Our teachers
Cara Castaldi - Music Together® Teacher, Voice Instructor
Hailing from Kansas City, Cara Castaldi is currently a Music Education student at the University of Puget Sound. She has vocal training ranging from opera to contemporary styles and currently performs with the Adelphian Concert Choir (where she holds Alto Section Leader and Tour Manager positions), Voci d’Amici, and UPS Opera Theater. She was trained in piano through a non-traditional program and continues to apply and foster this skill frequently. She is passionate about music education and enjoys working with students of all ages to explore new ways of learning and making music. Cara is a certified Music Together® teacher.
Marcella Fogg - Instructor in Piano, Trombone, Music Theory, Jazz/Improvisation, Ear Training, Accompanying
Originally a California native; Marcella moved to the Seattle area in 2005 after studying a double bachelor’s degree in Piano and Trombone Performance at California State University Sacramento. Marcella started playing Piano at the age of 4 and Trombone at the age of 10. Marcella’s background consists of having grown up playing in multiple community and college music organizations as both a pianist and trombonist (Choirs, Musical Theatre, Opera, Chamber Music, Orchestra, Latin Band, Jazz Bands, Youth Symphony Assistant, Wind Ensemble, State and Local Music competitions, and other ensemble/solo combinations to name a few). Marcella has a diverse and eclectic background and enjoys teaching; she currently plays piano and arranges music with the Brazil Life group of Seattle, WA, under the direction of Eduardo Mendoca.
Marcella started teaching as a young teenager and offers studies and experience in all ages and all levels from preschool age beginners to retirement age music lovers. Marcella teaches Classical, Improvisation/Jazz, Latin, Accompanying, Ear Training, Performance Presentation and Rehearsals, Vocal accompanying, Music Theory, and music arranging.
Marcella’s Philosophy: The technique of learning Music is designed on an individual basis and takes account of how each person learns and grows with learning the art of music. Each lesson is customized to fit each student’s preferred learning strength. The true objective is to nurture the inner desire for music with the goal of sculpting the motivation within each and every music lover and those to be. Fun and Joy combined with learning makes students want to play their instrument more.
Willie Garza - Instructor in Piano, Jazz Piano, Afro-latin Percussion, Drum Set, Trumpet, Trombone, Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone
Willie Garza is a multi-instrumentalist, educator, clinician, and composer/arranger originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. He specializes in Afro-Latin percussion while exploring other sounds of Arabic, Flamenco, Brazilian and Vocal-Percussion. Willie has been an active free-lance professional musician and recording artist contributing his talents to many regional and international artists throughout his music career.
Willie holds both his BM, MM with emphasis in Jazz Studies from San Jose State University where he studied composition, arranging alongside instrumental music pedagogy. Willie is also a graduate of the School for Music Vocations founded by jazz pianist, composer, and arranger Phil Mattson. Willie has been an active composer & arranger who has had commissioned works and arrangements performed by elementary to college university programs.
Willie believes that music can uplift the human spirit, and music education can help one find their place in society and cultivate humanity in the world. His goal is to assist on the journey.
Dr. Glenn Guhr - Instructor in Voice and Musical Theater
Dr. Guhr is a singer, actor, and director who has worked in operas, operettas, musicals, and film. He is also an educator, with experience in private vocal instruction, lecturing on music history, and outreach performance programs. Glenn holds MM in Music History from Kansas State University and DMA in Vocal Performance from University of Washington.
Recently, Guhr acted as Tacoma Opera’s Production Manager during the Covid shutdown and subsequent reopening, arranging dozens of short, online recitals and directing several opera films for online viewing. Currently, Guhr is on the voice faculty of Pacific Lutheran University.
Jerard Mower - Instructor in Jazz Improvisation, Music Theory, Saxophone
Jerard M. Mower is originally from Tacoma, WA where he began studying music at a young age. He has studied jazz and classical saxophone under the direction of Kareem Kandi and Erik Steighner He has also studied jazz improvisation under Kareem Kandi and David Lee Joyner. In his 24 years of playing experience, he has performed for a number of global figures including Jeff Coffin, Desmond Tutu, Governor Christine Gregoire, and Seattle Seahawks coach, Pete Carroll.
Jerard has performed at dozens of venues in the Pacific Northwest, including Jazzbones, McMenamin’s Spanish Ballroom, Engine House No. 9, the late Sax on 6th, Odd Otter Brewery, Uncle Thurms, Life Center Church, Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center, and the Rialto theater in downtown Tacoma. He has also toured with the Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) Jazz Ensemble to Spain, Portugal, and Australia. Graduating from PLU in 2017, he earned a Bachelor of Music and Arts with a Minor in Religious Studies by writing a dissertation entitled “The Emotionalism Movement in the Southern Baptist Church as seen by Thomas A. Dorsey, the father of Gospel music.”
Emma Petersen - Instructor in Voice and Beginning Piano
Emma Petersen is a lyric coloratura soprano and music teacher. She primarily focuses on vocal training including aural skills, vocal technique, and artistic interpretations. She also teaches beginner piano. She considers herself a passionate guide on a student's journey through the exciting world of music. With over 10 years of teaching and performance experience, Emma has dedicated her life to music. She believes that each student has their own way of learning and receiving instruction. She aims to respect and guide a student's interest and goals, working as a team to create something fun and meaningful. As a performer, her recent roles include Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Contessa di Folleville in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims, Jean in Brigadoon, Yvettte in the Western Canadian premiere of Weinberg’s The Passenger, Orpheus in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, La Fée in Massenet’s Cendrillon.
Emma received her Bachelors of Music in Voice from the University of Arizona and her Masters of Music from the University of British Columbia.
Storm Tucker - Guitar and Ukulele Instructor
Storm Tucker is a guitarist and a Tacoma native. Picking up the guitar at 16, he turned his love of the instrument into something more. In 2018, he graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a bachelor's degree in guitar performance.
A classically-trained guitarist, Storm has performed with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, the PLU Symphony Orchestra, the PLU Jazz Band, and the PLU production of Dido and Aenaes. In addition to the guitar, he also plays the ukulele and the lute.
Having been an instructor for 5 years, Storm has taught lessons for guitar, ukulele and piano for the YMCA, Music & Arts, and as an independent instructor. He teaches students of varying ages and levels of playing experience. Whether you're an intermediate who has hit a rut in your playing or have never picked up an instrument in your life, Storm is willing to teach you.
Brit Baab - Administrative Assistant
Brit Baab is a musician (guitar/ukulele/vocalist/songwriter), author, and scientist originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Brit holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from North Park University in Chicago, Illinois and a Master of Science in Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience from Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany. She is particularly interested in research that analyzes the interplay of music and memory in the brain and how this knowledge can be implemented to create therapies that alleviate symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia.
Her current literary project is a children’s series geared towards 4th-6th grade students. In this series, Brit writes and illustrates books that introduce children to the German language in a playful, engaging manner.
Brit is thrilled to be a part of Tacoma Music Academy as it gives her the opportunity to facilitate people of all ages experiencing the life-altering power of music.
Svitlana Smaga - Piano Instructor, Founding/Managing Director
Originally from Ukraine, Svitlana Smaga received her Masters degrees in Piano Performance from the Donetsk State Conservatory and Mariupol Music College, taught at the School of Arts in her hometown of Mariupol and performed as a soloist and collaborative artist.
After relocating to California in 2005, she served as a piano instructor and staff accompanist at the College of the Siskiyous. Svitlana also enjoyed a professional career as a collaborative pianist for Tacoma Opera. Svitlana is a registered Music Together® teacher and a guest pianist for the internationally acclaimed Rimsky-Korsakov String Quartet.