Welcome to the best place to take music lessons in Southwest Florida!

OUR PURPOSE

Our purpose is simple. First, we want to be a place where God-given talent is fostered and every student and their family are touched by God’s love through us. Secondly, we desire to be a dynamic center for quality music instruction in a safe, Christian environment with highly, qualified and caring instructors.

OUR CLASSES

We offer private lessons in music—voice, piano, guitar, drums, bass, and other instruments such as strings, brass, and woodwinds as they are requested. Our classes are available to the Southwest Florida community, kindergarten-age through adult.

Parents are welcome in any lesson, but we also have a comfortable waiting area for families with rehearsal keyboards, toys/books, cable television, and free Wi-Fi.

For info about our Suzuki Classes you can click here!

Piano

Guitar

Violin

Drums

Flute

Voice

Private lessons designed to meet your learning style and level!

SWFL Creative Arts Academy is committed to providing:

Qualified Instructors

We bring together qualified instructors and aspiring students in our community.

Competitive Pricing

The academy provides the most competitive pricing in this area, without sacrificing quality.

Leadership Training

Our skilled instructors train and develop leaders in all areas of the arts.

Discipline

We help students reach God-given potential by instilling discipline and Christian character development.

Love for the Arts

Our instructors help each student reach his or her God-given potential by instilling a love for the arts.

Christian Environment

The Creative Arts Academy provides a safe, Christian environment for both students and instructors.

Lindy Donia Bennett, Dean

Violin & Suzuki Method
Lindy Donia Bennett has been teaching violin, fiddling, and Suzuki violin students for 16 years. She holds a BM from DePauw University and a MM from Belmont University and is an SAA registered Suzuki Violin teacher trained by Susan Kempter and Martha Shackford. Lindy is a mother of two daughters who keep her laughing and in their spare time enjoy performing as a violin trio together. Currently Lindy is the Music Director at Fort Myers Christian School.

Erin Denson

Voice & Piano
Erin, an Indiana native, received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Ball State University. She has a background in musical theatre, classical voice, and piano. While at Ball State she was in several operas, won scholarship to Austria for the Mozart Festival, and placed 2nd nationally in the NATS competition. Erin has experience both being the lead for musicals and in the Voice Director role for different shows. She is currently the Creative Admin at First Assembly of God.

James Williams

Guitar & Bass & Ukulele
James, a Fort Myers native, has been teaching guitar and bass guitar in Southwest Florida for 17 years, and now also teaches Ukulele. He has a Bachelors from Florida Gulf Coast University. Notable achievements include a student receiving a Full-Sail Scholarship and another becoming a trained Guitar Luthier. James has performed with rock bands and Church groups, and even released a self titled album “James Warren Williams.”

Kassandra Cooper

Cello & Violin
Kassandra Cooper, a Cape Coral native, is currently attending Florida Gulf Coast University. As a senior, she will soon be completing her degree in Music Education. She has been playing the cello for ten years and the violin for eight years. We are so excited to have Kassandra on the team!

Daniel Winningham

Trumpet
Daniel was classically trained at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and studied Jazz Performance. He worked under Dr. John Packard and performed in two different Jazz bands. Daniel currently also serves as one of the front line Praise team Vocalists at First Assembly of God – Fort Myers.

Nicholas Hanaburgh

Drums
Nicholas received his Bachelors in Music from Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL, where he studied under Ian Goodman and specialized in jazz drumming. He toured with the Christian group “Mike Burns Band,” and has performed for President Bush and Joyce Meyer, as well as at Disney.

Ian Denson

Piano
Ian Denson is the Worship Director at First Assembly. He has had the opportunity to perform with and direct orchestras, choirs, rock bands, and worship teams. He studied piano performance and pedagogy at Florida Gulf Coast University. While there he was selected to be part of a special piano pedagogy internship. Ian has worked as a middle school choir director, an assistant choral director and accompanist at the undergraduate level, and a private music teacher for over ten years.

Nicole Hanaburgh

Flute
Nicole received her Bachelors in Music Performance from Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL, where she studied under Lisa Jaklitsch Westervelt. She has performed with the Port Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, as well as other groups in the SWFL area. She has enjoyed performing at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater, Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Center, and various churches all across Florida.

Tarrah Wolf

Piano & Suzuki Method
Tarrah is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a degree in Elementary Education and she has completed Suzuki teacher training for piano books 1-3 as well as Music Together training. Over her 15+ years of teaching, she taught piano group classes, early childhood mommy and me classes, and preschool music appreciation classes. Tarrah also co-directed the yearly summer music camp at the Rockford College Music Academy. She moved to Florida in 2021 and is excited to work at the CAA!

Hear from our parents…

OUR EVENTS

0
Performances
0
Music students

CONTACT US

The SWFL Creative Arts Academy is a ministry of First Assembly of God, Fort Myers, Florida. Our desire is to train and develop leaders in all areas of the arts. We offer private lessons, for children and adults, designed to meet your learning style and level.

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Menu