Valley Music Academy Faculty

Faculty

Drums
Lance Allen
Associates Degrees in Business Management and Information Systems Technology, Blue Ridge Community College, P. Buckley Moss Society, Executive Director
Mr. Allen has a deep love for music and feels that every child should have an education in the arts. He has played percussion for over 15 years in many different styles, including rock n roll, jazz, country, and show tunes. He has performed in many local choral productions and musicals.

Piano
Orville Bame
B.A. in History, minor in Music, James Madison University
Mr. Bame joined VMA's faculty in 2002 and has been teaching piano and organ privately for more than 10 years. Currently Mr. Bame is the pianist/organist at Main Street United Methodist Church in Waynesboro. He is an active performer of sacred and secular music throughout the local region and has accompanied such groups as the Waynesboro Choral Society and Schola Cantorum. Mr. Bame has released a CD "My Vow" with the profits to support the capital campaign of Main Street United Methodist Church and a Christmas CD to support Valley Music Academy. His honors include winning the James Bland Young Artist Competition and participation in the National Bartok-Kabalevsky Competition.

Violin and Viola
Aaron Cripe
B.A. in Music Education, Virginia Commonwealth University
Mr. Cripe has studied the violin for the past 13 years.  He has taught various styles of string music in Albemarle County Public Schools and in private studio.  He has studied classical, jazz, blues, old-time and bluegrass styles.  He also enjoys playing violin with his church.  His current goals are to explore various electric sounds, branching out into learning a greater variety of music styles and songwriting.

Brass
Robert E. Harrold
Doctoral Studies, University of Kentucky M.M., East Carolina University B.A., Florida State University
Mr. Harrold has extensive experience in teaching children and adults of all ages. His collegiate teaching years were spent at Fort Hays State University, University of Kentucky, Pacific Lutheran University, Olympic College, Louisiana State University, and East Carolina University. Before moving to Waynesboro, Mr. Harrold was Director of Bands at Fluvanna County High School and Middle School. Mr. Harrold is a published composer and arranger. He has performed professionally with Dave Brubeck, Roy Clark, Pearl Bailey, Ray Charles, The Temptations, Barry Gibb, Frank Mantooth as well as numerous Orchestras and Musicals.
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French Horn
Candace Kluesner
BS degree in Music Education from Bemidji State University; MM degree in Horn; Performance with an Emphasis in Wind Pedagogy from James Madison University; Additional study at the University of Iowa and the Hamburg and Cologne Conservatories in Germany.
Mrs. Kluesner has performed as Principal Horn with the Camerata Academica des Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and with the Hessicshes Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany, the Stadtstheater Mainz in Mainz, Germany, and the Symphony Orchestra of Schleswig-Holstein in Flensburg, Germany. She has also performed with the Roanoke Symphony, the Lynchburg Symphony, Opera on the James, the Skyline Brass ensemble, the Madison Brass Quintet and the Faculty Woodwind Quintet at James Madison University. She is currently Principal Horn with the Waynesboro Symphony, Solo Horn with the Massanutten Brass Band and has been Principal Horn for 20 years with the Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra in Lexington, VA. She was Adjunct Professor of Horn at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA and has also taught at the Wiesbaden (Germany) Music Conservatory, Idstein (Germany) Brass Group, Eastern Mennonite University, and privately in Richmond and Harrisonburg.

Trumpet
James Kluesner
Professor Emeritus of Trumpet at James Madison University where he taught for 28 years and was winner the 2000-2001 Carl Harder Distinguished Teaching Award in the College of Arts and Letters. He has degrees in trumpet performance from the University of Iowa and Northwestern University.
Professor Kluesner formerly taught at Bemidji State University, the Wiesbaden (Germany) Music Conservatory, and the Akademie fuer Tonkunst in Darmstadt (Germany). He has performed as Principal Trumpet for the Orchestra of the State Theater of Hessen (Germany), the Duluth Symphony Orchestra, and the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the Chicago Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Frankfurt (Germany) Radio Orchestra, and the Stuttgart Opera. He is currently Principal Trumpet in the Waynesboro Symphony.
His high school and college students have been awarded scholarships and graduate assistantships at the top music schools in the country. Former students are college professors and members of military bands.

Voice and Piano
Daniel Kirkland
B.A in Piano Performance, Emory University
Daniel received a Bachelor of Arts degree in piano performance from Emory University. His studies included performance, accompaniment, and continuo on the harpsichord. During his years with the university, he participated in several recitals, a concerto competition, and gave a half-hour Junior Recital. His professional pursuits with the instrument include membership in the Music Teachers National Association, the Virginia Music Teachers Association, and the Charlottesville Music Teachers Association.  He is also a seasoned church accompanist of 9+ years with wedding experience and is a passionate choir director. Because of his extensive choral experiences, including recent performances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in "Star Wars in Concert: A Musical Journey," he advocates a vocal approach to the keyboard that will help students learn to play not merely with technical precision, but with musical beauty.

Brass
David May
B.M. and M.M. in Euphonium Performance, Appalachian State University
David May received his music education from a combination of public school education and his involvement with Salvation Army brass bands.  He earned his BM and MM in music performance from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, where he studied euphonium and low brass with Robert Clark and also served as an adjunct faculty member, providing private instruction at the collegiate level to both music majors and minors.

David is active locally as a member of the Stonewall Brigade Band and occasional soloist. 
Clarinet, Flute, Saxophone, Guitar and Bass
Greg Moody
B.M. in Jazz Studies, Shenandoah University
Mr. Moody joined VMA's faculty in January 2004. He is a highly skilled performer on both the saxophone and flute. In recent years, he has used his talents as a theater orchestra performer and soloist aboard several cruise ships. He has taught private woodwind lessons for the past 5 years and is an active member of the Stonewall Brigade Band of Staunton, Virginia.

Muskigarten and Voice
Karen Palumbo
B.M. in Music Therapy, Radford University, MT-BC
Mrs. Palumbo joined the faculty in 2005. Her professional experience as a board certified music therapist includes working in New York's public school system with children with autism spectrum disorders and other neurologic impairments. She has also taught Kindermusik and private voice lessons and is an accomplished performer in musical theatre and choral ensembles.

Voice
Mary Smith
B.A. Emory and Henry College; Valley Voices Director
Mrs. Smith has been a teacher for 21 years in the Wise County, Albemarle County and Waynesboro City Schools. She taught voice at Clinch Valley College in Wise, VA and has taught at VMA for two years. Mrs. Smith was Teacher of the Year in 2000 and 2004, and a Dawbarn Award Winner in 2005. She is a charter member of the Schola Cantorum.

Cello and String Bass
Don Spaulding
B.S. in Music Education, New York University
Mr. Spaulding has worked for thirty years in New Jersey as a string teacher.  During his tenure in the Toms River School District he developed a program which has grown to include six full time teachers and more than four hundred students.  Her established the high school orchestra and for five years conducted the adult chamber orchestra.  Mr. Spaulding was appointed conductor of the Garden State Philharmonic Youth Orchestra which he conducted for eight years.  He has been active in the NJ All State Orchestra as a manager and member of the Procedures Committee.  He was appointed to the Governor's Panel establishing Core Curricular Standards and in 1996 received the New Jersey Music Educators Distinguished Leadership and Service Award.