Ben is the owner and founder of Greensleeves Music L.L.C. Mr. Green is a public school teacher in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, teaching general music at the elementary level. He continues to teach private music lessons in students’ homes as he has for many years. Though his instruments of greatest study are in the percussion family, Mr. Green also teaches guitar lessons. His style of teaching focuses on the students’ interests, but a well rounded approach assures that each student has all the basic skills and knowledge needed for success. Ben studied at West Chester University, where he earned a Master of the Arts in Music Education degree, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Music Education. Both degrees were met with honors. Ben continues to perform locally as a percussionist as well. He plays drum set with the rock band Ka-Pow! and vibraphone with Good Vibes Inc. among other freelance work.
Nick Doak – Guitar
Nick
Boasting 12 years of guitar study and performance experience, Nick has earned a reputation for quality, reliability and variety. He is a graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania (2011, summa cum laude). He holds a dual bachelor’s degree in music education and performance, with a focus on classical guitar, as well as, a vocal minor. He is also a graduate of the Honor’s College at WCU and a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. Performing in the greater Philadelphia area, Nick finished as a semi-finalist in 2009 and as a finalist in 2010 in the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society competition. Nick tailors each lesson specifically to the needs of his students, creating a fun and comprehensive study of guitar music through technique and theory. Nick currently performs with the cover bands, Hot Third Rail and Dean Street Duo, in the greater Philadelphia area.
Ethan Stauffer – Guitar, Piano, Voice
Ethan
Ethan Stauffer is a recent graduate of West Chester University with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education. Having been an avid musician his entire life, singing, playing guitar and piano, he decided to focus his study at WCU on the voice. There he took specific classes and lessons to learn pedagogy and teaching methods for vocal students and choirs of every age. While completing those studies he sang with the nationally recognized WCU Concert Choir under the direction of Dr. David P. Devenney, Sharp Eleven vocal jazz ensemble under the direction of Dr. Jane Wyss and played guitar in the Statesmen Jazz Ensemble under the direction of legendary jazz trumpet player John Swana (Charles Mingus Big Band). He’s been playing guitar for over 10 years and studied under Grammy award winning jazz guitarist David Cullen. His goal as an educator is to spread the passion and love of music to younger generations in order to enrich their lives culturally and academically. Above all he strives to help everybody find the joy in music, whether it be through shared experience or self exploration.
Jonathan Colman – Guitar, Bass
Jonathan
Jonathan Colman has been writing, recording & performing music for the past 14 years, 4 of which he spent at Duquesne University earning his Jazz Performance degree. While a skilled Guitarist, his main voice is Electric Bass. His penchant for jazz-steeped improvisation carries over into his lessons, which focus on practical application of theory for reading music and beginning to write one’s own, and gaining a deep understanding of the songs that inspire us to play in the first place.
An avid performer, Jonathan plays in a slew of Philadelphia bands; most notably his avant-groove trio, Chen City & with electro-soul artist Kate Faust.
Alex Dragonettin – Guitar, Bass
Alex
Alex is currently in his final year as a music education major at West Chester University. His teaching philosophy is strongly rooted in a very hands-on, student-driven approach to learning music. Alex has experience in a variety of styles of guitar and bass, including jazz, rock, classical, funk, pop, and reggae.
Alex has been published in music educators journal (June 2014). He has played guitar and bass throughout the Philadelphia area, in a variety of bars and restaurants as well as collegiate and professional musicals, most recently for Mazzepa Production Company’s production of ‘Xanadu’.
Caitlin Hoffert – Voice, Piano, Guitar
Caitlin
Caitlin currently attends West Chester University as a sophomore music education major, focusing on voice, with a minor in jazz studies. She has been involved wtih music ever since she joined her first choir in the 4th grade. Along the way, she has learned to play guitar and piano, continuing lessons into her collegiate career.
Currently, Caitlin is a member of WCU’s Mastersingers and is also the jazz vocalist for WCU’s Criterions Jazz Ensemble and their Latin Jazz Ensemble. In the past, she has been involved with theater and has won awards as a jazz soloist, one of which allowed her to open for Musikfest in 2013, singing the national anthem as well as Doris Day’s “Darn that Dream”.
One of Caitlin’s passions is performance. This past Fall, she worked for Windish Music & Productions, performing with a band at Hershey Park in the Dark, singing and playing the keytar. She also sings as the lead vocalist of a band local to her hometown, Meditation XVII, with which she enjoys writing music and performing.
However, a passion that she holds a bit nearer and dearer to her heart is teaching. Caitlin believes that music can sculpt an individual, both intellectually and emotionally, when practiced at any age. As an educator, she hopes to guide her students in this pursuit.
As a member of the music fraternity Sigma Alpha Iota, her mantra is, “to study and practice the goodness of life, the beauty of art, the meaning of music”.
Guitar Teachers
Ben
Ben is the owner and founder of Greensleeves Music L.L.C. Mr. Green is a public school teacher in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, teaching general music at the elementary level. He continues to teach private music lessons in students’ homes as he has for many years. Though his instruments of greatest study are in the percussion family, Mr. Green also teaches guitar lessons. His style of teaching focuses on the students’ interests, but a well rounded approach assures that each student has all the basic skills and knowledge needed for success. Ben studied at West Chester University, where he earned a Master of the Arts in Music Education degree, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Music Education. Both degrees were met with honors. Ben continues to perform locally as a percussionist as well. He plays drum set with the rock band Ka-Pow! and vibraphone with Good Vibes Inc. among other freelance work.
Nick
Ethan
Jonathan
An avid performer, Jonathan plays in a slew of Philadelphia bands; most notably his avant-groove trio, Chen City & with electro-soul artist Kate Faust.
Alex
Alex has been published in music educators journal (June 2014). He has played guitar and bass throughout the Philadelphia area, in a variety of bars and restaurants as well as collegiate and professional musicals, most recently for Mazzepa Production Company’s production of ‘Xanadu’.
Caitlin
Currently, Caitlin is a member of WCU’s Mastersingers and is also the jazz vocalist for WCU’s Criterions Jazz Ensemble and their Latin Jazz Ensemble. In the past, she has been involved with theater and has won awards as a jazz soloist, one of which allowed her to open for Musikfest in 2013, singing the national anthem as well as Doris Day’s “Darn that Dream”.
One of Caitlin’s passions is performance. This past Fall, she worked for Windish Music & Productions, performing with a band at Hershey Park in the Dark, singing and playing the keytar. She also sings as the lead vocalist of a band local to her hometown, Meditation XVII, with which she enjoys writing music and performing.
However, a passion that she holds a bit nearer and dearer to her heart is teaching. Caitlin believes that music can sculpt an individual, both intellectually and emotionally, when practiced at any age. As an educator, she hopes to guide her students in this pursuit.
As a member of the music fraternity Sigma Alpha Iota, her mantra is, “to study and practice the goodness of life, the beauty of art, the meaning of music”.