At Wabash, you will study one-on-one with some of the area’s best professional musicians. You can take lessons on any standard orchestra, band, and jazz instrument, in addition to voice, piano, organ, guitar, and percussion.
Alfred Abel. Violin/viola; Chamber Orchestra conductor
B.A., University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill; B.A., Butler University
Alfred Abel brings a wealth of experience in teaching, conducting and violin performance to Wabash College. Concertmaster of the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Principal Second Violin of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra for the past 20 years, Mr. Abel has performed many of the standard violin concertos with these orchestra and with other Indiana orchestras including the Philharmonic Orchestra of Indianapolis, the Anderson Symphony, the Carmel Symphony and the Butler (University) Symphony Orchestra. As a student at Butler University and Indiana University Graduate School of Music, he studied violin with Vartan Manoogian, Jackson Wiley, and Franco Gulli. He coached chamber music with members of the American Quartet, the Tokyo Quartet, the Borodin Quartet, the LaSalle Quartet and Quartetto Italiano and now performs chamber music with Trio Amabile along with his wife, Colette, and 'cellist Margot Marlatt.
Burke Anderson, Low Brass
Burke Anderson performs across the country on modern and historical horns, with groups such as Teatro Nuovo (NY), Live Oaks Baroque Orchestra (CA), Gallery Concerts (WA), Dallas Bach Society (TX), among others. He received his doctorate from Indiana University where he was the Graduate Assistant for the Brass Department. His dissertation was on Francois Bremond, who transitioned the Paris Conservatory from natural horn to valve horn beginning in 1893. His primary teachers were Dale Clevenger, Richard Seraphinoff, and Jeffrey Snedeker.
Chad Downey, Trumpet and Jazz Improvisation
Cheryl Everett, Piano and Organ
In addition to teaching piano and organ, Cheryl Everett is accompanist for the Glee Club and the Music Department. With the Glee Club she has concertized throughout the United States, England, Scotland, Wales, Ecuador, and Taiwan. Ms. Everett has performed as soloist and chamber musician in recitals and master classes at International Workshops in Austria, Canada, England, France, Italy, Switzerland, and the Teachers' Program of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Music Teachers National Association has recognized Ms. Everett as a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and the Indiana Music Teachers Association honored her as one of their "Teachers of the Year". In 2021, Ms. Everett received the Distinguished Service Award from the Indiana Music Teachers Association to recognize her outstanding service to IMTA and the profession of music teaching. Many of her former students currently have careers as piano teachers and music therapists. In addition to collegiate responsibilities, Ms. Everett is Director of the Young Hoosier State Piano Competition for piano students ages 5-22. This competition, sponsored by the Indiana State Fair and Piano Solutions, had over 500 student participants in 2019. Piano Solutions recently named their concert hall "The Cheryl Everett Performance Room" in honor of her work with the youth of Indiana. Ms. Everett has been a church organist for over 50 years and is currently serving at First United Methodist Church in Crawfordsville, IN. Ms. Everett studied piano performance with Dr. Louis Nagel at the University of Michigan. Her major musical influence was Dorothy Munger, a student of Guy Maier, Rosina Lhevinne, and Josef Lhevinne. Mrs. Munger was a pianist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for 32 years.
Larry Guentert, Percussion
B.S., M.S, Purdue University; M.B.A., Indiana Wesleyan
Larry Guentert has a broad background performing and teaching percussion in the Lafayette, IN area in various historical, traditional and modern genres. He has performed with the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra under Eduardo Ostregen, with Lafayette Citizens Band under Bob Schlater, with the Tippecanoe Ancient Fife and Drum Corps under Denise Wilson, and with numerous regional jazz, Celtic, Scottish, pop bands. On the technology side, Larry has recording studio certificates from U of I at Champagne, IN. As a student at Purdue, he studied music theory and piano with Dr. Helen Brown, and jazz studies on bass with Ralph Pyle. Pre-college, he studied with Eddie Knight's School for Drummers in South Bend, IN, and post-college, marimba studies with Jeff Nearpass from Butler University.
Larry has been teaching mallets, snare drum, drum set, tympani, aux percussion to middle/high/college students for decades, and has a fully equipped studio with all percussion instruments, and can do Zoom virtual lessons.
Diane Norton, Piano
A.B., Knox College; M.M., Northwestern University; M.L.S., Indiana University
Diane Maximovich Norton was a piano student of Rudolf Ganz and Mollie Margolies in Chicago, and performed as soloist with orchestras in the metropolitan area. During her undergraduate studies at Knox College, she furthered her interest in contemporary music as both pianist and violinist, participating in ensembles which introduced newly-commissioned works to audiences throughout the Midwest. She received an M.M. and completed her doctoral studies in music history and literature at Northwestern University, where she also taught piano, and began to perform in early music ensembles. Ms. Norton has been active in the Wabash College music department for over three decades, performing as piano soloist and harpsichordist with the Wabash chamber orchestra, concert band and percussion ensemble. She has performed in recital with members of the faculty and the student body, and has given world premieres of compositions written for her by such composers as Fredric Enenbach, Bernard Schulz, and Judd Danby.
Scott Pazera, Guitar
M.M., Indiana University; M.M.T., IUPUI; B.M., Indiana University
Scott Pazera has been playing guitar, bass guitar and acoustic bass for over 30 years and is a motivated instructor, small business owner and spirited performer. Scott has been performing publicly with his own jazz groups and often works as a sideman to some of the top performers in Chicago and Indianapolis. Scott has performed and/or recorded with artists such as Rich Little, Veruca Salt, Ce Ce Peniston, Med Flory (Supersax), Fareed Haque, Henry Johnson, Bill Lancton, Byron Stripling, Rachel Yamagata, James Russell, Satya Graha, Mike Mandell and many others. He has been the Wabash College Jazz Ensemble Director since 2012 and also has worked for several years directing and coaching the Purdue Jazz Ensembles.
Scott holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Indiana University as well as a Master's in Music Technology from IUPUI. He has been teaching private lessons since 1988 and maintains a schedule of students at two music stores in his hometown of Lafayette, IN. Please feel free to reach out and ask any questions about learning from Scott.
Sarin Williams, Voice
D.M.A., University of Missouri-Kansas City; M.M., University of Missouri-Columbia; B.M.E., Bradley University
Sarin Williams is the Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana, where she directs the men’s Glee Club and T-Tones, while also teaching Theory/Aural Training and other courses in the music major. Dr. Williams is an active clinician and educator with both choral music in general and vocal jazz in specific. She presented at the Ohio Music Educator’s Association on “Vocal Jazz Rehearsal Techniques” in 2020 and on simplified vocal jazz improvisation in 2019. Her article “Intimidating Improvisation Simplified” was published online with the National Association for Music Education’s Music in a Minuet blog in 2019. Also that year, Dr. Williams published her Icelandic Jazz research “Gunnar Reynir Sveinsson: Jazz-Influenced Choral Music” in the American Choral Director’s Association’s Choral Journal; the same research she presented as a poster at the National Convention for the American Choral Director’s Association in 2017. Among other honors, Dr. Williams was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda, the Music Honors Society, in 2003.
Deborah Woods, Oboe
B.M.E., University of Missouri at Kansas City Conservatory of Music; M.M., Northwestern University
Ms. Woods studied with Ray Still (Former Principal Oboist of the Chicago Symphony), Grover Schiltz (Former Principal English Hornist and Oboist of the Chicago Symphony), and Ralph Watilo (Former Principal Oboist of the Kansas City Philharmonic). She is the English Hornist with the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, and a very active freelance artist throughout central Indiana. She has been a member of several professional orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout the Midwest, Northeast and East Coast. Prior to teaching at Wabash College, she was a member of the music faculties at Susquehanna and Bucknell Universities for many years.
All other instruments are also offered on an as-needed basis. If you are interested in taking lessons in one of these areas please contact Academic Administrative Coordinator Julia Phipps.