FACULTY & STAFF

Michael Deasy
Mike will teach guitar for us this Fall. Over the course of his career he has recorded over 100,000 songs with major artists such as the Beach Boys, Fifth Dimension, Billy Joel, Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, and Frank Sinatra; has performed on over 50 movie and TV soundtracks including Cheaper by the Dozen, Twins, and Big Love. In addition, Mr. Deasy is the recipient of 19 Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year in 1967 (5th Dimension, "Up, Up and Away"), 1968 (Simon and Garfunkel, "Mrs. Robinson"), and 1969 (5th Dimension, "Aquarius"). In 2007 Mike was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN. He has an honorary Doctorate in Spiritual Music from Life Christian University (Tampa, Florida).

Aaron Horne
Aaron teaches bass guitar, arranging and composition, and directs performance ensembles. Aaron's education consists of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Composition and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Arkansas Tech. He also holds certificates for Audio Engineering and Post-Production, both from Mediatech Institute in Austin, Texas. Aaron has composed, written and directed numerous film projects which include music videos, documentaries, feature and short films, as well as an animated television series. Aaron has also worked on a variety of studio projects which include country star Jack Ingram, Robert Plant, Styx, Jazz Vocalist Toni Price, and Randy Newman. He has performed in touring Broadway productions such as The Music Man, Lion King, and Forever Plaid. Aaron also serves as Assistant Engineer for the Austin City Limits Music Festival; as audio engineer and recruiter for Mediatech Institute, located at Willie Nelson's Arlyn Studios in Austin, Texas; is the owner and lead engineer of Four Eyes Studios, originally based in Austin; and a member of NARAS, AES, TMEA, and BMI.

Greg Kares
Greg is one of our 'studio guys' who will be teaching electronic music, acoustics, and audio production. He holds a degree from Eugene Lang College (NY) and a Masters degree in Music Technology from NYU and is ProTools certified. In addition to teaching at Lamar State College – Port Arthur, his professional experience includes co-owner and engineer of Sharkbait Studios (Nashville); teacher at The Art Institute of Tennessee and Middle Tennessee State University; and studio recording engineer with The Exit/In (Nashville), CBGB Gallery (NY), Rockwood Music Hall (NY), Alphabet Lounge (NY), Loewe Theater (NY), and Jotown Rekords (NY). In addition, Greg was lighting and sound technician for Living Theater (NY) and Technical Director with Open Window Theater (NY) prior to moving to Texas. He is a member of AES, Nashville Association of Professional Recording Services, ASCAP, and Nashville Music Pros.

Jill Kares
Jill Kares joined LSCPA in the Fall of 2009. She holds her B.A. in Music Education from St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN), a professional degree in Musical Theatre Performance from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (NY, NY), and her M.M. in Music Technology from New York University (NY, NY). She is currently working on her doctoral degree in Instructional Leadership-Education Technology through Argosy University. An artist in her own right, Jill finished her debut album in 2005, has been the lead singer of various rock, funk, 80s, R&B, and jazz bands. She was also in many different musical theatre/theatre performances in New York, Nashville, Minnesota and Colorado. Favorite roles include playing Dolly in Hello, Dolly! and Desiree in A Little Night Music. As a working recording engineer, Ms. Kares co-owned a business called Sharkbait Studios in Nashville and New York City. She is an active member with the Audio Engineering Society (AES), Music & Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA), the National Association of Music Education (MENC), Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), and The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). At LSC-PA she teaches commercial voice, songwriting, music fundamentals, and piano. Jill previously taught at Belmont University, Tennessee State University, and The Art Institute of Tennessee-Nashville, where she originated a student chapter of AES.

Kristel Pfeil Kemmerer
Kristel is the Chair of Commercial Music and will be teaching Survey of Music Business and American Popular Music. Her teaching and administrative experience includes stints with several colleges and public school districts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Most recently, she was Dean of Students at Alvernia University (PA); Acting Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Dean of Students at Albright College (PA); and prior to that was assistant professor of music (music business) at Albright. She is a board member of MEIEA and holds membership in AES, ASCD, and NACADA; has published several articles on music industry curriculum; has been a reviewer for McGraw-Hill, ACPA, MEIEA, and Houghton Mifflin; and has presented at many professional conferences. Her undergraduate and Masters degrees are from Ithaca College (NY), teaching certification credits from Kutztown University (PA), audio forensics credit from University of Colorado at Denver, and a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Lehigh University (PA).

Billy McQueen
Billy is our drum instructor and has been teaching, performing, recording, and designing and building drum sets for many years. In addition to private drum instruction, Billy has served as a private school teacher and as clinician at state-level ensemble competitions. He currently performs with Jimmy Simmons Quartet, Mark Towns, Key West, Yvonne Washington, Encourage, and Todd Howard and Tightrope; he has recorded with Michael Davis (Buddy Rich Big Band), Marvin Stamm (Stan Kenton), and Shelly Berg (Rolling Stones), among others. His custom drum kits are being performed on by some of the most prestigious artists in the south. Billy attended the prestigious Skidmore Jazz Institute and Lamar University on scholarship.

Kay Miller
Kay, a returning student to the Lamar State College – Port Arthur campus, is our student assistant for the Commercial Music Department. Kay has been a pianist/vocalist for several years and has recently begun performing publicly for local restaurants and also books for private events. Kay will be the first female to graduate from our department in December of 2010, with her second AAS degree (her first is Legal Secretary) , and has plans to continue expanding her career as a singer and pianist. The knowledge she has gained, added to her talent from the classes taken at LSCPA, will equip her as she develops her songwriting and arranging skills.

Heath Vercher
Heath holds a Bachelor degree in music media and a Masters degree in theory and composition from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He will be teaching applied, commercial, and class piano courses as wel l as music theory. Heath is an active performer, composer, and recording artist, having played numerous engagements both public and private along the Gulf Coast. In 2010, his independent record label, Heartspark Music, turned four, and to date he has released six commercial piano albums, with a seventh in the works. The last two, "Rise" and "Your Song," have both charted in the top 100 for radio airplay for contemporary instrumental music.

Jon-Michael Wallace
Jon-Michael teaches audio engineering as well as sightsinging. In addition to Commercial Music at Lamar Port Arthur, his teaching experience includes voice, guitar, and band leader at Tonalta School of Music, and worship leader and sound/video technician for numerous ministries in Texas. Jon-Michael's undergraduate studies have been from Texas State University, Lamar University, and Houston Community College. He has engineered and produced a number of albums, most recently Radix by Pug Johnson, released in 2010.