Lessons will be held at MDI High School or virtually, unless you arrange an alternate location with the instructor. Contact your school’s teacher for Free Lesson Vouchers. The Booking Process may vary between instructors.
RYAN BLOTNICK – Guitar, Bass, Music Theory, Jazz Improvisation
Ryan Blotnick (b. 1983) is an acclaimed American guitarist, composer and educator based in Southwest Harbor. His music combines jazz, rock and ambient music, using spacious arrangements and slow‑unfolding themes to foreground tone, harmonic detail and ensemble interplay. He performs locally with Katherine Perkins, Danny Fisher-Lochhead Large Ensemble, the Soulbenders, Caroline Cotter, Phillip Greenlief and others, and occasionally travels to New York and Europe to perform and record. His film compositions have earned Audience Awards at Sundance, Full Frame, DOC-NYC, and other major international film festivals. He has taught privately for over 25 years and teaches guitar, jazz ensemble and improvisation at College of the Atlantic. He holds the European equivalent of a Master’s in Music Performance from the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen and has presented master classes to the Maine Music Educators Association and UMO. After college he studied harmony and counterpoint privately with Paul Caputo for a number of years and is well-versed in music theory. He teaches guitar, bass, music theory and jazz improvisation for all instruments.
MEGAN HOWELL – Advanced Woodwind and Beginner Brass Instructor
Megan Howell is a 2017 graduate of MDI High School. She earned her Bachelor’s in Music Education from the University of Maine and her Master’s in Multiple Woodwind Performance from Oklahoma City University. After completing her Master’s, Megan spent three years on the road performing professionally with national touring musicals such as Little Women, The Addams Family Musical, and The Music Man. In addition to playing professionally, Megan has several years of experience teaching and working with youth. She is a licensed K-12 Music Educator and maintained a private lessons studio when not on the road. Megan is currently based in Winchester, Virginia, as she pursues her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Multiple Woodwind Performance. She is excited to stay connected to her MDI community by offering remote lessons through the Music Boosters! Megan specializes in beginner-advanced woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone) and can also offer beginner-intermediate lessons on some brass instruments (trumpet, trombone, French horn). You also might recognize Megan as the Assistant Director of Programming from Camp Beech Cliff!
SHANE ELLIS – Saxophone, Clarinet, & Flute
Shane Ellis, a 1991 graduate of Mount Desert Island High School, has experienced a varied career of performing and teaching music. He spent 6 years performing in the United States Navy Band, after which he toured with professional groups on the West Coast and with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Returning to Maine and earning his teaching certification led to a position as the High School Music Director at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft. Shane now resides on Mount Desert Island and performs throughout Maine when not running the family boat company in Southwest Harbor.
MATTHEW LAWSON – Trumpet and Jazz Improvisation
Matt began his professional musical life in the United States Navy Band, where he performed as a trumpet instrumentalist, traveling across Asia and the Pacific. Upon receiving an honorable discharge, Matt returned to his native state of Maine and toured across New England with several acclaimed Blues Bands. In 2001 he moved to Louisville, Kentucky to attend the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Studies Program at the University of Louisville. In 2004 he won the Jazz Division of the National Trumpet Competition, and that same year he released a record entitled, Midnight in Merizo, on the Jazz Factory label. In 2007, after graduation from U of L, Matt made the choice to leave music behind in order to pursue his other love – history. Matt Received his Masters in Education from Northern Arizona University in 2010, and shortly after was offered a position teaching history at Mount Desert Island High School – his alma mater. In 2012, Matt was diagnosed with a rare and recurrent form of Lymphoma that he has survived four times. Just before his most recent series of treatments for the disease, Matt rediscovered his love of trumpet and jazz, and since his recovery from a stem cell transplant he’s been performing, teaching, and writing music on the coast of Maine. He has been an instructor at the Aebersold summer jazz workshops (2005,2006), and he has performed with Phil Woods, Terrell Stafford, Jimmy Heath, Marcus Printup, Curtis Fuller, The Temptations, Ed Shaughnessy, Delfeayo Marsalis, Jason Tiemann, Tyrone Wheeler, Jacob Duncan, Steve Allee, Harry Pickens, The Bob and Tom Band, The Red Light Revue, and many other accomplished artists.
BEAU LISY – Drums and Percussion
Beau Lisy is a multi-percussionist with a rich background in teaching and performing across the United States, from grand stages to intimate living rooms. As a 1991 graduate of Mount Desert Island High School, Beau pursued further education at Brewster Academy before relocating to Cleveland to attend Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory. His professional journey in Cleveland included collaborations with the Cleveland Opera/Ballet and Chamber groups, Up Ensemble, Dave Sterner Group, Lamar Gaines Trio, Robert Lockwood Jr., and Roots of American Music. Beau’s dedication to his craft led him to multiple visits to The Gambia, West Africa, where he immersed himself in the music and language of the Mandinka and Wolof people, with a particular focus on the djembe, sabar, and bongo instruments. In 2010, Beau returned to his hometown of Mount Desert Island with his wife and two children, continuing to share his passion for percussion.
MUSIC TEACHERS: If you are interested in being added to the list of private instructors for AOS 91, please email us your bio, photo, and preferred contact method for scheduling lessons. We may request references; this is a vetted list of instructors, and we may choose not to list you as one of our preferred instructors. EMAIL the MDI Music Booster VP: VP@mdimusicboosters.org