Music & Arts Institute

Now accepting new students for the fall term of private instruction,  running September 3- December 21.. New students are accepted on an ongoing basis depending on the availability of the teacher. We have current openings for instruction on  violin, viola, cello, voice, piano, flute, trombone,  trumpet, guitar, and ukulele. Lessons are held at University Place Presbyterian Church.

For questions, please contact Lisa Todd  at 253-564-2522, ext 162 or [email protected]

Mini-Musicians is designed to be a positive, creative, and exploratory first introduction to music for 3-5 year olds in a group setting. The program incorporates piano playing and will provide great preparation for more traditional piano lessons. It is also beneficial for children who will go on to study other instruments as they will be exploring pitch, patterns, rhythm.

There are two scholarships awarded yearly to recognize current Music & Arts Institute students who show outstanding dedication to their musical studies. Candidates are nominated by their teachers and then participate in a competition in the spring where two winners are chosen. The first place winner receives a scholarship covering 50% of tuition for the upcoming year and the second place winner receives a scholarship covering 25% of tuition for the year. All current MAI students are eligible but need to be recommended by their teacher.

Kathleen Julca is in the eleventh grade at the top of her class at Lt. General William H. Harrison Preparatory School in Lakewood. This is her 3rd year playing the flute and studies with Susan Hallstead. Kathleen participates in the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association and the Puget Sound Flute Choir at UPPC. She also enjoys programming and playing chess.

Mary Boyde Funches is in the eleventh grade at Covenant High School in Tacoma. She has studied piano for six years with  Una Hwang.  Mary Boyde also enjoys singing soprano in the Covenant High School Madrigal and Chamber Choirs, accompanying the choir on piano, and playing the piano for chapel. When she is not making music, Mary Boyde loves reading, swing dancing and acting in school plays.

Maria Bokor has studied the piano beginning at the age of 4. She was a piano major at the New England Conservatory and received a Bachelor of Music degree from Reed College in piano studies. She was the pianist for the Community of Christ church in Puyallup for many years and taught piano at the Annie Wright School. Maria combines the Suzuki approach with traditional European methods in her teaching.
Maria is also a professional violist and is the Associate Principal viola of the Tacoma Symphony.  She studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy and received a Master of Music in viola performance from the University of Victoria, Canada. Maria is also a physical therapist and brings those skills to help ensure relaxed playing with good posture.

Una Hwang believes that making music is one of the most enriching of all activities and loves helping growing pianists experience this. She is classically trained, having studied piano performance at the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Maryland, while also studying and previously working as a research physicist. Now she is an organist and church musician as well as a teacher, and appears regularly as a solo and collaborative performer. She is a member of the Music Teachers' National Association and the American Guild of Organists.

Lisa Ingraham, a native of Tacoma, WA, studied violin with Helen Pagels of Olympia in High School, and Heifetz protégé, Ann Tremaine, at Pacific Lutheran University, where she majored in K-12 String and Choral Education. Lisa actually began her teaching career while still in Jr. High and has maintained a private studio ever since.  In 1998 she started teaching at Cascade Christian Schools' Tacoma Elementary and the program has since expanded to include all three elementaries, as well as the Jr/Sr High. An active performer, she plays with Tacoma Symphony, Tacoma Opera, as well as doing free-lance work, and is a founding member of the Con Brio String Quartet.  In addition she has been the conductor and primary orchestrator for "Scrooge, the Musical" at Champions Centre since 1996. Maria is also a professional violist and is the Associate Principal viola of the Tacoma Symphony.  She studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy and received a Master of Music in viola performance from the University of Victoria, Canada. Maria is also a physical therapist and brings those skills to help ensure relaxed playing with good posture.

Ken Jacobsen is a guitarist, cellist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer. With a degree in classical guitar performance he has performed and recorded many different classical styles including Renaissance, Baroque, Spanish/Flamenco, Brazilian guitar, Tango and modern music. While performing regularly as a solo guitarist, Ken also performs with various ensembles. Jazz, Blues and Rock guitar are some of his favorite styles. Additionally, Ken has been playing cello for many years, beginning in college with an irresistible urge to learn the Bach Cello Suites, and currently performs regularly on electric cello with loops and effects, creating multi-layered ambient soundscapes. His love of world and folk music led him to the Middle Eastern Oud, Hammered Dulcimer, Mandolin and Djembe. He brings over 20 years of experience in teaching private lessons and group workshops for students of all ages and experience levels.  

In college, Lance Buller started playing with the top rock, jazz, and Latin groups in Los Angeles. He was Solo Chair with The Hollywood Bowl Productions Band, under the leadership of such notables as Gordon Jenkins Jr., Mercer Ellington, Dave Grusen, and Henry Mancini.
He worked with Little Anthony and Bob Marley and was 24 years old when he began a long association with The Beach Boys. That memorable experience included recording five albums with them, as well as touring Europe, Australia, and the United States. Buller’s recording career—which began in 1974—has resulted in 24 albums so far, including five with his own band, The Monarchs.
From cruise ships to radio concerts, Buller has done just about everything a musician could hope to do, often being featured with showbiz greats. Additionally, he has many students and works in local schools, to teach and mentor those eager teen musicians who remind him of himself at that age. It is an effort he considers his true calling.

Susan Hallstead has been playing and teaching the flute for over 20 years. She studied flute and vocal performance at the University of Puget Sound and the University of Washington. Her flute teachers have included Scott Goff (Seattle Symphony), Felix Skowronek (UofW), and Murray Panitz (Philadelphia Orchestra/Curtis Institute).  Susan also studied flute pedagogy with award-winning KinderFlute™ creator, Kathy Blocki. While in college, she was a member of the Tacoma Symphony, the Contemporary Group Woodwind Quintet, and was principal flute of the U of W Symphony. Susan is currently pursuing the study of World flutes, including Irish penny whistle, Chinese dizi flute, and Native American Flute, and is a member of the Wind Spirit Native American Flute Circle.

Born and raised in Tacoma, WA, Micaela Derouin was actively involved in school and church musical productions starting at six years old. She later studied voice with LeeAnne Campos at Pacific Lutheran University, where she graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor in Musical Arts and a minor in Communication. From 2013-2015, Micaela spent her summers interning at Tacoma Musical Playhouse. There, she helped direct musicals for the children's summer camp, Camp TMP. In 2017, she joined the Tacoma Opera chorus, performing in productions such as Carmen and The Merry Widow.

Micaela has been teaching private voice lessons since 2017 and is passionate about helping students not just be able to sing, but also be able to connect with an audience.