Instructors

Ross has been playing guitar for over 30 years and has been teaching guitar and bass for 20 plus years! Growing up in Historical Folsom and a graduate of Folsom High, he takes pride in his hometown and loves serving his community with his passion and experience in music. He is in 3 different active touring bands:  a punk rock band named A.D.D. (since ’99), a folk/bluegrass band named Bear Whiskey and another punk band named BADD Music! He has more compassion and patience than anyone you’ll ever meet when it comes to teaching music.  He’s exceptionally amazing with children of all ages and the adult students want to be his best friend! He will blow your mind with his wide range of knowledge of all things music-related!

Jess comes from 2 decades of working in the healthcare / corporate world. She joined forces with her husband in 2020 to help run the shop doing all the admin/scheduling/payroll/hiring/managing teachers and customer first point of service. She is an abstract artist and a HUGE music lover! Metallica & Alice In Chains to name a couple of her favorite bands! While running the business either at home or from the front lobby desk, she enjoys going to concerts, decorating, DIY, gardening, painting or walking to the park with her baby and dogs in tow!

www.jessicabowlesart.com

Giorgi has been a part of Sacramento music scene for over 20 years. He has played with local symphonies, theater companies and a wide variety of bands. His interests span everything from classical to Gypsy Jazz. He has taught hundreds of people of all ages how to play the violin since 2005.

Sojourner grew up in a musical household. She has played music most of her life, beginning with 11 years in choir, then pre-professional training in jazz drums, orchestral percussion and music theory at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA). She has played in several bands in Sacramento, including Manzanita, Todd Morgan and the Emblems, and Green Eyed Misfits. 

Sojourner studied both audio engineering and culinary arts at American River College. Over the past 9 years, she’s worked as a music director, drum teacher, and band coach at local schools and non-profit organizations. Her mission is to provide a safe space for youth to express themselves, and grow in self-confidence. 

With 19 years experience on guitar and 10 years stage and performance experience, Brandon Martin is excited to share and introduce students at Folsom Music Lessons to the bag of tricks he’s been able to collect over the years. Brandon has been teaching guitar for 10 years through his own private practice as well as with some other notable music schools around Sacramento teaching children and adults of all ages. Ever since Brandon received his first guitar at the age of 12, it’s been nonstop music since. After years of lessons and finding some new musical inspiration, he finally decided to start a band of his own: a metal band named Salythia. In Salythia, Brandon had the privilege of being able to travel all around the states and share the stage with some of the most notable acts in metal today such as Trivium, Animals as Leaders, Suicide Silence, Escape the Fate, Chelsea Grin, Chon, and many more! Whether you’re looking to start a band or just picking up the guitar for fun, you can rest assure that Brandon will do all he can to progressively bring your goals to fruition. Using a song first approach when teaching, Brandon introduces technique and guitar knowledge through the song itself. Outside of teaching and writing music, Brandon is an avid video game nerd and loves spending time with his pup Nimbus. Other than teaching music theory and working on technique, Brandon’s goal is to instill a sense of music appreciation and to leave students with a positive mindset and a long-lasting musical impact on their lives.

Morgan is a pianist and multi-instrumentalist who specializes in teaching complete beginners. As a largely self-taught musician who later pursued formal music study as an adult, Morgan understands firsthand the challenges new students face when learning piano and playing with sheet music for the first time.

Her teaching style is patient, encouraging, and structured, with a strong focus on building confidence, musical understanding, sight-reading, and a genuine enjoyment of playing. In addition to piano, Morgan also plays bass, guitar, and teaches the History of Rock & Roll at Folsom Lake College.These days, Morgan is continuing to grow her career as a performing and collaborative musician while helping new pianists build strong musical foundations. Her goal is to help students become independent musicians who can rely on the knowledge they’ve acquired through our lessons. Practice makes progress is her motto and she aims to help beginners blossom into intermediate and advanced players. 

Jeff Wheeler has been playing the drum set for 22 years and teaching private drum lessons for 8 years. He studied Music Performance at both Berkeley College of Music and California State University, East Bay. Jeff currently performs professionally throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, specializing in genres such as pop, rock, funk, reggae, swing, and hip-hop. Additionally, he is a member of the high-energy, award-winning percussion ensemble, Street Drum Corps.

His musical inspiration comes from a wide range of styles, people, performances, and especially the grooves of the Motown catalog. Jeff is known for his strong work ethic, self-discipline, and deep passion for his craft. He is a friendly, outgoing, and humorous individual who is deeply passionate about teaching the drum set.He looks forward to meeting new students and sharing his love for music! drum