Instrumental to our Success

Expert instructors are key to growth of Applied Music Program

The Applied Music Program at Saint James School provides students with comprehensive instruction in voice, piano, guitar, strings, brass, winds, and percussion. The program has seen tremendous growth under the leadership of Linda Stowe, Fine Arts Department Chair. A major factor in the decision to build the Pohanka Fine Arts Center was the fact that the students taking lessons had run out of space in the Cotton Building, literally practicing in closets-turned-practice rooms. Now, with the Pohanka Fine Arts Center, the school has the space and resources to increase its offerings.

Students take private music lessons, typically during the school day, whether remote or in-person. Performing in ensembles is considered an integral part of a student’s Applied Music studies with a variety of opportunities available, such as through group lessons, duets and trios, wind ensemble, string ensemble, guitar ensemble, percussion or rock ensemble.

Our adjunct music faculty truly allow the program to flourish. These teachers are highly qualified and experienced musicians with impressive performing and teaching résumés. We are fortunate to benefit from their knowledge, and are pleased to introduce them to you.

William Feasley, Guitar

William Feasley is world-class classical guitarist who shares his talents with Saint James students. The first guitarist to be awarded the Peabody Conservatory's coveted Artist Diploma, Mr. Feasley has since been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards: a gold medal in the Panhellenic Guitar Competition in Athens, the Baltimore Chamber Music Awards, and a Governor's Citation for Outstanding Achievements in the Arts in Maryland. Mr. Feasley was selected to play for Andrés Segovia at the master's historic last class at the University of Southern California in 1986, and he was later featured on the CBS special Eulogy of Segovia.

Since making his debut in 1980 with the San Francisco Ballet, Mr. Feasley has maintained an active international touring schedule. He has appeared in the Ohrid Spoleto Festival in Macedonia and venues such as St. Martin in the Fields in London, the National Gallery of Art, the Phillips Collection, the Washington National Cathedral, and Yale University. He has toured with the Russian Chamber Orchestra, Music Viva (Alexander Rudin, Conductor), performed live on ABC International Radio in Australia, and with New York's Bachanalia Ensemble under the direction of Nina Beilina and Washington's 20th Century Consort. Recent tours have included Spain, the Caribbean, Greece, Yugoslavia, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Iceland.

In addition to his solo work, Mr. Feasley is also the founding member of The D’Amore Duo, with Emily Tsai.

Phyllis Freeman, Violin/Viola

Phyllis Freeman has been a fantastic addition this year as our new violin/viola teacher. Ms. Freeman is quite active as a performer. She currently holds the position of principal viola in the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and section viola in the National Philharmonic, where she is also the Director of Education.

Ms. Freeman has been a music educator for 40 years and has taught in a wide variety of settings both nationally and internationally. She is the founder and director of the Maryland Talent Education Center, a school for strings, located in Frederick, Maryland. From 2002-2011 she developed and implemented a unique strings program at the first charter school in the state of Maryland. At its height, approximately 45 percent of the student body was enrolled in this strings program. Using a DVD series that she created, students were able to follow through on class instruction and practice effectively at home. This DVD series laid the groundwork for ViolinPractice.com, a website that she and her colleague, Rebecca Henry, created and is now used by violin students and teachers from around the world.

She is the author of many articles about teaching and her work has been published in ASTA and SAA publications. She has also given presentations numerous times at the American String Teachers National Conferences on topics ranging from violin technique to creating lifelong musicians. Ms. Freeman has also produced several videos including “May I Help You Tune?” featuring Ronda Cole, a documentary film interview with John Kendall and a documentary on the early years of the Suzuki method in the United States. In addition, she has filmed hundreds of performances and masterclasses with renowned teachers like Mimi Zweig, Victor Danchenko, Roland Vamos, Zuill Bailey, Soovin Kim, and more.

She received her Bachelor of Music Performance degree from Indiana University and her Master of Music Performance degree from Peabody Conservatory.

Cameron Grimes, Cello

Cameron Grimes is another excellent new addition to our music program. He is running the string ensemble and teaching cello.

Mr. Grimes earned a Bachelor of Music from East Carolina University and a Master of Arts from the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also grew up singing as a choirboy and later worked at an Anglican church as the tenor choral scholar in the parish choir.

As an orchestral musician, Cameron has played with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, Royal Academy Symphony, Chamber, Opera, and Baroque Orchestras, Jersey Chamber Orchestra, NIH Philharmonia, The Kindler Cello Society, and Academy of Saint Cecilia Orchestra.

Mr. Grimes enjoys working most as a chamber musician and has collaborated with many ensembles and chamber musicians, including the Emanuel String Quartet, of which he was a founding member and cellist for ten years. He has also performed at numerous music festivals around the world, including Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival (USA), Burgos International Music Festival (Spain), Cambridge International String Academy (UK), Prague Summer Nights: Young Artists Music Festival (Czechia), St Marylebone Festival (UK), and the Blaricum Music Festival (Netherlands).

In addition to his work as a cellist, Mr. Grimes has an impressive history working in arts administration, primarily in operations management. He worked at the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, and later worked for a concert touring company where he organized and managed international tours for many prestigious orchestras and choirs, including the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and the famed German boychoir, Windsbacher Knabenchor. Given his experience, we are grateful that he is helping to plan the SJS Chapel Choir's trip to New York this spring.

Frauke Higgins, Flute

Frauke Higgins was born and raised in Northern Germany. She began her teacher training in instrumental studies at the Conservatory in Trossingen (Southern Germany). Mrs. Higgins completed her education at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark where she earned a Master’s degree in music pedagogy. She taught flute and piano students in Denmark and Germany previous to her move to the United States in 1989. Mrs. Higgins lived and worked in Durham, NC and Southampton, NY before settling in Hagerstown, MD with her husband and two children in 2001.

In addition to teaching flute lessons at Saint James, Mrs. Higgins also teaches flute and piano students at her private studio in Hagerstown and piano students and early childhood music classes at Shepherd University Community School of Music in West Virginia. Mrs. Higgins enjoys working with students of all ages and levels. She is fluent in three languages and values interacting with her flute students at Saint James who come from many corners of the world.

Michael Hoover. Clarinet and Saxophone

Michael Hoover has been a witness to Saint James School's musical growth during his 28 years teaching lessons on campus. After graduating from West Chester University with a BS in Music Education degree, he immediately began a studio of private students and was performing in local ensembles. His long association with Saint James began in 1993 when musical colleague and faculty member, Mr. Robert Grab, extended an invitation to teach. At that time, the music department was quite small, with only a few students. That worked well for Mr. Hoover who had just been hired by the Maryland Symphony Orchestra (MSO) as well as balancing the seasons of three other local orchestras. He can recall eating meals in St. Luke's in Claggett with Mr. Grab and then rushing downtown for a 7:30 MSO rehearsal.

Mr. Hoover was with the MSO for 25 years, where he served as principal second clarinet. Over a span of 45 years, Mr. Hoover has had many memorable performances with numerous ensembles and orchestras, including as principal first clarinet with the Luhrs Center Festival Orchestra, the Hub Opera Ensemble, and the Maryland Lyric Opera. He is currently performing with the Mercersburg Community Chorus Orchestra. He can also be heard with esteemed classical guitarist Candice Mowbray as a member of Duo Claritare.

In addition to teaching at Saint James, he teaches at the Music and Arts Centers in Hagerstown and at the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts, where he has been on staff since 2013. He has also previously taught at Shippensburg University, the Cumberland Valley School of Music, and Mercersburg Academy.

Though he considers himself semi-retired, he says it is a pleasure to teach at such a fine school as Saint James, and we are certainly fortunate to benefit from his expertise.

Joseph Satava, Piano

Joseph Satava is an accomplished pianist with a diverse repertoire of performances which help to make him an excellent piano teacher at Saint James.

Dr. Satava has collaborated with orchestras and conductors and performed at festivals across Europe, Canada and the U.S. His performances have included appearances with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra, the Millennium Orchestra, the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra, and at the Aspen Summer Music Festival, the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Steinway Gallery in Tuscon, AZ, the Music Academy of the West, The Kosciuszko Foundation, the French Embassy in Washington D.C., the American Conservatory of Fontainbleau, France, Iglesia San Felix de Candás, The Banff Centre, and the International Piano Festival in Gijon, Spain.
In 2011, he received the Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Classical Music Solo Performance, and was named a finalist in The American Prize for Piano. He has taken prizes in the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, the Miecyslaw Munz Piano Competition, the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Peggy and Yale Gordon Piano competition, and was named a Promising Young Artist by the National Society of Arts and Letters.

Dr. Satava is a committed teacher, as evidenced by his work during the pandemic to continue teaching lessons virtually. In addition to teaching at Saint James, he also holds a faculty position at Harford Community College and maintains a large private studio. In the spring of 2013, Dr. Satava was appointed Distinguished Artist in Residence at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. He served as vocal and instrumental collaborator for five years at Shepherd University, for ten years he was on the piano faculty of the Bryn Mawr School, and has acted as Program Coordinator and Director of Operations for the Gijón International Piano Festival in Gijón, Spain.

Dr. Satava received his DMA from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where he was awarded the Turner Memorial Prize in Piano and a Peabody Career Development Grant to complete a residency at the Banff Centre for Performing Arts in Alberta, Canada. He completed a bachelor’s degree at the Peabody Conservatory and master’s degree at the Juilliard School.

Dr. Satava currently resides in Johnstown, Pennsylvania with his wife, Jessica who is the executive director of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra.

Mary Remsburg, Piano

Mary Remsburg teaches piano lessons and has also accompanied our voice students during recitals and has performed in the orchestra for the SJS musicals.

Mrs. Remsburg was raised in the small town of Franklin, West Virginia, and was taught piano by her mother in their farmhouse living room. Nestled between rolling hills, Mrs. Remsburg frequently drove over an hour to neighboring cities to partake in piano competitions, winning double superior ratings and performing in honors recitals. Mrs. Remsburg was part of the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir for nine years in Harrisonburg, Virginia, which gave her the opportunity to be selected to perform at numerous venues, including Carnegie Hall and The White House. She also had the opportunity to sing with the choir for Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former President Jimmy Carter.

Mrs. Remsburg attended and graduated from Shepherd University in 2016 with a Music Education degree and studied both classical and jazz music during her time there.

During her time at Shepherd University, she was part of the Jazz Combo and Jazz Ensemble, which gave her the honor of performing with Award-Winning composer Maria Schneider. Mrs. Remsburg also performed at several Honors Recitals at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, both as a classical soloist and in the Jazz Combo. She accompanied for Women’s Camerata for several years, as well as Performance Forums and senior recitals.

In addition to teaching at Saint James, Mrs. Remsburg also teaches through her private studio at Shepherd University with more than 30 private students. She is the choir conductor and pianist at an Episcopal Church in Winchester, Virginia, and is the accompanist for Hagerstown Choral Arts. She frequently plays for musical productions, recitals, recordings, private events, and concerts. Aside from music, Mrs. Remsburg loves being outdoors with her husband, Chase, and their dog, Chewy. She and her husband are both outdoor advocates and believe that the preservation of our planet and the natural world is one of the most important aspects of their daily life.

Keith Smith, Brass and Guitar

Keith Smith teaches applied music instruction in brass instruments and guitar, and he established the school’s wind ensemble in 2016 and a guitar ensemble in 2019. Both groups are now growing in membership under his tutelage. Mr. Smith commented that he wants his students to become life-long learners through the inspiration they encounter in the study of music.

Mr. Smith earned a Master’s of Music Education and a Master’s of Music Performance from Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. He received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Oklahoma State University. He retired from the Tuscarora School district as a band director, orchestra director and departmental chairman in 2013.

Having performed in a wide range of tri-state area musical venues as well as in numerous ensembles, Mr. Smith is principal with the current Mercersburg Area Community Chorus Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Delta Brass Quintet and was principal trombonist with the former Millbrook Orchestra in Shepherdstown, WV. For 31 years, he has performed with the Hagerstown Municipal Band in the trombone section and as a featured soloist. Mr. Smith enjoys being an invited performer with the Virginia Grand Military Band in the Washington, DC area. In addition, he is called to substitute for the Harrisburg and Maryland Symphonies.

A father of three grown children who also love music, Mr. Smith now resides in Chambersburg, PA with his wife, father-in-law, and two gregarious cats.

Sam Stilwell, Persussion

Sam Stilwell is a multitalented teacher, performer, and song writer who teaches percussion at Saint James.

“My goal is to give my life experience of the past 30 years of playing to the next generation, so they do not make the same mistakes I did,” he said.
After graduating from Shepherd University, Mr. Stilwell went on the road, performing 500 shows that summer at Cedar Point Amusement Park. Later he went out west for four years playing country dance halls six nights a week. He then got the call to come home and join Rivers Edge, a Nashville-based country group touring the East Coast. Later Mr. Stilwell headed to Nashville and played Broadway until getting a call from Steve Whiteman to join the rock band Funny Money.

Mr. Stilwell has spent countless hours recording with country, Christian, and numerous ensembles as both a performing percussionist, but also recording engineer. Meanwhile, he began teaching home schooled students, then KnB music, and finally Saint James School for the past 16 years, where he has had the pleasure to teach students from all over the world.

Along with SJS, he is also adjunct teacher at Hedgesville Middle School, Let There Be Rock School, and various other after-school programs. He also tours as drum tech for KIX, performs regionally with Amanda Wilkins, and various other groups.

Mr. Stilwell states that it is now his honor and privilege to be a teacher at Saint James School, and for the opportunity to share his knowledge of rudiments, drumset, and most all his experience.

Melanie and Joseph Regan, Voice

Melanie (Zayas) Regan ‘00 and Joseph Regan have been a dynamic duo in voice instruction at Saint James for over a decade (not to mention married for 17 years), and both now have full-time roles at the school.

A graduate in the Class of 2000, Mrs. Regan honed her skills in the arts while at Saint James, which shaped her future career aspirations.

“My experience as a student here showed me that story telling was what I needed to do. Whether those stories were told through a choir, art song recitals, theater or musical theater, I realized in high school that I could connect with people through text and music,” she said.

Mrs. Regan went on to earn a BM and MM from Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. She is a highly-regarded instructor of voice in Western Maryland, and has been an applied voice instructor at Saint James since 2006. Her students have been accepted to some of the finest music schools in the nation including Peabody Conservatory, University of Michigan, Longy University, Indiana University, University of Houston, Berklee College of Music, NYU Steinhardt Program, and many others. Mrs. Regan also continues to have an active performance presence as a mezzo-soprano soloist in the Baltimore/Washington, DC Metro region.

Mrs. Regan joined her alma mater full-time in 2019 when she was appointed the Associate Chair of Fine Arts, a position added because of the growth of the arts at Saint James. In addition to voice lessons, her other responsibilities include conducting the girls’ a cappella group, teaching the second form music class, overseeing the scripture readers in chapel, co-directing the fall play, and directing the winter musical, among other tasks. Mrs. Regan said she is thrilled to be at Saint James full-time with the opportunity to impact our students.

“I love that I get to teach young people how special music and theater can be,” she said. “It is something that is greater than us as individuals. Teaching students to perform in a way that can affect an audience member is something almost magical. It connects all of us and I love helping my students find that connection.”

Dr. Regan was first introduced to the Saint James community through his wife,but he’s now an official member. He has been teaching voice at Saint James since 2009 and has been the Assistant Director of Development for Planned Giving since 2019.

Dr. Regan earned his BM and MM from the Peabody Institute of the John’s Hopkins University and his DMA from University of Maryland, College Park. He has enjoyed a prolific career as a performer whose singing has taken him all over the Eastern Seaboard and parts of Europe. He has appeared on stage at Carnegie Hall, Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, among many other performances. Dr. Regan continues to perform professionally and is frequently engaged as a tenor soloist.

In addition to teaching voice, Dr. Regan also leads the boys’ a capella group, leads choir sectionals, and is the music director for the winter musical. He enjoys watching Saint James students go from being passive consumers of music and art to active creators and collaborators.

“Whether it is on the musical stage, a contemplative chapel performance, or in the Chapel Choir, our students are constantly pushing themselves to achieve an authentic and emotional connection with the music and their audience,” he said.

Both Dr. and Mrs. Regan can appreciate the growth of the music programs over the years at Saint James and are excited to see what the future holds.