Music and Desktop Recording. While at Kilgore College, Kevin also led a Jazz Combo & Guitar Ensemble. A bassist by trade, Kevin has taught guitar lessons, bass lessons, jazz and improvisation, piano, and recording technology as well as leading various ensembles. Prior to academia, Kevin taught music lessons at several organizations in and around the Lubbock Texas area. Since moving to Oregon, Kevin has quickly established himself as an in-demand bassist playing for such artists as The Pat Stilwell Band, The Andrew Matthews Band and the Jenny Moriarity Experience. As a side project, Kevin has recently launched a solo act, singing some of his favorite songs accompanied by his nylon string guitar. He is excited to have another music instructional opportunity here in Silverton Oregon and is eager to take on as many students as he can handle!
Michaela VanCorbach
Michaela is a music therapist who grew up in Salem, Oregon. She was introduced to music early in her childhood and joined choir and band in grade school. Flute being her primary instrument, she played through high school and college. She attended Marylhust University (now closed) and Pacific University to earn her bachelor's degree in Music Therapy and a minor in Spanish. Music therapy is the clinical use of music and its elements to foster growth in non-musical areas, like communication, socialization, movement, and more. As part of her education Michaela studied abroad in Argentina where she lived with a host family for 5 months and performed with the city's orchestra. After finishing coursework, she completed her music therapy internship at Music Works Northwest in Bellevue, Washington. As part of her clinical training, Michaela spent 1200 supervised hours working with neurodiverse children, teens, and adults in one-on-one sessions, group sessions, adapted lessons, and early childhood music classes. Along with the flute, Michaela plays guitar, piano, and ukulele. As a music therapist Michaela is trained to serve peoples of all neurotypes. The term "neurodivergent" refers to any person who thinks, learns, processes information, or sees the world differently from what society views as "typical". This includes Autism, ADHD, Down Syndrome, PTSD, anxiety, learning disabilities, sensory processing differences, and more. Michaela is passionate about music and provides opportunities for students to develop their own passion for music, whether it be reading music, learning favorite songs, songwriting, or something else. Lessons or classes with Michaela may look different than traditionally taught music lessons.
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Nate deshler

Nate Deshler is a pianist and bassoonist from Los Angeles, California. He moved to Oregon after spending nine years in New Orleans, Louisiana, majoring in bassoon performance at Loyola University New Orleans, and performing around the city on the piano, mostly playing jazz. Nate began teaching lessons online when Covid interrupted live music opportunities, and
enjoyed sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge with students. He has focused primarily on the Jazz and Classical styles, but has experience across a wide range of music, from bluegrass to rock, and enjoys discovering new artists. Nate currently plays the bassoon in multiple groups in Salem, including the Salem Pops and Salem Symphony, and performs frequently on the piano, solo and with the group Tune Tours, throughout the Willamette Valley. He hopes to help students gain more understanding of how music works in order to get more enjoyment and fulfillment out of playing!
enjoyed sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge with students. He has focused primarily on the Jazz and Classical styles, but has experience across a wide range of music, from bluegrass to rock, and enjoys discovering new artists. Nate currently plays the bassoon in multiple groups in Salem, including the Salem Pops and Salem Symphony, and performs frequently on the piano, solo and with the group Tune Tours, throughout the Willamette Valley. He hopes to help students gain more understanding of how music works in order to get more enjoyment and fulfillment out of playing!
Matt Chaney

Born and raised in Portland, Matt Chaney has been performing and teaching throughout Oregon and SW Washington for over 20 years. He has spent the past several years teaching drumlines, concert percussion and drumset at schools in the Salem and Portland area. As a performer, Matt has recently appeared with Big Horn Brass, Portland Wind Symphony, Portland State University Wind Ensemble and PSU Percussion Ensemble. A Veteran of the Military, Matt served in the 234th Army Band playing all different styles from ceremonial snare drum to jazz, rock, blues and classical. Matt earned his BA in Percussion Performance from Graceland University and is currently pursuing a Masters in Education from George Fox University.
In his free time, Matt likes to be outdoors with his wife, Kezia and 2 wonderful daughters, Delilah and Stella.
In his free time, Matt likes to be outdoors with his wife, Kezia and 2 wonderful daughters, Delilah and Stella.
SARAH SCHMIDT

Sarah is an actor, director and teacher of the theatrical arts; and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Performing Arts from Portland State University. She has taught theater and directed students ranging from elementary to elders, with a concentration on character development, relationship building and scene study. Sarah believes that strong interpersonal respect produces high quality experiences for both the actors and their audience. Sarah has performed in numerous plays from Oregon to California to Sydney, Australia. She has been a part of workshops in development for stage production, including writing and directing for Well Arts Institute in Portland, OR. She has been an actor for simulation with The National College of Natural Medicine and produced/directed for middle and high school plays and musicals. Some of Sarah’s favorite endeavors have been with Teens & Company, Imago, Portland State University, The Back Door Theatre and The Fabulous Monsters. Originally from Portland, Oregon Sarah grew up in an artistic home. Her love and passion for the theater began at a young age as her parents were educated in and taught European theatricals. Sarah is a loving Mother of two children who resides in Silverton with her husband. She is excited about future endeavors with the artists of this community.