The School of Fine Arts is pleased to offer instruction by some of the most highly qualified musicians and creative artists in the Chattanooga area. All instructors are approved by the School of Fine Arts Advisory Committee and are experienced in their field of instruction, both as teachers and performers. Every member of the music faculty has studied extensively on their instrument, with many holding advanced degrees.
Kellen Shiles is a local musician who specializes in guitar, ukulele, and bass guitar instruction. He has logged over 15 years of passionate playing and has studied a wide variety of styles. Kellen has experience with anything from
Autumn Skiles is a Chattanooga native. She earned her Bachelor of Art in Music from the University of Tennessee of Chattanooga in 2019. Autumn has enjoyed playing and learning bout the piano since she was seven years old and has studied with dedicated teachers including...
Ben Van Winkle is a native Chattanoogan who has 16 years experience playing cello. He is 25 years old and graduated from Tennessee Tech University in May 2015. He has played with ensembles such as the CSO and...
A Chattanooga native, Ms. Nunn started the violin at the age of 10 at Hixson Elementary, with Priscilla Estrada. When she was 15, Jessica began teaching private violin lessons for several middle school students in Hamilton County and switch from violin to viola the following year. When she was a junior...
A charter member of the faculty since 1997, David Kammerdiener has been playing the piano since he was five years old. He is a graduate of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas, and holds the following degrees: Bachelor of Music, Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, Oklahoma; Master of Church Music, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Mill Valley, California; Master of Music in Education-Kodály Emphasis, Holy Names College, Oakland, California; Associate of Applied Science-Networking Specialist, Georgia Northwestern Technical College, Rock Spring, Georgia.
Mrs. Parker received her Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano Pedagogy and Piano Performance, and her Masters of Music degree in Accompanying from East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. She has taught private piano lessons for 13 years in various locations in North Carolina and Tennessee. She taught Kindermusik for 10 years and directed her own program for two years.
Mrs. Tonkinson, soprano, brings a wealth of experiences as both teacher and performer to the School of Fine Arts. She has taught private voice, vocal pedagogy, and music education methods and has directed choirs for many years at colleges in Missouri, Tennessee, and Georgia, including: Covenant College, Chattanooga State Technical Community College, Tennessee Temple University, and Baptist Bible College (Springfield, Missouri).
Dr. Tonkinson received his Bachelor of Music degree (Clarinet) from Midwestern University (Wichita Falls, TX), the Master of Music degree (Clarinet) from the University of Oklahoma, and Doctor of Musical Arts degree (Conducting) from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. His clarinet teachers have included Stephen Girko, Lee Gibson and Patricia Kostek.
Roy Treiyer studied in Argentina and graduated with a BS in Psychology and Music. His passion for music finally led him to return to the States and become a graduation candidate for the MM in Piano Performance degree under Dr. Sin-Hsing Tsai at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. During his course of study, he has been chosen twice as the winner of the Arthur Rivituso Award for 2012-2013 and 2013-2014
Ms. Tullock, a lyric contralto, earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Carson-Newman College. She is a winner of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Regional Auditions. A frequent guest artist and recitalist, Ms. Tullock can be heard on Choral Arts of Chattanooga recordings of "Days of Blue and Gray," a CD of Civil War era music, and "Dave Brubeck in Chattanooga."