At More than Music, we have a warm, friendly & fun group of teachers who educate and challenge their students while sharing their love of music in a relaxed and supportive environment.

Elizabeth Maddock: Owner of More Than Music (voice, piano) – Elizabeth Maddock holds a bachelor degree in Music in Music Education from the University of Rhode Island and a Masters degree in Special Education from Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii. Liz has enjoyed singing and performing for most of her life. She had performed with Hawai`i Opera Theatre and was a member of the Mae Orvis Opera Studio, located in Hawai`i. She had also been a featured soloist for the Hitbox Ensemble, performing video game music selections, as well as performing as the lead vocalist for her husband’s band, Rock Opera Theater.

She has spent the past 22 years in Hawai`i teaching elementary general music, drama, choir and rhythm ensembles in both private and public schools in Hawai`i. She has also taught in the special education classroom, both in inclusion and self-contained classroom environments. She has been able to help support student learning and growth through the use of music and movement in the special education classroom. There is nothing more beautiful or more rewarding than witnessing a child being able to communicate themselves through music and movement. Prior to moving to Hawai`i in 2001, Liz had worked at More Than Music as a private voice and piano teacher. More Than Music had been a very special place then, and continues to be a very special place now with instructors who work hard and with great passion to pass on their love of music to students of all ages. Liz hopes to continue to carry out Nancy Shanahan’s legacy that she so beautifully created 35 years ago!

Andy Maddock: Owner of More Than Music (guitar, voice, piano) – Andy Maddock holds a bachelor and masters degree in Classical Guitar Performance. He has written music education software available on the Apple Store under www.Musicated.com He was a member of the Hawaii Opera Theatre and a member of the Mae Orvis Opera Studio. He has performed with the Opera Express touring show and also performed in shows with the Oahu Arts Center. Andy has played in rock bands and classical ensembles since the 80’s.

Gia Antolini (violin, viola, piano) Bachelor of Arts in Music studying both violin and piano. Gia is an accomplished, Suzuki trained classical pianist and violinist. She is a multi-faceted orchestral, solo and chamber musician and served as the Concertmaster of the URI Symphony Orchestra. Gia played in other large ensembles on a variety of instrument including French Horn and trombone as well as in String Quartet on both violin and viola. Gia is excited to teach and share her love for classical music with her students at More than Music.

Joanne Arnold: (voice – classical, music theater) – holds a GPD in Vocal Performance from Longy School of Music and a BA in Drama from Franklin Pierce (College) University. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and its state chapter, RINATS. Her performing credits range from opera to musical theatre, art song recitals to church music. Locally, Joanne is a soprano soloist and has worked with South County Chamber Singers, Ocean State Lyric Opera, Opera Providence, Salt Marsh Opera and The Courthouse Center for the Arts and Westerly Chorus. She has been sharing her love of music and singing at More than Music helping countless students have successful auditions and most importantly to experience the joy of singing.

Joel Beauchemin: (violin, viola, cello, ukelele, acoustic guitar, piano) – a North Kingstown-based musician, teacher, and songwriter. With over 20 years of experience teaching in various private schools and music studios throughout Rhode Island. He is widely sought after as a violin instructor and multi-instrumentalist, specializing in children’s folk music and jazz/rock improvisation for teens and adults. Since 2016, “Mister Joel” has been facilitating preschool and family music workshops with his program Fiddle N’ Fun. When he isn’t teaching or gigging, he enjoys spending time with his wife, twin daughters, and two crazy hound dogs.

Khym Carmichael: (guitar, piano, voice (rock/blues)) – is passionate about teaching music to youth and adults in the individual and group settings, building community and confidence with her students. She recently received her CAGS in Expressive and Creative Arts from Salve Regina University and is a lifelong musician, playing multiple instruments. She has recorded four original albums and begins recording her fifth this fall. Khym is honored to work with Girls Rock RI for the past 8 years, cultivating team building skills through music education.

Angela Cardarelli (piano, guitar) – Angie holds a BA in Music Composition from the University of Rhode Island. She has been playing the piano since the age of eight adding electric and acoustic guitar at age 13. Angela began composing at age 11 and won a scholarship for her first piano solo, "Into the Night". She explored jazz and blues piano with More Than Music's own, Dennis Hughes. Angela has participated in many jazz, blues, and rock ensembles. She plays locally in Rhode Island and southern CT, and has been known to host a few open mic nights. She is happy to be teaching and sharing her love of music for students of all ages - working with students ages 5 through adult. She especially enjoys teaching young beginners on both piano and guitar to help them start their musical journeys!

Jeff Deegan: (bass, piano, guitar) – holds a BA in Music from Berklee College of Music. He served 27 years as a musician with the US Navy Band & the Navy’s premier 18-piece jazz ensemble. Jeff performed and was the leader & musical director for several groups performing before the nation’s highest-ranking military and civilian leaders. He produced and performed on 11 nationally distributed recording projects, and thousands of concerts nationwide and abroad. After retiring from the Navy Band Jeff became Director of the School of Music for a K-12 private school in Waldorf, MD. More than Music has been very fortunate for many years to have Jeff sharing his knowledge and love of music with hundreds of students and sending talented new musicians out into our community.

Raffi Donoian: (guitar, piano) – holds a BM in Classical Guitar Performance from the University of Rhode Island. Raffi has taught at the Wheeler School where he assumed various roles including directing guitar and handbell ensembles, teaching general music to first grade students, and was even recognized as one of the distinguished teachers of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program in 2017. Check out Raffi's website for more information: www.raffidonoianmusic.com

Andrew Hellwig: (saxophone) – earned a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Performance from URI. He is a modern- day saxophonist, educator, and composer. Born and raised on Cape Cod, Andrew began playing gigs professionally at the age of 15. Over the years he has had the incredible opportunity to perform with many distinguished musicians and groups in New England Andrew has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, Navy Band Saxophone Symposium, UMass Saxophone Symposium, , Cape Cod Conservatory and so many local venues in South County RI. He has been teaching privately for many years and has given clinics at the Cape Cod Academy. He is a joy to have at More than Music and has been sharing his skills, knowledge and love of music with our students here for several years.

Dennis Hughes: (piano, keyboard) – earned his BA in Jazz Composition and Arranging from Berklee College of Music. He is the leader and keyboard player of the popular local band, Brass Force. He works as a freelance keyboardist all over New England. Dennis was the very first teacher to be hired at More than Music back in 1988 and he has been teaching all styles of piano and keyboard to members of our community ever since. Many of his students have continued their education in music and gone on to become very talented musicians themselves. Amongst these students, several have achieved the piano seat in Rhode Island’s All State Jazz band.

Benjamin Marcotte: (trombone, euphonium, french horn, trumpet, piano) - Ben earned his Bachelor of Music Education from Rhode Island College and is currently completing his Master of Music at the University of Rhode Island with a focus on Latin Jazz, Jazz History and Improvisation . He is currently teaching the Jazz History course at URI and is the Assistant Conductor and Principal Trombonist for the 88th Army Band with the RI National Guard in East Greenwich. Ben was the orchestra director and general music teacher at Tiverton Middle School for the 2019-2020 school year also did his student teaching the prior year at the Narragansett Middle School/High School. He loves to teach beginning to intermediate piano students of all ages, as well band and orchestra instruments. He is a brass instrument expert. We feel very fortunate to have him on staff on More than Music to share is knowledge and love of music with our community!

Mich Muller: (drum set, all percussion, bass) – earned his Bachelor of Music from URI with a double major in both Jazz and Classical – Music Performance in 2013. He is grateful to have had the opportunity to perform with many of the top musicians in Rhode Island and has played professionally across New England in venues including Jazz, Rock, Latin, Classical, and more. His studies at URI I connected him with teachers such as Ron Stabile and Keith Aleo on percussion, Steve Langone on drum set, Dave Zinno on bass, and Manabu Takasawa on piano. Mich has been the percussion instructor for the Drum and Bugle Corp at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London for several years. Having taught and performed alongside these competitively selected cadets, he has developed new teaching methods and compositions for his students. Mich is excited to expand his teaching studio at More than Music and will use his experience, enthusiasm and love of music to help create a new generation of well-rounded musicians.

Austin Nadeau: (Percussion, Bass guitar) Earned a Bachelor of Art in Music Performance from UMASS Dartmouth in 2016. During Austin’s time there he participated in steel pan, percussion, African drum & dance, small jazz ensembles, and wind ensemble. He’s also been a part of multiple community performances around South coast MA. He has been a music educator in the south coast since 2011 with various high school marching bands and after school ensembles, as well as various private student ensembles. Austin is also an active member of the local rock music scene playing in multiple original projects

David Pirri: (trumpet) – holds a BA in Music Education at the University of Rhode Island with a focus in classical trumpet. He has been fascinated with music for as long as he can remember. He feels music is a subject which all individuals should have the pleasure of experiencing. David participated in numerous ensembles at URI, including the URI Ram Marching Band, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Concert Band and Symphony Orchestra. He served as adjudicator for the Curtis Corner Middle School Performance Festival and taught at the Broad Rock Elementary School Music Mentoring Project. In his free time, David plays keyboard for a RI based classic rock cover band.

Aiden Rogley: (guitar) Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance URI. Prior to his work at the URI in Jazz Performance, Aiden received his Associates in General Studies and his Associate in Fine Arts for Jazz Performance. He completed the Berklee Guitar Sessions, an intensive program of study for Blues and Jazz guitar. He then joined the Jazz Performance program at URI. Aiden loves to share his knowledge and enthusiasm for many genres of music. He feels his biggest influences in music are Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Emily Remler, and Grant Green. Aiden enjoys teaching students of all levels of student from beginner through advanced. We’re happy to have him as part of our staff at More than Music for the young budding guitar players through the advanced!

Austin Rego: (guitar, ukulele) – earned his degree from Roger Williams University in Music Composition. Guitar is his primary instrument and the instrument that he loves to teach the most. He began playing guitar at the age of 7 and studied small drum set and piano as well. Austin is classically trained in guitar and loves to teach all styles of music, including Rock, Blues and current popular music. He is motivated to inspire students to experience the same of love music that he has and gets satisfaction from teaching and seeing his students grow in their musical knowledge.

Joyll Smith: (voice, piano) – Joy received a Bachelor of Music Degree In Vocal Performance from the University of Rhode Island in 2002. She has been teaching both private and group lessons and coaching for over 20 years. Although her training was in Opera/Classical Voice, Joy enjoys teaching all styles of vocals including Pop, Rock, Broadway and Jazz. She has taught students as young as 4 years old through age 86. Her teaching goals and philosophy are based on fostering a love of singing in all students. Currently Joy also sits as Head Voice Faculty, Piano faculty and Director of Music Theater programs at RI Phil Music School at The United Theater in Westerly as well as Soloist at Christ Church in Westerly. Joy’s past singing experiences include Soprano Section Leader/Cantor/Soloist at various local churches including St. Rocco’s, Sacred Heart, Central Congregational and St. Patrick’s. She sang for many years with the choir for High Holidays at Temple Sinai in Cranston. She has worked with Opera Providence as both a main stage performer and an artist educator for their opera outreach program. Soloist oratorio works include Handel’s Messiah, Rutter’s Magnificat, Dubois’ Seven Last Words of Christ and Beethoven’s Mass in C. Joyll’s operatic roles include Lauretta, Pamina and Cherubino among several others

Jameson “JJ” Ward: (percussion and piano, music education Rhode Island) - JJ is a multi-faceted instrumentalist, with over 10 years of experience playing percussion instruments and piano. He has studied percussion under Piero Guimaraes, Mike Dequattro and Charlie Kalajian. He has also studied piano at Rhode Island College under the instruction of well-known pianist Lila Kane, and has studied outside of Rhode Island College with Anne Hart, Josh Martin and Enrico Garzilli. JJ has performed in many ensembles such as the Rhode Island College Wind Ensemble, Concert Chorus, Jazz Band, Orchestra, and percussion ensemble. He has gigged all around Southeastern MA and Rhode Island, playing in many musical theater pits, and gigging with his band “Straight 8ths”, a pop and classic rock cover band, all mostly on piano. JJ has been teaching at Cranston High School East for three years as a percussion instructor / arranger for the Marching Band and the Percussion Ensemble. JJ’s heart and soul is in teaching, and believes that the best way to impact youth is through education, and looks forward to teaching every student!

Vaseilios “Billy” Zarkadas : (violin, viola, beginning cello) - Violin and Music Education at Rhode Island College. Billy loves teaching and sharing his love for the violin and all music with his students. His teaching experience includes Feinstein School of Education, mentoring and teaching violin and general music at Portsmouth Middle School’s strings program and Bristol’s string orchestra. He performs with the RI College Symphony Orchestra, Strings Chamber Orchestra, Strings Quartet and sings with the Concert Choir. He was also concertmaster for the Bristol Advanced Strings Orchestra. We feel fortunate to have his enthusiasm for teaching and his broad knowledge of music to offer the students in our community of More than Music.