Alyssa Beckmann, Violin and Viola

Director, Kansas City Suzuki Academy

Alyssa Beckmann is the Founder and Director of the Kansas City Suzuki Academy in Kansas City, where she teaches violin, viola, and chamber music. Ms. Beckmann holds degrees from Vanderbilt (BM), and Boston Universities (MM), in Viola and Violin Performance and completed post-graduate studies in viola with Bruno Giuranna in Lugano, Switzerland at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana. She was a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center for three summers, where she worked closely with members of the Juilliard, Takacs and Guarneri String Quartets and has performed and presented at the International Viola Congress. 

Ms. Beckmann has served on the faculty of the American Suzuki Institute, the Colorado Suzuki Institute, the Ithaca Suzuki Institute, Point CounterPoint, and the Heartland Chamber Music Festival. She has presented at the American Viola Society International Congress, and SAA Conferences. She was raised a Suzuki student and has been an active teacher for the last two decades, studying with many teacher trainers including her mother Julia Hardie, William Preucil, Teri Einfeldt and Carol Smith. She was the Upper Strings Coordinator of the Greenwich Suzuki Academy, where she taught violin, viola and chamber music for many years. Ms. Beckmann currently holds a one-year contract with the Kansas City Symphony and has been a frequent substitute with the St. Louis Symphony and American Symphony Orchestra, among others. In her spare time, she enjoys teaching yoga and spending time with her cellist husband Matt Beckmann and their two children.

Shelley Armer, Viola, Violin, Coda Chamber

Shelley Armer teaches from her own experience, intuition, and process. She focuses on tailoring her teaching method to the individual student to encourage healthy, balanced musicians. Ms. Armer is passionate about coaching chamber music, and sharing the joy of playing with others. She began her viola journey in a Suzuki studio in Santa Fe, NM. She is grateful for her supportive and enthusiastic mom, who introduced her to the world of classical music. Outside of her viola practice, she has a daily yoga practice and enjoys long walks with her dog, gardening, and baking.  

Ms. Armer received Suzuki training from author, teacher, and developmental psychologist, Dr. Edward Sprunger. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance from the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, studying with Stephen Wyrczynski. Ms. Armer received her Master’s of Music in Viola Performance from the University of Tennessee, where she was a Teaching Assistant and Member of the Graduate Quartet. Her teaching has been inspired by Karen Tuttle, Stephen Wyrczynski, Mimi Zweig, and Paul Rolland.

Matt Beckmann, Cello

Cellist Matt Beckmann has developed a passion for teaching that is evident in his enthusiastic, and nurturing teaching style. Comfortable with all ages and abilities, Matt has maintained a diverse private studio with three-year-old beginners, high school students preparing for college auditions, and adults taking on cello as a retirement activity!

Before returning to his hometown of Kansas City, Matt had a rich teaching and performing career in the New York City area. Matt participated in long-term Suzuki training at the prestigious School for Strings in New York City, and has been on the faculty of the Greenwich (CT) Suzuki Academy and the Suzuki School of Westport (CT), and spent three years at Music Haven, a non-profit community music program in New Haven, CT. In the summers Matt has taught at the Point CounterPoint camp in Vermont and is Co-Director of the Heartland Chamber Music Junior Festival in Kansas City. In addition to his passion for teaching, Matt has a diverse performing career as a cellist in Kansas City. Matt was a member of the Kansas City Symphony during their 2014-15 season, and he has also performed with the KC Chamber Orchestra and is a founding member of the Kansas City Cello Quartet. Matt also performs frequently as a recitalist and chamber musician locally and across the Midwest. Matt holds a BA from St. Olaf College and a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA. His primary teachers are Natasha Brofsky and David Carter, and he has benefited greatly from his close work with chamber musicians from the Takacs, Guarneri, and Cleveland Quartets. Outside of teaching and playing the cello, Matt enjoys cycling, cooking, and eating ribs. Good thing he lives in KC! 

Dr. Lani Hamilton, Violin and Presto! Orchestra

Lani Hamilton is Assistant Professor in Music Education at The University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory where she teaches string techniques and undergraduate and graduate music pedagogy courses. An active teacher, Hamilton taught elementary and middle school strings in Florida and Texas. She has served on the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin String Project, one of the finest programs for the training of teachers and the development of young string students within the U.S., where she taught ensemble classes, private lessons, and early childhood classes. She has also served as coordinator for the UT String Project outreach program at UT Elementary School, and co-founded the Suzuki violin program at Austin Montessori School in Texas.

Hamilton completed her doctoral work in Music and Human Learning at The Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin. An active performer, teacher, and researcher, Hamilton also conducts research and presents on topics related to music learning, classroom education, and music practice. She has been invited to present her work at numerous meetings of regional, national, and international organizations, including The Neurosciences and Music Conference at Harvard Medical School, The International Symposium on Performance Science, The American String Teacher’s Association Conference, and The National Association for Music Education Conference. Prior to completing her doctorate, Hamilton was a violinists with the Southwest Florida Symphony and served as principal second violin of Opera Naples. She has performed at festivals throughout the United States, including the Sunflower Chamber Music Festival and the Brevard Music Center as a chamber music fellow.

Michael MacLaughlin, Piano, Violin, Viola, Suzuki Early Childhood Education, Coda Chamber

Violinist Michael MacLaughlin has lived and worked as a freelance performer and music educator across Texas for over 10 years.  He received both a Bachelor’s Degree (2011) and Master’s Degree (2019) from Baylor University, and has since established himself as an active member of Waco’s music scene. As an orchestral musician, Michael has performed with the Baylor Symphony Orchestra, Temple Symphony Orchestra, the Waco Symphony Orchestra, the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Abilene Philharmonic.

An avid chamber musician, Michael has also organized and performed in several chamber music concerts including the inaugural Clear Lake Chamber Ensemble performance in 2015, as well as serving as the founder of the annual Academie Musique Scholarship Fundraiser concert series, which has raised thousands of dollars in scholarship funds for students who are otherwise unable to afford private instruction. Michael has also been invited to participate in numerous summer programs, including the prestigious Heifetz International Music Institute, the Round Top Festival Institute, and the National Orchestral Institute.

In addition to an active performing schedule, Michael is also deeply involved in music education, maintaining a studio of over 30 private students from ages 3 to 18. In the fall of 2020, Michael will be relocating to Kansas City, Missouri to begin his doctoral studies in violin performance under the instruction of Professor Benny Kim at the University of Missouri Kansas City. 

Rachel Sandman, Violin

Rachel Sandman is currently a member of the Kansas City Symphony and in her second year of teaching at the Kansas City Suzuki Academy. Rachel began studying violin at the Queensborough Community College Suzuki Academy at the age of 3. After moving to Los Angeles at the age of 6, she continued her studies at the Colburn School of Performing Arts Suzuki and pre-college programs. Rachel holds degrees from Rice University (BM) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (MM, violin performance), (MM, Suzuki Pedagogy, Kimberly Meier-Sims), (Artist Diploma). Her primary violin teachers were William Preucil Jr, Joel Smirnoff, Ivan Zenaty, Cho-Liang Lin, Sergiu Luca, Chan-Ho Yun, Sherry Cadow, and Nicole DiCecco.

Rachel maintains a balance between the performance and pedagogy worlds. Before arriving in Kansas City, she was a fellow of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. Prior to that, Rachel was the associate concertmaster of the Canton Symphony Orchestra, a member of ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and Breckenridge Music Festival, and a substitute with the Cleveland Orchestra. A passionate teacher, Rachel takes special interest in starting young beginners. She has previously been on the faculty at the Aurora School of Music (Aurora, OH) and at Encore Chamber Music Institute (Gates Mills, OH).

Rachel lives in Hyde Park, KCMO with her husband, fellow violinist and colleague Stirling Trent. In her spare time, she enjoys being active outdoors, gardening, and spending time with her two dogs, Tyler and Rocky.

Dr. Jenny Lee Vaughn, Viola, Violin

Jenny Lee Vaughn is a lifelong teacher and learner, and is excited to connect with Suzuki families in her new home of Kansas City.  As a child, Dr. Vaughn was introduced to the violin through the Suzuki Method in her hometown of Manhattan, Kansas.  Vaughn went on to receive her Bachelor of Music degree from Florida State University, where she was given the distinction of Presser Scholar, graduating summa cum laude with honors, and with a Minor in Religion. She graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a Master of Music degree, and Florida State University as a Doctor of Music with a Specialized Study in Early Music.  

In tandem with performing, teaching is Dr. Vaughn's calling, and she has cultivated a diverse career doing both.  Dr. Vaughn has worked with scores of students in many parts of the country in her private studio, including young Suzuki students, college and pre-collegiate students, and adults.  From 2016-2020 she served as a Violin and Viola Instructor for the Greenville (Texas) Independent School System Suzuki Strings program, at which time she served as a regional Suzuki workshop clinician and taught a string technique course at Texas A&M University–Commerce.  She is a former member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, and still performs with the Miami City Ballet.   

Dr. Vaughn enjoys weight training with her husband, and gets a big kick out of yoga and Zumba!  She loves having dogs in her life, and adores her role of Auntie to twelve beautiful nieces and nephews.