We're thrilled to announce the newest additions to our talented teaching team here at AWSOM! As our community continues to grow, so does our commitment to offering top-notch music education across a variety of instruments and styles. Each of these passionate educators brings their own unique experience, energy, and love for music to our school—and we can't wait for you to meet them.
Whether you're picking up an instrument for the first time or preparing for your next big performance, our new instructors are here to help guide and inspire you on your musical journey. Let's give a warm welcome to our five newest faculty members!
Matt is a Boston native who moved to Seattle 11 years ago. He has been writing and performing his entire life, beginning as a choir member at the age of 6, and as a cast member in a perhaps better-forgotten public theater rendition of the Pirates of Penzance in 1997. From there, he went on to learn guitar so that he could accompany himself and perform alone. When he was 20, he dropped out of school to become the lead singer of a local Massachusetts band called Silhouette Rising, only to break off on his own and become a full-time solo act by the time he was 21.
He moved to Seattle in 2014, and ever since then has been writing, performing, teaching and encouraging other musicians of all ages. You can find him at Pike Place Market performing on a weekly basis, or at a local farmers market, or at one of many public parks in the Seattle metro area through the Parks Department's Busking program. Not only can he offer his students the opportunity for more confidence (and therefore more enjoyment) with musical performance through his decades of experience, but he also offers recording services for students who want to create lasting mementos, high-quality demos, or who simply need collaboration to make their creative project a reality.
Zoey is an experienced vocalist in the Redmond area who’s deeply passionate about both music and teaching. She has over a decade of professional voice training, primarily in classical and improvisational jazz. She’s vocally performed dozens of times over the last fifteen years with big bands, jazz combos, classical pianists, and acoustically with her own five string banjo.
Zoey loves to teach and has years of experience doing so for children and adults. She’s able to communicate with a wide variety of personality types to ensure that she can tailor lessons for each student to make said lessons both enjoyable and informative. Zoey is happy to accept students of all skill levels and has experience working with neurodivergent students.
As a classically trained violinist and composer, and a veteran of the multimedia industry, Alex provides a uniquely broad view of music and its integration with the broader media landscape. Alex graduated with high honors from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance with a Bachelors of Music in Violin Performance. He has composed extensively for the violin as well as works for chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras. In addition to violin and composition, Alex has also performed as a baritone and bass in both classical and barbershop choruses.
Always intent on giving back, Alex has taught both individual lessons and in classroom settings both in the US and Japan. He always aims to give his students not only a greater knowledge and appreciation for music, but the foundations necessary to continue learning and playing healthily for a lifetime.
Katelyn started playing piano at the age of 2 years old and began taking lessons by the age of 5. By 7 years old she started playing guitar. By the age of 12 she was writing her own songs. She went to Cornish College of the Arts in 2004 and received her Bachelors Degree in music, where she focused on jazz piano, alto saxophone and songwriting. Shes been teaching music for 16 years and even moved to Los Angeles to focus on my songwriting and music teaching. While is Los Angeles, she taught piano, guitar, ukulele and vocals. She is very excited to join the music teachers at AWSOM and be a part of this music community.
Jonathan Mantello is an active multi-instrumentalist born and raised in Seattle, WA. He has been playing music for over 16 years, starting in middle school with trombone and orchestral and jazz music and continuing through high school and college, playing jazz, funk, rock, indie, and hip hop on guitar, bass, and drums. He studied digital audio engineering at Shoreline College, which included music production, recording, theory, piano, and jazz improvisation.
He currently plays with a couple of bands, performing around the Seattle area and producing music from his home studio. When he is not playing music, you can find him learning Italian, tending to his garden, or out and about enjoying nature. He has performed at numerous events, including Bumbershoot, Sasquatch! Music Festival, Capitol Hill Block Party, Upstream Music Festival, Live on KEXP, Prince’s Palace, and more.
A very warm welcome to our 5 newest teachers! Click here to schedule a trial lesson with one of them today!