Jeff Brister - Piano, Voice, Brass
Jeff began playing piano and trumpet in fifth grade. After attending Sam Houston State University and receiving a Bachelor's degree in music education, he earned his Master's in Musicology with minors in music theory and choral conducting in 1992. Upon receiving a Rotary fellowship for study abroad, Jeff continued his music studies in Munich, then spent two semesters in Mainz, Germany, studying music literature at the Mainzer Musicwissenschaftliche Institut and conducting with the Mainzer Dom Chor Conductor, Matthias Breitschaft.
Back in the states, Jeff took a position as adjunct faculty at Sam Houston State and did three tours of duty in the public schools, teaching band and choir, then moved to Austin to become the music director at University Christian church. After marrying his lovely wife Jane, the Bristers moved to Bastrop, Texas, in 1999 and opened the Bastrop Academy of Music. Jeff teaches piano, voice and brass lessons and operates the Lumberyard Music Hall, a live music venue/dance hall in downtown Bastrop.
Mary Kay Schultz
Mary Kay Schultz has been teaching at the Bastrop Academy of Music since its inception 18 years ago. Always smiling and quick-witted, Mary Kay is a master-teacher, specializing in Guitar (all styles especially, classical and Rock), beg.- inter. Violin, beg.-inter. Cello and Piano. Constantly challenging students, Mary Cay encourages and teaches the art of improvisation as well as giving her students a thorough grounding in music theory and performance skills. A former regularly-gigging professional musician, current composer, arranger, founder and conductor of the Bastrop Student Orchestra and as delightful of a Christian person as ever there was, Mary Kay is highly sought after as an instructor!
Casey Schultz
Casey Schultz is the son of Mary Kay Schultz and has been around music and musicians his whole life. He is an Audio Engineer and DJ and teaches Guitar, Double Bass, Drums, and Piano at the Academy. He also teaches electronic music production, including the basics of midi (computer music technology) and DJ fundamentals including DAW (Digital Audio Workstation ie; Ableton, Reason, Fl Studio) and DJ application software (Serato, Traktor, Virtual DJ).
Miles Joseph
Miles Joseph is a creative musician and teacher based in Austin, TX. By trade a jazz bassist, Miles contributes to a number of different musical projects in a variety of styles from folk to rock to improvised. He can also be found singing his own original songs.
In addition to over a decade of private instruction, Miles also has experience leading after-school classes for elementary students, teaching at music camps, and playing music for pre-school kids. In 2009, he was part of an outreach program run by the San Francisco Symphony that brought a jazz education program to over 70 elementary schools in San Francisco. Miles holds a B.A. in Music Sonoma State University.
Sean Orr
Sean studied music at McLennan Community College and the University of North Texas. He has taught professionally since 1984 at private institutions and Harris County College. He has worked at Texas A&M as a "guest resident" teaching all things fiddle! He has toured across the country and has played festivals in Canada and Europe and had the privilege of representing Texas, singing and playing Texas style fiddle at the Kennedy Center in Washington D. C. Presently he fronts Texas Gold, a band known for their unapologetic, high-energy Texas Swing, Honky Tonk, and Cajun offerings. He also fronts his own Irish/Celtic band as well as being an in-demand studio musician and guest fiddler for numerous bands across the state of Texas. Check him out below: