Eric Nordin, Director

Instructor: Piano, Voice, M-Company

Eric Nordin received his Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance and Music Education from Southern Oregon University and his Master of Arts in Music Composition and Conducting from California State University, Chico. As a pianist and vocalist, he has worked the gamut of musical genres from jazz to classical, rock & roll to opera, and musical theater. He also is a self-published composer, writing for choir, jazz groups, symphonic band and piano. As a conductor, Eric has been the music director for over thirty musicals and operas, as well as having been assistant conductor for the North State Symphony in northern California under maestro Kyle Wiley-Pickett. Above all, teaching remains his underlying passion, having taught at a number of universities and community colleges, as well as children's theater camps, and musical theater and piano workshops. When not encouraging students to play and sing, Eric enjoys spending time with his wife, walking his dog and singing karaoke.

 

Rei Peterson

Scheduling / Billing Coordinator

Rei has an extensive musical background in electronic music production, and a strong passion for music of all types. She has been involved in multiple colaborative production efforts, and her re-mixes have earned her honorable mentions. Her organizational skills coupled with her love for people make her a great resource for new and existing students. She wants to see you succeed in all of your goals as a musician, and will help direct you on a path that will guide you in the right direction.

 

Sarah O'Mara  

Instructor: Piano, Violin, Voice, Fundamentals

Sarah graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in music. She has been studying violin for eighteen years as well as voice, piano, and harp. She has played in several symphony orchestras including the University Symphony at the University of Oregon and has held many leadership positions in the past. She has also played with various other groups including Pink Martini. Before joining the Forte team, Sarah taught violin, voice, and piano at the Lesson Factory in Eugene for three years.

 

Sam Densmore  

Instructor: Guitar, Drum Set, Percussion, Rock Band Class

Sam Densmore received his Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition and Technology from Evergreen State College. He has also studied classical guitar at Cornish College of the Arts, Music Production at the Art Institute of Seattle and as a Classical Music major at Southwestern Oregon Community College in his hometown of Coos Bay, Oregon. As a songwriter/guitarist/vocalist, Sam has toured the West Coast extensively, playing concerts, theaters and clubs. He also has a rich recording career as an artist, songwriter, studio musician and producer with literally hundreds of recordings to his credit. When I decided to go to school as a music major, my Dad asked me what I would ever do with an education in that field. I told him I intended to perform, compose, record and teach. That is what I've done. I teach my students the value of musicianship and well roundedness as well as working to inspire them to be creative and have fun playing music. When not at Forte, Sam produces multiple genres of music as a Producer/Recording Engineer, and enjoys performing up and down the West Coast in two bands, Silverhawk and The Jeremy Wilson Band.

 

Ben Milstein

Instructor: Piano, GarageBand Class

Ben Milstein is a pianist, composer and producer with a wide range of musical experience. He received his B.A. in Composition from Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY) in 1997 and his M.F.A. in Composition from the California Institute for the Arts (Valencia, CA) in 2001, and also attended the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music (Oberlin, OH). Ben studied the Taubman Technique for piano with Robert Durso in Philadelphia and New York, and performed often in both cities at master classes with Edna Golandsky, Nina Tichman, James Barbagallo and others. He has been on the faculty of the University of Westminster in London and Toni Morrison's Atelier program at Princeton University. Ben also served as Teaching Assistant for Music Theory, Ear Training and Composition classes at both Bard College and CalArts, and founded an after school Composition program for high school students while pursuing his studies at Calarts. Ben's musical interests range from Classical to Country, Opera to Electronic, Free Improvisation to Rock, and other styles as well. His original music has been released internationally on several record labels and he has performed all over the United States and Great Britain. In addition he has produced several recordings of contemporary American Opera and Art Songs. Ben's approach to music is very open-ended and favors creativity, improvisation and the use of technology, but always sustains a firmly rooted belief in the importance of musical fundamentals. This attitude reflects the beliefs and encouragement of the music teachers that he was lucky enough to have at an early age, in addition to his own musical curiosity. Aside from music, Ben's interests include cooking, hiking, being outdoors and practicing yoga.

 

Matthew Wirzbicki

Instructor: Piano, Guitar

Matthew Wirzbicki began learning classical piano at the age of five, taking private lessons in the Suzuki method. From the age of ten until seventeen he studied folk, rock and jazz guitar as well as jazz piano. While in college he returned to his study of classical piano, choosing to focus on works from the 20th century repertoire. Matthew has composed and performed works for piano, guitar and small chamber ensemble and has performed ensemble works by composers Stephen Scott, David Claman and others. Matthew was introduced to djembe and dunun music in 1998, and he has spent ten years learning the music of these West African percussion instruments. His primary teacher is Abdoul Doumbia and together they have published an instructional book on djembe and dunun music from Mali. Matthew is now living in Portland, Oregon. He holds a B.A. in Music from The Colorado College and a Post-Baccalaureate degree in Visual Communication from the Art Institute of Chicago.

 

Josh Carlsen  

Instructor: Guitar

Josh has been playing guitar since age 12 teaching himself to play rock and Acoustic music by ear. He earned his Associates Degree in Music Performance from the McNally/Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. His emphasis was on Jazz Theory and Jazz Chord Melody studying under Cliff Wittstruck, Kevin Daley, Bobby Stanton, and Jazz Guitarist Mike Elliot. Josh moved to Portland in 2000 and has been teaching privately in SE Portland for 4 years. Josh believes that it’s important help build a solid foundation for his students which includes understanding basic music theory, sight reading, learning how to play with other musicians, and continuously expanding their song repertoire. When he isn’t busy teaching, Josh enjoys keeping physically active with running and cycling, living a vegetarian life style, and traveling abroad on a regular basis.