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To contact an individual teacher to inquire about lessons, please call MIR Music
at 503 693 0434, or contact the teacher directly (if contact
info is provided below).
Ron Hurst
Drums Ron
Hurst has been the drummer for John Kay and Steppenwolf since 1984. He also plays and has recorded with John Kay and Friends,
Kay's most recent solo project.
A seasoned touring veteran, Ron's credits also include performances with
Chuck Berry and Charlie Daniels' "Volunteer Jam" Band, as well as guest appearances with Greg Allman and the
Doobie Brothers.
When called to task, Ron also stepped in to play with The Guess Who and Three Dog Night
(when
last minute emergencies prevented their respective drummers from performing.)
Ron currently resides in Portland,
Oregon, where he has quickly established himself as an accredited drum instructor. When not on tour, Ron stays busy balancing
teaching and session work with various international projects. Ron's work with John Kay and Steppenwolf has made him a
well sought after commodity in the music industry.
Sharon Donaldson
Violin, Fiddle Sharon Donaldson started playing violin at the age of 9 in a school program in Arizona.
She then started private lessons with Pamela Joseph.
As a young adult, she moved to Oregon, got married and
had four children. During that time she continued to play violin and discovered Celtic music. She learned to play Scottish
and Irish music in the traditional way (by ear) and also joined the Scottish Fiddle Club of Portland which played for the
Scottish Country dancers and at the Portland Scottish Highland Games.
Sharon has also played in a couple of bands,
and continues to perform in small ensembles for weddings and parties. These ensembles play in various genres ranging from
classical to Celtic to old time and ragtime, and even classic rock.Sharon has been teaching violin/fiddle to children and
adults since 1998.
Val Blaha
Piano,
Guitar
Born and raised in southern California, Val Blaha started began her study of piano at age 6 and
performed starting at age 7 at a multitude of venues including school recitals, local public and private events, piano competitions,
national conventions and churches. At age 12 she received the Individual Achievement Award from the Motion Picture Council
of Southern California. During her teens she performed as a soloist and accompanist and also studied music theory, hymn playing,
guitar and voice.
At UC Santa Barbara, Val studied under Wendell Nelson and Thomas Russell, concentrating on
piano accompaniment for 3 years in the Bachelor of Music program. She went on to get an MA in Anthropology from Western
Washington University. In 2001 she decided on a career change and devoted herself to teaching music, playing guitar, piano,
mandolin and washtub bass, songwriting, and small-scale farming.
Val believes that music is an integral part
of life, and that love and appreciation for music can be deepened by a good learning experience. The discipline and
skills learned from the study of music can also help students excel in other areas of life.
Val works with students
from age 6 on up, and enjoys working with adult students at all experience levels. She has found a great deal of difference
in how students learn best and so she uses a variety
of method books and teaching approaches. She also focuses on practice
techniques so that students learn how to learn.
To contact Val about lessons, rates or availability, send email
to lessons@valblaha.com or go to her website: valblaha.com
Patrick Nearing
Trumpet
Patrick Nearing
has been playing trumpet and teaching in the Hillsboro/Portland area since 2002.
It is Mr. Nearing's feeling
that music has filled his life with happiness and afforded him many wonderful opportunities to grow personally as well as
musically. It is Patrick’s sincere desire to share the gift of music with his students,so they may also expand their
hearts and their horizons through the world of music.
Patrick’s teachers have included the following:
Ira Lee, Professor of Music, University of Oregon
Brad Alison, North Texas State University
Noyes “Bart”
Bartholomew, Indiana University
Paul Mazzio, North Texas State University.
In continuing pursuit of musical
enlightenment, Patrick is now studying Jazz Theory and Harmony with James M Gregg, a trumpet player, composer and conductor
from Flagstaff Arizona, and a graduate and recent faculty member of Northern Arizona University.
John Gross
Saxophone
John Gross is an internationally respected musician, and has resided in Portland since 1991.
Among his employers past and present: Harry James, Stan Kenton, Lionel Hampton, Shelly Manne, Don Ellis, Woody Herman,
and Toshiko Akiyoshi.
He performs regularly with the Gordon Lee Quartet, David Friesen, David Frishberg, and
the Alan Jones Sextet and his own groups Belema Bii and the John Gross quartet. John has taught at universities in the US
and Europe and is the author of "185 Multiphonics for the Saxophone, A Practical Guide" published by Advance Music.
Krys Turner
Guitar, Bass Guitar, Banjo
Krys Turner taught
herself to read music and began playing guitar at age 5 in Spring Valley, New York. She studied with Andre Segovia’s
teaching assistant, Jose Tomas in the Canary Islands and has also studied with many great artists including: Sharon Isbin,
Brian Johansen, Ricco Stover, Scott Kritzer, and Jeffrey Ashton.
She has performed in the Canary Islands, Spain, and Italy. She has also held concerts here in the
northwest. Krys has been a student of Jeff Ashton’s for the last nine years.
Krys enjoys teaching adults
and children of all ages. She believes everyone has an inner guitarist waiting for a chance to ROCK and that music should
be, first and foremost, fun.
Austin Randle
Guitar, Recording
Austin Randle began playing guitar at the age of 6.
Austin has studied under
Jim Dunlop, Neal Grandstaff, Bob Brudvig, Angela Carlson, AG Donnaloia, John Savage, Israel Annoh, and many others.
Austin has performed with numerous ensembles from various genres such as big band jazz bands, to blues combos, and acoustic
pop, to shredding progressive rock. Austin is currently performing in the Northwest with his group New Mecca and as a solo
act under the name Austin Raymond.
Austin has also studied recording and live sound for 8 years. He began as a
hobbyist with Roland Virtual Studio DAW’s and PC recording technology and has continued at a professional level from
his training with Oregon State University’s Pro Tools recording lab series. He has run live sound for many musical events
in the northwest and has been mentored by Collin Ray (local), Sam Kincaid (OSU), Stephan Hawkes (Clarity Recording), and Jeep
Simonet (PCC Graduate).
You may contact Austin for lessons or recording at
(503) 278-8590 or at
Randle.Austin@yahoo.com
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