Lotus TheVibe (they/them) is a recording artist from eastern Washington that is trained in classical and jazz performance. Their current vibe is something they would define as experimental lo-fi. Lotus has a history in slam poetry as well as numerous other art forms. Lotus is also a land back activist outside of their artistry, they teach indigenous plant life restoration and visual art as well as music. Lotus has been singing for nearly two decades. You can find their music on YouTube.

Franco Weaver is a multi-disciplinary artist living in Seattle, Washington. Growing up, he utilized theatre, visual arts, and dance classes to develop a performance-art mindset. While receiving his BFA in Musical Theatre from Cornish College of the Arts in 2023, Franco was an intern for the Village Theatre Kidstage as a costume designer as well as a teaching artist with Intiman Theatre's K-6 summer program "South End Stories". During his senior year at Cornish, Franco collaborated with radio artist and activist Noelani Tonaltzin to create "Play Date"; a senior thesis about letting go of judgement or perfection and allowing ourselves to play with music, art, dance, writing, and puppetry.

Since graduating college, Franco has performed in various theatres in the Seattle area as an actor and dancer, as well as a costume and props designer for both youth and main-stage theatres. Franco is pleased to be a teacher at MMPA, putting his patience-driven teaching style to work. Franco's favorite thing about teaching is that he continues to learn every day.

Jaelin (she/her) was born and raised in Los Angeles, California but has been in Seattle since fall of 2021. She has been working with kids since early high school as a theatre director, improv coach, and dungeon master and has found a deep love for the combination of children and structured creativity. In her free time, Jaelin enjoys making music and playing dungeons with friends.

Dejha Colantuono (she/her) was born in New York City to Jazz musicians, Dejha absorbed the intricate sounds surrounding her. Her earliest exposure to melody, feel and rhythm developed organically in the bohemian environments of NYC Jazz clubs, concert halls and in the comfort of her family’s lofts where her parents often had “house concerts” and her mother taught vocal jazz workshops regularly. She emulated the sounds of some of the greatest composers of classic, experimental and improvisational Jazz, eventually discovering and connecting with rock n roll and more contemporary popular music.

Dejha is a skilled songwriter, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist, but her most arresting talent is her remarkable voice, described as both raw and uplifting. Dejha plays bass, piano/keyboards, and guitar and has evolved her signature dynamic vocal style - capable of moving from a bold sensual growl to a warmer, delicate, soulful touch. She has amassed a sizable music catalog, fronted multiple bands, launched a music production company, toured extensively, and has appeared as a guest artist on many projects. Her style ranges from soul to rock, pop to R&B, Punk to New Wave, finding inspiration in artists spanning genres; most indelibly being her mother, Internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist and educator, Jay Clayton.

Dejha cut her teeth in the Seattle music scene performing in bands by age 15. She went on to study at Cornish College of the Arts as a vocal Jazz major where she honed her craft as she established her presence as a musical tour de force in the Pacific Northwest rock scene of the 90s.

Being a yoga instructor in NYC for the past 7 years, Dejha has a deep background in mindful creativity, which is incorporated in her approach to teaching music. She aims to support her students in finding their own musical voice with a foundation in mindfulness and presence of heart.

Leah Natale (she/her) is a professional musician, producer, educator, and director. She has released three well-received albums including “My Someday,” which was recorded with a 10-piece jazz orchestra, Swing Easy, a collection of jazz standards, and Second Set, recorded with Ambience Jazz, her regular band specializing in classic jazz, Brazilian and other Latin genres. Leah is a two-time nominee for Earshot Magazine’s Vocalist of the Year, and she is the 2013 winner of the Seattle/Kobe Femail Vocalist of the year. She has studied with Paul Sills the co-founder of Second City and was a founding member of Act Now Improv in Madison, Wisconsin. She also founded the Horizon Youth Performing Arts Program in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Brad is a musician from Seattle with 23 years experience playing guitar and performing in most genres. He has been giving freelance music lessons for four years with students of all age groups. He lived in Madrid, Spain from 2018 to 2020 and played extensively in all styles including, flamenco, jazz, country, blues, rock, rockabilly and surf guitar.  He continued giving guitar lessons while living abroad which was a valuable learning experience as a music teacher.   He also grew up in a large musical family which includes his great grandfather Paul Tutmarc who is credited as the inventor of the first electric bass, the Audio Vox Bass Fiddle in 1932. His son, my grandfather Bud Tutmarc also had a lifelong music career as an accomplished steel guitar player that included the recording of over twenty five albums in the genre of Hawaiian steel guitar.

His teaching philosophy is based mostly on the idea of song oriented learning. It's important to listen to the student, and make sure they are playing the songs they want to play. I feel students maintain their enthusiasm for the instrument when they are able to measure their progress through learned songs. This simultaneously teaches them chords and the fundamentals of music theory without overly technical theory exercises and ideas.

Lizbett values boldness, creativity, connection, joy, and transparency. She has an academic background in women of color feminisms, liberatory arts practices, and community and social change. Dr. Benge works with young, foster care systems-involved people, facilitating arts-based social-emotional learning projects and experiential political education.

Lizbett has taught mixed media expressive arts courses for 8 years, performing arts classes for 7 years, and is a Kennedy Center Arts Integrated Teaching Artist. She loves being part of creative processes and learning with people.

In October 2022 Lizbett initiated the first phase of her decade-long science-fiction community-based abolitionist circus dinner theatre experience. Her upcoming projects include creating queer feminist burlesque + wrestling + performance art experiences and launching Starstuff, a global arts pop-up festival.

Nathaniel Lee (he/him) is a 4th year at the University of Washington studying Education and Drama. He started performing in theatre in the 11th grade, quickly finding a passion for it.

He's performed with local production companies such as University of Washington Stage Notes (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Redmond Academy of Theatre Arts (A Chorus Line & Sweeney Todd), and Ballyhoo Theatre (On a Clear Day You Can See Forever & Ride the Cyclone).

Nathaniel strives to become a high school drama teacher in order to provide a safe and encouraging space for students to fall in love with theatre.

Outside of MMPA, Nathaniel also teaches classes at the Redmond Academy of Theatre Arts, having taught acting and stage combat. He also works for the UW Huskies Football Team as a video worker. He is so grateful for such an amazing opportunity to work with MMPA!

John has been playing the drums since 1999. He started out playing rock music in high school, and since then, he has played in various bands and open jam sessions in the Seattle area. One of his most memorable musical experiences was hosting community jam sessions in Tecate, México in 2016.

He is fluent in Spanish, which he studied at the University of Washington and the University of Salamanca in Spain, and taught for about five years at bilingual immersion schools in Seattle and Tacoma.

Some of John’s favorite musical genres are death metal, surf rock, and psychedelic cumbia. In addition to being a music educator, he is also a visual artist and enjoys painting murals and building sculptures.

Andie Ades (they/she) is a musician hailing from Kent, Washington and based in Central Seattle. She has been singing since she could talk and storytelling since she learned to write.

They are a recent graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, where they studied vocal performance and creative writing. From singing in operas, theatrical productions, choirs and acapella groups, to performing with rock n roll bands, jazz bands, and producing independent synthpop projects—Andie has experience with a broad variety of music and is thrilled to share her knowledge and love for music with the brilliant and brazen younger generation.

Outside of singing and composing, Andie makes collage art, embroidery and enjoys reading short fiction.

Jared's love of music began in elementary school, always jumping at the opportunity for a solo, or auditioning for honor choir. His interests shifted to drums and percussion in middle school, where he found a position in his church's youth group band for a few years. Jared transitioned back to choir in high school. He joined honor choir, all state choir, and spring musicals, and eventually found a love for songwriting, which led him to Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Jared was able to take private voice, guitar, and piano lessons, enhancing his abilities in both songwriting and playing parts in studio sessions. In 2010, Jared graduated with a degree in Music Business, with an emphasis on Songwriting. He released his debut album, The Maiden Voyage, two years later. In 2014, Jared signed an independent publishing deal with Catch This Music. Between 2015 and 2020, he was performing between 100 to 150 tour dates a year, building towards dreams of owning his own studio and space. His newest releases include The Last Gemini in 2017 and This Week-Last Year in 2020.