Classes

Private Lessons

TCHA has partnered with a number of private music instructors as resources for our community to develop skills in various instruments.

Instructors

Emily Pantel

Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass

[email protected]

Emily Pantel graduated from the University of Northwestern, St. Paul in 2007 with a degree in music education. She enjoys playing the violin and sharing her love of music with her students. While the violin is her primary instrument, Emily also enjoys teaching beginning levels of viola, cello, and bass. As an educator, she is committed to meeting students where they are and addressing their individual learning needs.

A native of the Twin Cities, Emily has spent significant time living in Switzerland and Germany with her family. She is always eager to embrace new experiences and has held various roles, including mother, orchestra personnel manager, private string teacher, orchestra conductor, church service coordinator, and Sunday school teacher. In January 2024, Emily and her family relocated from Switzerland to Eagan.

Among her favorite activities are baking bread, spending time with her family, and playing the violin with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. Emily welcomes those interested in starting their musical journey to contact her for a free trial lesson. She looks forward to meeting new students and helping them discover the joys of music.
Eva Opseth

Voice

[email protected]

Eva Opseth is a Voice Professional who has experience in teaching and performing throughout the Twin Cities and upper Midwest. Eva has a Bachelor’s degree in Music (with an emphasis in Vocal Performance) and over 10 years of vocal training. Her professional experience includes performing at Shell Lake Arts Center, University of Wisconsin River Falls, Orchestra Hall and more. She is a TCHA alumni and was involved in choir and theater during her time as a student. Her experience on stage has shaped her teaching pedagogy and given her skills to help her students pursue their passions and grow their abilities. Eva currently teaches private voice and piano lessons from her home studio as well as Concert Choir at Journey Homeschool Group in River Falls, WI. In lessons, Eva helps students create high and achievable goals. She is passionate about equipping students with not only musical knowledge and vocal techniques, but also rehearsal tips, vocal anatomy, and portraying a character through song.
Hannah Stachel

Piano

[email protected]

952-217-6450

My name is Hannah Stachel and I have been teaching private piano lessons for the past couple of years. I graduated from Augsburg College with a degree in Piano Studies with an emphasis on classical studies. I have been playing piano for about twenty years and I teach students starting at age four up to adulthood. I am working on expanding my piano business and looking for more opportunities to be able to teach students. There are several benefits to learning the piano such as improving your hand-eye coordination, increasing the dexterity in your fingers and arms, helps improve focus and concentration among many other benefits. I have always enjoyed playing the piano and love to be able to share my love of music with others as well. I teach in-home lessons, as well as lessons at TCHA on Wednesdays.
Lisa Bernard

Voice

[email protected]

Lisa Bernard has sung professionally for over 25 years. Her voice has appeared on numerous radio/TV commercials and she’s recorded background vocals for many major Pop and Christian recording artists. She scored a top ten hit with her song “Better Than You” as Lisa Keith in 1993. Her favorite memory from that time was performing on the Jay Leno Show. Before her professional career, Lisa studied classical voice, enjoyed high school and college choirs, and was selected for All State choir.
Lisa has devoted herself to the music ministry at church, as well as leading choirs and music classes for the homeschool community. She also enjoys performing locally with her husband, Spencer Bernard (also a tutor at TCHA). Being a homeschool mom, Lisa is excited to be part of TCHA and all it offers homeschoolers. She enjoys helping her students learn about music, experience the joy of singing, and glorify the Lord with their voices.
Michelle Whalen

Voice, Piano, Composition (In-Home)

[email protected]

651-900-1729

Michelle has been a seeker of creativity & wonderment since childhood. Raised in Madagascar and Minnesota, as a young girl Michelle fell in love with the internal landscape of books and story, and the external narrative of nature and the outdoors, with music woven throughout both worlds. As a teenager she filled her days with theater, choir, speech, and music and found in those spaces both her strengths and gifting, as well as her people and belonging.
Michelle received a BA in Music Performance with a vocal emphasis from Colorado Christian University, and spent the following years touring with various groups and working as a studio musician and vocalist for commercial and corporate events. Michelle has also led worship for over 25 years, recorded on various worship albums featuring her original music, and released two solo albums as a singer-songwriter.
Teaching voice and piano from her home studio, Michelle has also taught and mentored songwriting for several summers at The Junior Composer’s Institute, and directed four years of Christmas choir and orchestra performances of Handel’s Messiah.
In 2013 Michelle joined the founding board of Twin Cities Homeschoolers for the Arts and is passionate about providing faith-based quality performing arts opportunities to the homeschooling community. Michelle has a special love for working with teens, enjoying the role of music director for TCHA musical productions since 2018, and is now thrilled to be directing the TCHA teen mixed choirs and female select ensemble. She has two college-age children, Kenoy and Paris, and lives in Eagan, MN.
Seth Kimmes

Guitar, Bass

[email protected]

Seth is a TCHA music, choir and theatre alumni. He has played guitar for nearly ten years in multiple forms and capacities. This includes participating in different worship teams as a leader and team member, Normandale's Music Theory program and Classical and Guitar Ensembles, as well as one of Crown College Chapel Teams.
He spent over six years in concentrated lessons with his mentor Spencer Bernard. Seth loves rock, funk, blues, and Christian contemporary music and is completely open to new and different music styles.
While pursuing Ministry and Music degrees, Seth currently teaches lessons in person (prefered method) and through zoom. He also assists to mentor guitar and bass players in worship settings.
Seth takes a practical approach to teaching any aspiring guitar player, desiring to fully understand his students musical goals. He also teaches foundational music theory to help his students understand their instrument.
Spencer Bernard

Guitar, Mandolin, Ukulele, Bass

[email protected]

Spencer Bernard has been playing guitar and bass professionally for over twenty five years, and ukulele for five years. Before becoming a pastor, Spencer was a full-time musician. He still plays guitar at his church (Hometown Church in Bloomington). Spencer is experienced in many styles, and has taught guitar part-time since 1998. He teaches a well-rounded approach that includes strumming, single note picking, and music reading. He can also design a lesson plan around a student’s specific goals and ambitions.
Spencer Shoeneman

Drums (In-Home)

https://www.inthekeyofrhythm.com/lessons

Being a home school alum myself, I am excited to re-engage with the home school community; this time as an educator. I graduated in 2014 from McNally Smith College of Music with a Bachelor’s of Music in Percussion Performance.
I play regularly in church worship bands, I have been a member of pit bands for many local theaters, and I have performed with multiple cover bands and original artists. I am constantly learning and performing new material in a wide range of styles: rock ‘n’ roll, classic and modern rock, doo-wop, swing, blue grass, country, R&B, funk, pop, and more.
As an educator, I have had great success helping students of all ages and abilities reach their goals behind the drum set. A typical lesson will incorporate the study of reading, coordination, and vocabulary; time keeping is emphasized regardless of the subject at hand. Eventually the student will be introduced to different styles of drumming and will also learn to play along with their favorite songs.