Violet Palm

PIANO

Violet Palm is a Baltimore-based pianist and singer-songwriter currently studying Jazz Performance at Towson University under the mentorship of Savino Palumbo. Sheis a member of Cheshire, a funk and jazz-influenced band, and performs throughout the Baltimore area, both as a solo artist and with various groups. With a passion for a wide range of musical styles—including rock, R&B, blues, jazz, alternative, and funk—Violet brings versatility and creativity to both her playing and teaching.

Griffin Quinnan

Guitar - Bass

Griffin Quinnan is a guitarist and bassist currently studying Jazz Performance at Towson University under the instruction of Jon Birkholz and Jeff Reed. He has performed with numerous bands, covering a wide range of styles including jazz, funk, pop, and rock. As a member of the local pop fusion group Just for Kicks, Griffin brings both versatility and creativity to his playing. In his teaching, Griffin focuses on connecting with each student’s individual musical interests, creating a personalized and engaging learning experience that supports their unique musical growth.

Grey Rayadurg

GUITAR - VOICE - PIANO - BASS - SONGWRITING - PRODUCTION

Grey is a versatile music teacher with over two decades of experience across multiple instruments and disciplines. As a local Baltimore artist, he frequently performs with his group The Honest Thief. With a decade of expertise as a vocalist in pop and R&B settings, Grey also provides instruction in rock and metal. His teaching philosophy emphasizes vocal therapy, improvisation, and songwriting, fostering a passion for helping students “find their own voice.”

As a multi-instrumentalist, Grey enjoys teaching a broad array of genres, guiding students to discover songs that excite them. He has over 15 years of experience playing and teaching guitar, piano, and bass. In the world of audio engineering, Grey works as a producer for recording sessions and excels in front-of-house and monitor mixing.

With a wide array of talents, Grey is a career musician committed to introducing students to the world of music, regardless of their age or experience level. His goal is to help foster a lifelong passion for music in every student.

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LISTENING TO:

Ichika Nito - The World is still Beautiful
Tyla - Tyla
Dirty Loops - loopified
The Home Team - Walk This World with Me
Fox Capture Plan - Butterfly

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Noah Stuehler

Guitar - Songwriting

Noah Stuehler is a passionate music teacher born and raised here in Baltimore, Maryland. Currently attending UMBC for Music Technology, Noah channels his love for music into teaching guitar and songwriting lessons.

During his time at UMBC, Noah studied classical guitar under Felipe Garibaldi de Almeida and Nathaniel Cornelius and developed a deep interest in classical playing and performance. Also at UMBC, Noah met the connections that would lead to the creation of his lyrically driven indie-rock band Fly By the Seat. He believes that music is a powerful means of expressions and hopes to share the creative side of music with all of his students.

Be sure to catch Noah at our monthly Open Mic—where he typically debuts new material—or see his band perform at venues around town.

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LISTENING TO:

Tenci - My Heart is an Open Field
Little Dragon - Little Dragon
Glauque - Flaming Swords
Palm - Shadow Expert
Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose Your Weapon

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Max Phelps

GUITAR - BASS

Max Phelps has performed internationally in over 30 countries throughout North America, Europe and South America, performing with progressive metal acts Exist, Cynic, Death to All (a tribute to musician Chuck Schuldiner comprised of members of the band Death) and Defeated Sanity. Max also plays locally with the funk oriented working band “Bachelor Boys Band” as well as various jazz ensembles and freelance work both recording and playing live.

Max's general teaching philosophy is that music should be fun and rewarding to participating individuals. Every situation is different based on a student’s interests, goals and skill level. For beginners, Max's aim is not just to provide an enriching musical education, but to aid students in finding their own love for music and the instrument. For already established players, Max seeks to help them accomplish their own unique goals as well as to knock down any road-blocks that the student may be encountering.

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LISTENING TO:

Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine
Kurt Rosenwinkel - Our Secret World
Elliott Smith - Figure 8
Meshuggah - Obzen
King Crimson - Thrak

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Kit Benz

PIANO - GUITAR

Kit Benz is an accomplished pianist, guitarist and songwriter from New York City. With 10 years of experience and several hundred performances, his thirst for musical betterment is unquenchable. He began taking piano lessons at age 4 and continued his studies at Shenandoah University, studying jazz and classical piano, as well as music production and jazz guitar. His versatility and love for all genres of music has taken him from performing with jazz quintets to engineering for Ginuwine.

Benz has been teaching students of all ages for several years. With a background in classical music, Benz instructs with an emphasis on reading, theory and of course, fun.

“I want my students to have fun and learn music that they love.”

In addition to wedding bands, cinematic composing, and shredding guitar, Benz also loves Mario, Tolkien and comic books. He hopes to one day compose for a Marvel movie.

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LISTENING TO:

Radiohead - All I Need
Mammoth WVH - Epiphany
Knocked Loose - Forced to Stay
Prince - 3121
Los Lonely Boys - Di Mi Amor

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Derek Wiegmann

DOUBLE BASS - ELECTRIC BASS

Derek Wiegmann is an in demand bassist and teacher who lives in Baltimore, MD.  He began playing the electric bass at the age of twelve.  He was introduced to the double bass at the age of 17 and fell in love with the instrument.  During his freelance career, Derek has performed a wide variety of genres including classical, jazz, rock, blues, R&B, Motown, bluegrass, country, and pop.  Derek has been teaching privately since 2012. 

In 2012, Derek entered the Jazz/Commercial Music program at Towson University where he studied with Jeff Reed.  While at Towson, he also studied improvisation with the renowned trumpeter Dave Ballou and played in the big band directed by Jim McFalls.  Through the jazz residency program, he studied and performed with artists such as Drew Gress, Ralph Alessi, Ellery Eskelin, Tony Malaby, and Mary Halvorson.  He played in master classes held by David Liebman, Donny McCaslin, Mark Dresser, and Jeff Lederer.  During his junior year, he was selected to perform with the Mid Atlantic Collegiate Jazz Orchestra under the direction of trumpeter Sean Jones at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.  He has always been interested in versatility and exploring different styles.  During his senior year, he studied South Indian Karnatic music with Jon Seligman and performed in the Latin ensemble.  He has performed Balkan music with Orchestra Prezavica in Baltimore and D.C. and Persian classical music with Nader Najd’s orchestra in Alexandria, VA.  

While at Towson University, Derek was also an active performer and student in the classical department.  He studied classical bass with Victor Dvoskin.  In his fourth semester, he began attending Cecylia Barczyk’s cello studio’s weekly master classes.  He continued to attend and participate in her weekly master classes until graduation.  While at Towson, he played in chamber ensembles coached by Mrs. Barczyk and played principal bass in Towson’s orchestra his junior year.  Also during his junior year, he performed alongside Towson faculty and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra members in the pit orchestra for Randall Thompson’s Solomon and Balkis as part of the American Opera Symposium hosted at Towson that year.  He also in played in and observed master classes in the violin studio.  Cecylia Barczyk became an important mentor to him.  He assisted Professor Barczyk in writing her instructional method, “Teaching the Double Bass in the Classroom.”  Together they filmed a series of videos to compliment the text.  The materials are used in the lower strings method class for music education students at the university.

As a teacher, Derek uses student-centered teaching strategies as a means to actively engage the student in his or her learning process.  The role of the teacher should be to help a student learn how to teach him or herself.  He firmly believes that students should understand the “why” and not just the “how” and “what.”  Inspired by his exposure to the Alexander Technique, Derek teaches technique based on natural body movements and the release of excess tension.  When teaching technique, he does not just teach what it should look like, but how it should feel.  He has explored a variety of different playing postures with the double bass (sitting, standing with straight and angled endpins) and electric bass (various ways of sitting and standing) in order to help students of all body-types and sizes find a way of playing that is comfortable for them.  Regarding lesson structure, he does not believe in a “one-size-fits-all” mentality and caters lessons to the goals of the individual.  He firmly believes that talent is not an innate ability that one is born with; it is a skill that is trained and developed.  

In addition to teaching at the Music Space, Derek has been an adjunct professor at Howard Community College since Spring 2017, and has taught lower strings as part of the after school music program at the Park School of Baltimore since 2016.  Derek has coached double bass sectionals at the Baltimore County Summer Music Camp (2016) and the Howard County’s Elementary School Honors Orchestra (2018).  He was an All State Orchestra string judge for cello in 2016. 

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LISTENING TO:

Edgar Meyer - Uncommon Ritual
Bill Evans Trio - My Foolish Heart
Dexter Gordon - Soul Sister
Rev. James Moore ft. MS Mass Chori - Interiors
Eivind Opsuik - Twelve Days

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Roxanne Wehking

GUITAR - UKULELE

Roxanne is a highly-accomplished musical performer and educator who is technically proficient at playing classical, jazz, and rock guitar styles. Roxanne’s teaching style draws from her experience with all types of music, her study of guitar pedagogy, and the Alexander Technique: a method that advocates for efficiency of movement and control of the body, allowing a musician to play without pain or tension.

Roxanne currently teaches a guitar summer camp at the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts, and she was recently promoted to Musical Director of the Baltimore School of Rock due to her excellent work as an instructor. Roxanne’s reputation for creating exciting and informative lessons for students is informed by her diverse background: she learned classical guitar in high school, studied with Shawn Purcell and took master classes with jazz guitar legend Pat Martino in college, and currently plays in several different bands.  At Towson University, Roxanne became only the 3rd guitarist to ever make the jazz orchestra in their second semester. In her Junior year, she won the Talent Award for Jazz, and she is currently nearing completion of her degree.

Although Roxanne has a top-notch educational pedigree, she has also earned valuable experience performing in bands at a young age. Before she could even legally enter bars, Roxanne found herself playing lead guitar in the Livin’ Loving Maids - a Led Zeppelin tribute band – due to the recommendation of her long-time guitar instructor. She has continued performing around the area as part of the funk group Filthy McNasty and the jazz trio Rose Room. 

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LISTENING TO

Cheryl Lynn - Got to be Real
St. Vincent - Cruel
Led Zeppelin - Ten Years Gone
Harry Styles - As it Was
Stevie Wonder - Knocks Me Off My Feet

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