Scott Anderson is a TWO TIME Emmy Award-winning composer, music director, producer, and one of the Pittsburgh region’s most sought-after keyboard players.

Scott received an Emmy award in 2006 for his work composing the score for the award-winning documentary “From Pittsburgh to Poland: Lessons from The Holocaust.” In 2007 he won BOTH an Emmy and a Telly award for his work as music director and co-producer of “Live From Studio A: American Standards”. Scott was also nominated for Emmy awards in 2003 and 2004 for his work as Music Director of WQED’s “Live From Studio A” television show and again in 2010 for music contributed to the film “In Service”, a joint production of Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Bricolage. He was the organist for the Pittsburgh Penguins and a member of the Penguin’s house band, The Blue Line Band, for three years.

Scott’s musical diversity is what propelled him to preferred status as a keyboard player for the region’s top performers, including Joe Negri, Maureen Budway, HB Bennett, Eric DeFade, Lisa Bleil, Pete Hewlett, Chizmo Charles, Billy Price, Kenny Blake, Benny Benack and on and on. He can go from Jazz to Big Band to straight-ahead Rock & Roll without missing a beat.

His own current projects include playing keyboards and singing for the Hewlett-Anderson band, as well as solo appearances. Scott is the producer of The Holiday Jam, a very successful series of holiday concerts based on the television specials that appeared on WQED for many years.

And here’s an interesting bit of pop culture trivia: Scott was the Keyboardist & Musical Director of The Vogues from 1989-1995!

He’s backed up a number of National artists including The Temptations, The Drifters, Bo Diddley, Jackie Evancho, Kristen Chenoweth, The Coasters, Ronnie Specter, Lou Christie, Leslie Gore, The Shirelles, Little Anthony, Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), Peter Noone, Barbara Lewis, Frankie Ford, Len Barry, Bryan Hyland, Tommy Roe, The Crystals & Jay and the Americans.

As far as regional bands – Scott has played or recorded with Modern Times, The Late Edition, Up Front, Grapevine, Vibro Kings, Ice Cream Headache, The Balcony Big Band, Jazz for Juniors & The Benny Benack Band.

Scott is an adjunct professor at Point Park University and is a graduate of the Duquesne University School of Music. While he was at Duquesne, he played with some top National Jazz artists including Claudio Roditi, Jerry Niewood and Marvin Stamm.

Monica Stephenson is a composer, performer, and teacher based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Duquesne University School of Music with a major in Vocal Performance and a minor in Piano, she has performed all over the country in regional and national tours as well as in Europe.

She accepts students in voice (all levels), piano (beginner through intermediate) and beginning guitar. Monica’s students range from those looking to enjoy music as a hobby to young professionals who have gone on to study music or theater at esteemed universities such as Duquesne, University of the Arts and Carnegie Mellon.

As a performer Monica has worked with TheatreworksUSA, 1812 Productions, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, The Wilma Theater, City Theatre, The Pittsburgh Opera Company, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre, Unseam’d Shakespeare Co., Prime Stage Theater and New York Theater Workshop.

Her composing credits include: My Traveling Song, Hiawatha Project; Twelfth Night, Prime Stage Theater; The Carols,1812 Productions; Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues; as well as a musical adaptation of This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing by Finegan Kruckemeyer. She is currently working on Tyndale Place, a brand new musical set to open in Philadelphia in April of 2020.

As a teaching artist, Monica has led a variety of classes and workshops in theater arts, singing and songwriting for organizations such as Children’s Aide Society NYC, Why Not Prosper, TheatriQ, Hope Academy, LaRoche College, CLO and The Center for Theater Arts.

Although she still performs regularly as member of The Harvey Wallbangers sketch comedy group and in music venues throughout Pittsburgh, she likes to spend most of her time with her friends and family, her 6 year-old son, Samuel; her partner, Rachel and their very nosey dog, Penny.

Lisa Bleil has been singing professionally since she was 18. She attended the Carnegie Mellon University Schoo l of Music where she earned a BFA in Classical Vocal Performance, and since then has performed in nearly every facet of the music business, from jingles to theater to television to teaching…she even did singing telegrams in college!

Lisa can be seen on the nationally-televised PBS series, “My Music” performing with Frankie Valli, Frankie Avalon, Darlene Love, Englebert Humperdink, and Ronnie Spector, among others. She was also a member of the house band on the Emmy Award-winning “Live From Studio A” series on WQED. She is currently on the faculty of The School of Music at West Virginia University where she teaches Vocal Jazz, and was previously the Voice Instructor for the City Music Center at Duquesne University.

Lisa maintains an active performing schedule in the Pittsburgh area, performing and recording with an array of Pittsburgh’s most notable artists, including Joe Negri, Hewlett Anderson, Benny Benack, Max Leake, regularly appearing in numerous concerts, including the annual Holiday Jam at theNew Hazlett Theater and local clubs like Andy’s in The Fairmont and Eddie V’s.

Lisa accepts students of all ages and skill levels, sharing the benefits of her Classical training and her wealth of practical experience in Pop, Theater and Jazz. She particularly enjoys helping younger beginners learn good habits early and develop fundamental music skills, including reading and music theory.

Marion Schmidt’s love of music and children has been life long. She brings expertise, a wealth of experience and a love of teaching to her work at Anderson Music Academy.

Marion earned her BA in Elementary Education with a Music Minor from Concordia University in Ann Arbor, MI, and went on to earn a Master of Education from Concordia University in River Forest, IL. From there she began a career as a classroom teacher, teaching various elementary school levels and also directing elementary orchestra and choir programs at public, private, tribal and parochial schools.

For the past 7 years her focus has been on teaching young children, starting at the preschool level, providing their first formal introduction to the world of piano and music. As a private teacher, Marion accepts students as early as three years of age, employing innovative teaching techniques to get eager youngsters off to a great start with music, hoping to give each one a positive and life-long experience.

In addition to her work at Anderson Music Academy, Marion currently teaches pre-kindergarten, always integrating music into her classrooms. Marion has always been an active member of her community and church. She is a proud mother of three and resides in Upper St Clair.

Bert Lerini is one of the Pittsburgh region’s most versatile and in-demand percussionists. Bert is equally at home behind the drums in a rock, pop or jazz band; playing percussion in a symphony orchestra; or any combination of both in a Broadway pit orchestra or Jazz band.

His performance resume includes an array of different genres and skill sets, ranging from regular performances with the Wheeling Symphony, the Elite Show Band, Will E Tri and the Bluescaters and The River worship team in Franklin Park. He has also appeared with the Pittsburgh Opera
Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, McKeesport Symphony and the New Sousa Band, as well as national Broadway touring productions of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Little Shop of Horrors” as well as various Pittsburgh CLO productions.

Bert has backed a number of national artists, including Bobby Vinton, Kristin Chenoweth, Regis Philbin, Sandy Duncan, Jim Nabors and Don Rickles, among others.

As an educator, Bert is an adjunct faculty member at Washington and Jefferson college, as well as Percussion Coach for the River City Youth Brass Band. He has worked as an assistant band director and drum line instructor/coach at Aliquippa High School, Beaver Falls High School, Central Valley High and Avonworth High School, as well as Instrumental Music Teacher at Our Lady of Fatima, Holy Trinity, St James.

Burt holds a B.A. in music from Edinboro University.

Shay Carter is a performer, accompanist and teacher with a deep appreciation for the versatility and creative freedom that the piano affords a performer and a strong passion for teaching. She holds a B.A. in applied music performance from the conservatory at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where she studied piano as a concentration and organ as a secondary instrument.

Prior to moving to Pittsburgh, Shay maintained a private piano studio in Buckhannon, WV, where she instructed over thirty students of varying ages and abilities. Her teaching style combines expertise from her formal classical training with her experience in a range of performance styles, from sacred music to pop. She is focused on providing a well-rounded music education that instills proper technique, music theory knowledge, ear training, and interpretational skills in students of all levels of proficiency.

Shay is a lifelong lover of sacred and gospel music. She spent several years working as a pianist and organist for several churches; accompanying choirs, supplying music for congregational singing, and frequently arranging and performing solo works. She also served as accompanist for WV Wesleyan’s Jazz ensembles, the Musical Theatre department, and a Concert Chorale winter tour. Her most recent professional collaboration was working with Broadway star Wilson Jermaine Heredia (of the hit musical Rent) as an accompanist for a musical theatre masterclass in December 2019.

Shay also performs for cantatas, weddings, banquets, and other special events. In her free time, she can be found spending time with family, friends, and her three dogs.