Meet Our Team
Board of Directors
steve fidyk - President/Creative Director
For more than 21 years, Steve Fidyk was the drummer and featured soloist with the Army Blues Big Band, a premier 17-piece jazz ensemble stationed in Washington DC. During his tenure, he performed for seven US presidents, numerous dignitaries and in 2008, traveled throughout the Middle East supporting the troops during a USO Holiday Tour. Currently, Steve leads “The Parlour Project,” a small group featuring his original arrangements and compositions. He is also a member of the Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia under the direction of trumpeter Terell Stafford.
As an educator, Fidyk is a member of the jazz studies faculty at Temple University and The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is an educational consultant for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington program and conductor of the Chesapeake Youth Jazz Ensemble. He has authored several critically acclaimed drum method books for Mel Bay and Alfred publications, and regularly contributes columns to Modern Drummer and Teaching Music Magazine.
As an educator, Fidyk is a member of the jazz studies faculty at Temple University and The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is an educational consultant for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington program and conductor of the Chesapeake Youth Jazz Ensemble. He has authored several critically acclaimed drum method books for Mel Bay and Alfred publications, and regularly contributes columns to Modern Drummer and Teaching Music Magazine.
emily tevault - founding member/Treasurer/Secretary
Emily Tevault, MBA, CPC is Vice President, Programs & Producktivity® with BSCorbett Consulting, LLC. She is a coach, trainer, and consultant in time management, intentional growth, and project management. Emily uses her 18 years of nonprofit accounting, finance, and management experience with educational organizations and associations to establish trust, build relationships, and connect the pieces of the puzzle. She believes that being productive requires a commitment to intentional personal and professional growth.
Emily sees life as a sequence of processes to be identified, created, and made more effective and applies the Producktivity® Principles: Identify. Connect. Organize. in her own life and with her clients to move ideas to
action.
She received a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from The Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in Viola Performance from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. Emily is an International Coach Academy Certified Professional Coach, John Maxwell Team Certified Coach, Speaker, and Teacher, and a Maxwell Certified DISC® Trainer.
Emily sees life as a sequence of processes to be identified, created, and made more effective and applies the Producktivity® Principles: Identify. Connect. Organize. in her own life and with her clients to move ideas to
action.
She received a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from The Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in Viola Performance from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. Emily is an International Coach Academy Certified Professional Coach, John Maxwell Team Certified Coach, Speaker, and Teacher, and a Maxwell Certified DISC® Trainer.
chris kaplan - vice president/Technology
Chris Kaplan is a senior associate instructional technologist for Diamond Information Systems and has been creating online learning experiences and learning for the real world for nearly 20 years.
As an audio engineer and composer, Chris has worked on productions for National Geographic, TLC, America’s Most Wanted, written music for numerous training programs and in 2005, with Two Animators! LLP , was a finalist for Best Cartoon at the Flash Forward Film Festival for his work on The Poochinos—Dog Mafia.
Chris's experience includes teaching trumpet for Music and Arts Center and has performed with Blue Miracle, Eastern Standard Time and other local groups. He has performed in local productions over the years including West Side Story, Kiss me Kate, Oliver! and most recently Chicago.
Chris consistently finds himself drawn to the potential for using technology to create learning opportunities, resources and frameworks that support the human aspects of teaching and learning.
He received his bachelors in Music Composition with an emphasis in jazz from the University of Maryland and has completed significant coursework towards a master of distance education from UMUC.
As an audio engineer and composer, Chris has worked on productions for National Geographic, TLC, America’s Most Wanted, written music for numerous training programs and in 2005, with Two Animators! LLP , was a finalist for Best Cartoon at the Flash Forward Film Festival for his work on The Poochinos—Dog Mafia.
Chris's experience includes teaching trumpet for Music and Arts Center and has performed with Blue Miracle, Eastern Standard Time and other local groups. He has performed in local productions over the years including West Side Story, Kiss me Kate, Oliver! and most recently Chicago.
Chris consistently finds himself drawn to the potential for using technology to create learning opportunities, resources and frameworks that support the human aspects of teaching and learning.
He received his bachelors in Music Composition with an emphasis in jazz from the University of Maryland and has completed significant coursework towards a master of distance education from UMUC.
tamela fidyk - founding member/teaching specialist
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou
My teaching philosophy is that making personal connections and fostering meaningful relationships are the keys to student success. It’s also how I choose to live my best life. It’s my belief the band room is more than a place where students learn music. Life lessons emerge in a positive learning environment where students thrive because they are loved, supported, and valued. Through music, my students learn to communicate, show positivity, have fun, laugh, problem solve, trust, motivate, persevere, unify, take risks, show grit, learn resiliency, model respect, and inspire. When everything blends together like a beautiful piece of music, what emerges are not only talented musicians, but great people with character who will make a difference in our world someday.
I hope the students I’ve taught for over thirty years in Anne Arundel County look back fondly on the time they spent in my band room. They might forget what I said about playing with good posture, they might forget the trumpet fingerings in a C major scale, but I hope they remember those connections we made and that special feeling when they spent time in my band room, their very own “happy place”.
Tamela Fidyk has over 30 years experience as an elementary instrumental teaching specialist for Anne Arundel County Public Schools. In 2020, Tamela was recognized for her excellence as an educator with a nomination for Teacher of The Year, representing instrumental music education throughout Anne Arundel County and the State of Maryland.
My teaching philosophy is that making personal connections and fostering meaningful relationships are the keys to student success. It’s also how I choose to live my best life. It’s my belief the band room is more than a place where students learn music. Life lessons emerge in a positive learning environment where students thrive because they are loved, supported, and valued. Through music, my students learn to communicate, show positivity, have fun, laugh, problem solve, trust, motivate, persevere, unify, take risks, show grit, learn resiliency, model respect, and inspire. When everything blends together like a beautiful piece of music, what emerges are not only talented musicians, but great people with character who will make a difference in our world someday.
I hope the students I’ve taught for over thirty years in Anne Arundel County look back fondly on the time they spent in my band room. They might forget what I said about playing with good posture, they might forget the trumpet fingerings in a C major scale, but I hope they remember those connections we made and that special feeling when they spent time in my band room, their very own “happy place”.
Tamela Fidyk has over 30 years experience as an elementary instrumental teaching specialist for Anne Arundel County Public Schools. In 2020, Tamela was recognized for her excellence as an educator with a nomination for Teacher of The Year, representing instrumental music education throughout Anne Arundel County and the State of Maryland.
Naptown Lesson Academy
kayt Capasso - Saxophone
Hello! My name is Kaytlynn Capasso. I received my teaching certification from the University of
the Arts in Philadelphia. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Saxophone, Master’s Degree in
Music Education, and am currently working on my PhD (EdD) from the University of Phoenix in
Curriculum and Instruction. I have played with big bands, small combos, and pit orchestras
around the DMV, New Jersey, and Philadelphia areas.
Originally from New Jersey, I moved down to Maryland in 2018 to begin my teaching career.
Currently, I am a music teacher at Georgetown East Elementary school, and I have been
teaching in the public school system for five years. I teach private lessons based out of my
home in Annapolis, which I have been doing for 7 years. My main focus is woodwind
instruments (saxophone, flute, clarinet), however, I also teach beginner-intermediate piano and
voice.
I fell in love with music at a very young age. I love how intricate, yet so simple and pure it is.
There is structure and discipline, yet such freedom. My teaching philosophy is to challenge
students to be their very best, but with patience and grace at the forefront. Being sure to listen,
create, and explore is crucial in development. I always encourage questions of “why” and
“how?” and am focused toward a student-centered mindset. Lessons are created around the
individual in order to ensure engagement, growth, and quality of student learning.
Joseph Chilton Pearce said “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” I am a
firm believer in mistakes help us learn. In my studio we embrace the mistakes and use them
toward a better understanding. There are never any wrong notes; only the right notes, and notes
that make our brains grow.
the Arts in Philadelphia. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Saxophone, Master’s Degree in
Music Education, and am currently working on my PhD (EdD) from the University of Phoenix in
Curriculum and Instruction. I have played with big bands, small combos, and pit orchestras
around the DMV, New Jersey, and Philadelphia areas.
Originally from New Jersey, I moved down to Maryland in 2018 to begin my teaching career.
Currently, I am a music teacher at Georgetown East Elementary school, and I have been
teaching in the public school system for five years. I teach private lessons based out of my
home in Annapolis, which I have been doing for 7 years. My main focus is woodwind
instruments (saxophone, flute, clarinet), however, I also teach beginner-intermediate piano and
voice.
I fell in love with music at a very young age. I love how intricate, yet so simple and pure it is.
There is structure and discipline, yet such freedom. My teaching philosophy is to challenge
students to be their very best, but with patience and grace at the forefront. Being sure to listen,
create, and explore is crucial in development. I always encourage questions of “why” and
“how?” and am focused toward a student-centered mindset. Lessons are created around the
individual in order to ensure engagement, growth, and quality of student learning.
Joseph Chilton Pearce said “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” I am a
firm believer in mistakes help us learn. In my studio we embrace the mistakes and use them
toward a better understanding. There are never any wrong notes; only the right notes, and notes
that make our brains grow.
