Faculty
Meet our amazing instructors across the greater metro area and Boulder County.
Faculty</span style=”color: #ffffff”>
Faculty
Cody Qualls
Brenda diZerega
I started taking music lessons when I was seven years old, and I have been playing music ever since! I received my Bachelor of Music degrees from Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska where I enjoyed studying organ performance, choral conducting, music history and music theory. I went on to graduate school where I received my Master of Music degree in Musicology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Following that, I moved to Colorado to continue my music education at the University of Colorado/Boulder where I earned my Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting.
I have lived in Colorado since 1987, and have worked at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church as the Music Director since that time. I am responsible for playing organ and piano for Sunday and other special services. I conduct the Adult and Youth Choirs, as well as Adult and Youth Handbell Choirs. For the past 20 years I have been teaching private piano, organ and voice lessons, and currently have a studio of 48 students. I have also enjoyed being a licensed Kindermusik teacher in Longmont since January, 2000. I have had the pleasure of seeing many of my Kindermusik students turn into wonderful piano students over the years.
I am looking forward to many more years of teaching music to the people of the Longmont community.
Becca Hirsch
Becca is a pianist, singer, accompanist, choral director, and woodwind player based in Berthoud. She comes from a musical family, full of pianists, conductors, opera singers, jazz players, and symphony musicians. Becca graduated from Hastings College with degrees in Music Performance and Psychology. She also earned a Master’s in Special Education from Metropolitan State University of Denver, and worked as a teacher and case manager to students with significant physical and intellectual disabilities.
Before returning to her hometown of Berthoud, Becca taught music at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling. Courses taught include Music Theory, Ear Training and Sight-Singing, Music Appreciation, Music History, private lessons, and choirs. She has extensive experience teaching private lessons on saxophone, clarinet, flute, oboe, piano, and voice. Becca is well-versed in various styles, but has a passion for jazz. She plays saxophone with various jazz groups throughout the front range, and has recorded and studied with noted Denver jazz saxophonist, Jim Riley.
Becca currently serves as Music Director at Cairn Christian Church in Lafayette. She also has a CHt certificate in Counseling Hypnotherapy and is a Reiki practitioner. Becca is passionate about the energetic transformations that can take place with Reiki energy work, and feels strongly that it has affected her musical practice and performing in a deeply spiritual way.
Jan Williams
Jan has been a catalyst and driving force for vocal music in Colorado for many years. Her extensive experience as a musician has afforded her performance appearances across Europe and beyond. As a proven leader of both the arts and business, she is a “go to” for many Colorado music educators as support to further develop programming and concerts for their students. However, her real gift is helping people remember the music inside themselves (which has been demonstrated year after year by her very successful adult community choirs). “Many of my choir members had given up on themselves as far as singing and performing. Our groups have brought that all back to life for them. That makes me really, really proud of what we are up to. I know that we have helped them achieve that goal for themselves.” – Jan Williams, Master Director of Rock Choir Colorado
Marie Hayden-Huerta
Marie Hayden-Huerta is privileged to have an esteemed a cappella career spanning over 25+ years. Her vast vocal experience encompasses not only performing, but directing and arranging also.
Her soulful voice has been heard and seen in the likes of 5280 A Cappella, the Snap Shot Band, Dragonfly Jones, and as the lead singer of Johnny Rock’it for the past 10 years. She has a bachelors degree in Vocal Performance from Oklahoma Baptist University and also another in music education from Metropolitan University of Denver.
In 2018, Hayden-Huerta earned a quarter final slot for consideration as the Grammy Music Educator of the year due to her contribution to students and the community. She is thrilled to continuously be working with wonderful individuals and groups to helping them grow musically!
Heather Hart
Heather Hart has been a music teacher for almost 10 years. She graduated from Colorado Mesa University with a BA in Music Education and Vocal Performance. She has been playing piano since she was 8 years old and has taught private lessons to beginners since college.
While living in Denver, Heather taught at Northglenn High School from fall 2014 to fall 2018 teaching choir. During those years she prepared several students to audition for the Colorado All State Choir and has had several students accepted. She has also been the vocal director for all the musicals done while she was there, including Broadway’s Little Women, Beauty and the Beast, The Addams Family, and Les Miserables. In her own time she participated in the Tapestry Vocal Ensemble singing soprano and performing multiple solos. She has also been the music director of her church choir and prepared and sung many solos and sung in small ensembles (duets/trios) in church. Heather also played for the primary children in church the past 3 years and played for their primary program each year. She has also done accompanying of small groups and solos in church as well.
She first received accompanying experience in high school when she played for the women’s choir her senior year. She has also accompanied students in college. She is excited to start a new chapter in her life in Colorado Springs!
Diana Dolan
Face Academy of Music’s Studio Manager and Admin. If you need anything, Diana is there to help you.
Diana has an extensive and widely varied background in music. Her father was an accomplished self-taught tenor who passed on his love of music to his children. At the age of seven, Diana started learning the guitar and later explored the violin, saxophone, flute, dulcimer, clarinet, organ, and ultimately electric and standard piano. Diana studied jazz and classical piano with Rob Mullins and Nick Busheff, and was recognized by Neil Bridge for her unique chord voicings and comping style.
Diana is also an accomplished vocalist with a background in multiple styles ranging from classical/opera, pop, rock, and jazz. She has performed with multiple ensembles, cover bands, original bands, and parody bands, and she has taught piano and voice. She currently sings with our own Coal Creek Community Chorus and Rock Choir Colorado, and she is both a low alto and a high soprano with Meadowlark, an all female a cappella group in Boulder.
Rene Mines
Rene is an alto in Rock Choir Colorado and has also sung in Face Academy of Music’s Coal Creek Community Choir. She started playing the accordion at the age of 7 and competed regionally until college. She was also the executive producer (and sang some background vocals) on the album “Oh No It’s Cherry Bomb” by pop metal band Cherry Bomb.
Traci Jones
Traci originates from London, England and emigrated to the USA in 2007, becoming a US citizen in 2010. Utilizing her background in communication, design, training, event-planning, marketing, and website design, Traci loves helping Face Academy of Music and Rock Choir Colorado connect with its community through social and print media, e-newsletters, graphics and video. Traci has sung with Face Academy of Music’s A Cappella group and is currently singing with Rock Choir Colorado, where she is having the time of her life discovering her love of singing, meeting new friends, and performing in places and with people she could never have imagined a few years ago!
