Teachers & Instructors

Kristine Bengtson

Kristine Bengtson recently completed her doctorate degree in collaborative piano at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She works extensively as a pianist and vocal coach, as well as lecturer in opera. Recent credits include performances with Augusta Opera, Stoughton Opera, Madison Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and UW-Madison University Theatre. She has worked as a coach for the Des Moines Metro Opera's summer festivals, the Atlantic Coast Opera Festival, and the Harrower Opera Workshop at Georgia State University. Kristine has been a nationally certified member of the Music Teachers' Association for the past 15 years.

Degrees: Doctorate of Music, Collaborative Piano, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Masters of Music in accompanying/Opera Coaching, Temple University; Masters of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, University of South Florida; B.F.A., Piano Performance, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Fred Ecenrode

Fred Ecenrode teaches drum and percussion at MSOPA. He has served as drum line instructor at Pennsylvania's Ephrata High School and St. Anne Middle School in St. Anne, Il, and has taught private lessons from his home studio and for King Music in Bradley, Il. Additionally, Fred has played extensively in various university bands and orchestras.

Degrees: BA, Trevecca Nazarene University.

Joe Harris

Joe teaches private guitar lessons in beginning and advanced guitar, focusing on note reading, technique, music theory, improvisation, and musicianship. He has conducted classes in "Garage Band 101." He is currently an instructor at MATC, where he has taught courses in music theory, music appreciation, history of jazz, music in film, music history, ear training and keyboard theory. He has also been an instructor at other colleges throughout the USA and a winner of numerous awards and commissions. He is an accomplished composer. Joe is a member of the American Federation of Teachers and the Society for Music Theory.

Degrees: BM Classical Guitar Performance, MM Classical Guitar Performance, PhD Music Theory.
Instrument: Guitar

Roger Marcus

Roger Marcus has taught classical, acoustic and electric guitar to students across Michigan and Wisconsin since 1978, most recently at Waunakee Music School and Arboretum Music School.

Degrees: Masters of Fine Arts, Classical Guitar at the California Institute of Arts.

Ann Nelson

Ann has taught private voice and piano for over fifteen years and has performed in many performance genres. Ann has a strong performance history in both musical theatre and jazz, along with eleven years of dance. She has been involved in radio advertising, recordings, personal recordings, record store management, music telegram business, and has had the lead role in numerous productions of both opera and musical theatre. Ann has also been the lead vocalist for jazz ensembles, "Midnight Touch" and "Park Avenue," and has been a professional accompanist for numerous recitals, churches, weddings, and bands. Ann is the owner of the Middleton School of Performing Arts.

Degrees: Music and Speech Communication, University of Nebraska at Kearney; Graduate of Studio One Musical Theatre School.
Instruments: Voice, Piano

Pete Rydberg

Pete Rydberg is Director of Theatre at Middleton School of Performing Arts. He served as Artistic Director for Mercury Players Theatre in Madison from 2003-2007. Locally he has directed Lee Blessing's "Chesapeake," Jane Martin's "Cementville," Terrence McNally's "Corpus Christi," and Jill Morley's "True Confessions of a Go-go Girl," Paula Vogel's "the long christmas ride home" and Kevin Murphy & Dan Studney’s "Reefer Madness – The Musical," among others. He is currently pursuing his PhD at UW-Madison.

Degrees: Masters of Arts in Theatre, University of Wisconsin-Madison; B.A. Theatre, St. Olaf College.
Additional training: National Theatre Institute, Waterford, CT & The Playwrights Center, Minneapolis, MN.