Ilya Ignatov Music Director, Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Ilya Ignatov was born in Abakan, Russia and moved to the U.S. at age seven. He grew up in a musical family —both his parents and grandparents were professional musicians and music teachers— and studied classical guitar and clarinet, performing with school jazz programs in middle and high schools. He performs with a variety of acts around town as a guitar-for-hire in styles including flamenco, country and symphonic metal, and recalls his earliest musical influence as Dimmu Borgir. He is a guitar teacher at School of Rock Bellevue.
Matt Payne Drum Teacher
Matt Payne was born and raised in suburban Chicago and received instruction in classical, jazz and marching music as part of a BA from University of Illinois. He toured and recorded throughout college and afterwards around the Chicago area with punk-funk, singer-songwriter and retro-glam projects before moving to Seattle. He currently fronts a spacey punk band. He is a drum teacher at School of Rock Bellevue.
Heather Fantasia Singing Teacher
Heather Fantasia was born and raised in New York, where she grew up playing piano and studying theater and music in college. She spent 10 years in Australia before moving to Seattle to be closer to family. Although she enjoys all kinds of musical styles, she is particularly fond of Blondie and Pat Benatar. She currently fronts a local cover band on vocals and she loves dogs, Chipotle and hot yoga. She is a vocal instructor at School of Rock Bellevue.
Will Hamilton Singing Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Will Hamilton has lived in the Seattle area for over 10 years and studied Musical Theatre and Film at Cornish College of the Arts. Over the past five years, he has been singing, drumming and playing guitar in various bands around the area. His teaching style puts emphasis on healthy singing habits and technique while bringing forward the unique aspects in every singer’s voice. He loves singing in absolutely all styles, but, if pressed, his favorite band is, without a doubt, Black Sabbath. He is a vocal instructor at School of Rock Bellevue.
Luke Boismier Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Luke Boismier was born in Detroit and grew up in Fort Wayne, IN. He studied electric bass at Atlanta Institute of Music and graduated in 2017. He then moved to Seattle to rejoin a touring metal band. In addition to being a bass guitar teacher and a guitar teacher at School of Rock Bellevue, he currently plays in various casino bands and hosts a weekly house jam.
Jonathan Flom General Manager
Jonathan spent 16 years working in higher education, teaching theatre and overseeing musical theatre programs at several prestigious institutions, including academies in Oslo, Norway and Fredericia, Denmark, before relocating to Washington to take over as Bellevue's GM. He has authored books on audition technique and branding for artists, and he is the former President of the Musical Theatre Educators' Alliance.
Bella Schilling Studio Coordinator
Bella was born and raised in Seattle and is currently studying communications at the University of Washington. She grew up singing Jazz in small clubs downtown and has been working in live music production since 2017, predominately at the local radio station KEXP. Bella is a big fan of Amy Winehouse, Billie Holiday, and Heart!
Steve Giedosh Bass Guitar Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Born in Bayonne New Jersey, Steve comes from multi-generational family of musicians, starting with violin at age 6, tuba at age 10, and electric bass at age 14, his life's focus has been music.
He holds a bachelor's in music from MSUM, and a masters of Jazz from PSU, where he studied under the Jazz pianist George Colligan and the electric bassist Damian Erskine.
While Jazz is his main focus, he has also worked as a professional musician both here in the United States and abroad, playing all styles of music from Rock, Funk, R&B, country, Dub, Reggae, Hip Hop, Cuban, Calypso, Bluegrass, musicals, Pop and many other styles.
He has also played and recorded with such notable musicians as Dan Phillips, Robert Lemming, Haley E Rydel, Jimmy Heath, and Bob Calabria. In addition to playing bass, Steve also plays the Chapman Stick, is an accomplished composer, Eagle Scout and a Trekkie.
Taylor Stone Guitar Teacher
Taylor started taking guitar lessons when he was 12 and was hooked from day one. He played in a Punk Rock cover band throughout high school and a Classic Rock cover band in college. He's currently the lead guitarist in the melodic death metal band Vesuvian. His big influences are Sabaton, Amon Amarth and Dimmu Borgir. His guitar hero as a kid was David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. He is also a guitar tech for several local bands and owns his own business doing set-ups and repair.
Vaughn Edward Singing Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Vaughn Edward is a Vocalist and Songwriter and has performed across the USA, from coast to coast, as well as the Philippines and touring through the Caribbean. He plays fluently, the Keyboard and Saxophone, and he has a background in dance.
Prior to taking his songs public from stage to stage, he performed in most genres: Pop, Dance, Jazz, Funk, Latin & Salsa, Blues, African, Brazilian, Ska, Reggae, Rock, Punk, Oldies, Orchestra, Disco, Zydeco, Alternative, Folk and Big Bands. Other musical projects include accompanying for Modern and Tap Dance classes at universities, playing Lead Alto Sax in the Duke University Big Band for two semesters as a Non-Student Invite, and recording with musicians of all styles.
Vaughn has written and published two music exercise books: “Music Technique Exercises for All Instruments” in Bass Clef and Treble Clef. Every exercise and all etudes are written out in every key. Beyond music, he has authored the YA Fantasy series, “Warrior Children”.
Peter Campanelli Bass Guitar Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Alum of School of Rock in St. Paul MN, Peter Campanelli is a multi-instrumentalist and recording artist. Peter attended Berklee College of Music where they studied electric bass and music production. They have played in countless bands across genres from funk/soul groups to psych-rock bands and jazz ensembles. Peter's latest solo album was released on local label Youth Riot Records. When they aren't playing and recording music, Peter likes to fix tape recorders, visit record stores, and study circuit design. Peter is a bass and guitar teacher at School of Rock Bellevue.
Jax Larkin Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher Jax Larkin
Jax is a former student of School of Rock Bellevue and now teaches guitar, bass, and drums. While he was in the program, he participated in Houseband and performed at events such as Summerfest, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, and the School of Rock Shred Contest. Outside of the School of Rock, Jax has played a wide variety of gigs - everything from country cover bands to the pit of a musical production – and enjoys writing originals in his free time. His favorite artists include Stevie Wonder, Obscura, Guthrie Govan, Thank You Scientist, Meshuggah, Cynic, Queen, and Plini.