About Us
Instructors
Meet our Teachers
Stephanie Neuman - Woodwinds Stephanie has an MA in Composition from Mills College, BA in Music from Miami University and a Certificate from The Recording Workshop. She is a founder and saxophonist for the Port Townsend Saxophone Quartet, composer/performer for Straight Ensemble, and member of both the Sequim City Band and PT Summer Band, with other past collaborative projects including The Red Rose Jazz Project, OakWind Sax Quartet, VociWomen's VocaI Ensemble, and LA-based collective Lucky Dragons. Her compositions and audiovisuals have been featured by organizations such as Ensemble for These Times and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music.
Sammy Watson - Percussion Sammy has toured and recorded with multiple artists, including The Apex Theory. After graduating with honors from Musicians Institute in 1995, he toured with Ricky Lee Jones on the H.O.R.D.E. Festival, and a variety of other artists. With The Apex Theory, Sammy has recorded multiple albums and performed at the Ozz Fest, Vans Warped Tour, Snow Core, and many others, both in the U.S. and internationally. Sammy was at the Musician's institute in Hollywood, CA where he taught for 18+yrs. Sammy is also the author of the book, "Drumming D.N.A." and has recently finished his first soto album, "KaleidosCope", released in October of 2022. Sammy moved back to his hometown of Chimacum in 2O2O and has been playing and teaching drums locally since then.
Michael Hohnbaum - Brass Michael played in the Willamette University Symphonic Band and the Oregon State University Marching Band, Basketball Pep Band and Jazz Band. Michael has performed extensively with chamber brass ensembles, including being a founding member of Bull Mountain Brass and leading that group tor 25 years. Michael has attended the Humboldt State University Chamber Brass Workshop 6 years to hone his chamber music skills. White Living in the Portland OR area, Michael was principal trumpet for an award winning community orchestra, lead trumpet for A2Q person brass ensemble, and made appearances with the Vancouver (WA) symphony, the Marylhurst University Orchestra, and the Mahler Festival Orchestra. Living in Nordland, Michael is a member of the Sequim City Band, the Port Townsend Summer Band and the Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra.
Sonny Flores - guitar Sonny coordinated the music programs with The WA Dept Of Corrections where he eventually retired. ln college, he was part of the classical guitar ensemble and completed Pro Tools level 1 as well as recording engineering courses. He also does sound production for many local artists and events.
Dana Africa - flute Dana enjoys playing duets, trios and in big bands. She currently plays in the PT Summer band and local small ensembles. Although teaching students can be challenging, she finds it totally worth it in the end. "Music in the universal language" is her mantra.
Alex Gee - trombone Alex graduated from Western Washington University. He played trombone in both high school and at the university level. He currently works at Jefferson Healthcare.
Tracy Wirta - clarinet Tracy is retired, having worked for in the tech industry for companies like AT&T Genentech and Veritas. She currently serves as board president for the PT Summer band, performs with the Sequim City Band and is the Junior Fellowship coordinator with the Olympic Music Festival.
Mike Accurso - drums Mike is retired and new to the Jefferson County area. Mike has previously worked for the San Francisco Opera and Ballet. This is Mike's 2nd year helping to teach drums at Chimacum. He teaches drums privately in Port Townsend runs a drumming group.