Established in 2023, the Decatur Fine Arts Academy offers private music instruction to students of all ages and experience levels. The Decatur Fine Arts Academy brings highly-qualified teachers to our vibrant and creative community. We are conveniently located at First Baptist Church of Decatur (Georgia), a welcoming and supportive space just steps away from downtown.

We are pleased to offer private musical instruction in a variety of disciplines. Please see below for more about our outstanding faculty!

Lessons are currently offered in the following areas of musical study:

• Clarinet

• Guitar

• Piano

• Percussion

• Saxophone

• Violin

• Viola

• Voice

• Music Theory and Composition

All of our instructors hold advanced degrees in music, are established performers, and collectively have decades of teaching experience.

Get in touch by filling out the form here or by emailing us directly at decaturfineartsacademy@gmail.com.

Spring 2024 Important Dates

Spring Semester Dates: January 8-May 24, 2024

Studio Classes:

Studio Classes offer students the chance to practice performance in front of their DFAA cohort and instructors. They’re an excellent way for students to build confidence and performance skills. They’re designed to be casual, encouraging, and inspirational for students of all experience levels. Students are encouraged to bring their works-in-progress to practice performing in front of the group and to attend even if they aren’t performing. We’ll also have discussions about different music skills.

• Sunday, February 25 (1:00-2:00 pm)

  • Discussion topic: Performance anxiety

• Saturday, March 23 (1:00-2:00 pm)

  • Discussion topic: Building good practice habits

• Sunday, April 21 (1:00-2:00 pm)

  • Followed by a presentation of piano music by Farris Goodrum

• Sunday, April 23 (1:00-2:00 pm)

  • Discussion topic: TBA

Student Recitals:

Recitals are open to students of all ages and experience levels. We highly encourage all of our students to participate in these performance opportunities.

• Saturday, April 27 (1:00 & 3:00 pm)

• Sunday, May 19 (1:00 & 3:00 pm)

JOIN US for Art Camp!

We are so excited to offer a Summer Art Camp for rising 1st through 6th graders with Atlanta artist and educator Kristi Amdur! This half-day camp runs from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm* at First Baptist Church of Decatur, GA. All levels are welcome! Camp classes include:

• Painting with watercolor pencils

• Fiber and metal arts

• Building with clay

• Printmaking

This camp will run the weeks of June 3-7 and June 17-21 and will cost $200/student/week (rate for DFAA families is $175/student/week).

Click here to fill out an interest form!

*Kids ages 5-12 can add on afternoon camp (until 5:30 pm) with First Camp for $130/week.

NOW ENROLLING for our Musical Theatre Summer Intensive!

We’re thrilled to announce our 2024 Musical Theatre Summer Intensive! This half-day camp is at First Baptist Church of Decatur, GA and is geared toward teens in grades 6-12. Camp activities include:

• Voice instruction

• Acting classes

• Movement classes

• Scene work

• Musical theater history & literature classes

• And much more!

Camp is $175/week and runs from 9:00 am - 12:30 pm the weeks of June 10-14 and July 8-12.

This camp runs concurrently with the Decatur Avondale Children’s Choir Music Camp, which is geared toward younger musicians (ages 6-12). Click here to learn more about Music Camp.

To learn more and register, fill out our interest form!

Announcing our 2024 Inaugural Concert Series!

Please mark your calendars for our DFAA concert series! We are excited to bring live classical music concerts to the Decatur community and sincerely hope you will join us. Live concerts like this are an excellent way to experience and learn about beautiful music, and we hope they can inspire students at all stages of their music development. Every featured performer was at one point a beginner!

Our first concert is coming up on Sunday, March 17, featuring DFAA Co-Director Caroline Owen in a solo recital of piano preludes and variations. On Saturday, May 4, Co-Director Robert Cushing will perform alongside DFAA instructors Julie Saxton (violin), Scott Brown (saxophone), and Casey Margerum (soprano). Then, we will celebrate the end of the semester with a recital on Sunday, June 2 featuring "dynamic duos" of DFAA instructors and guest artists.

Admission for DFAA families is covered in their semester fees. For others, tickets are pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $10 per person. Click here to pre-order your tickets. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Pianist Caroline Owen is thrilled to be back in Atlanta after completing her Doctorate of Music degree in piano performance from Florida State University in 2022. She has performed in venues across the U.S. and in Austria, Italy, and the Czech Republic. She was the winner of the 2019 Florida MTNA Young Artist Competition, a semifinalist in the 14th International Mozart Competition, and the winner of the 2018 Pro-Mozart Society of Atlanta Competition, from which she received a scholarship to study at the Salzburg Mozarteum. Owen has also participated and performed at festivals including PianoFest in the Hamptons, PianoTexas, Atlantic Music Festival, and the Prague Piano Festival, working with distinguished artists and teachers such as Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Richard Goode, Ursula Oppens, and Pascal Rogé, among others. Her background in dance has also fostered multiple multidisciplinary collaborations with Houston-based composer Badie Khaleghian. Passionate about chamber music, she tours seasonally with the Astralis Chamber Ensemble. To learn more, visit carolineowenpiano.com.

Dr. Owen has been teaching piano for the last seven years, working with students from age 5 to adults. As a graduate student, she held teaching positions at Florida State University and the University of Georgia, where she was an instructor of Group Piano and Aural Skills, respectively. In addition to maintaining her own private Decatur-based studio of students, Dr. Owen also serves as an Artist Affiliate at Emory University and a Co-Director of the Decatur Fine Arts Academy.

Robert Cushing is a composer, pianist, and Decatur native. He holds a Bachelors in Music Composition from Furman University and Master in Piano Performance from the University of Georgia. As a composer, Robert especially enjoys writing music for the voice. His original musical, In the Silence, was performed at Furman University in Fall 2019. He has also written several song cycles, chamber works, and solo piano compositions. The winner of the 2019 South Carolina MTNA Young Artist Competition, Robert is passionate about performing the music of unsung composers. In graduate school, Robert researched and performed the piano works of Mélanie “Mel” Bonis and Hélène de Montgeroult.

At the University of Georgia, Robert studied under Dr. David Fung, Dr. Alan Woo, Dr. Emily Koh, and Dr. Peter Lane. At Furman University, Robert studied under Dr. Amanda Montgomery, Dr. Mark Kilstofte, and Professor Jay Bocook. He credits his love of music with his original piano teacher, Mrs. Mary Brown Hinely.

When not composing or playing piano, Robert is an Advanced Genealogy Researcher for Legacy Tree Genealogists. He is passionate about helping people unravel their genealogical mysteries and understand their connection to history. Robert is a fifth-generation Decatur resident and is thrilled to be a Co-Director of the Decatur Fine Arts Academy.

Scott Brown

Saxophone

Scott Brown (he/him) is an emerging saxophonist, chamber musician and educator based in Atlanta, Georgia. As a soloist, Scott has competed and earned awards in national and international competitions such as the Fernande Decruck International Competition, North American Saxophone Alliance, and the Music Teacher’s National Association young artist woodwind competitions. Additionally, Scott won the 2020-2021 UGA Concerto Competition with his performance of Andre Waignein’s Rhapsody for Saxophone and Orchestra.

An advocate for the creation of new music, Scott collaborates with living composers to commission chamber and solo works that utilize the saxophone. Brown has premiered or commissioned works by composers Kevin Day, Matthew Howell, Minoo Dixon, and more!

Since 2017, Scott has maintained his own private saxophone studio where he teaches both in-person and online lessons. Further, he has also given recitals and masterclasses with the Red Hill Saxophone Quartet at the University of Alabama, Columbus State University, Samford University, and Troy University.

Scott holds a Master of Music in Saxophone Performance from Florida State University where he served as a graduate teaching assistant for the saxophone studio under the tutelage of Dr. Geoffrey Deibel. Additionally, Scott holds a degree in Saxophone Performance with a minor in jazz studies from the University of Georgia where he studied with Dr. Connie Frigo and Professor Dave D’Angelo. Scott has also performed in masterclasses for Arno Bornkamp, Taimur Sullivan, Robert Young and Chien-Kwan Lin, Jan Berry Baker, Don-Paul Kahl, and the H2 Quartet. 

Irina Vázquez Cruz

Violin/Viola

Born in the musical city of Matanzas, Cuba, Irina Vázquez grew up surrounded by music. Her uncle, a symphonic violinist, inspired her early enthusiasm for classical music, particularly on the violin. Meanwhile, her home and community life were filled with the popular music of Cuba’s boleros, guarachas, sones, contras, and trova. A precocious child, she was accepted at an early age to the National Music School in Havana, and studied with some of Cuba’s most renowned teachers, as well as visiting artists from around the world. She was accepted into the world class Matanzas Symphony, and worked her way up to become Concertmaster, a job she held for 20 years. With the orchestra and in her small ensembles, she was privileged to collaborate with such international stars as Michel Legrand.

Following family members north, she spent a few years in Florida, and has now settled in Atlanta, where she serves as Principal 2nd Violinist in the Alpharetta Symphony Orchestra and performs popular music of all styles with CubanaSong, the Quarantine Quartet, and in duo with multi-instrumentalist Mick Kinney. In addition to being a performer of note, Irina is also a gifted teacher, meeting students where they are to help them progress toward where they would like to be. She is experienced and particularly loves working with children with different abilities, and is certified in teaching children with autism.

Julie Saxton

Violin/Viola & Piano

Originally from Atlanta, GA, Julie Saxton recently finished her Artist Diploma in Violin Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she also completed her Master of Music in Violin Performance. She is an active and versatile freelancer, performing with regional orchestras in Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, and South Carolina. She has also recorded and performed with pop artists, such as Kishi Bashi, Faye Webster, and Baby Rose. She has been teaching private violin lessons for over eight years. Julie is thrilled to be part of the inaugural faculty of the Decatur Fine Arts Academy. She is also currently on faculty with the Atlanta Music Project as a Violin Teaching Artist.

Julie completed a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. Her primary teachers include Dr. Michael Heald and Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel of the Jupiter String Quartet. She has also participated in chamber, orchestra, and opera studies and performances at the Montecito International Music Festival, the Hot Springs Music Festival, the Miami Classical Music Festival, and the Bay View Music Festival. When she’s not practicing or performing, she enjoys traveling, hiking, cooking, and spending time with her family, friends, and dog (Ginger) and cat (Angelkitty).

AnnaLauren Kelly

Voice

AnnaLauren Kelly, soprano, is an emerging young artist in the Atlanta area. Originally from East Tennessee, she earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Carson-Newman University and her Master of Music degree from Georgia State University. She is currently furthering her education to earn an Artist Diploma from GSU and will be featured as the titular character in the Fall 2023 production of Suor Angelica.

AnnaLauren has recently been seen as Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro in Urbania, Italy with FIO Italia, an international opera festival, as well as Catherine in Offenbach’s Le mariage aux lanternes, The Visitor in Milton Granger’s Benedicta, and Célie in Pasatieri’s Signor Deluso. In her free time, she enjoys crafting of almost any kind and spending time with her loved ones.

Casey Margerum

Voice & Piano

Soprano Casey Margerum was born in Louisville, KY and raised in Charlotte, NC. Her interest in music was piqued by singing in her elementary school choir and solidified by her time at The Choir School at St. Peter's in Charlotte, but she didn't expect to pursue music professionally until she began her undergraduate studies.

Casey's past roles include Alice (Falstaff), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Catherine (Le Mariage aux Lanternes), Don Ettore (La Canterina), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Pamina (The Magic Flute), the First Alms Sister (Suor Angelica) and Julie (Some Enchanted Evening: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein). Casey has also appeared as the soloist in the Winston-Salem Symphony concert performance of Robert Kapilow's Green Eggs and Ham.

Outside of opera, Casey has given a lecture-recital of Aaron Copland's Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson and has been a featured soloist in the Messiah Sing-Along at Davidson College. She is a winner of Davidson College's 2017 Concerto Competition and of Georgia State University's 2020 Honors Recital. In 2023, Casey was a semi-finalist of the Heafner/Williams Vocal Competition in Lincolnton, NC.

Casey received her BA in Music and English in 2019 from Davidson College, where she studied with Ilana Lubitsch. She completed her Master of Music with a concentration in Vocal Performance in 2022 at Georgia State University under the tutelage of Kathryn Hartgrove. She has also studied piano with Dr. Will Fried, Ginger Wyrick, and Dr. Caroline Owen.

Outside of music, Casey enjoys horseback riding, rock climbing, baking and cooking, reading, and spending time with her tuxedo cat, Scout.

Shaquille St. John

Voice

Trinidadian-American tenor Shaquille St. John is from Buford, Georgia. Mr. St. John specializes in both classical/opera and pop/contemporary vocal music. He recently graduated with a Master of Music in Voice Performance degree from The University of Tennessee College of Music, where he was a 2-year member of the Knoxville Opera Studio, and University of Tennessee Opera Theater. He also completed his Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance in May 2021 from Georgia Southern University, where he was a 5 year member of Georgia Southern Chorale, and 4 year member of Georgia Southern Opera. 

Shaquille’s most recent opera performance credits include Daniel Buchanan in Weill’s Street Scene and Prunier in Puccini’s La Rondine with Georgia Southern Opera, The Witch in Hänsel & Gretel, and Alfred in Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus with University of Tennessee Opera Theatre, and St. Brioche and Camille (cover) in UTOT and Knoxville Opera’s recent Fall 2022 co-production of Lehar’s The Merry Widow. 

Shaquille also performs contemporary and pop style music. During his undergraduate career at Georgia Southern University, he performed locally with the music student-led funk band, Play of the Game. In March 2019, Shaquille represented GSU in the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade, performing a set of pop songs with a live band. In summer 2023, he also worked with Knoxville-based First Take Company; as part of its summer long concert series, Shaquille performed live-band covers of Ray Charles’s “Georgia On My Mind” and the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” on the company’s American Jukebox concert.

Christopher Bowers

PERCUSSION

Christopher Bowers is a percussionist, educator, and public musicologist. Growing up as an Atlanta native, he studied percussion in private settings for thirteen years with many instructors in Georgia. Christopher completed his Bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance at Kennesaw State University and most recently completed his Master’s degree in Percussion Performance with a certificate in Public Musicology from Columbus State University. During this time, he worked with undergraduate students in both music theory and percussion pedagogy.

In addition to his solo percussion work, Christopher served as the percussion intern with the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra from 2018 to 2020, as well as with the Youth Orchestra of Greater Columbus as a substitute intern in 2023. 

Christopher has performed with the Georgia Brass Band as percussionist and timpanist in the 2018 and 2019 international NABBA competitions. He has also played with the Symphony Orchestras, Wind Ensembles, and Choral Unions at Kennesaw State University and Columbus State University. Growing up, he performed in many Youth Orchestras within the greater Atlanta area, including the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, the Westminster Summer Concert Band, and the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Outside of music, Christopher enjoys poetry, meditation, and yoga; he likes to implement the lessons learned in those areas when listening to his students. 

Caroline Jackle

Clarinet, Guitar

Caroline Jackle is a dynamic clarinetist, clinician, and educator based in the greater Atlanta area. Prior to her residency in Atlanta, she was the band director at Station Camp Middle School and rotating principal clarinetist of the Middle Tennessee Sinfonietta. Her students have performed in concert band, pep band, and jazz band settings, with many performing in a variety of honor band clinics including the Tennessee Mid-State Honor Band, Sumner All-County Honor Band, and University of Tennessee Martin Honor Band.

As a solo artist, Caroline has performed recitals including those at the Belgian Clarinet Academy in Ostend, Belgium and at the Blair School of Music in Nashville, Tennessee. Caroline is passionate about chamber music and collaboration, co-founding the Aureus Quintet and actively performing in a myriad of chamber settings. As a private lessons teacher, she instructs clarinet, flute, and guitar students of all ages. She has held private studios in Florida and Tennessee, and has boasted students with All-State and regional accolades in each state.

Caroline holds a Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from Florida State University, where she served as the rotating principal clarinetist of the FSU University Orchestra, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Tennessee Tech University, where she served as the rotating principal clarinet of the University Symphony Band and Wind Ensemble. Her primary teachers are Deborah Bish, Jonathan Holden, Mark J. Cramer, Jacqueline Eichhorn, and Wonkak Kim.

Kristi Amdur

Visual Arts

Kristi has been teaching Middle School and Lower School Art at a variety of schools in the Atlanta area for 25 years. Kristi has a Masters degree and went to Georgia State for Art Education with a concentration in Sculpture and 3-D design. As an artist, Kristi uses a variety of materials and techniques to create sculpture and paintings. She strongly encourages joy in art creation with her students and helps them to find their own interests and unique voice.

Farris Goodrum

Piano

Farris Goodrum began playing the piano at age seven. He was born and raised in the Congo, Africa, where his parents were missionaries. Music was an important aspect in the life of the school where he began his piano studies, and where he became the chapel pianist at the age of twelve. He received a bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from the University of West Georgia, and a master's degree in Piano Pedagogy from Georgia State University. He was granted an assistantship at both universities as an accompanist, and has taught piano at all levels, from beginning to advanced, for many years in both Brazil and the United States. Farris was sent to Brazil by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and spent 35 years in that country as a music teacher. His responsibilities included teaching private piano lessons, directing choirs and bell choirs, and teaching courses such as music theory, composition, form and analysis, pedagogy, and conducting. During his years in Brazil, he founded and directed a music department in a seminary to train music students for professional possibilities after graduation. Encouraging musical expression among students, and observing their progress as musicians, are among the great joys of his teaching experience.

Adam Shavin

Guitar

Adam Shavin began playing the guitar at age seven. Over the following decade, he learned additional instruments, including bass, piano and drums. After his high school years, Adam began teaching guitar lessons for the first time. He then earned a Bachelor's degree from The Hartt School in Connecticut in 2016, focusing on music theory and history.

After his undergraduate education, Adam began taking commissioned composition projects and showing work in visual art exhibitions. Now, Adam’s career revolves around the guitar - whether it’s gigging as a soloist/improviser around Atlanta, self-producing original music, or teaching those excited to be earlier in their musical journeys.

Adam aims to help his students explore their own personal relationship with the guitar - as well as develop their ear, which he believes is the skill that will take them the farthest as musicians.