Faculty

Gene Nastri School Faculty

Strings

Carlos Garcia, violin, began his musical training at the age of 7 when he started playing the piano and violin. After an epiphany at the age of 8 while watching Looney Tunes one morning, Carlos decided his passion was music in film. This passion for film scores led him to earn his undergraduate degree in music composition and violin performance from Western Washington University and shortly after, a masters degree in film scoring from Seattle Film Institute. His love for violin and orchestra has helped him in his orchestral writing as well as recording live orchestras for films. After working as compositional assistant for TV composer Ron Jones (Family Guy, Star Trek TNG), Carlos began his own studio in Seattle, WA and started to undertake feature films. Carlos has developed an interest in a wide varied of styles including jazz, pop, classical, and rock. His biggest influences are Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, John Williams, and Thomas Newman.

Sarah Wenger, violin, viola, grew up in a musical household, and began her musical studies at the age of three and went on to earn her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has performed extensively throughout the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Europe, and has distinguished herself as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player, as well as having a keen interest in teaching.

During her time at UNL, Sarah served as concertmaster of the UNL Symphony Orchestra as well as section violinist of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and Lincoln Playhouse Theatre. Since relocating to Seattle, Sarah continues to perform with symphonies in and around the Seattle areas, as well as touring with artists such as Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Jordan Smith, and New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players.

Sarah has a love for string pedagogy and has been an active instructor in the Kansas City, Lincoln, and Seattle areas. She currently is an active violin teacher, orchestral director, and chamber music coach with Snoqualmie Strings, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Northshore School District, Mukilteo School District, and Gene Nastri Community School of the Arts. She enjoys working with people from all different backgrounds and ages, and helps them achieve their musical goals; whether it be learning violin for fun, or actively pursuing a career in music. When not performing or teaching, Sarah enjoys hiking, photography, traveling, National Geographic, and coffee.

Loreen Petty, violin, viola, piano, began studying violin at the age of nine with Gene Nastri in Everett. After graduating high school she attended Northwest Nazarene University and, while a student, played second violin with the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, and studied with Karen Krout, the orchestra concertmaster. She studied piano privately and played percussion in the college concert band. In her junior year, she was accepted into the Northwesterners Choir where she sang alto, played chimes and violin obbligatos that she wrote. After earning a Bachelors degree in violin performance, Loreen returned to Seattle in 1983 and continued her music studies on viola with Eric Shumsky at the University of Washington and Irwin Eisenberg of the Philadelphia String Quartet.

Loreen earned an A.A.S. degree in biotechnology and currently works for a biopharmaceutical company in Bothell. She enjoys occasional work on violin and viola as a freelance player in the Seattle area. She was a member of the Sylvan String Quartet for twelve years, and a member of the Bellevue Philharmonic for six years, performing as section violist and substituting as principal violist for one concert. Loreen has served as principal violist with Civic Light Opera, Village Theatre, Olympic Ballet, Northwest Symphony, and Emerald City Philharmonic, and as a section player with the Federal Way Philharmonic and Juneau Symphony. Loreen was the conductor of the Mukilteo Community Orchestra for 2 years and directed a church choir for several years.

As part of the GNS faculty, Loreen teaches private violin, viola, and beginning piano lessons to students ranging in age from 7 years to 85 years. She enjoys ensemble work and often organizes large ensembles to perform on student recitals, where she also accompanies her students on piano.

Brian Crisafulli, traditional and Suzuki violin, Scottish fiddling, has received training in the Suzuki violin method from the Chicago Suzuki Institute, and in Scottish fiddling from the Ohio Scottish Arts School in Oberlin, Ohio, and the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle School in Boulder Creek, California. He has degrees in counseling (M.Ed.), teaching (M.A.T.), and zoology (B.S.). Brian has served as leader and violinist with Scottish dance bands, as solo violinist for dance classes and Scottish dance workshops, and as a teacher of Scottish fiddling and classical violin playing.

Seth May-Patterson, viola, violin, is a sought-after performer, coach and private teacher who is as comfortable performing for sold-out arenas as he is teaching in the classroom. As a member of the acclaimed Passenger String Quartet, Seth has recently collaborated and performed with artists such as Mary Lambert, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, David Bazan, Duff McKagan of Guns and Roses, Kris Orlowski, Judy Collins, and many others. The Passengers recently appeared with Mary Lambert on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, performed with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at the American Music Awards, and completed a national tour promoting their first album with David Bazan.

Seth is in demand as a session musician and has completed recording projects that range from individual sessions to full-length albums and major motion pictures. Seth currently sits Principal Viola in the Seattle Rock Orchestra and is a member of Symphony Tacoma, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Federal Way Symphony, and is a sub for the Seattle Symphony. He has also performed with the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, Seattle Modern Orchestra, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra, Cascade Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, Sioux City Symphony, and South Dakota Symphony, among others.

Seth is also a passionate and energetic music educator. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Cornish College of the Arts, where he studied with Mara Gearman, and in 2011 completed an intensive fellowship with grandmaster violist Emanuel Vardi. He has been teaching viola and violin in the Seattle area since 2009, when he founded an after-school beginning strings program in the Snoqualmie Valley Elementary Schools. He currently teaches privately in Snoqualmie and at the Gene Nastri School of the Arts, coaches for the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra, and is a conductor for the Snoqualmie Strings Youth Symphony.

Eli Weinberger, cello, holds a B.Mus, M.Mus, and GDPP in Cello Performance from McGill University. While in Montreal, Eli founded the non-profit, professional training orchestra, Pronto Musica, which was the first of it’s kind in Canada. Now living in Seattle, Eli enjoys an active orchestral performance schedule and teaching studio. Eli has recorded national commercials as well as video game and film scores, and subs with the Seattle Symphony. He can be heard on several Macklemore tracks and has performed with the group live on the Tonight Show. Eli is one of the founding members of NOCCO.

Kelsey Mines, bass, is a performer, composer, and bass instructor native to Seattle. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Double Bass Performance from the University of Washington, and a Master of Music in Double Bass Performance from Arizona State University under the direction of Catalin Rotaru. A recipient of the Holland Scholarship, Kelsey followed her passion for the double bass to the Netherlands, where she studied at Prince Claus Conservatoire before returning to Seattle where she is quickly establishing herself as an important voice as both a performer and educator.

As a band leader, Kelsey has been featured at the Ballard Jazz Festival and Table & Chairs showcases. She performs regularly with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Tacoma, the Jim Cutler Jazz Orchestra, Wayne Horvitz’ Electric Circus, and many others. She teaches bass for Seattle JazzEd, the Edmonds School District, and the Northshore School District in addition to her active private studio.

Kelsey Mines is highly sought after in and around the greater Seattle area for her versatility and high level proficiency on both upright and electric bass.

Rowan Skye, guitar & ukulele is our new student teacher. He is a recent graduate of Kamiak High School, where he was a member of the National Honor Society and the Tri-M Music Honor Society. He will be attending the University of Washington in the Fall. He has been playing music since the age of three, and began composing music on his cello when he was eleven. A former seven-year member of the Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestra, he has traveled to Europe with the orchestra twice, playing at various venues in multiple countries. Besides the cello, Rowan plays a variety of instruments, including guitar, drums, and keyboard. He is also a vocalist, and completed his first album of original songs in January 2017. His second album, Into the Dream, will be released in mid-August 2018, through online stores and streaming services. Rowan enjoys sharing his love of music with others, and has taught private cello lessons for elementary school students since late 2015. He has also taught guitar, ukulele, and cello to children ages 8-15 in group format. In his free time, when not creating music, he enjoys drawing, photography, video production and editing.

Yaun Fang, violin, Professor of Violin, graduated from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, OH, 1999. He was head of the String Division of the China Conservatory of Music and director of the middle school orchestra attached to the Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
He also served as Director of the China Youth Philharmonic, guest artist and pedagogue at Western Michigan University and
University of Washington.

Fang has performed internationally at University Mozarteum in Graz, Austria, the Royal College of Music in London, Queensland University, Australia, Carnegie Hall, New York (2012),and also enjoyed a career as guest soloist with major orchestras in China.

He has served as a jury member of several international violin competitions including: China National Violin and Piano Competition, Thomas and Evon Cooper International Violin Competition, Singapore International Music Competition, Shlomo- Mintz International Violin Competition, and Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside (Bellevue, WA).

Yuan Fang was guest professor and performer at the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival in Italy in 2000 and 2007 and guest concertmaster of the China National Symphony Orchestra.

*On leave

Voice

Emily Herivel, voice, is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University where she studied vocal and instrumental music, music education, and ethnomusicology, earning her BA in Vocal Performance. She loves many different styles and genres of music, including jazz, blues, gospel, folk, bluegrass, world music, musical theater, opera, oratorio, chamber music, and contemporary music. She has been honored to perform as both a soloist and ensemble member with the Choir of the West, PLU Opera, PLU Choral Union, Cora Voce, Bellevue Opera, City Opera Ballet, The Dickens Carolers, Washington State Choristers Guild, and Choral Arts Northwest.
In addition to her role as Artistic/Managing Director for Snohomish County Youth Chorus, Ms. Herivel is active in music at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood where she directs the Jr. and Sr. High youth choir Vocé and leads the Trinity Brass Ensemble. She also teaches private music lessons, specializing in both voice and trumpet. Ms. Herivel has been teaching music professionally since 2006. Emily will be presenting our Young Singers Workshop beginning mid-March. Check out our Music Classes page for information on the workshop.

Anne Rose Bergsma, voice, is a well-known performer and teacher in the Pacific Northwest. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in voice from the University of Washington in Seattle. She has performed opera, oratorio, Gilbert and Sullivan and concert repertoire in the Northwest, the Southwest, and Germany. Her operatic roles include Susanna from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Belinda from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Esmeralda from Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, and Rowan from Britten’s The Little Sweep. Anne is a specialist in Baroque repertoire and art song of the 20 th century. She teaches voice at Northwest University and at the Bellevue School of Music.

Woodwinds

Julie Boulter Buetow, clarinet, grew up in a musical family in the Seattle area. She earned a degree in clarinet performance from Western Washington University. Julie played in the Seattle Youth Symphony for five years and since then, has played for numerous local performing ensembles, most recently including Philharmonia Northwest, Cascade Symphony, and Seattle Wind Symphony. She has also played for the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society and the Cascadian Wind Quintet. Her teachers have included Eugene Zoro (Western Washington University), Christopher Sereque (Seattle Symphony), Laura DeLuca (Seattle Symphony), and Jennifer Nelson (Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra). Julie especially enjoys playing chamber music, and has played for a number of small ensemble concerts for Philharmonia Northwest and Cascade Symphony. As a teacher, Julie has taught clarinet lessons to local students and coached the Everett Youth Symphony clarinet section. She has also volunteered in local elementary schools as a recorder coach and assistant for general music teachers, and created and taught a multi-age recorder class for a private school in Woodinville.
Julie worked for Boeing Commercial Airplanes for 11 years as a technical aide and database programmer, and now prioritizes spending time with her family, which includes her husband, their 13 year old son, and 10 year old daughters, who also play musical instruments.

Kristi Wiant, flute, piano, Kristi was interested in music at a young age. She enjoyed playing both the flute and piano. Her years of teaching private lessons lead her to continue her education later in life at Shoreline Community College and the University of Washington. At the UW, Kristi studied flute under Felix Skowronik and, after graduation, she continued private flute studies with Klaus Liebetanz until 2016. At Shoreline Community College, Kristi studied private piano under Helena Azevedo and various faculty at the University of Washington. She graduated from the University of Washington in 2006 with a BA in Music and continued study in piano pedagogy with Judy Baker through Western Washington University. Kristi has been teaching private lessons for the past 25 years and currently has flute and piano studios in Lynnwood and Mukilteo. She is choir accompanist for North Creek Presbyterian Church in Mill Creek and an occasional accompanist for voice classes at Shoreline Community College. She is a member of the Mukilteo Community Orchestra And is a member of the Seattle Flute Society and the Snohomish County Music Teachers Association. Kristi is the President of the Board of Directors of Gene Nastri Community School of the Arts and serves on the faculty as a flute and piano teacher.

Tim Wilson, saxophone, flute, former Principal Flute of the Hong Kong Philharmonic orchestra, was trained in Paris and New York and taught at H K Academy for Performing Arts and universities in HK for decades. He has concertized throughout the Far East, Europe and the USA. His students win prizes consistently. Former students have progressed to important conservatories in UK, USA and Switzerland and hold orchestra and teaching positions in China, Mexico, Hawaii and Hong Kong.

As a jazz saxophonist, he has appeared as a leader and as soloist in the Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra for two decades including tours to major Asian cities. He has made CDs with his own trio: Han Shan, gaining international recognition.

Timothy accepts students of all ages and experience. Aspiring professionals, intermediate students and motived beginners can all benefit from the wealth of teaching experience and real professional insight he offers. He can show them how to achieve higher results with better directed effort while inspiring them to raise their artist goals and share in expressive music.

Brass

Willow Goodine, trombone, euphonium, piano, composition, has played music for over 30 years and is influenced heavily by jazz and improvisational music. Willow composes and arranges original music that has been played by professional orchestras including the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Rock Orchestra and also has movie credits on IMDb for scores he created, conducted, and produced professionally. He also orchestrates music for west coast theaters and various northwest orchestras.

Currently, Willow is keyboardist and songwriter in his original Seattle-based jazz/funk/groove fusion band, Swindler. Willow plays multiple keyboards in the group and has developed an arsenal of sonic weapons and keyboard wizardry and provides textural backdrops, menacing funky clav riffs, percussive organ, and punchy Rhodes. He also composes and arranges originals and mixes audio for the band. Swindler follows an extensive touring schedule across the West Coast, Canada, and Alaska and performs regularly in the Puget Sound area.

Starting with piano as his first instrument, Willow went on to study trombone in college and received his Bachelor of Music in Composition from the University of Maine in 2001 (Magna Cum Laude). He then continued to perform all over New England and Canada in pit bands, big bands, and also as a solo pianist. A Canadian native, Willow moved to Seattle in 2011 to pursue a music career and received his Master’s Degree in Film Scoring from the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute. Willow also plays other brass instruments including euphonium (baritone), trumpet, and horn, and also plays organ, contemporary/jazz keyboards, mandolin, guitar, and has served as a vocal coach. Willow has taught private music lessons in his studio for the better part of 15 years. He is also the Director of the Portland Youth Rock Orchestra and Seattle-Tacoma's Pacific Youth Rock Orchestra, held at the Federal Way School of Music studio location.

When he is not practicing, teaching, listening to, or performing music, Willow enjoys traveling to new destinations, crosswords, cooking, music psychology, and coffee.

David Sloan, trumpet, was born in San Antonio and raised in Pasadena, a suburb of southeast Houston. Upon graduation from South Houston High School, David went on to the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music Education degree with Instrumental Emphasis. He also has earned Texas' EC-12 Teaching Certification following his undergraduate study. David has also earned a Master of Music in Trumpet Performance at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Tx. He has also pursued doctoral studies (DMA) at the University of Washington in Seattle, studying trumpet with David Gordon and conducting with Tim Salzman. His primary instructors have included Roman Jakubas, James Austin, and Tom Booth and David Gordon. He has also had additional studies with Jim Vassallo, Robert Walp, and Mark Hughes.
He has also earned the residency teaching certificate in Washington State, where he is endorsed in General Music and Instrumental Music and has been teaching elementary band and general music in the Lake Washington School District since 2016.

Percussion

Storm Benjamin, percussion, is a charismatic educator and performer in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings. He performs with re·create percussion, The Sound Ensemble, Striking Music, as well as with other Pacific Northwest orchestras and chamber music events. As an educator, Storm teaches percussion classes at H.M. Jackson High School, Inglemoor High School, and directs the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra Percussion Ensemble. He can also be found presenting clinics around Washington State.

Art

Shelly Hendrickson, art, graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor in Fine Arts and Washington University in St Louis with a Masters in Fine Art. In addition, she studied at the Leo Marchutz School of Painting in Aix-en-Provence, France. Currently she is teaching drawing and painting at Everett Community College.

Hendrickson is accomplished in a wide variety of media including: painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, clay, and woodworking. She is an experienced teacher having taught at all levels from preschool through college. Believing art is central to the joy of living, she strives to build confidence in her students, teaching them how to creatively communicate what they visualize and by providing them with a strong foundation in the techniques and tools of art upon which they can build throughout their lives.

Gene Nastri Community School of the Arts does not discriminate against any student, teacher, or job applicant
on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation,
gender identity or gender expression.