our teachers

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Piano

Christian is a pianist, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger. He is currently a student at Eastern University majoring in Music Education and is a resident of the Philadelphia area. Christian is a part of the world’s oldest tradition the Philadelphia Mummers, his string band is called the Avalon String Band. 

Piano, Music Therapy
Katie began her musical studies at age 4. Her mother received her degree at the Royal Academy of Music in London and was her primary teacher until age 10. Katie then studied with Francis Clark at the new school of music study in Princeton New Jersey, and continued her studies as a teenager at Jacksonville University. She attended Tanglewood high school piano student program in the Berkshires studying under Susan Starr and attended Florida State University receiving her bachelors of music in music therapy (while studying piano under Leonard Mastrogiacomo) and a minor in psychology. She also received her masters in creative arts in therapy from Hahnemann University in 1989. She has been bringing music to children for the past 35 years. She truly believes in the creative process and keeping music fun while learning at the same time! She owned The Center On Central in Paoli for 12 years, founded a nonprofit - Creative Arts For Everyone, that served families in the family court system using creative arts therapies and is now a child bereavement counselor at PennMedicine. She is thrilled to be adding piano lessons back into her life as a recent empty nester and is excited to be part of the Malvern School of Music. Katie lives in Malvern Borough a twin that  was built in 1906 with her two friendly and barky dogs. 

Piano, Ukulele, Clarinet, Brass
Kathryn Hockenbury is a graduate of Lebanon Valley College, where she received her B.A. in Music minoring in business.  There she performed in the LVC Symphony Orchestra as well as the Clarinet Choir and the Symphonic Band. In 2018-2019, she spent a year in the United Kingdom on a Fulbright scholarship to earn her Master's in Music. While there, she performed in the Bangor Music Society Orchestra as well as the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Kathryn is a multi-talented musician with a passion for teaching music, and is excited to teach piano, ukulele,  clarinet, and beginner brass!

Voice

Claire has been teaching voice at The Malvern School of Music since October 2021 and is grateful for the opportunity to continue teaching! While studying music at The University of Tennessee, Claire spent many years performing as a Scholarship Singer at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Knoxville, Tennessee. In the summer of 2016, Claire traveled to Urbania, Italy, where she participated in the festival ‘Si Parla, Si Canta!’, intensively studying  the Italian language and opera. Upon receiving her Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance in 2018, Claire moved to Philadelphia to pursue a career in music. Since moving to Philly, Claire has performed several concerts with Singing City Choir and focused her efforts on spreading music throughout the community. Through various roles, including administrative positions at Symphony Square Assisted Living & Memory Care in Bala Cynwyd, and Chosen 300 in West Philadelphia, Claire has been able to perform for multiple Philadelphia communities on a multitude of occasions. She recently started the Masters of Music Therapy & Counseling program at Immaculata University. Claire is excited to begin her journey in music therapy as she works towards becoming a board-certified music therapist.  

Piano
Educated at Berklee College of Music. Dwight McIntosh is known as a professional Pianist/Keyboardist, Composer, Piano Tutor, Performer and lover of life. He began formal training in piano performance at the age of 5. Dwight also earned certificates of honors from the Royal School of Music during the earlier years of his life. At 14, Dwight joined his first band and has been performing ever since, both live and in the studio.
Dwight has been teaching piano, and music theory for over 20 years. His skills cover multiple genres including, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Classical, and Reggae. Dwight’s acceptance into Berklee College of Music
provided him with a solid and diverse education in Composition, Orchestration, Music Theory, Jazz Piano Performance, Jazz Arranging, Counterpoint, Ear training, Reharmonization techniques, Music History, Music Notation, Music Production, Film Scoring, Music Cognition, and Music Therapy.
Dwight has had the opportunity to work with many world-renowned musicians including Gerald Veasley (Smooth Jazz bassist), Kim Waters
(Smooth Jazz saxophonist), Frankie McIntosh (pianist/keyboardist and arranger), Bobby Lyle (Smooth Jazz Keyboardist/Pianist), Alex Bugnon
(Smooth Jazz Keyboardist), Fostina Dixon (Jazz Saxophonist) and the late Wilby Fletcher (drummer). He has also toured with many
international artists. He currently works with local artists and musicians around the Delaware area.
Dwight enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences with students and bandmates 

Clarinet, Saxophone, Oboe, Flute, Bagpipes

Charlie Rutan is a classically trained professional musician with 35 full-time years of nationwide and international performing experience. A graduate of U Arts (’92, B Mus Comp), he received his Music Ed degree from Chestnut Hill College (’95), capping off years of woodwind training in Settlement Music School, Philadelphia School District, West Chester State College, The Piping Center of Glasgow, and others. He is a writer and publisher member of ASCAP, and a member of the AFM (local #77). He specializes in all the orchestral reed instruments; ethnic and historical woodwinds from around the globe; and in particular- the bagpipes of Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy. Charlie was principal oboe for 9 years in the Chestnut Hill Orchestra, the Olney Symphony, and the Northeast Oratorio Society. His performing credits on Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, and Saxophone go back decades as a pickup player in Philadelphia’s Symphony Club, and other concert ensembles. 

Charlie has performed for luminaries such as President G.H. Bush, Rod Stewart, H.M. Queen Noor Regent of Jordan, and the Phillies MLB team. He’s been seen on NBC, CNN, CBS, ABC, FOX, and TV Finland. He was once dubbed "the Eddie VanHalen of the Bagpipe" by Gary Von Scyoc (John Lennon’s bassist in the Plastic Ono Band). Currently Charlie performs & records with DC based Renaissance band TOWER GREEN, NYC based Italian band ANDIAMO~!, NJ based CORO d’ITALIA, Memphis TN based Sicilian band ROSA TATUATA, Philly’s indie Celtic rock band SYLVIA PLATYPUS, and his own pipe band, the ‘RED HOT PHILLY PIPERS’. 

In April of 2023, NBC Peacock TV premiered the streaming series “Mrs  Davis”; Charlie’s performance is heard at the 33:00 mark, and for the end credits of episode #3. In 2021 Charlie was designated as a Master Folk Artist by the state of New Jersey, and awarded a grant to tutor an apprentice in Italian Traditional Music. Also in 2021 he was Awarded an "Illuminate The Arts” grant by City of Philadelphia Office of Arts Culture and the Creative Economy. 

Charlie’s foundation training in classical woodwind technique was given by Maurice Sailly, a graduate of Amiens Conservatory of music in France, who served in the Admiral’s orchestra in the free French Navy in WW2, and taught in the Philadelphia area thereafter. Professor Sailly imparted the enjoyment of playing music to all his students, and it is this philosophy that has been the core of Charlie’s instructional methods.

Guitar, Ukulele

Erik recently graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Degree in  Contemporary Writing and Production. He is the lead guitarist/songwriter for bands Yaer, Airstrikes, and Insomnivore. He also works as a freelance producer and studio guitarist. Erik is currently working on a post-minimalistic project for 9 guitars using both standard and  

experimental recording and production techniques. Erik regularly listens to and learns from Bach, Meshuggah, Pat Metheny and Pink Floyd. 

Piano

Barbara began her musical studies at the age of 7, studying piano. She added flute and guitar several years later. In college, she sang in the Penn State University Concert Choir, Chapel Choir and Penn State Singers. She performed in musical theater at The Three Little Bakers in Kennett Square and Christiana, DE, taking part in the beloved musicals “Annie”, “Sound of Music”, “Carousel”, and “Kiss Me Kate”. She studied voice and Music Education at Immaculata University, and taught piano at St. Agnes in West Chester. She enjoys introducing young people to music.

Classical Pianist
Bonnie Sumerfield holds a Bachelors degree in Piano Performance from the Boston Conservatory and a Master of Music in Accompanying from West Chester  University. Ms. Sumerfield has been on the staff at Millersville University, the University of Delaware, West Chester University and Settlement Music School as both teacher and collaborative artist. She is the staff pianist at the Camphill School in Glenmoore, PA, pianist at  Covenant Presbyterian Church in Malvern and for the Pennsylvania Eurythmy Ensemble, a performing group of movement artists. In addition to teaching at MSoM, she also runs a private studio. 

Guitar  

Dan has been playing guitar and studying music for more than 20 years, and teaching professionally since 2023. He has been honing his skills at the Malvern School of Music for the last 7 years. He is also a founding member of Oldengruven, Chester County’s premier garage band. Dan has a passion for music and loves sharing his experience with others, especially those just beginning their musical journey. Dan’s enthusiasm is contagious, and his students at Malvern School of Music and Greensleeves of West Chester do well under his patient instruction.