PRIVATE LESSON FACULTY

A proud Arizona Native, Jully Guillen is a flutist and educator. She obtained a Bachelor in Secondary Education, with an emphasis in Instrumental Education from Ottawa University. Jully began playing piano at 10 where she quickly fell in love with the world of music.  Soon after, she found her passion in flute. Jully was a member of the Sun Devil Marching Band for 3 consecutive years during her undergraduate career. Passionate about the arts, she has worked with multiple other bands in Arizona over the past 6 years.  Jully has studied under Joe Corral, jazz flutist and past flutist of the Phoenix Symphony.  

Currently, she is the Flute specialist at Milano Music. She also teaches private flute and piano students from the Peoria, Phoenix, and Mesa areas. Along with teaching and working in the music industry, she is an active board member of the Arizona Flute Society.

Tiffany Pan, oboe, performs frequently with many of Arizona’s leading ensembles, including the Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, West Valley Symphony, MusicaNova Orchestra, Phoenix Theatre Company, Phoenix Boys Choir, and Cactus Chamber Musicians. She has performed at many conferences of the International Double Reed Society, International Clarinet Association, and North American Saxophone Alliance. A dedicated educator, Pan maintains a private teaching studio and coaches youth ensembles throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Pan also has extensive experience in oboe adjustment, setup, and instrument evaluation, and has worked closely with manufacturers from around the world.

A native of Taiwan, Pan holds a Master of Music degree from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her principal teachers include Martin Schuring, John Dee, Ting-Hung Liu, and Peggy Lee.

Karen Atria is a music educator, bassoonist, and arts administrator with more than 25 years of experience performing with orchestras, chamber ensembles, and community music organizations across the country. She has served as adjunct music faculty at several universities, including Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Otterbein University, Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, and Seton Hill University, where she taught bassoon, chamber music, music theory, and aural skills. In addition to directing her private bassoon studio, Karen has extensive experience in arts management and community engagement through her work with the Jazz Arts Group of Columbus and volunteer initiatives with the Pittsburgh Symphony and adult literacy programs in Scotland. 

Karen currently serves as the Operations Manager for the Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra. 

John Burton is an accomplished clarinetist with a Master of Musical Performance from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Music in Woodwind Performance from Brigham Young University. At ASU, he served as principal clarinet of both the Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and was featured as a soloist after winning the 2024 ASU Concerto Competition, performing Navarro’s Clarinet Concerto No. 2 with the ASU Wind Symphony. His playing is also showcased on several ASU recordings, including Nicole Piunno’s Sunflower Studies and Steven Bryant’s Ecstatic Waters.

While at BYU, John was principal clarinet on the Chamber Orchestra’s European tour to Czechia, Austria, and Italy, and on the Wind Symphony’s tour to Spain and Portugal. He has been a finalist in the International Clarinet Association Orchestral Excerpt Competition, earned 2nd place in both the American Single Reed Summit International Clarinet Competition and the ICA Young Artist Competition, and won 3rd place in the Silverstein Global Clarinet Contest.

Based in Phoenix, John is an active freelance artist, performing regularly with ensembles such as the West Valley Symphony, Symphony of the Southwest, and the Phoenix Symphony. He is also a Silverstein Artist and performs on Moe-Bleichner Custom Clarinets.

Bonson Lee is a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Arizona State University. Throughout Lee’s musical career, he has performed at saxophone camps, clinics, Las Vegas Saxophone Day, NASA Regional/Biennial Conferences, as well as has being named as a multi-award winning musician in many solo and chamber competitions of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA), the Coltman Chamber Music Competition, the American Prize Competition, the Medici International Music Competition, the Manhattan International Competition, the Long Island Conservatory Music Competition (LISMA), American Classical Young Musician Award, Charleston International Music Competition, the Marker and Pioneer International Music Competition, the Royal Sound Music Competition, the North International Music Competition, the Valencia Awards Music Competition, as well as the Annual Fischoff National Competition, respectively.

In addition to numerous solo performances within the US and abroad, Lee has great experience in chamber/ensemble music playing and collaboration in many wind ensembles and saxophone ensembles, as he has gained recognition from being awarded several prizes and medals in notable competitions such as NASA and Fischoff Chamber Music Competitions.  Being an advocate for chamber music, Lee is also the baritone chair of the saxophone quartet, Kodachrome. Through chamber music, Lee has been able to educate and perform at numerous high schools and universities in the Southwest region of the US. Other notable ensembles that Lee has played with include the Las Vegas Young Artists Orchestra, the Chandler Symphony Orchestra, and the Phoenix Symphony.

 As an educator, Lee has been teaching throughout the Las Vegas and Phoenix Valley including being a Visual Technician/Saxophone Technician for the ASU Sun Devil Marching Band as well as Campo Verde High School. Lee also maintains teaching a saxophone studio of his own here in Phoenix, as well as students in Las Vegas, Hawaii, etc. Lee also regularly does educational outreach by teaching and leading various masterclasses and workshops to other schools.

Lee is currently finishing up his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at Arizona State University under the direction and guidance of Dr. Christopher Creviston. Lee obtained a Master of Music from Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts School of Music and a Bachelor’s of Music at the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Music. His current and former saxophone teachers include Dr. Creviston, Mark McArthur, John Seaton, and Eric Maine.

Lee is an endorsing artist for Silverstein Works, LefreQue Sound Solutions, and ReedGeek Inc.

For more information, please visit his website at https://www.bonsonlee.com/

Stephen Martin is an active freelance musician, who frequently performs orchestras, chamber ensembles and as a soloist. Martin is currently the second trumpet of the Arizona Philharmonic, and principal trumpet of the Chandler Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he performs regularly with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, West Valley Symphony, and the MusicaNova Orchestra. Previously, he has performed with Phoenix Chamber Brass and appeared with artists, such as: Amy Grant, Micheal W. Smith, Doc Severinsen, Steve Smith, Graham Breedlove, Paulo Padilha, and has toured with La Chica Cumbia. As a soloist, he has performed works by Handel, Tartini, Telemann, and Vivaldi with various ensembles in Minnesota and Arizona.

Martin holds a master of music from Arizona State University, where he studied with renowned soloist and pedagogue, David Hickman. He previously studied at St. Olaf College and completed his bachelor's degree of music at Bemidji State University. His teachers have included, primarily, Bob Dorer, who is currently second trumpet of the Minnesota Orchestra, along with Martin Hodel, Charles Lazarus, and Delon Lyren.

In addition to performing, Martin is an active educator who has taught master classes at various high schools and colleges in the Phoenix area, and maintains a private studio. In his free time, Martin enjoys cooking, traveling, exploring the outdoors, and chess.

Alex Austin is an active performer and teacher in the East Valley and recent graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts where he received his Master of Music degree in horn performance. His degree program included performance in principal positions with the New England Conservatory Philharmonia, the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, and the New England Conservatory Community Performance Partnership Brass Quintet. During his graduate studies, Alex also maintained a freelance presence in the city, performing with multiple ensembles including the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of conductor Benjamin Zander at venues including Symphony Hall, Boston.

Prior to his graduate studies, Alex received a Bachelor of Music degree from Arizona State University where he graduated summa cum laude. Upon returning to the Valley to start his career, Alex has picked up where he left off in his freelance work, rejoining the Salt River Brass where he held the position of Solo Horn for five seasons under the direction of Patrick Sheridan. Additionally, Alex has resumed performing in chamber ensembles and will return as a soloist to the Arizona Wind Symphony where he previously held the principal horn position.

 Alex’s primary teachers have included Eli Epstein, Dr. John Ericson, James Sommerville, Richard Sebring, Patrick Sheridan, Sam Pilafian, Hugh Wolff, Charles Peltz, Dr. Wayne Bailey, and Gary Hill.

 In addition to performing, Alex is an active teacher, serving as a brass instructor for the Corona del Sol High School Marching Band and maintaining a private horn studio. You can hear Alex perform on The Great American Song Book! Featuring Harry Watters (Salt River Brass, 2015, solo horn) and on Youtube with the New England Conservatory Philharmonia and Wind Ensemble. 

Seth Bartschi is a freelance trombonist in the Phoenix area playing alto, tenor and bass trombones. He regularly performs with Phoenix Symphony and Arizona Opera and has positions with the Phoenix Opera, West Valley Symphony, Symphony of the Southwest, Musica Nova Orchestra, Arizona Philharmonic, Millennial Choirs Orchestra, Arizona Broadway Theatre House Orchestra, Scottsdale Arts Orchestra, and Az Pro Arte Orchestra. Seth is also a member of the Moon Valley Brass Quintet as well as the new and exciting Phoenix Brass Collective, a professional symphonic brass choir with which he plays bass trombone and serves on the board as Public Relations Director (phxbrass.com). 

Currently Seth holds a position as Adjunct Faculty at Glendale Community College teaching trombone. He has also maintained a private studio of students for over 10 years that range in ages from 8 to 70. Seth’s teachers include Ralph Sauer, Douglas Yeo, Sam Pilafian, Peter Vivona, Jason Malloy and Patrick Stuckemeyer. He has been recorded on four commercially released albums including a solo track of Rachmaninoff’s Fantasy Piece on the album "Living Legacy". Before devoting himself to music he studied and trained in aviation earning his private pilot license enjoying several hundred of hours in flight experience.

Jennifer is the founding owner of Bement Music Studio. For 23 years, she has trained musicians of all ages in Arizona and Nevada, through music and leadership. Jennifer attended Ottawa University, earning a BA in Music Education, with a minor in Euphonium Performance. In her 20+ years of consulting with high schools, she has been called upon to assist Performing Art departments with their leadership development programs.

Many of her students from these programs have been accepted to prestigious colleges across the country. Jennifer’s education methodology includes a strong focus in working with the Indigenous Community teaching perspectives and values to assist young adults in realizing their true potential while also learning key strategies to exist in today’s fast paced enivornments.

Jennifer grew up in Glendale, Arizona and her family originated from the White Earth Indian Reservation while also establishing the village of Waubun, Minnesota. She has enjoyed learning more about her tribe’s traditional artisan ways including their beading of materials. She recently started her own bead artisan business Little Bear Designs, in honor of her father whom she learned traditional techniques from. Currently, Jennifer resides in the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community with her husband Peter, who is a member of the Winnebago Tribe.

In her free time, she serves on the Diversity Equity Inclusion Board for the International Tuba Euphonium Association, a member of the Salt River Beading group, and an advocate for Indigenous people and people with disabilities.

​​Angelita Ponce is a Phoenix based performer and educator. She is a graduate of Arizona State University where she received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Master of Music in Percussion Performance under the instruction of Dr. Michael Compitello, Dr. J.B. Smith, Dom Moio, Shaun Tilburg and Simone Manusco. She has performed with a variety of ensembles including Orgullo Boricua, Samba de Cavalo, Carmela y Mas, GrupoBombAzo, BOOM! Percussion, West Valley Symphony, Phoenix Jazz Girls Rising, Phoenix Brass Collective and many more. 

Angelita is a highly sought after educator. She has worked with over a dozen music programs in the valley as a technician, clinician, coordinator and director. A few of these programs include the Arizona State Sun Devil Marching Band, Breakthrough Indoor Percussion, Corona del Sol High School, Kyrene Digital Academy and The East Valley School of Music. She is a clinician and adjudicator through ABODA and AMEA. Currently, Angelita serves as adjunct faculty at Paradise Valley Community College and teaches percussion classes at Corona del Sol High School, Summit Academy and Chandler High School. When she is not teaching, she is a session drummer/percussionist for a variety of artists in the valley.