Instructors

Corey Christensen

Owner/Operator of SoundStream since 2015

Corey Christensen has taught his own brand of music and theatre to children and adults for over 20 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 co-created Klamath Teen Theatre in Klamath Falls, Oregon and was also guest teaching after-school programs for local elementary and middle schools. His garage rock 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 . Soon 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 Administration's’ Children’s Inaugural Ball.

His arts management experience comes from a full production season as office manager for the prestigious Helen Hayes Theatre Awards. Other administrative experience comes from working in various roles with AmericorpsVista, and many other other non-profit organizations and arts related schools and universities.

Prior to moving to Silverton, Corey comes to Silverton Oregon from the Portland/Vancouver area, where he taught music and theatre for over 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 plays under the name 'corey emil' and plays live loop alt rock/electronic solo shows and was recently recently featured as a headlining performer at NW Loopfest in Portland, OR.

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.

Prior to arriving to Silverton, while in Nashville TN area he performed live on WKOM. 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 Reed'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 [email protected]
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. He 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! He is currently working on a full length album and book alongside it. We look forward to reading and listening to it!

Georgia simonson

Miss Georgia Simonson moved to Oregon in 2018 from Minnesota, where she grew up in a musical family. She learned how to play several instruments, including the violin, trumpet, euphonium (baby tuba), and piano, while actively participating in church and school choirs and bands. Her dedication to music was recognized with awards in piano and euphonium during her school years.

In 2016, she earned her Agricultural Education Teaching Degree from the University of Minnesota, while also pursuing cello and voice lessons, playing in college band, and teaching beginning piano. Her passion for music education continued when she began working as a Montessori Teacher in 2019, where she integrated music into the curriculum, particularly through singing with the ukulele.

Miss Georgia believes that music is at the heart of the human experience. As a teacher, she is committed to guiding her students on their unique learning journeys, supporting their creativity with a solid foundation in theory, rhythm, and technical skills.

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.

Jesse Smith

Jesse is delighted to be joining the Soundstream team, where he will offer instruction in guitar, piano, bass, drums, and voice; along with tips about songwriting, music theory, live performances, and recorded productions.

With early experience in classical piano and musical theater, and college studies in music theory, jazz, and piano, guitar, and choral performance, in his mid-twenties Jesse went on to teach music classes to Kindergarten through High School students at a private school in Cairo, Egypt: an adventure of a lifetime.

Back in the States, Jesse has enjoyed performing live with his friends in a variety of musical styles, up and down and all around the Pacific Northwest. In addition to fronting his own bands as the singing lead guitarist, Jesse also held down the groove for years as the bass player in a blues-rock band.

Meanwhile, it’s his interest in multitrack recording that has really motivated Jesse to continue improving his full range of multi-instrumental skills over the years. Jesse has written more than a hundred original songs in a variety of styles, from Celtic to electronica and beyond. On his self-produced albums, he usually plays most of the instruments himself: including bass, drums, keyboards, guitars, voice, and percussion.

From beginner to advanced, classical to pop, folk strummers to metal shredders, all are welcome. As a singer, Jesse admires the vocal stylings of modern artists like John Legend and Amy Winehouse, and can help coach you to sound more like the artists you love, with the throaty growls and the fancy flourishes: in addition to the diaphragm-projection singing style popular in musical theater and choir. Whatever your skill level or musical goals, Jesse is looking forward to teaching you how to learn how to play music (that’s right, not just how to play it, but how to learn how to play it), and how to have fun bringing more music into your life.

Larissa lyon

Larissa Lyon is from Livermore, California and moved to Oregon in 2023. She has been teaching music lessons for 8 years with over 20 years of playing experience for flute, piccolo, alto flute, piano, guitar, bass guitar, and ukulele.

She spent several years performing in the orchestra pit for musicals (the most recent was Les Misérables), marching in parades (including Disneyland), and competing in marching, symphonic, and concert band performances.

Larissa now teaches private one-on-one lessons for flute and piano. She focuses on building strong musicianship skills from the start, including music theory knowledge, understanding of complex rhythms, sight reading new sheet music, and more. Larissa believes that music is magic and hopes to instill a lifelong love for music in all of her students.