Ms. Gia Watson is a graduate of Friends University with classical training, a jazzy flow, and gospel roots. She has a niche for program development and teaching students of all ages and abilities. 

Ms. Gia has been directing instrumental, vocal, and theater ensembles since 2004.  She comes to Air House as a piano and voice instructor, but in the last decade has also taught guitar, percussion, violin, trumpet, french horn, saxophone, flute, theory, composition, and songwriting. In addition to instrumental instruction, Ms. Gia has developed theatre programming throughout Kansas and Oklahoma. She loves to perform and has played venues across the country from Miami to California, including the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. Gia has also had the opportunity to tour internationally with college choral ensembles and is a former member of the South Kansas Symphony.

Since her directorial debuts in 2008, Ms. Gia has directed children’s choirs, youth instrumental ensembles, performance clinics and countless musicals. Her a background in Speech Pathology, allow for a clinical approach to voice lessons, focusing on vocal maintenance, agility, and preservation. 

Ms. Gia has served as an Autism Consultant and Education Advocate for schools and communities in Butler, Cowley, and Sedgwick counties since 2015. Her background in special education allows for a client specific approach in teaching students of all abilities. Known for her inclusive programming, Gia continues to advocate for learners in all levels, with a range to teach students ages 3 to 93. 

Joy Lenau is a pianist and instructor originally from Virginia who has called Wichita home since 2015. When not playing piano, she loves exploring new places, sipping coffee, and befriending every dog she meets.

Joy holds a B.A. in Music from the University of Mary Washington and an M.M. in Piano Pedagogy from Wichita State University. She started teaching piano lessons in 2009 and has taught piano and music classes in universities since 2017. With over 16 years of experience, Joy has worked with students at every level from complete beginners to college music majors. Because she firmly believes in doing what you teach, she regularly performs with choirs in the Wichita area and plays musical theater gigs.

Joy is passionate about teaching and views lessons as a collaboration between instructor and student. Her lessons emphasize strong musical foundations while focusing on each student’s unique interests and intentions. Her students play a wide range of musical genres, depending on what type of music they enjoy. She believes music lessons, while often hard work, should ultimately be fun, rewarding, and inspiring.

Seth offers lessons in electric bass, double bass, guitar, ukulele, piano and music theory. He has been an active musician and music educator in Wichita, Kansas for over 20 years. As a double bassist working in various jazz ensembles, Seth has had the pleasure of playing with many notable musicians ranging from well-known locals such as Craig Owens and Sterling Grey, to internationally recognized recording artists such as Benny Golson and Jerry Hahn. Outside of the jazz world, Seth has worked in the studio with Grammy Award winning country music star Lynn Anderson.

While the double bass remains Seth’s primary instrument, he excels at the electric bass as well, and has utilized this skill as a staff musician at the Book of Acts Tabernacle of Praise Church for the past 15 years, and East Heights United Methodist church for the past 4 years. In addition to Seth’s various experiences both playing and teaching music, he holds a Master of Music Degree from Wichita State University.

Paul Fowler is has a diverse skill set, offering guitar, piano, ukulele, and voice lessons. Paul was born and raised in Wichita, KS and has spent the last 15 years writing, performing, recording, and teaching.

He has a passion for showing students what is possible if they focus and fall in love with their music.  He has an unorthodox way of teaching with incredibly fast results for those who LOVE music.

“There is a better way to explore an instrument than the way our parents learned… and quit. Learning should always be engaging and always focus on exactly what the student wants to learn. We didn’t learn the alphabet before we began to speak, so why would we learn notes before we play. It’s time to have fun! 

Finding your voice or expression through an instrument is one of the most rewarding areas of growth in a persons life. It is so integral to finding your true voice and being able to sing and play with the your greatest dynamic range. Music is about joy, and integrating that joy into your life!”

– Paul Fowler

Mary-Michael Rodriguez has been a diligent student of voice for around a decade.

Mary-Michael studied vocal performance and musical theatre at Wichita State University.  And the summer of 2019, she traveled overseas to Italy where she studied Italian opera through the Canta In Italia program alongside her voice professor Dr. Pina Mozzani, whom she studied under for four years in college.  Mary-Michael has participated in a handful of professional theatre productions, and you may have seen her as Heather Chandler Heathers The Musical at Roxy’s Downtown.

Mary-Michael has a wide array of musical inspiration from pop to classic rock to classical. She is fascinated with the future of music, and encourages others to step outside the box when it comes to genre and style.

Mary-Michael believes that a strong foundation of classical voice training will take a singer anywhere they wish to go, and broaden their artistic horizons greatly in the process. Through the mindful use of posture, breath-work and technique, Mary-Michael hopes to help students approach safe, proper singing in a joyful, creative way.  She would like to emphasize that above all else, the making of music should always be an act of celebration, and that joy shall never be lost!

Kurt teaches guitar, banjo, bass, mandolin, ukulele, and piano lessons. Coming from a family of talented musicians, he grew up with a love for music and especially music performance. He wrote his first tune on the piano at eight years old and that sparked a creative drive that never left. Although piano was his first love, the guitar seemed to be calling him and he dedicated himself to the instrument. Practicing for hours each day in his dorm room as a Kansas University engineering student and track and field athlete, Kurt began learning all the styles of American music. Engineering wasn’t his future. He knew that his true calling was to be a musician, so he began playing gigs around Lawrence, Kansas. In those days he played mostly for little or no money, but the early gigs were the beginning of his career as a professional musician that has lasted over two decades and counting.

Kurt had always known that his passion in music was to express himself through improvisation but mostly in the rock and blues tradition up to that point. Then one fateful day he walked into a little pizza joint in Lawrence, Kansas not expecting his life to change. The music playing on the sound system was unlike anything he’d ever heard. That was the very first time he heard John McLaughhelin, Al DiMeola, and Paco de Lucia. They were playing some sort of flamenco jazz guitar fusion and Kurt was mesmerized with the sound. The album was “A Friday Night in San Fransisco”, which he promptly purchased and set out to learn every note the three masters had played. This was the start of his love affair with jazz music. The complex harmonies and rhythms and the freedom to be creative were a perfect fit for his musical capabilities. Kurt went on to study jazz guitar performance at Wichita State University under the guidance of the great Craig Owens who would become his mentor and a major influence on Kurt’s music. 

To this day the two guitarists can be seen playing in Craig’s avant-garde jazz group, Bodo Ensemble, along with other heavy hitters in the jazz arena. Dale Black, one of the nation’s premier bass players, is arguably the most famous band member, but there are so many others. Brian Mueller, Andrew Bishop, Jeff Stidham, and many other accomplished musicians trace their roots back to Bodo Ensemble. The band is a breeding ground for great jazz players. Kurt has also performed with funk legend Rudy Love, Steve McClure of Garth Brooks fame, and the well known actress/singer Cindy Summers to name a few. Showing his versatility, Kurt can also be heard playing keyboard in the R&B, soul group Blue Eyed Soul, and regularly works as a session guitarist in Wichita Kansas.

Even though performing and recording music for a living is a dream come true for Kurt, he wouldn’t be complete without sharing the joy with others. He is experienced teaching piano, guitar, bass, and ukulele lessons. He seems to get more joy helping his students attain their musical goals than even working on his own, and it shows. Kurt has been at it so long that these days he is teaching many of his former student’s children, and he keeps himself busy teaching a studio of about 50 students per week. He is very excited about getting the students up in front of an audience, when they are ready, and he frequently organizes recitals for them to get their feet wet. In fact, many of Kurt’s students have gone on to become pro musicians themselves. A true musician’s musician, Kurt Aiken loves to share his talents with the world through both performance and education.

Justin Meyer is a pianist, music teacher, singer songwriter, and film score composer from Wichita. He received his BA in Music from Friends University in 2015. While at Friends, he participated in a number of ensembles including Singing Quakers, and a select Jazz Vocal Ensemble under the direction of Craig Curry. During that time, he also played keys for the local band, Commonfolk, and worked on their debut album called “Warm Like the Treetops, Cold Like the River” (2015). Justin has been writing and teaching music in various capacities since then, stepping in to conduct high school choirs, teaching private lessons, and leading workshops on the art of songwriting.

Justin released an album of improvisational piano pieces in 2020 titled “How The Hummingbird Flies”.

In 2022, Justin graduated with a Masters of Music in Film Score Composition from the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program. He received direct instruction from Hummie Mann, an Emmy award-winning film score composer, alongside a number of other industry professionals. For his final project in the program he composed, orchestrated, and conducted music for a 52 piece orchestra.

He was recently credited for his musical contributions to the TV movie, Christmas in Scotland (2023).

Justin is passionate about equipping his students with the tools they need to make the music they want to hear. His teaching style focuses on building confidence and creativity alongside the fundamental skills that all music students can attain.

Joel studied Jazz guitar and received his B.M. M.M. from Wichita State University in 2012 and became certified to teach Pre-K – 12 music education at Black Traditional Magnet Elementary. He plays in a variety of styles including classical, jazz, rock and pop music. Joel specializes in teaching music theory, music technology; including production and home recording. Joel has been teaching since 2006 and has experience working with students of all ages and development levels. He also specializes in teaching students with disabilities and has several students with exceptionalities. His passion for music and teaching inspire his students to develop into sensitive, inspired musicians.

Jasmine Hall currently attends Wichita State University, where she is completing her Bachelor’s degree in Special Music Education and a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance. Jasmine is a member of the Colligate National Association of Music Education (NAFME), American Atring Teacher’s Association (ASTA) and is an alumni of Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI), a Professional Music fraternity whose main objective is to encourage, nurture, and support the art of music.

Prior to pursuing her undergraduate degree, she studied at Peabody Preparatory, where she gained performance experience, as well as, studied with esteemed violinists. Throughout high school she was involved in lots of performance and teaching opportunities.  She was President of the Music Honor Society at her local Chapter, where she implemented a program to connect High Schoolers with elementary-aged students for tutoring during the pandemic.

She believes each student is unique and must embark on their own musical journey. Each student has their own interpretations of musical concepts, and it is the teacher’s job to guide them. She wants to foster an environment where her students can grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially through music.

Doug Ragon is a Wichita based pianist, trombonist, and composer. He earned his Master of Music in Composition from Wichita State University where he studied with Dr. David MacDonald, and his Bachelor of Music in Composition from Kansas State University where he studied with Dr. Wayne Goins, Dr. Paul Hunt, and Dr. Craig Weston.

Doug is an active performer on both piano and trombone, and plays jazz frequently around Wichita at a variety of venues. He has shared the stage with such luminaries as Melissa Aldana, Terell Stafford, Matt Wilson, Bobby Watson, Lisa Hittle, and Wayne Goins. As a composer, Doug’s work spans a wide variety of instrumentations and styles, from solo piano pieces to jazz big band. Most recently, he premiered his suite Confronting Fate with his 18 piece big band, the Ragin’ Swing Machine, to a sold out crowd at Walker’s Jazz Lounge.