School of American Music Instructors
Great Lessons Start with Great Instructors
The School of American Music has assembled a highly experienced faculty to teach private lessons and group courses. As a matter of policy, the school won’t offer lessons in a particular instrument unless it can pair those lessons with a uniquely qualified instructor.
SAM strongly emphasizes performance skills as part of its curriculum and hires teachers who are also performing musicians. All of the school’s instructors perform with local orchestras, bands, ensembles and other groups at venues around the Michiana area, and at SAM-sponsored recitals and other events.
SAM and its teachers are available to work with schools and other venues to provide short-term classes and/or experiences in music for students of all ages. Contact us at (269) 409-1191 or SchoolOfAmericanMusic@gmail.com to enlist our services.
Ryan Cid
Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced Guitar
Ryan Cid is a versatile guitar instructor with expertise spanning beginner to advanced levels across all musical styles, including pop, jazz, and classical guitar in both solo and ensemble settings. With a career rooted in dynamic musical experiences, Ryan brings a wealth of knowledge from a range of genres, seamlessly blending theory and technique to suit each student’s needs and goals.
Throughout his career, Ryan has shared the stage and studio with prominent artists such as Switchfoot, Something Corporate, Greyboy Allstars, Steel Pulse, and G. Love and Special Sauce, among others. This hands-on experience with top-tier musicians has honed Ryan's skill set, enabling him to deliver professional insights into performance techniques, improvisation, and musicality. Whether focusing on a student's rhythmic foundations, enhancing their understanding of harmony, or advancing their technical abilities, Ryan’s approach is grounded in real-world applications from the music industry.
Ryan’s background in theatrical music adds another dimension to his teaching, providing students with exposure to the nuances of performance, from dynamic playing to stage presence. With an ability to connect with students of all ages and skill levels, Ryan tailors lessons to develop each student’s unique musical voice, blending practical instruction with creative exploration. His warm, encouraging approach fosters a positive learning environment that inspires students to reach new heights in their musical journeys.
As a committed educator, Ryan believes in nurturing a strong technical foundation while promoting artistic expression, helping students unlock their full potential as musicians. His extensive experience, coupled with a passion for teaching, makes him a sought-after guitar instructor who inspires students to grow, perform, and excel in all aspects of guitar playing.
Matthew Daniel
Voice
Matthew Daniel, tenor, has been described as “a tenor of steely power and robust tone” — The Denver Post. Over his twenty-five-plus years of singing, he has had the privilege to perform Opera, Oratorio, Concerts, and in Recital. He has been a member of the Lyric Opera Chicago chorus since 2004.Along with his singing, Matthew teaches voice in his home studio in South Bend, Indiana and at Culver Academies in Culver, Indiana. Most recently he has added stage director to his resume when he directed Die Fledermaus and L’elisir d’amore with South Bend Lyric Opera.
Tom Fischer
Beginning and Intermediate Piano
A recently-retired Lutheran Pastor, Tom and his family moved to Three Oaks in 2021. Since beginning piano lessons in third grade, Tom is an accomplished church organist who has worked extensively with youth of all ages. An organ student of Donald Williams, D. Mus., of the University of Michigan, Tom is currently Director of Music at St Paul Lutheran Church, Michigan City, Indiana. Tom is also founding and current director of his non-profit, GoodLife Beyond The Walls, Inc. Through GoodLife's Christian ministry, Tom helps bring music to hundreds of area seniors living in senior communities. Tom enjoys playing classical organ music, classic pop tunes on the piano, and sequencing contemporary Christian and popular music on his Korg PA-4X sequencer. He has led numerous ensembles and was keyboardist in his band called "N-Dog." Tom is excited to work with students of all ages to encourage and challenge them to continued growth and enjoyment of music.
Madison Kutch
Brass, Trumpet Specialist
In addition to her duties at SAM, Madison Kutch teaches Elementary Music for the Michigan City, Ind. schools and has given private lessons for eight years. She is a member of the La Porte Symphony Orchestra, the Windiana Concert Band, the Michigan City Municipal Band and the La Porte Municipal Band. Kutch earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Valparaiso University. She has studied with well-known trumpet player Charles Steck for 12 years, and performs with him regularly. Her primary instrument is trumpet, but she is experienced in a broad variety of instruments.
Donna M. Mitchell
Voice, Piano and Baritone Ukulele
Donna M. Mitchell is a former classroom teacher of general music and choral director at schools in Indiana. She is well-known locally for her work with the Michigan City, Ind., Messiah Steering Committee and for her involvement in that city’s annual Chamber Music Festival and Monday Musicale Club. Mitchell is also a member of the Harbor Country Singers and the Valparaiso University Community Concert Band. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Mitchell is Executive Director of the School of American Music.
Sara Oldenburg
Beginning Violin
Sara Oldenburg, a homeschooling mom of three, developed a love of music early in life. Sara began studying violin at seven and continued private lessons for ten years. After taking a few years off to raise her family, she began playing regularly in her church's services, occasionally performing at neighboring churches. When she is not practicing her violin she directs her church’s SATB choir. Sara is an encouraging and patient violin teacher who enjoys working with students of all ages.
Tom Parisi
Beginning Guitar
Tom Parisi, a native of Brooklyn NY and a long-time resident of South Bend, has been playing guitar for most of his life: folk/rock beginning in the 60s, more recently classical, Great American Songbook and Brazilian. In South Bend, he studied for over a decade with Dean Wachs and is currently studying with Gerry Zubko. Way back when, he was a regular at his college coffeehouse, and more recently has performed solo and with others at Fiddler’s Wednesday night sessions. During the pandemic he formed MWC, a remote trio, with high school classmates, and they have recorded several tunes.
D. Garth Taylor
Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced Guitar; Ukulele; Mountain Dulcimer; Composing; Arranging; Music Theory
Apart from his busy teaching schedule, School of American Music Founder and President Garth Taylor is an accomplished composer, arranger and performer. He composed much of the score and served as Musical Director for the 2017 Three Oaks sesquicentennial play, Three Oaks against the World, and composed and directed music for historical videos. Taylor has performed a wide variety of bands, and can frequently be heard trying out new material at the Acorn open mic and at the Three Oaks Farmers’ Market.
Denise Vanden Bussche
Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Piano
Denise Vanden Bussche has taught piano and/or flute for nearly 30 years. She learned to love music at a very young age from her mother, an accomplished pianist. She took piano and flute lessons as a child and played in band and orchestra throughout high school. During that time, she traveled to Europe with the Blue Lake International Orchestra and to Mexico and the Bahamas with Musical Youth International, People-to-People Program. She attended Wayne State University and majored in Music Education and participated in the Symphonic and Marching Band. She moved from the Metro Detroit area to New Buffalo in 2018 and began teaching at the School of American Music (SAM) in September of that year. Denise became the SAM School Director in 2024, as well as continuing to teach.
Elisabeth Waldburger
Woodwind Specialist
Elisabeth Waldburger is an active Michiana-based performing musician and private music instructor. She has been a member of the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra since 2016, and has recently taken on the role as personnel manager with the LCSO. She also participates in other local ensembles, including the La Porte City Band, the St. Joseph Municipal Band, and the Elkhart County Symphony. When she’s not performing, she enjoys teaching clarinet and saxophone lessons to student musicians in her private music studio. Her students represent a number of local districts, including La Porte, Penn-Harris-Madison, Mishawaka, and South Bend schools.
Elisabeth is originally from Granger, Indiana and grew up in the South Bend schools. She first fell in love with orchestral playing in middle school when she was accepted into the South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestras. Participating in SBYSO and other school performance opportunities–such as ISSMA solo and ensemble events, Indiana All-State Honor Bands, and side by side concerts with the South Bend Symphony–greatly influenced her decision to pursue music as a career. In 2010 she attended Western Michigan University, where she studied clarinet with Brad Wong and Stephanie Hovnanian. She received her Bachelor of Musical Arts degree in Instrumental Performance in 2014 and Master of Music degree in Instrumental Performance in 2016. Elisabeth would like to thank her school music teachers, who all lent her positive support in her young career: Ember Miller, Jason Gresl, Trevor O’Riordan, Susan Walker, Gary Kurtis, and Denise Kuehner.