New Director of Education, Allison Kurihara, and Other New Staff

It's been exciting week getting back into the groove at Academy of Sound in person! As you can imagine, some things have changed over the past 15 months, and I'm happy to announce these below.

Ms. Allison Kurihara is our new Director of Education, replacing Mr. Keith Hampton who relocated to Austin, TX last year. Keith will remain on call this summer, so you might occasionally get him when you call or email. Keith has done a fantastic job remotely managing the Academy, but now that we're back in person it was the perfect time to transition as he moves forward with other opportunities closer to his new home.

Ally joined Academy of Sound in 2019 as a piano and saxophone teacher, and was our head piano teacher at the Mariposa location up until accepting this new position. She holds a degree in Music Education from Lawrence University, and has taught music all over the world, including Jamaica, Haiti, and New Zealand. She is currently an apprentice piano technician, and will soon be tuning pianos on her own. You will often see Ally at our front desk or teaching in one of the studios, and she will many times be the voice that answers the phone or responds to your emails.

...AND...

After over nine years as a piano student at Academy of Sound, Miss Charlotte Hendrickson has joined our staff as the Piano Teacher at our Mariposa location, and our Receptionist at Academy of Sound - Oregon. She is a serious and dedicated piano student, earning a perfect score at the Fall Piano Festival, and always scoring well at Sonatina Festival and WSMA Solo & Ensemble. Charlotte is currently a student at Oregon High School. She was a percussionist in band for three years, and sang in chorus for a year. Charlotte is the Class of 2024 Representative on the OHS Student Council, and is a part of the OHS Multicultural Student Union. In addition to her musical endeavors, Charlotte has been playing lacrosse since 2015 and is one of the only freshmen on the varsity team this year. You will see Charlotte at our front desk as well as at Mariposa in the music studio. (Photo coming soon)

We are finalizing some details with other new incoming staff members and hope to have even more to announce soon!