Scott Anderson is a TWO TIME Emmy Award-winning composer, music director, producer, and one of the Pittsburgh region’s most sought-after keyboard players.

Scott received an Emmy award in 2006 for his work composing the score for the award-winning documentary “From Pittsburgh to Poland: Lessons from The Holocaust.” In 2007 he won BOTH an Emmy and a Telly award for his work as music director and co-producer of “Live From Studio A: American Standards”. Scott was also nominated for Emmy awards in 2003 and 2004 for his work as Music Director of WQED’s “Live From Studio A” television show and again in 2010 for music contributed to the film “In Service”, a joint production of Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Bricolage. He was the organist for the Pittsburgh Penguins and a member of the Penguin’s house band, The Blue Line Band, for three years.

Scott’s musical diversity is what propelled him to preferred status as a keyboard player for the region’s top performers, including Joe Negri, Maureen Budway, HB Bennett, Eric DeFade, Lisa Bleil, Pete Hewlett, Chizmo Charles, Billy Price, Kenny Blake, Benny Benack and on and on. He can go from Jazz to Big Band to straight-ahead Rock & Roll without missing a beat.

His own current projects include playing keyboards and singing for the Hewlett-Anderson band, as well as solo appearances. Scott is the producer of The Holiday Jam, a very successful series of holiday concerts based on the television specials that appeared on WQED for many years.

And here’s an interesting bit of pop culture trivia: Scott was the Keyboardist & Musical Director of The Vogues from 1989-1995!

He’s backed up a number of National artists including The Temptations, The Drifters, Bo Diddley, Jackie Evancho, Kristen Chenoweth, The Coasters, Ronnie Specter, Lou Christie, Leslie Gore, The Shirelles, Little Anthony, Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), Peter Noone, Barbara Lewis, Frankie Ford, Len Barry, Bryan Hyland, Tommy Roe, The Crystals & Jay and the Americans.

As far as regional bands – Scott has played or recorded with Modern Times, The Late Edition, Up Front, Grapevine, Vibro Kings, Ice Cream Headache, The Balcony Big Band, Jazz for Juniors & The Benny Benack Band.

Scott is an adjunct professor at Point Park University and is a graduate of the Duquesne University School of Music. While he was at Duquesne, he played with some top National Jazz artists including Claudio Roditi, Jerry Niewood and Marvin Stamm.

Monica Stephenson is a composer, performer, and teacher based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Duquesne University School of Music with a major in Vocal Performance and a minor in Piano, she has performed all over the country in regional and national tours as well as in Europe.

She accepts students in voice (all levels), piano (beginner through intermediate) and beginning guitar. Monica’s students range from those looking to enjoy music as a hobby to young professionals who have gone on to study music or theater at esteemed universities such as Duquesne, University of the Arts and Carnegie Mellon.

As a performer Monica has worked with TheatreworksUSA, 1812 Productions, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, The Wilma Theater, City Theatre, The Pittsburgh Opera Company, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, Unseam’d Shakespeare Co., Prime Stage Theater and New York Theater Workshop.

Her composing credits include: My Traveling Song, Hiawatha Project; Twelfth Night, Prime Stage Theater; The Carols,1812 Productions; Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues; as well as a musical adaptation of This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing by Finegan Kruckemeyer. She is currently working on Tyndale Place, a brand new musical set to open in Philadelphia in April of 2020.

As a teaching artist, Monica has led a variety of classes and workshops in theater arts, singing and songwriting for organizations such as Children’s Aide Society NYC, Why Not Prosper, TheatriQ, Hope Academy, LaRoche College, CLO and The Center for Theater Arts.

Although she still performs regularly as member of The Harvey Wallbangers sketch comedy group and in music venues throughout Pittsburgh, she likes to spend most of her time with her friends and family, her 6 year-old son, Samuel; her partner, Rachel and their very nosey dog, Penny.

Shay Carter is a performer, accompanist and teacher with a deep appreciation for the versatility and creative freedom that the piano affords a performer and a strong passion for teaching. She holds a B.A. in applied music performance from the conservatory at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where she studied piano as a concentration and organ as a secondary instrument.

Prior to moving to Pittsburgh, Shay maintained a private piano studio in Buckhannon, WV, where she instructed over thirty students of varying ages and abilities. Her teaching style combines expertise from her formal classical training with her experience in a range of performance styles, from sacred music to pop. She is focused on providing a well-rounded music education that instills proper technique, music theory knowledge, ear training, and interpretational skills in students of all levels of proficiency.

Shay is a lifelong lover of sacred and gospel music. She spent several years working as a pianist and organist for several churches; accompanying choirs, supplying music for congregational singing, and frequently arranging and performing solo works. She also served as accompanist for WV Wesleyan’s Jazz ensembles, the Musical Theatre department, and a Concert Chorale winter tour. Her most recent professional collaboration was working with Broadway star Wilson Jermaine Heredia (of the hit musical Rent) as an accompanist for a musical theatre masterclass in December 2019.

Shay also performs for cantatas, weddings, banquets, and other special events. In her free time, she can be found spending time with family, friends, and her three dogs.

Marion Schmidt’s love of music and children has been life long. She brings expertise, a wealth of experience and a love of teaching to her work at Anderson Music Academy.

Marion earned her BA in Elementary Education with a Music Minor from Concordia University in Ann Arbor, MI, and went on to earn a Master of Education from Concordia University in River Forest, IL. From there she began a career as a classroom teacher, teaching various elementary school levels and also directing elementary orchestra and choir programs at public, private, tribal and parochial schools.

For the past 7 years her focus has been on teaching young children, starting at the preschool level, providing their first formal introduction to the world of piano and music. As a private teacher, Marion accepts students as early as three years of age, employing innovative teaching techniques to get eager youngsters off to a great start with music, hoping to give each one a positive and life-long experience.

In addition to her work at Anderson Music Academy, Marion currently teaches pre-kindergarten, always integrating music into her classrooms. Marion has always been an active member of her community and church. She is a proud mother of three and resides in Upper St Clair.

Ryan is a professional musician with over 25 years of experience as a performer and educator. He performs and teaches professionally on a wide variety of instruments, including: Guitar, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Ukulele, and Banjo. He has extensive experience with Theory, Harmony, Piano, and Singing, a working knowledge of recording and studio techniques, and has spent time writing and arranging his own music, and for others.

Ryan has played music across the eastern United States in a myriad of styles, and with a wide variety of groups, in settings ranging from Rock, Metal, Country, Bluegrass, Classical, Jazz, Funk, Choir, Marching Band, Indoor Drumline, Children’s Bands, Musicals, and many more.

He holds a Bachelors Degree in Music and Literature from West Chester University, where he majored in Percussion and minored in Upright Bass, graduating in 2007.

As a teacher, Ryan started at the age of 19 with pit percussion for high schools while he was still in college, and also started to teach private lessons around this time. Since then, he has taught hundreds of students from all backgrounds and skill levels, from ages 5-75. He has held teaching positions in prominent studios all across the greater Pittsburgh area, and has also taught guitar lessons as a guest instructor at Community College Allegheny County. In addition to one-on-one lessons, he also founded and helped to run a successful rock camp program, and helped stage over 30 bands in performances in venues such as The James Street Gastropub and The Hard Rock Cafe.

His performances have been seen and heard on television, movies, stage productions, albums, podcasts, webcasts and radio, and in venues ranging from clubs and house concerts to stadiums and amphitheaters.

Ryan can currently be found all over the greater Pittsburgh area and beyond, teaching music lessons and playing in rock, metal, acoustic chamber music, and surf bands, as well as writing and recording his own original music.

Lauren Slawianowski is a native Pittsburgh musician with over 15 years experience as a performer and teacher. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Westminster College with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. She majored in piano, minored in voice, and performed extensively throughout the US and Europe. She has been privileged to study under Steinway artist Nancy DeSalvo and concert pianist and vocalist Natheleen Vaughan.

Over the last 15 years, teaching has allowed her to share her love of music with students of all ages and levels. Along with having her students perform within their local school districts and community musical organizations, she has assisted students in achieving acceptance into the Pittsburgh Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and Pittsburgh Youth Choir, earn professional leads in Pittsburgh Musical Theatre and Civic Light Opera, and gain acceptance into renowned music schools as future educators and performers. She is also a Level II Certified Music Together teacher and has enjoyed teaching the young students and their caregivers within this program.

Most recently, she has worked as the music director at her church and has served as a consultant for area churches. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and gardening. She is excited to work with the amazing faculty and families of Anderson Music Academy.