Antonio is a performer, composer, music producer, and audio engineer. He has had a love for music for as long as he can remember and has been playing piano for nearly 20 years and guitar for 15 years. He spent most of his childhood and teenage years learning how to play as many instruments as he could and playing in as many bands as he could fill his time with. He earned his bachelor’s in music from Minnesota State University Moorhead where he focused on jazz performance, music production, audio engineering, and music business. During his college years he ran a house show venue called Grandpa’s House and spent the following 6 years booking shows all over the Fargo, ND/Moorhead, MN area for touring and local artists.
Antonio has performed in numerous groups, most notably indie-rock 4-piece Naivety. He currently plays guitars, keys, and lap steel in the backing band for Minneapolis solo indie project Walker Rider, alongside being Walker Rider’s primary producer. Antonio fills in for many other groups as a backing band member and does studio session work across the twin cities area. He also collaborates with other artists, helping them to write, record, and produce their own music.
Antonio believes that anyone can learn how to play, whether you want to pick up a hobby and grow your creative side or grow as a musician and take your skills and passion to the next level.
Justin is a pianist and vocalist with over a decade of experience in music education. Justin received his BA in Music Education from Queens College, where he developed a strong foundation in musical pedagogy and best practices. In the classroom, Justin excelled at creating engaging learning experiences for diverse learners through using scaffolding techniques and various learning aids—visual, kinesthetic, tactile, and aural. He firmly believes all students, regardless of prior knowledge or skill, can obtain a comprehensive grasp of music literacy.Justin has spent most of his professional career as a Director of Music for various churches. Hailing from New York City, Justin was able to work with and direct highly skilled singers and instrumentalists for his job. He recently moved to the Twin Cities and is currently the Director of Liturgy and Music at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Wayzata, MN. He has a strong passion for sharing the joy of playing and understanding music. Outside of music, Justin enjoys swimming, working on cars, and spending time with his wife and his two children.
Carson has played piano since she was four years old. She grew up in Texas and participated in many music and dance extracurricular activities in school. Carson attended West Texas A&M University where she earned a Bachelor of Music Therapy degree with an instrumental emphasis in piano. She was an active member of both the university orchestra and choir and taught piano students while attending college. Carson taught Kindermusik lessons to young children for two years at Kindermusik of CS-B in Texas, and she currently provides music therapy services at an assisted living facility in Minneapolis. Carson’s favorite part of both teaching and music therapy is getting to see how music helps people change and grow throughout their lives.