Piano, Voice, and Guitar Teachers at Music Works Academy

Music Works Academy ~ Piano, Voice, and Guitar Lessons in Phoenix AZ

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Instructors
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Founder and Director: Carolyn Inabinet

Piano Voice Guitar Young Children

Carolyn Inabinet Laura Hunter Dave Buck Carolyn Cates

Carolyn Cates King-Wea Ng Mara Hayes

Deborah Dashney Alex Zawilak Carolyn Inabinet

Shirley Hayes

Laura Hunter

Carolyn Inabinet is the owner/director and primary instructor at Music Works Academy, Ltd., a private music school in Phoenix, Arizona offering piano, guitar, voice and violin. Ms. Inabinet was a 1968 Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of Tennessee with a major in piano and French. In addition, she has done extensive graduate work at both the University of Tennessee and Arizona State University in early childhood music, instructional design and technology, and music history as well as graduate study in piano and classical organ. She is co-author of Practice and Progress (1992) and The FJH Studio Organizer (2002).

Ms. Inabinet is a member of Phoenix Music Teachers Association (PMTA), Arizona State Music Teachers Association (ASMTA), Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA), and the National Guild of Piano Teachers (NGPT). She has an extensive background in music education for young children.with graduate work in early childhood music at Arizona State University. She began teaching Kindermusik in 1980 and holds Kindermusik and MusikGarten teaching certification in all curricula as well as Levels I and II certification in Orff/Schulwerke.She has Harmony Road certification and most recently Music Works Academy became a licensed KiddyKeys facility.

Ms. Inabinet has received permanent professional certification with the Music Teachers’ National Association and has been a speaker at four national conventions. In 1988 and 89, she was a presenter at the first music technology symposiums held by MTNA. In 1996, her article “Beyond Piano Instruction: A Decade of Evolution and Revolution” appeared in The American Music Teacher, the national MTNA journal. This article addressed a nationwide problem with independent music teachers...zoning. In her 1996 MTNA National presentation, she shared her experiences and knowledge gained during a five-year zoning battle and subsequent resolution with the City of Phoenix. In 2003, Ms. Inabinet was a presenter in the MTNA National Conference Poster Session with PianoFonics^®, resource materials for group and private instruction.

In addition, Ms. Inabinet is the author of The Cranial Connection, an introductory handbook to cranial osteopathy. She has received recognition from the American Academy of Osteopathy as well as the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association for her contribution to manipulative osteopathic literature.

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Carolyn Cates graduated from Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota with a degree in music education in 1981. She has been teaching music in the Phoenix area since 1982 and joined Music Works Academy's staff in 1999.

Ms. Cates has been teaching piano for fifteen years; in addition, she has sixteen years teaching experience in general music. Ms. Cates taught general music for grades K- 6 at Valley Cathedral Christian School for ten years where she directed handbell classes, an elementary choir, Orff-Schulwerke classes and recorder. During that time she coordinated the regional ASCI Vocal and Instrumental Music Festivals. In addition, she taught general music at Grace community Christian School in Tempe for four years as well as three years in the Phoenix Elementary District.

Ms. Cates is a member of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Arizona State Music Teachers Association (ASMTA), Phoenix Music Teachers Association (PMTA) and the National Guild of Piano Teachers (NGPT). She has certification in Harmony Road Music as well as Levels I and II certification in Orff-Schulwerke.

In addition to teaching piano and young children's classes at Music Works Academy, Ms. Cates leads worship at Christ's Community Church and is the director of the senior handchime choir at Classic Residence by Hyatt in Scottsdale. Carolyn is a songwriter and a vocal entertainer, specializing in Broadway and 1920s-1940s standards. She is married and has one daughter.

"Music has always been a big part of my life and it's such a great blessing to me to see how it brings joy to people of ALL ages, from little babies to hospice patients. It truly is a language of the heart and I love sharing it with others."

David Buck

After taking a guitar class in high school and later playing rock guitar in local bands for a few years, David Buck began to formally study the classical guitar in 1992. In his first two years of study he won prizes in both solo and ensemble categories in the MCCCD Outstanding Performers Competition (1993-1994). He then went on to study under the direction of Frank Koonce at Arizona State University where he received his Bachelor of Music degree and most recently, to the University of Arizona for a Masters Degree in Guitar Performance with Thomas Patterson.

He has performed extensively both as a soloist and in chamber music settings since then and has received many honors including:

· 1^st Prize; 3^rd Annual Texas Guitar Competition, Dallas, Texas, 2004

· Prizewinner; Beeston Guitar Competition, Tucson, Arizona, 2003

· 2^nd Prize; 2^nd Annual Texas Guitar Competition, Dallas, Texas, 2003

· Prizewinner; Sholin Guitar Competition, Tucson, Arizona, 2003

· Prizewinner; Stevens Guitar Competition, Tucson, Arizona, 2002

· Semi-Finalist; Guitar Foundation of America International Guitar Competition, La Jolla, California, 2001

· Prizewinner; Contemporary Music Society Competition, Tempe, Arizona, 1999

· Semi-Finalist; Portland Guitar Competition, Portland, Oregon, 1997

· Semi-Finalist; American String Teachers Association Competition, Phoenix, Arizona, 1996

1^st Prize; Arizona Guitar Society Competition, Phoenix, Arizona, 1997

Mr. Buck was recently invited to give a performance at Arizona State University of the music for Guitar Solo by the Russian composer Nikita Koshkin. An all-Koshkin concert was also given at the 4^th Annual Texas Guitar Festival. He was also invited to be part of the ASU Alumni Concert Series in 2004 and has performed for the Scottsdale, Arizona-based group Spirit of the Senses numerous times.

He has been active as a performer of chamber music as well, founding the Monsoon duo with guitarist Federico Reggiardo and the Romanza Duo with violinist Robert Dunger. He has been invited to perform with the Paradise Valley Chamber Ensemble, the ASU New Music Ensemble, and the ASU Guitar Orchestra and has been invited to play at ASU as part of the Showcase Chamber Music Series and at the Long Beach Guitar and Lute Institute Final Concert with guitarist Chuck Hulihan, and most notably, at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. with guitarist Sean Beattie.

He has studied both in private and in master class with many world-class performers including Manuel Barrueco, Ricardo Cobo, Elliot Fisk, William Kanengiser, Nikita Koshkin, David Leisner, David Russell, David Tanenbaum, Scott Tennant, Benjamin Verdery, and many others.

Mr. Buck is currently an adjunct faculty member for the Maricopa County Community College District in Arizona.

Mara Hayes is a native of Arizona who grew up singing and playing piano at a young age. It was only natural that she would want to share her passion of music with her own children. In 2005, Mara came to Music Work’s Academy as a parent attending Kindermusik classes with her daughter Siena. Mara and her daughter continued in the MWA Prelude Program and enrolled in the first Harmony Road Toddler Tunes class in 2006. In the summer of 2008, Mara became a certified Harmony Road instructor at Music Works Academy.

Mara is the KiddyKeys instructor for Music Works Academy. Mara offers KiddyKeys at Valley Presbyterian Day School in addition in Paradise Valley. Mara volunteers her time singing and playing piano at Calvary Church of the Valley in Paradise Valley.

Last but not least, she is the female half of the acoustic duo group, Just Jade.

Alexander Zawilak comes from an eclectic musical background. His first loves were jazz, fusion and blues. While in high school, Alex played in the St Johns University Jazz Band, and undertook jazz studies at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.

Also, in high school Alex began to explore classical music. He played cello and up-right bass in the St. Francis Prep String Orchestra. With a lot of encouragement, Alex began to sing with various vocal groups. He discovered classical guitar as a way to intimately study the music of the great composers.

Alex entered the Manness college of music were he completed his Bachelors and Masters of music. He studied guitar with Fredrick Hand, Benjamin Verdery, Terry Champlain and Michael Newman. Alex did work in composition and orchestration with David Loeb. A fundamental basis for his musical development was ear training and dictation taught by Frank Nuemhauser and William Needleman.

While studying at Manness, Alex took advantage of New York City by performing with various jazz combos in local music venues. He also spent his summers playing guitar, banjo and mandolin with the Light Opera Company of Falmouth Massachusetts.

After completing his MA, Alex entered the ASU doctoral program in solo performance. While in residence he has turned his attention to new music. Alex has premiered Fantasy en Hussan by Nahla Matar for fretless guitar and Chamber works by Hector Martinez. He has participated in the George Crumb residency at ASU with the performance of “Night of the Four Moons” and was the only guitar participant in the Society of Composers conference held at ASU in April of 2001 with a performance of Rhapsodic Ignition for solo guitar by Karen P. Thomas. He has also,collaborated with ASU Dance, Drama and performed on the Baroque guitar in the ASU production of Telemann’s Dido and Aeneas.

Since graduating with his BM Alex has been teaching first in New York, then in Phoenix. When asked about a primary teaching philosophy, Alex states, “the goal of the instructor is to share an enthusiasm for the whole spectrum of musical expression. Music has given me many hours of enjoyment at home and has brought me to many fun places in the US and Europe where I was able to share it with others.” Alex stresses the need to be emotionally motivated by the beauty of the music and encourages the fun of making and sharing it.

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