Andy Bower is a music educator, arranger, and producer based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He also performs regularly throughout the gulf south and his home state of Pennsylvania. Over the last decade, Andy has guest lectured at several music education conferences and universities, and was a quarter-finalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator award.
Andy thrives at the nexus of the music education field and the performance industry. …
Al Carter is a New Orleans native New Orleanian and product of the Orleans Parish Schools. He graduated from John F. Kennedy Sr High school, Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond with a major in Mass Communications and lastly a Master’s Degree in Education Administration from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux.
He has eleven years of teaching experience including teaching with the Lafourche Parish School Board, the St John the Baptist School Board and most recently the Terrebonne Parish School District.…
Tia Clark’s fiction has appeared in The Offing, American Short Fiction, Kenyon Review, Fourteen Hills, and elsewhere. They have received funding and fellowships from The Wisconsin Institute of Creative Writing, the Lambda Literary Foundation, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the Elizabeth George Foundation. They have taught writing at The University of Wisconsin, the New Orleans Writers Workshop, and Indiana University, where they received their MFA in fiction.…
Blake started dancing at the age of three and has been in the studio ever since. He has toured internationally with “Tops in Blue,” and has toured nationally with “Oliver,” “West Side Story,” “Gypsy,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Bye-Bye Birdie,” and “Annie.” Blake has taught all over the world and his unique teaching styles, combined with his personality and strong varied techniques, keep him in constant demand on the road. …
Mr. Cooper received his MFA in Acting from the Professional Actor Training Program, University of Washington and his BFA in Theatre from Tulane University. Raised in Abbeville, Louisiana, Mr. Cooper moved on to tour nationally in NOISES OFF, was featured in 80 network commercials, and has several film and television credits including a starring role in the film “Snakeskin Jacket.” He has also performed in London, Moscow and Los Angeles.
Yvette is very happy to be immersed on a daily basis in such a wonderful creative environment. Born and raised in New Orleans, she has always been an avid lover, and participator, in the arts. Her spare time is spent in nature and walking every dog in the neighborhood!
I have a B.S. in Accounting and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of New Orleans. If it concerns money, I am your first stop. As the Chief Financial Officer, I am responsible for budgeting, expending, accounting for and safeguarding all of our funds here at NOCCA. This includes purchasing, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, budgeting and strategic planning. …
Communicator EXTRAORDINAIRE! If you have not heard of NOCCA, Brian will tell you everything you ever needed to know…Middle School Programs, Workshop Series, Auditioning, who your state legislator is, Brian knows it all. In addition to communications, Brian coordinates all campus events and manages the daily calendar, not an easy task for a booming arts center. …
Mischa D. Krilov is a New Orleans native, book lover, gamer, game designer, foodie, geek, husband, father, and didgeridoo player.
Not in that order.
Kesha McKey is a choreographer, educator and performing artist in New Orleans. After graduating from NOCCA she received her BS from Xavier University of LA and her MFA in Dance Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is the founding Artistic Director and Choreographer of KM Dance Project and has directed and produced concerts such as Moving Through, Vessels, Taken and Distorted Images for which she received a Big Easy Classical Arts Award as well as several nominations.…
Lara Naughton has taught students K-12 as well as adults. As a writer and documentarian, she assists individuals who wish to tell their own stories, and has led writing classes with people who have faced challenging circumstances, including homelessness, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, wrongful conviction, incarceration, and torture. She is a certified Compassion Cultivation Trainer through the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, and founder of the Compassion Program at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, LA.…
Dr. Kit Nelson is the Director of Academic Studio, NOCCA’s academic program and is part of the Administrative Leadership Team at NOCCA. She earned her Ph.D. from Southern Methodist University in 2001 and moved to New Orleans for an assistant professor position at Tulane where she taught and conducted research for 7 years. She was awarded several teaching and service awards including the prestigious Newcomb Distinguished Faculty Award in 2010 and has various publications. …
Mrs. Amy Tilling moved to New Orleans in July of 2005 and despite being welcomed by Hurricane Katrina only a few weeks later, she is here to stay in New Orleans. Mrs. Tilling earned her Bachelors of Science in Secondary Mathematics Education from the State University of New York College at Cortland (2000) and has just earned her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington (2014).…
