The Barn is Middletown's
largest music studio, located in the heart of town.
We are looking forward to working with you!
The Owner
Forrust and Sherry Miller, owners
Forrust studied voice and performed in operas at West Chester University, while getting a degree in chemistry/biology. Since then he ran a family business for 23 years, pastored a church for 20 years and is now retired.
Sherry has a degree in music education from West Chester University. Both she and Forrust toured the U.S. for a year with a singing group, when they were first married. Sherry has directed choirs, taught piano and voice lessons, led worship and run the studio for the past 18 years.
Forrust loves building things and Sherry loves gardening. They both love to read and spend time with their 2 daughters, their husbands and 7 grand kids.
Studio Manager
Peggy Ely is the Manager of S Music Studio at the Barn. At an early age, she developed her administrative and customer service skills in scheduling and accounting by working in her Dad’s produce business. It is through the many roles over the past 30 years, including retail and real estate, that she has gained her managerial expertise. For over 15 years Peggy has been a professional speaker, where she traveled internationally and received many awards. She thrives on adding much humor in her life and presentations.
She feels there is nothing better than to add a hearty laugh to everyone’s day. Her passion in coaching and training continues to be used today as she is a facilitator and coach at her church.
Parents, students and teachers may stop by the front desk, call or email and she is always willing to assist in their needs.
Teachers
Penny Mears has been playing piano since the age of 9, and started teaching after college where she received a B.A. in Music (piano). She has been teaching for over 30 years, while also leading the music team at church.
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Penny’s desire is to instill a love for music in each student. She does this by working with each student at their level. The students often have the chance to choose songs that they want to learn, along with the lesson plans. Penny is very artistic. This shows not only in music, but also in her quilting.
Sohee Kang has been playing/teaching piano for over 15 years. She has a Bachelor of Music and her studies have given her insight to the teaching world, as well as playing.
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Sohee’s goal with her students is for them to be able to play on their own as soon as possible and to enjoy a lifetime of playing piano, whether they are enrolled in lessons or not. She is a very active teacher and enjoys communicating during the process. Varying her style and teaching methods to suit each student enables everyone to have a good experience!
Herbie Maitlandt attended Herbert H. Lehman University majoring in performance. He also studied with Jorge Morel/Anthony Bez, Sal Salvador/John Scofield, Dave Stryker. He has been playing guitar and bass guitar for 55 years and teaching for 43 years.
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Herb’s laid-back teaching style allows the students to progress at their own speed, while still emphasizing the basics. It also gives a comfort level to the lessons.
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An interesting hobby of Herb’s is Traditional Chinese Martial Arts and Medicine.
Haley Fogel began her musical career by giving individual piano lessons, as well as group lessons. She is patient with her students as they are learning, adding fun, games and choices to the musical experience.
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She has been playing/teaching piano for over 10 years. Not only is she gifted with the piano, she sings in a choir, speaks fluent Spanish, paints and loves to cook. She has a B.A. in Spanish Education from the University of Delaware.
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She sincerely shares with us: “it is all for the Glory of God!”
Pierce Deshield has been playing the drums for 46 years and studied Music theory, along with Information and Technology at Wilmington University and Villanova. He comes from a family that loves to sing, and some have played instruments, as well. There is so much love for music in the family that his 2 daughters are currently in music programs at school.
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All of Pierce’s life he has played drums in his church, which gave him the foundation of learning multiple styles of drumming. For instance, in gospel music a wide range of styles are used including Blues, Jazz, Country and Salsa, to mention only a few. He was the youngest drummer ever to play for the C.O.G.I.C. Delaware State Choir at the age of 12. The fact that this happened due to the emergency absence of their current drummer, and he filled in with only 5 minutes before the choir came in is just an indication of how versatile he is. Also, after that performance he was offered the job, and played the drums for them for over 20 years. He also plays piano, and of course, was singing in the choir before becoming their drummer.
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Pierce teaches music theory and improvisation. First, the student plays the part and later he wants the student’s interpretation of the song. This makes it very interactive, with his first rule being “we must have fun”, and laughter in the room is another must. His second rule is the student MUST practice, letting his students know it will make the difference between being a drummer, a good drummer or an awesome drummer.
Alayna Reese has played piano most of her childhood and has been using her talent to play in church worship teams and now teaching. She has also been playing the drums for 7 years.
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Alayna enjoys working with children and watching them grow. She is positive, patient, encouraging and comes prepared with a plan for each student.
Amanda Ostrusky graduated from Susquehanna University with a degree in music education. Her area of focus in college was instrumental and vocal. This is her 23rd year of teaching. Her experience includes middle school choir, band, theater, and general music. She also taught music, choir, band and theater at Bunker Hill Elementary from 2009-2018.
She is currently a middle school band director at Cantwell’s Bridge Middle School in Odessa.
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In her spare time she loves to get crafty and create, sing in a local community choir and perform on tuba. She has played tuba and taught brass lessons since 1994.
At the Barn Amanda teaches piano, voice, and instrumental lessons. (Brass and some woodwinds)
Dwight McIntosh started playing piano when he was 5 years old and has continued for 40 years. He has been teaching for 25 years. His continuing education with the Berklee School of Music, the Royal School of Music and Trinity College of Music in London accounts for much of his knowledge with his students. So many things to learn with Dwight, such as, piano performance, music composition, music theory and jazz piano, to name a few.
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Dwight’s goal for his students is “to help them reach their highest musical potential”.
Daniel McFarland started playing trumpet when he was ten and quickly decided to learn the piano, as well. He has been playing piano for 40 years and has been teaching for 20 years. Not only does he play piano and trumpet, but he ventured out to study the guitar, tenor saxophone and sings.
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You are likely to find Daniel performing at church and in nursing homes. He is definitely giving back with his talent.
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Daniel is well aware that each student is different, and he is constantly looking for the best way to teach each individual. He also teaches chords, which is most helpful in order to play in church or in a band. Proudly, he has a student who is 67, showing that it is never too old to learn!
Catherine Pearce has been playing/teaching for over 30 years. Her love for the piano has taken her to the University of Heidelberg (Germany) where she apprenticed piano tuning/technician with Yamaha and Steinway.
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Her gentle, loving ways make it easy for her students to connect with her, as she adds activities and conversation that keep them involved. Here style is classical, always gearing her teaching to each individual
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Not only is she a very good pianist with lots of experience, she also enjoys recording music, playing guitar and traveling.
Lilly Judy has been playing piano since she was 8 years old and has been teaching for a little over a year. She is involved in musical theatre, photography and soccer.
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Her gentle ways endear her to her students/parents, as well as using a variety of methods to make the lessons both memorable and focused. Of course, her students have time at the piano, but some of her tools of the trade include whiteboards, games and chimes to help the students stay on track.
Susan Becker has been playing piano for 34 years and teaching with S Music Studio for 2 years. Since Susan was classically trained using the Yamaha method, it allows her to apply those techniques to her students in formal and creative ways. Her license in early childhood gives her an edge in understanding some of the younger students she is teaching.
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Susan loves going to musicals and shows. The variety in those influences her in the art of music.
Rachael Metzing has been singing in choirs since she was 7 and playing piano since she was 10. Not only has she been teaching piano lessons for 20 years and voice lessons for 23, she is also a Special Ed-Certified teacher for grades K-12.
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Rachael has a wholistic approach (ear training along with theory and reading music), and differentiates her teaching style to meet each student’s needs.
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The guitar has captured her attention, as well as listening to podcasts and working out.
Gabby Dinardo started playing piano in kindergarten and believes that learning never stops. She is now teaching, as well as continuing to study music. Her musical interest also has led her to be in the Choir and in a Musical. Another instrument that she enjoys is the ukulele. Irish dancing is another of her musical hobbies.
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Gabby welcomes her students with a big smile and is enjoys conversing with them while teaching them the art of playing piano. She is very encouraging as her students learn.
Josue’ Oreliano has been playing drums for 15 years and teaching drum lessons for 2 years. He plays other percussion instruments, such as the cajon.
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His goal in his lessons is to help the students discover how fun and exciting playing the drums can be. His teaching philosophy “is to learn by doing”, so he makes sure every student is able to play the drums in every lesson. Josue' is able to teach in Spanish also.
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Josue’ enjoys getting to know each student as an in
dividual, finding out exactly what it is that excites them about the drums.
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He is a Computer Systems Engineer and likes playing soccer and drawing.
Kenzie Tabor has been singing her whole life, while also learning piano, guitar and a little bit of bass. She has been using her vocal talent to sing on church worship teams, and starring in musicals.
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Kenzie took private voice lessons for 5 years, which led her to use her talent to teach as well.
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She has a collaborative teaching style, listening while her students voice their thoughts, goals and preferences. Understanding their wants and needs is key to her preparing her lessons plans. Kenzie values her student’s progress, not only with their voice, but also within their character.
Kyra Limerick has been playing guitar and ukulele for over ten years. She also plays some piano. You never know when you might run into her performing, as she plays in two bands. She is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and learned a few styles of teaching there from her professors.
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Kyra teaches classical and beginner jazz, styling her teaching to fit the student’s interests. For those students that love to go online and learn, Kyra teaches online via Zoom.
Noah Baker started playing the drums when he was 9 years old, and has continued playing for 30 years. He has played drums on church worship teams, and enjoys teaching all kinds of music for 13 years.
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When he is not teaching drums, you may see him in the sky teaching others how to fly planes. He is a Commercial Pilot and a Certified Flight Instructor Instrument (CFII), which gives him even more experience at teaching all ages.
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He typically does a little workbook music theory, and then makes the lesson fun. His students learn proper techniques to hold drum sticks and the art of getting just the sound you are looking for, whether it is a light touch or something a little heavier. The student learns new songs/parts, while also making the lesson fun by jamming together perfecting the songs.
Kim Taylor teaches voice and acting/audition prep, and has been teaching for 8 years. She studied theater and dance through college and has a B.A. in English from DeSales University. She has been performing and directing in community theater for over 20 years.
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Kim’s personalized instruction focuses on vocal health, building confidence, setting goals and enjoying the process.
She shares, “I love performing (acting, singing, dancing), but teaching and directing truly bring the most joy!”
Beth Sowers has been playing a variety of instruments for 41 years. At age 8 she started with the violin, and discovered she had a gift of teaching herself other instruments. She borrowed the flute, clarinet, saxophone and trumpet. Her band teacher confirmed that she could indeed learn to play.
Beth has been teaching for 20 years, starting at the Pike Creek Christian School, then Accent Music and currently teaches at Glasgow Christian Academy.
She meets her students at their level, and gives instructions of how to keep progressing from that level. She also challenges them with new and harder skills, often surprising her students at how much they have progressed.
Her hobbies include learning other instruments such as the Piccolo, Trombone, Eb Tuba, and Bells. While that would seem to keep her very busy, she still loves spending time with her family and her four dogs.
