MIchael Puryear
|Cello

Difficulty Levels: Beginner to Advanced
Music Styles: Any
Locations: C Street Conservatory

Michael Puryear received his Master’s degree in cello performance at Lynn University while studying with David Cole in 2019. He won numerous competitions during his collegiate career, including the concerto competitions at Shenandoah University in 2015, the Virginia Music Teachers Association in 2016, and Lynn University’s in 2017, and the chamber music competition at Lynn University in 2018 and 2019. He has remained active as a freelance orchestral and chamber musician; performing with the Boca Symphonia, Space Coast Symphony, Punta Gorda Symphony, and several others. A proud native of Richmond, Virginia, Michael began his musical career studying with Neal Cary from the Richmond Symphony. Other primary teachers include Clyde Thomas Shaw and Vasily Popov. He has performed in masterclasses for Andres Diaz, Joel Krosnick, Lynn Harrell, and the Emerson String Quartet. He is passionate about learning diverse repertoire. He is new to the NWA area and enjoys classic movies, Indian food, and his dog.

Rivers Wiseman
|Cello

Difficulty Levels: Beginner to Intermediate
Music Styles: Any
Locations: C Street Conservatory

Rivers is a cellist with 6 years of experience trained by successful professionals. He is pursuing a career in cello performance.

Some of his achievements are: SoNa Soloist audition Winner 2022, 3 time all state participant, Cello Soloist/Principal in Michael Daugherty’s Falling Water, Public Masterclass with Amit Peled, and a honorary Solo performer at the Walton Arts Center annual masquerade fundraising ball.

His teaching philosophy tailors to the needs and spirations of each student. He uses Suzuki books as well as selections from other works such as Feulliard. He places a strong emphasis on foundational technique.

He is a member of the University of Arkansas Chamber Orchestra, Bentonville High School Chamber Orchestra, Open Stringz Nonprofit Organization, and a substitue player for SoNa.

Grace CLark
|Viola/Violin

Difficulty Levels: Beginner to Advanced Viola & Beginner Violin
Music Styles: Any
Locations: C Street Conservatory

Grace is an Northwest Arkansas native and is currently at the University of Arkansas completing her Bachelor’s degree in Viola Performance. Grace has been no stranger to the arts around NWA and has been doing performances with Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra since 2016! Grace has also branched outside of the state and is a part of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra as well! She has been doing private lessons for the past 5 years and we are so glad to have her here to share her knowledge of musical elements and theory. Grace is enthusiastic about being here and can’t wait to work with your students!

Sidney Hudelson
|violin

Difficulty Levels: Beginner to Advanced
Music Styles: Any
Locations: C Street Conservatory

Sidney is a violinist in Northwest Arkansas who recently received her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance as well as a Bachelor of Arts in German from the University of Arkansas.

She performs with the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as other ensembles such as the pit orchestra for musicals featured by ARts Ones Presents. During her studies at the University of Arkansas she performed with the symphony and chamber orchestras and small chamber ensembles featuring strings and winds.

Her musical education began in her hometown of Little Rock at the age of 7 where she studied with members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

Violin is her primary instrument and she has studied flute/piccolo as well as viola.

Katie Staed
|Violin/Viola/Cello

Difficulty Levels: Beginner to Advanced Violin, Beginner to Intermediate Viola, Beginner Cello
Music Styles: Classical, Fiddle
Locations: J Street Conservatory

Katie is a Music Education and Violin Performance Major at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR. She has been playing the violin for over 20 years. She is a member of the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra.
Katie has worked with several groups around the Northwest Arkansas area, including the Fayetteville after school string program at Vandergriff Elementary in Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Fiddle Choir, headed up by Mary Haley. She studied violin and viola with Dr. Er-Gene Kahng at the UofA. Her previous violin teachers have included Rossitza Jekova-Goza (former violin professor at the UofA) and Christopher Pinkston of Fort Smith, Arkansas. She has studied many different styles of music, including classical, country-western/bluegrass (fiddle), rock and jazz.

In addition to private lessons, Katie was also the Director of Orchestras at the Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy from 2012 - 2020.

Jennifer Underwood
|Viola/Violin/cello/piano

Difficulty Levels: Violin Beginner to Advanced, Viola, Cello, Piano Beginner to Intermediate
Music Styles: Classical and Various
Locations: J Street Conservatory

Jennifer began learning violin at age 10 and studied during her teens with the concertmaster of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra in Youngstown, OH. This led to her early entrance to the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University at age 16, where she received a scholarship to study violin performance. She added a viola minor to her undergraduate work.

After a neck injury, due to an auto accident just before her senior solo recital and graduation, she returned to the university to study Music Education with a cello and piano minor. During this time she also began teaching private lessons and has been teaching ever since.

After receiving a BA from the University of Pittsburgh, she worked as an international music teacher in the K-12 schools in South Korea, Dominican Republic and France, where she was director of the full-school musicals and seasonal productions. 

Jennifer enjoys teaming up her students for ensemble playing (duets, trios, quartets, etc). Sometimes giving them opportunities to perform at a variety of venues.  She has also conducted a Community String Orchestra in the past in Pittsburgh, PA.

Most recently, she has relocated to Bentonville AR, from AZ and NM, where she had been teaching privately for the past 20 years.  

She prepares her students with a strong foundation for whatever path they decide to take with their musical interests, talents, and careers while cultivating love for their instrument and their music.

Bella Adams
|violin

Difficulty Levels: Beginner to Advanced
Music Styles: Any
Locations: J Street Conservatory

Information coming soon.