Our Faculty

Kristopher Hale is a passionate musician, performer and teacher, with over 30+ years of playing and 20+ years teaching students of all ages and levels. Mr. Hale has both a Bachelor of Music with a concentration in Guitar Performance and a minor in piano performance in 2003 and a Master of Arts in Music Performance/Pedagogy with a concentration in guitar in 2005. Along with his classical training, Kris has studied Advanced Jazz Guitar Improvisation at Berklee College of Music.  Hale also teaches Classical, Jazz, Rock, Blues, Bluegrass, Country and Oldtime and plays many other plucked/strummed instruments such as Bass Guitar, Banjo, Dulcimer, Mandolin and Ukulele. Kris has taught privately at Barry's Music, Blue Note Music, A Little Knight's Music and Hayden Music and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Music at Radford University and Roanoke College and has also served on the faculty of Virginia's Governors School for the Arts, Emory & Henry College, University of Lynchburg and Virginia Western Community College.  Contact us today to start studying with Kris!

Camellia Delk has been playing the violin for 26 years and the viola for 22 years. She received her B.S. in music from Radford University in 2005 and was concert master of the Chamber Orchestra. After graduating she attended a week long class in Washington D.C., Every Child Can, for the Suzuki Violin Book 1. Over the past 12 years Camellia has performed with the Valley Chamber Orchestra and toured/recorded with various rock bands in the states and over seas. Currently she plays violin/viola with Thrasher United Methodists in Vinton and plays weddings and special events. She loves to pass on her knowledge to others. 

Ayla Douglas is a vocalist from Christiansburg, VA and has been an active member of the performing arts community since entering sixth grade. Although she began playing the flute, her interest and passion shifted to choir starting in ninth grade and has carried through into her college career. She is currently a Vocal Music Education major at Radford University and a member of two of the vocal ensembles under the direction of Dr. Meredith Bowen. Whether it’s vocal, piano or guitar training, Ayla looks forward to helping as many students as possible hone their skills!

  Van  Hofmann has been playing drum set since he was eight years old, and has sat in with a variety of Blues, Folk, and Rock groups in North Carolina’s Greater Triad Area. He served as Drum Major of the Glenvar High School Marching Highlanders and been exposed to quality  marching percussion education through that ezperience. He currently studies Music Education at Radford University and is the drummer for the Jazz Combo.    

Stefan Castro is a trombonist from Charlottesville, VA. He began playing trombone in 2003, and graduated from Albemarle High School in 2010. He then spent a year at Piedmont Virginia Community College, where he continued to take lessons from Steve Layman, and play in the Charlottesville Municipal Band. He started attending Radford University, taking lessons from Dr. Dayl Burnett. He was section leader and performed in both the top Wind Ensemble and Concert Jazz Ensemble during his time there, and played in various chamber groups. After finishing his Bachelor's degree in Music Education in 2014, Stefan started teaching elementary music and beginning band at Fallon Park Elementary in Roanoke City. After three years, he switched to Roanoke County. He is currently in his fourth year of teaching, working at Fort Lewis and Green Valley Elementary. Stefan plays and performs with many different groups in southwest Virginia, including The Let's Dance Band, Slides Rule, Valley Chamber Brass, and Latin Clave, and has performed at various local churches for other concerts and events.

Bryan Dowd has been playing saxophone for nine years and is now a member of multiple ensembles at Radford University ranging from the esteemed Wind Ensemble to multiple saxophone chamber groups. Bryan’s music career began in Floyd County where he was involved with the band program for seven years. He held the positions of Saxophone Section Leader and Woodwind Captain in the Floyd County Marching Band. Music became more important to him as his career progressed, leading him to become involved with various honor bands including the Virginia Tech Honor Band. Bryan now studies saxophone under Dr. Sheldon Johnson and Music Education under Dr. Jennifer McDonel at Radford University. He is expected to graduate from the Music Education program at Radford in the Spring of 2021 and plans to begin teaching right away. He is also currently serving as treasurer of the Xi Theta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Bryan has also become involved in music on an international scale, traveling to Nepal to research music education there. He worked closely with Dr. Jennifer McDonel and the MusicArt Society in based out of Kathmandu, Nepal and learned a lot about what teaching looks like in another country. He then later traveled to England and presented the research done in Nepal with Dr. McDonel at the Research in Music Education (RiME) conference in April of 2019. Bryan will continue doing research in Nepal throughout his career.