Our Staff Learn Music

Brandon Mann is an alumni of Berklee College of Music and holds a degree in Contemporary Writing and Production.  With over 20 years experience in the music industry, he has performed on stage with many world class acts such as Derek Trucks (Allman Brothers, Derek Trucks Band), Cecil Taylor (Henry Mancini), John Blackwell (Prince, Patti Labelle, Cameo), and Les Hall (Howie Day & the News, Trey Anastasio).  He has toured with many regionally successful bands opening up for Foghat, Parliament Funkadelic, Little River Band, and Buddy Guy.  He is well versed in many styles of music including:  jazz, funk, rock, pop, classical, and blues.  With patience and enthusiasm, he enjoys teaching student of all ages and skill levels.  His passion as a teacher is driven by watching students unlock the joy of music.  In 2014, he returned to the Charlotte, area after a two year stint performing on cruise ships and traveling the world.

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Nancy Ward

Nancy started taking lessons when she was nine years old. She has always been passionate about music. In her early teens, she began teaching piano and taking voice lessons. She graduated from BYU with a degree in piano pedagogy. While at BYU, with the help of dedicated professors, she developed a more holistic teaching method based on the Taubman Technique using modality learning. Nancy has been teaching piano for close to a decade now and teaching voice for three years. She am a firm believer that everyone is musical. They just need someone to unlock their inner song.

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Jacob Early

When Jacob was young, someone told him that he couldn't write a song because he wasn’t old enough. Being a determined boy, he sat down, right there with an orange Crayola marker and wrote his first song. He hasn't stopped writing since. He's been playing music for over 15 years and has been producing and crafting songs at Threshingfloor Audio since 2007. Over the years, he's learned that writing a good song isn’t about making sense or making everything sound perfect. It’s about being yourself and about your heart being connected to what you’re creating. He loves teaching people how to bring the most out of their songs by being themselves.

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Philip Wicker

Philip Wicker, a native of North Carolina, has played music since a very early age.  His early musical development began with the guitar and piano, taught by his mother who was raised in family that traveled and played southern gospel music across a localized region of eastern North Carolina.  In his late teens, he began to take an interest in bluegrass music.  He borrowed a banjo from his older brother and began teaching himself the fundamentals of the instrument.  Inspired by a local favorite, The Avett Brothers, and other groups such as Old Crow Medicine Show, and the Hackensaw Boys, Philip’s early exposure to the banjo was progressive.  In 2009, after attending a concert by the late Earl Scruggs, Philip was inspired and began to focus on the traditional 3 finger style of the 5-string banjo.  Tapping into a vein of local bluegrass jams, his skill in a more traditional stance began to root itself deep while still keeping a progressive perspective on the banjo.  Attending banjo workshops hosted by Tony Trischka, teacher and mentor to Bela Fleck, as well as competing in bluegrass conventions across the state, Philip has focused his efforts on enjoying the instrument for what it is and what it can do across any genre.  He has developed a passion to teach others the beauty of the instrument in both a traditional and a progressive perspective.

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nia Buker

Nia Buker has been playing piano for 11 years. She has also been helping lead worship in her church’s youth group for 2 years.  Her favorite part of playing is the ability to evoke emotion through music and she hopes to impart this same gift to her students.  Nia most enjoys playing modern, well-known songs with a classical twist. She understands the importance of finding joy in the music you play and strives to bring that joy to her students by creating a fun learning environment and playing student-picked songs. 

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