AsheLee Bonham Gahagan, Owner and Lead Instructor, has been teaching music for over twenty-five years, both privately and in public school.

She earned a Bachelor of Music in cello performance at East Carolina University (NC), and continued Masters studies in cello performance at Converse College (SC), as well as American University in Washington, DC, where her focus was on Arts Administration.

Her career began in Wilmington, NC, where she was a middle school string orchestra teacher and private cello instructor at the Wilmington Academy of Music. She decided to explore her passion for arts administration and soon moved to Washington, DC. While there she worked as communications manager for the American String Teachers Association, and for several years was the editor of a scholarly music journal, American String Teacher. After leaving ASTA, she relocated to New York where she performed in various orchestras and chamber music groups, and founded music studios in Brooklyn and Maplewood, New Jersey.

In 2017, she and her family settled down in North Carolina where she leads a music school located in Holly Springs. AsheLee has experience conducting youth orchestras and served as clinician for summer camps in North Carolina and South Carolina. She has performed with chamber ensembles and orchestras, including the Brooklyn Community Symphony Orchestra, Long Bay Symphony, and Wilmington Symphony Orchestra. Professional associations include Music Teachers National Association and the American String Teachers Association.

*Presently Accepting Cello Students Only

Violin & Piano

Sofia Castalia has been teaching violin, viola, and piano since 2006, and has been teaching and mentoring at universities, high schools, and youth theaters since 2012. She organized and taught masterclasses and technique workshops for beginner and intermediate level violinists, and taught music, choir, and theater an elementary school. Her degree is in violin performance, and she has led an extremely active performance career that has included many different musicals, operas, orchestras, and chamber groups including Cirque du Soleil, and performances in musicals such as Ragtime, Beauty and the Beast, and Les Miserables. She enjoys focusing on many different aspects of music while teaching, including music theory, music history, acoustics, technique, practicing effectively, and the art of performance. She believes that each student is an individual with unique goals and learning styles, and strives to empower each student to succeed in reaching their goals.

Voice & Piano

Anna Koogler has taught voice and piano to students of all ages since 2017. She believes strongly in the importance of connecting with each student to understand their goals, skills, and interests in order to personalize each lesson experience. Anna received her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance and music education from the University of Hartford’s Hartt School, where she taught in local lesson studios and at the collegiate level, and also sang with several choral ensembles in the greater Hartford, Connecticut area. Performance highlights included recording the album Blessing: The Music of Paul Mealor with Voce, Inc. and performing at Carnegie Hall with members of the Cathedral of Saint Joseph Schola Cantorum. In addition to teaching voice and piano, she is a speech-language pathology clinical fellow at Harnett County Schools.

Maggie Ashworth - Bio and Pic Coming Soon!

Voice

Cesar Pestana - Bio and Pic Coming Soon!

Piano

Oksana Nero has taught piano for more than 30 years, and is a member of Music Teachers Association. Since 2004, Oksana has been performing and teaching in the United  States, providing lessons based on strong classical methods, introducing her students to improvisation techniques, theory, as well as preparing them for regional and international (ABRSM) tests, music festivals and nationwide competitions (USOMC). She was granted the Award for “Teaching  excellence in preparing students for Music Legacy Open Competition” in the Bay Area, California. 

Oksana has also cultivated unique interactive semi-private piano lessons in  a personalized and multimedia setting for students age 3-5 in small groups  of 2-3 students. Benefits include introducing participants to the wonderful  world of music including entertaining songs and important basic piano  skills.  She is very articulate instructor, and deeply interested in achieving  results with her students, and tailors her instruction to an individual’s  interests. Her students who participated in US Open Competition received Medals and Certificates of Excellence in different music categories and  levels. As a performer, Oksana participated in the Worship Band for the  “Abundant Life” church in Ridgway, PA, and later, while teaching in Bay Area, assisted recitals of strings players as an accompanist. Oksana's long-standing history of successful instruction and stage  creations with children, has given recipients a profound sense of the benefits and excitement of becoming a musician.

Mila Marshall - Bio and Pic Coming Soon!

Guitar

Niko Lalangas has been teaching music since 1995. His experience ranges from teaching ages 7 to adults, all ages beginner to advanced. With proficiency in acoustic and electric guitars, he teaches all genres, from pop/rock to country, folk, funk, jazz, classical, reggae, and more. He began teaching in 1995 in New York at the Westchester Music School under premiere accordionist Professor Carmen Carrozza. Since then, Niko taught at several music schools throughout New York until moving to North Carolina in 2009, where he continued teaching full-time. In addition to teaching in music schools, he’s taught privately and worked with church groups, camps, and organizations such as The Boys & Girls Clubs of America and local hospitals. 

Niko’s performance career comes with a variety of eclectic experiences. He performed on stage and in pits for musicals which include: Godspell, Rent, Pippin, Aida, and more. In 2005 he was featured in a television pilot for a show about guitars and has appeared on several local access television shows aired in NY, NJ, CT, and PA, where his original music was featured. Niko recorded in various studios, including The Hit Factory in New York City (across from Sony Records.) An active user of guitar technologies, Niko wrote for a blog featured every month for two years in Line 6’s monthly newsletters. He continues to perform and work as a musician around North Carolina.

Matt Silverstein - Bio and Pic Coming Soon!

Guitar & Piano

Logan Valdmets - Bio and Pic Coming Soon!

Flute

Dr. Thiago Bottega - Bio and Pic Coming Soon!

Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, Saxophone, Ukulele

Emily Casey - Bio and Pic Coming Soon!

Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba

Joshua Page - Bio and Pic Coming Soon!