Benito Vena

Owner · Saxophone, Piano & Music Production

Benito is the owner of Rocky Mountain Academy of Music and has taught music in Colorado Springs for more than 10 years. A classical and jazz saxophonist and pianist, he performs live across Colorado with a variety of ensembles.

His work extends well beyond the stage: Benito is a film and television composer, a producer and DJ, an electro-acoustic performance artist, and a recording, mixing, and mastering engineer. He is a graduate of Pikes Peak Community College and the University of Colorado, and he leads the school’s mission of sharing the joy of music in a safe, friendly environment.

• Teaches: Piano, Saxophone, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Clarinet
• Ensembles: Jazz Ensemble, Rock Band
• Courses: Recording, Music Production, Film Scoring, Composition, Music Theory

Dan Swanagon

Guitar, Bass, Drums & Music Production

Dan brings more than 25 years of professional performing experience and over 15 years of teaching to every lesson. A contemporary and jazz guitarist, bassist, and percussionist, he moves easily between styles and instruments, including banjo, which he has played in a bluegrass band. That range makes him a natural fit for students who want to explore.

Outside the lesson room, Dan works as a producer, DJ, film and television editor, and recording, mixing, and mastering engineer. He is a graduate of Pikes Peak Community College and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS).

• Teaches: Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Piano, Banjo
• Ensembles: Jazz Ensemble, Rock Band
• Courses: Recording, Music Production, Film Scoring, Composition, Music Theory

Daniel Smith

Guitar & Bass Guitar

Daniel is a guitarist and bassist with 20 years of performing experience and more than a decade of teaching. On stage he has played rock, blues, jazz, Latin, and folk music, and he brings that range into every lesson. He also has hands-on experience in live sound, recording, singing, and songwriting.

Daniel has taught guitar and electric bass to students of all ages and skill levels for over 10 years. Lessons are built on the proven Hal Leonard method books, giving beginners a solid start in technique, music theory, and reading music, and helping returning players fill in the gaps.

• Teaches: Guitar, Bass Guitar
• Styles: Rock, Blues, Jazz, Latin, Folk

Nathan Mays

Bass, Guitar & Piano

Nathan teaches both upright and electric bass in every style, including jazz and bluegrass, along with guitar and piano. His full bio is coming soon.

• Teaches: Upright Bass, Electric Bass, Guitar, Piano

Daniel Smith

Piano

Daniel is a pianist with a performance career spanning more than 10 years. He studied at Pikes Peak Community College and CSU Pueblo under Dr. Abe Minzer and Dr. Zahari Metchkov, focusing on the major piano works of the master composers with a concentration in piano pedagogy, the study of how to teach piano. A Colorado Springs local and Rampart High School graduate, he is also an avid multi-instrumentalist who sang in the Colorado All-State Choir.

Daniel has taught piano at Rocky Mountain Academy of Music since 2018. “I enjoy sharing the joy of music with my students. I love to watch a student develop and learn, and I just want to help students be the best they can be.”

• Teaches: Piano

Dewey Steele

Drums, Percussion & Drumline

Dewey is an award-winning drummer and percussionist with more than 45 years behind the kit. For over 30 of those years he has worked as a professional recording session drummer, backing touring artists including War, Chicago, the Neville Brothers, and Tribal Tech.

He has taught drums, percussion, and drumline for over 35 years, including 18 years as a public school teacher in District 11 at high schools and middle schools across Colorado Springs, and he has been the city’s go-to drumline and percussion instructor for two decades. Every student gets his full attention. As Dewey puts it, “I want the student to learn and I want them to learn things the right way.”

• Teaches: Drums, band and orchestral percussion, drumline
• Courses: Music Theory, Drumline, Music Reading for Percussionists, Rudiment Refresher, Making a Living in the Music Industry, Interview Techniques for Musicians, Music Industry Boot Camp, Recording Session Training

Angela Marvin

Cello, Violin, Viola & Upright Bass

Angela holds a Master of Music in Cello Performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music in Long Beach, California. Her career has taken her from Hollywood studios and concert halls to tours across Europe and Asia. Today she performs regularly with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, and at weddings, chamber recitals, and the annual Flying W Ranch Christmas Jubilee.

Angela also specializes in transcription and arranging and has a background in audio engineering. As a teacher, she builds strong technical fundamentals while encouraging every musical curiosity, whether it’s traditional for the instrument or not.

• Teaches: Cello, Violin, Viola, Upright Bass (classical)

Madalyn Botkin

Cello

Madalyn is a lifelong Colorado Springs resident who has played cello for more than a decade. She graduated from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) with a major in Visual and Performing Arts, played in the UCCS Chamber Ensemble, and toured locally and internationally with the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony. She has also performed solo works in recital.

Madalyn has taught at Rocky Mountain Academy of Music since 2018. She is dedicated to helping every cellist develop their best sound, and she shapes each lesson around the student’s goals and learning style.

• Teaches: Cello

George Willis

Violin, Fiddle, Mandolin & Banjo

George is a classically trained violinist who also plays fiddle, mandolin, and banjo in bluegrass bands. He began his career as a chamber musician around Toledo, Ohio, performing with members of the Toledo Symphony, and his ensembles were coached by Matthew Daline of the Oberlin Conservatory and David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet. At the CU Boulder College of Music he served as concertmaster of the CU Boulder Symphony, and today he plays as a substitute with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic.

George has taught private lessons since 2018 to beginning and advanced students from age 4 to 57, and he completed collegiate coursework in string pedagogy at CU Boulder. He teaches both three-finger (Scruggs) and clawhammer banjo, and his mix of classical training and bluegrass experience lets students explore both worlds with one teacher.

• Teaches: Violin, Fiddle, Mandolin, Banjo

James Liverman

Trumpet, Cornet & Flugelhorn

James is a trumpet player with over 32 years of experience, including 17 years in the U.S. Army Bands. He has served as principal trumpet for the U.S. Army Europe Band and Chorus, the 4th Infantry Division Band, the 101st Airborne Division Band, and the 77th Army Band at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

He has performed with orchestras, wind ensembles, and chamber groups throughout the United States and Europe, and today plays regularly with the Colorado Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Fort Collins Symphony, and Chamber Orchestra of the Springs. He has also performed as solo cornet and flugelhorn with the Western Missouri Brass Band, Fountain City Brass Band, and the Colorado Brass. Off the stage, James enjoys exploring the Colorado countryside with his wife and four children.

• Teaches: Trumpet, Cornet, Flugelhorn

Luke Hall

Piano, Composition & Film Scoring

Luke is a pianist, composer, and producer with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition and Film Scoring from Oral Roberts University, where the faculty named him the 2022 Outstanding Music Composition Student. He has composed original music for films, podcasts, advertisements, and churches, and has played piano for churches across the country, including Peak City Church and The Springs Church in Colorado Springs.

Luke loves supporting growing musicians, and his lessons are fun, positive, and built around what each student wants to create.

• Teaches: Piano, Music Theory, Composition, Film Scoring, Music Production

Brandon Kunkel

Voice, Clarinet, Saxophone, Flute & Piano

Brandon is a Colorado Springs vocalist and multi-instrumentalist with a degree in Music Performance from Pikes Peak State College, where he studied clarinet with William Malone, voice with Gayle Grace, and piano with Sara McDaniel. He has performed in concert bands, marching ensembles, choirs, theatre pit orchestras, and jazz bands.

His leadership experience includes directing a local church choir, serving as an adjunct instructor and chamber ensemble director at PPSC, and serving as Vice President of Music and Performance for the Pikes Peak chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Brandon teaches total musicianship, covering tone production, music theory, and technique, so every student can sing or play with less frustration and find real fulfillment in making music, even if it’s just for themselves.

• Teaches: Voice, Clarinet, Saxophone, Flute, Piano, Microphone Technique

Rebecca Morris

Voice & Piano

Rebecca is a professional soprano who made her debut with Arizona Opera and Phoenix Opera. After singing much of her career as a mezzo-soprano, she moved into the soprano repertoire, with roles including Brünnhilde in Vegas City Opera’s The Ring Vegas and Die Walküre, Senta in Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, and The Woman in Schoenberg’s Erwartung. She has also sung Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, performed in Urbania, Italy, and played the Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music with Loveland Opera Theatre in Colorado.

Rebecca holds a degree from Northern Arizona University and trained internationally at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, FIO ITALIA, Flagstaff in Fidenza, and the Opera Academy of California. As Director of Programs at Vegas City Opera, she directed rehearsals and training programs and created school outreach programs. Today she teaches voice and piano to students of all ages, from first lessons to classical and musical theatre repertoire.

• Teaches: Voice, Piano