Meet The Teachers
Violin, Ukulele, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Piano, Banjo
Race Lerma hails from Findlay, OH, and has been playing violin since he was four years old. He is a 2021 graduate of Capital University with a Bachelors of Music with focus on violin performance, music business, and piano training. For eight years, Race was heavily involved with the Findlay Youth Orchestra where he played first violin, Northwest Regional Orchestra, and the University of Findlay Orchestra, receiving the National School Orchestra Award at the end of his involvement. He has been teaching private lessons for six years, and he brings a wide range of musical experience to his lessons in violin, guitar, ukulele, mandolin, beginner piano, and banjo.
Singing, Piano
Covie Gray is very excited to join Chamber’s Music Studio as voice and piano instructor! They are a 2023 graduate from Capital University in Vocal Music Education. In addition to teaching at Chamber’s, Covie (a.k.a. Teacher Gray) enjoys performing in the Chapel Choir and participating in various organizations on campus, including the Performing Arts to Serve Others (PATSO) student organization and the business music fraternity of Sigma Alpha Iota. Since their freshman year of high school, Tr. Gray has participated in high-level choral ensembles and studied voice privately. After receiving training in vocal pedagogy from Capital University’s Conservatory of Music, they have enjoyed teaching voice for all levels of singer, from beginner to intermediate to advanced collegiate musicians.
Ukulele, Bass Guitar, Guitar
Patrick is a Columbus Ohio native, with over 15 years of experience in gigging, writing, playing, and enjoying music of all styles. He is a 2023 graduate of Capital University with a degree in Jazz Studies/Guitar Performance. He has studied with musicians such as Stan Smith, Tom Davis, and Michael Cox. He enjoys playing all styles of music, but has most experience in Jazz, Funk, Rock, and Metal. He started playing guitar at the age of 7, in 2008. His early inspirations to play guitar was his family’s influence of music on him. His earliest memory that inspired him to play was hearing Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning”. Some of his biggest musical inspirations include Frank Zappa, Yes, King Crimson, Steve Hillage, Pat Metheny, Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, A.C Jobim, among many others. Patrick has a lot of experience playing with others, and values musical connections to others in his life. Patrick has performed in a variety of ensembles including Big Bands, Jazz Combos, Rock bands, and his own bands, such as Caterpillar Protolith and Crabswithoutlegs. Patrick has won many awards for his performances and compositions, including the Mark Flugge Jazz Award, Nicholas Perinni Scholarship, and the River Richards Memorial Scholarship.
Piano
Pufan Wang is a pianist and music teacher who holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Xi’an Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music degree from Western Michigan University, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The Ohio State University with Prof. Steven Glaser. Pufan has extensive performance experience in both solo and chamber music settings, having performed in concerts in China and the United States. In addition to performing, Pufan is also an experienced piano teacher, having taught students of all ages, from young children to adults. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes creating a positive and enriching learning experience for her students, and she strives to help her students develop a love and appreciation for music in their studies.
Piano, Percussion
LingLing Chen is a seasoned performer. She has been playing percussion in different musical settings such as orchestra, symphony, chamber, duo, and solo. LingLing has won numerous awards when she was in school and had the opportunity to perform marimba concerto with different orchestras. LingLing has more than 15 years of teaching experience for percussion in several music studios and universities in Taiwan and the US . She was a teaching/graduate assistant at Ohio University and Morehead State University from 2011-2017. Not only has she taught solo techniques and percussion ensemble skills for percussion-majored students, she also has experience with teaching non-percussion major students the basic knowledge and techniques of percussion. In addition, she believes that it is important to build a strong fundamental foundation in order to develop advanced techniques for future playing.
Piano, Musikgarten
Laurie Loper brings over 30 years of experience to Music Palette as a piano teacher and accompanist. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in music from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, and a Master of Music degree in piano performance and accompanying from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She has previously taught both group and studio piano to students of all ages in multiple settings, including the Ohio State University – Newark, Otterbein University, Lawrence Arts Academy (Appleton, WI), the Music for Everyone Program (Green Bay, WI), and Hope College (Holland, MI). Her accompanying career has included student, faculty, and guest recitals at numerous colleges and universities. She has also maintained an active independent piano teaching studio wherever she has lived.
She believes that each student is uniquely gifted, and she strives to develop those gifts through a strong student-teacher relationship, energy, humor, and a solid approach based on musical and technical fundamentals. She is a member of the National Guild of Piano Teachers, Ohio Music Teachers’ Association, and Music Teachers’ National Association.
Meet the Staff
Owner of Chambers Music Studio and Music Palette, Retired Piano and Vocal Teacher
Julie Chambers, Capital University graduate, studio owner, and teacher has been teaching since 2008. She has her state teachers license, Bachelor’s and Master’s in music education, Kodaly certification, Music Pedagogy diploma, and has begun her Estill Voice Training. She has experience teaching public school music, preschool general music, choir, piano, and voice lessons. She currently performs regularly at Grove City United Methodist Church as organist, accompanist, and vocalist.
Director of Communications
Julia Price is currently in college for business management. She loves ballroom dancing, houseplants, and afternoon tea. Julia believes in doing her best in all she does and looks forward to helping your Music Palette experience be the best.
Talent Curator
Jessica grew up in Pickerington and received her BM from Capital University, and MM from the University of Oregon with an emphasis in Piano Pedagogy. While at Capital University, she also studied Organ Pedagogy and Literature with Janet Linker and Paul Thornock. She had the fortunate opportunity of studying Piano Pedagogy with Dr. Rebecca Johnson, current president of the Music Teacher’s National Association. During her academic years, she presented for the Symposium on Undergraduate Scholarship and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. In addition, she was a previous winner of Capital University’s Concerto Competition and performed as a soloist with the Capital Wind Symphony. She studied piano performance with India D’Avignon (Capital University) and Dr. Claire Wachter (University of Oregon).
Ms. Heitmeyer was previously on the piano faculty at O’Hara Catholic School and a group piano instructor at the Eugene Piano Academy in Oregon. In addition to teaching, she keeps an active performing schedule with choral groups, churches, and soloists. Her credentials and more than 15 years of teaching experience demonstrate expertise and a passion for teaching. Her published article in the Clavier Companion highlights her previous experience teaching at the Vermont Independent School of the Arts, a non-profit school. Jessica integrates technique, reading and ear-training to provide her students with a well-rounded education. She also encourages student independence through active listening and problem solving. To make lessons enjoyable for her students, Jessica selects music appropriate for their age, level and interests.