Teacher Directory

Kevin Boyea

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Category: GUITAR INSTRUCTION

Berklee College of Music alumnus Kevin Boyea is our lesson coordinator at Advance Music Center.  In addition to the weekly scheduling of over 200 students, Kevin has 40 guitar students a week.

As a guitarist, Kevin has spent time in many local bands, and traveled all over New England in regional acts like “Toy Box” and “Last Kid Picked”. Currently Kevin plays in the dance rock extravaganza “Sideshow Bob”.  Kevin is also a busy "on call" guitarist, and he subs for a variety of different projects covering funk and jazz, shifting to country, as well as performing in the “GospelFest” house band in 2008  and 2010. He has also been the house guitarist for  “Middlebury Rocks” since 2007.

Kevin has been teaching guitar for over 15 years and is very fluent in many different styles, but his favorites are rock and jazz/fusion.  During the summer months Kevin is also on the teaching staff of Vermont's popular “Rock Camp”, a Burlington based day camp instructing students ages 11-17 in the fundamentals of rock music performance.

Brian Maple

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Category: GUITAR INSTRUCTION

Brian has over 20 years of experience on the guitar as well as a BA in Jazz Performance from Johnson State College.  As a music educator, Brian is a patient and insightful teacher who genuinely enjoys sharing his knowledge.  He plans lessons so that students experience success right away, making a “joyful noise” even with just a few notes – all the while setting a foundation for growth in musical concepts and skills. Brian is experienced playing everything from Prog-Metal and Rock & Roll to Jazz and Blues, making it easy to tailor his lessons to the student’s interest rather than a certain method.

Dan Bishop

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Category: BASS INSTRUCTION

Dan attained a BA in Music from Saint Michael's College in 2013. He has studied with Scott Spray (Johnny Winter) and Anthony Santor.

As an teacher, Dan's lessons follow a path defined by the desires and needs of the individual student. His goal is to create bass players who can have fun making music with their friends, families, and in public. He is dedicated to sharing the knowledge, techniques and tricks he's learned to help aspiring bass guitar players create their personal, original and artistic perspective towards the instrument.

Dan has been playing bass guitar since 2001 and can be seen around New England playing both upright and electric bass with Grundlefunk, Dripline and Potbelly.

Let Dan help you to find your voice and grow it on the bass to create your own style.

Caleb Bronz

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Category: DRUM INSTRUCTION

Caleb Bronz, a Vermont native, began playing drums at the age of 10, then at 12 began studying privately with Jeff Salisbury (Albert King, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and many others).  In 1999, Caleb earned a BA in Music with a concentration in Jazz and commercial music from Johnson State College.

Caleb's musical diversity and passion for performing is illustrated by his domestic and International tours with Johnny A, Mighty Sam McClain, The Gordon Stone Band, Prydein, The Christopher Peterman Quintet, Beat Biters, Smokin' Grass, Voice and Jazzmosis to name a few. As a recording artist, Caleb can be heard on recordings such as Gordon Stone's most recent record, "Nightshade",  and Jim Hill and the Longhaulers, debut album "Endless Road", which has received sustained national airplay. He played on CMH Record's nationally distributed album, "Pickin' On Jack Johnson". He also played on Grammy nominee and Handy Blues Award winner Mighty Sam McClain's latest record, "Betcha Didn't Know".

As an educator Caleb's first hand knowledge of rock, pop, hip-hop, drum&bass, afro-cuban, reggae, bluegrass, free jazz and more, make him ideally suited to address nearly any student's needs.  Caleb currently teaches drums at Advance Music Center, and with such programs as Rock Camp Vermont and Vermont Jazz Camp.

Ian Koeller

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Category: DRUM INSTRUCTION

Ian Koeller has been performing, recording and teaching drums and percussion in Vermont, New York and beyond for many years. He brings a wealth of experience to his students with a focus on reading, rudiments, styles, hand technique, and live performance techniques. 

Gina Merlini

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Category: PIANO & KEYBOARD INSTRUCTION

Gina's lifetime passion for music started at age four, and has been a part of her daily life ever since.

Gina attended the Pittsfield Community Music School in Massachusetts, for ten years, studying Violin/Viola, Piano and Flute, while participating in the orchestra, concert band, and various chamber groups, culminating with a graduation recital on Viola.  Gina then studied at Marlboro College in southern Vermont as a music major under the guidance of Blanche Moyes, with a concentration in voice.

Gina continued her studies at the University of Vermont, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in music education, classical voice and a secondary interest in Jazz saxophone and piano.

For more than thirty years Gina has been a liturgical musician, acting as music director, song leader and soloist.  Gina has performed with groups such as the Montpelier Concert Band, Northfield Jazz Band, and the Mad River Chorale. Additionally, she sang with Marlboro vocal ensembles and chorus as well as the Brattleboro Community Chorus and has also played in the pit for several high school and community musical productions. Gina currently performs in the duo Gina & Jeff and the Queen City Quartet. 

Gina, a member of the National Association of Music Education and the Vermont Music Educators Association, is a Vermont licensed music educator.

As a teacher, Gina shares her love for music, by helping students connect to themselves and others, through appreciation, understanding and practical musical application, catering to the needs of the individual. Gina teaches piano, accordion, violin, viola and voice.

Paul Lyons

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Category: PIANO & KEYBOARD INSTRUCTION

Paul Lyons is a pianist with a wide variety of teaching and performing experience. Brought up on classical music, he went on to play in rock bands in his teen years and he studied jazz piano in his 20's. Having taught piano since 2005, Paul's approach is to find where a person's greatest interest and passion lie and to move students in that direction in a fun, easy, joyful way. Paul loves to see people grow and learn and it is his heartfelt hope that those who study with him continue to make music a lifelong pursuit. 

Ry-An White

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Category: VOICE INSTRUCTION

Advance Music is pleased to welcome Ry-An Andreas White to our teaching staff. Ry-An teaches voice. He brings a wealth of experience from a performance as well as educational background. He has a Bachelor of Music from Barry University and has participated in the Artist Diploma Program and the Masters of Music Program at Mannes the New School of Music. His credits include many roles in operas in Miami and New York.