Joyful Noise Faculty

Dr. Gina Mashburn Caldwell, of Marshall, is a graduate of the North Carolina School for the Arts (BM), Boston University (MM), and Catholic University of America (DMA). Before returning to North Carolina and founding Joyful Noise, Caldwell was professor of violin and viola at Shepherd University (WV) and Atlantic Union College (MA) and director of the String Department for the Arts Education for Children Group (Maui). Caldwell has performed solo and chamber recitals as well as taught master classes across the United States and Costa Rica. She has taught students of all ages for 20 years, has performed with numerous orchestras across North Carolina, and is currently a member of the Asheville Symphony.

Stacy Claude  began singing in church choirs at an early age and developed an ear for harmony lines. Originally studying piano and voice for 15 years, Stacy picked up the guitar in college and taught herself to play. After obtaining a B.S. in Elementary Education she worked in experiential and alternative education settings incorporating music into the lessons, teaching group guitar classes, and leading a chorus ensemble. Stacy has performed and recorded out West with Blue String Theory, and in the Asheville area with Blue Roan. Her current band and full-time project is bluegrass/Americana group, Dehlia Low. Stacy discovered Bluegrass music while living in Utah, of all places, and was captivated by the harmonies, drive, and acoustic sound. She moved to Asheville, NC in 2003 to pursue her musical interests and was lucky enough to meet the 4 amazing musicians allowing her to form the band.

Heidi Kulas grew up dancing with three generations of her family in Greenville, Michigan. As a young teenager, she was already competing, performing, touring and teaching clogging, Irish and many other traditional forms of percussive dance. She received a Michigan Dance Heritage Fellowship and then moved to Maryland to be the youngest principal dancer with the international touring company, Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, where she directed their Junior Company, arts-in-education programs and community classes. Heidi has performed as a guest dancer with many artists including Nickel Creek, Lunasa, The Duhks, Uncle Earl, Eileen Ivers and Tim O’Brien. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Mars Hill College, where she also served as the 15 time National Champion Bailey Mountain Cloggers captain for two years. She is a member of the All American Clogging team and currently directs, choreographs and performs with Sole Impact Dance Company and is the owner of Sole Impact Studios in Woodfin. She is glad to be a part of Joyful Noise as a percussive dance instructor.
www.soleimpactstudios.com

Rebecca Morris considers acting to be both an outlet to express our freest most creative selves and a craft that requires discipline and a constant willingness to learn more. A co-founder of local troupe, The Redundant Theatre Company Theatre, she has also worked professionally with the Immediate Theatre Project and North Carolina Stage Company among others. Rebecca has also acted in a wide variety of local, independent movies. She has a BA in Theatre Arts, has studied with Elizabeth D'Onofrio and Timothy Carhart and is thrilled to have the opportunity to teach with Joyful Noise.

Yvette Odell has been teaching Kindermusik since 1994 and in 1998 she became director/owner of her studio in Holland, MI. In 2008 she relocated to North Carolina to be closer to her extended family. For nine years she earned the status of Maestro in the top 5% of Kindermusik studios world wide. Yvette has a master’s degree in music education from Wichita State University In Kansas and her bachelor’s degree in music education from Western Maryland College (now named McDaniel College). Her continuing education involves child development, sensory integreation work and communication skills. She is frequently asked to present at conferences on topics such as child development, parenting, music and learning, sensory integration and homeschooling. She has private flute students, is involved her her church’s music ministry by playing the flute and singing with the choir. Yvette has been teaching music to young children since 1980 and is happy to be bringing her warm and friendly style of teaching to Western North Carolina! Last year she was recognized again as a Maestro in Kindermusik and also the award for top growth of all Kindermusik programs.

Daniel Pac is a multi-instrumentalist who studied Contemporary Improvisation at New England Conservatory of Music. He performs regularly on piano, double bass, percussion, and voice - most often in the duo Fireseed. Daniel’s original music reflects his immersion in an array of styles including Jazz, Blues, Celtic, Old Time, Salsa, and Sacred Music of many cultures. As a teacher, Daniel inspires his students to discover and develop their unique creativity. Lessons with Daniel are grounded in fundamentals and include exciting explorations of improvisation, composition, and songwriting. Click here for a sampling of Daniel’s music.

Kara Poorbaugh is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music (BM-viola performance and music education), where she studied with John Graham, Louis Bergonzi, and the Ying Quartet. She serves as Principal Violist of the Asheville Symphony and also performs regularly with the Greenville, Spartanburg, and Hendersonville Symphonies. As violist of the Opal String Quartet, Kara has performed chamber recitals across our region and has helped develop the school outreach programs of the Asheville Symphony Guild and Asheville Chamber Music Society. Kara has been featured as a soloist with the Blue Ridge Orchestra, Raleigh Symphony, Triangle Youth Philharmonic, and Duke University String School Orchestra and participated in summer festivals at Interlochen, Musicorda, and Brevard Music Center. Kara's website is here.

Cynthia Roop enjoys a career that draws on her background both in teaching and in performance as chamber musician, soloist and orchestral player. She currently serves as the adjunct Instructor of Flute at Mars Hill College and as a member of the Mosaic Flute and Percussion Duo with her husband, Brian Tinkel. She also serves as the Children's Ministry Coordinator of the Weaverville United Methodist Church and teaches flute for the Joyful Noise Community Music and Arts Center. Her past chamber music and large group experiences have included the Enid Symphony, New Century Ensemble, the Arioso Trio, the Milhaud Ensemble, the Trillium Trio, and has performed solo recitals in Germany, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Kentucky. Ms. Roop is the Co-Artistic Director of the Brio Concert Series and currently resides in Weaverville with her husband and beautiful new baby girl, Lydia. Contact Cynthia.

Matthew Smith is a Virginia native who was raised in a musical family. He has performed and recorded on pedal steel, guitar and dobro with a wide variety of artists including Shannon Whitworth, Cary Fridley, Pierce Edens, Jar-E, Seth Kauffman, Tyler Ramsey and many others.  Matthew holds a B.A. in jazz and classical guitar from Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. He is also a staff instructor with the JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) program in Black Mountain and teaches a number of styles on guitar, pedal steel and dobro.

Lynda Sondles has been involved in some form of artistic exploration for as long as she can remember. She colored, drew, scribbled and loved finger paints and playdough. From crayons to paint to pastels to fiber and fabric, Lynda’s artistic life has been an exploration of color and pattern and form. Pastel drawings provide the inspiration for a colorful basket or a quilt or a knitted shawl. The world outside with its vibrant colors and hues of flowers and trees, mountains and rivers and sky and clouds provides endless inspiration for creative work. God gave Lynda the ability to see and to draw and paint and weave colors together into forms that please Him and provide beauty, inspiration and comfort to others. Sharing this gift with her students is the greatest pleasure of her life.

Natalya Weinstein is an accomplished multi-genre fiddler and violinist who trained for fifteen years as a classical violinist before switching her focus to bluegrass, country, swing, and old-time fiddling. She performs with a number of local and regional bands including Red June, the Kari Sickenberger Band, and Polecat Creek, as well as teaches students of all ages. While she focuses on fiddle repertoire with her students, Natalya teaches from a classical perspective. After students gain a level of comfort on the instrument, she encourages them to study whatever fiddle style they’re most interested in. Please see her website for more information.