Teachers who love what they do

Evan has played piano and trumpet since age 12. He composes choir and organ music for his church (where he also plays trumpet), and composes for piano, chamber ensembles, concert band, and symphony orchestra.

As the founder of Keys of Joy, Evan built the studio around a single belief: that music is a natural human ability, and the right teaching approach can unlock it in anyone. He loves to help students of all ages discover their natural musicality.

John earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland where he studied film and early childhood educational psychology. Most recently, he was Director of the Composite Materials Laboratory for KU's Department of Aerospace Engineering from 2008 to 2016.

John tried to learn piano twice before and failed both times — until he found Simply Music. It was life-changing. He began lessons 15 years ago and now plays more than 150 songs across pop, classical, jazz, and his own compositions. His students range from age 7 to 75, and he loves to say: "If I can do it, anyone can!"

Taylor is an outstanding guitarist who has played for over 20 years. He has performed extensively with KU jazz ensembles and combos, the bands Rotoscope, B.O.G., the Anthony Orange Band, Private Selection, and the R&J Playerz Band, as a Worship Team guitarist at Faith Walkers Outreach Church, and with the entertainment company The Crossroad Sound. He has been involved in numerous performances in the Lawrence and Kansas City areas.

He particularly enjoys jazz, blues, R&B, funk, gospel, and classic rock, and is always expanding his repertoire. He delights in helping students discover the same joy from the guitar that he has found throughout his career.

Randy Ferguson has been playing music in various bands for over 15 years, and he plays the bass, guitar, drums, and trombone. As a mostly self-taught musician, he loves to learn new instruments and styles of music, and particularly enjoys playing in worship bands. If you can name an instrument, he can probably figure it out in no time!

At Keys of Joy, he teaches the bass and the guitar. He delights in sharing the joy he has found in music with others, and loves to show students how easy and fun it really is.

Angela teaches violin, viola, and piano, and is the creator of String Scholars — a breakthrough method for teaching strings that is used here at Keys of Joy. She began playing violin at age 9 and developed both a passion for music and an equal passion for sharing it with others.

She earned a PhD in Psychology from Kansas State University and specializes in curriculum development. One day, she combined her love of music, her delight in helping others, and her curriculum skills — and String Scholars was born. Her students absolutely love learning from her, and she delights in every one of their achievements.

Though she comes from a long line of violinists, at age 9 Linda chose the cello instead — sparking a lifelong love of music around which everything else began to revolve. She played in school and community orchestras, church ensembles, and sang in community choirs. At Ottawa University, she studied Elementary Music Education, further honing her skills as both a performer and a teacher.

As an adult, Linda picked up the violin as well, inspired by the family tradition — learning it herself right here at Keys of Joy! Being a beginner again, later in life, reminded her just how much delight there is in starting something new. It's part of what brought her back to teaching, now sharing her first love, the cello, with students of her own.

Linda also rings handbells at her church, and believes a person is never too old to learn something new and fulfill a dream.

Ron calls music "a miracle," and has been playing it for over 40 years. Though he plays many instruments (including the penny whistle!), he primarily plays piano and organ for church services. He loves to improvise, learn new repertoire, and sing along with classic tunes.

Most of all, Ron loves to draw the audience into the music so they don't merely hear it — they experience it. At Keys of Joy, he delights in helping students discover the miracle of music for themselves.