Rachel Baer
PMA Head Strings Director/Cello Instructor
From a very young age, Rachel Baer was instilled with a love for music. She began taking piano lessons at the age of 5 and would continue for 12 years straight- later adding cello, guitar, singing, and songwriting.
Rachel first discovered her love for teaching by assisting her own music teachers as well as volunteering at summer music camps.
Classically trained, she graduated from Master Musicians School of Music and has been certified in the Mark O’Conner Method of teaching. She is a member of the South Carolina Music Educators Association and helps prepare students for Region & Allstate Orchestra.
She has played in multiple orchestras, weddings, church events, and studio recordings, and has participated in many recitals and scholarship competitions, receiving a Superior performance four years in a row.
Rachel is passionate about helping encourage each of her students to not only learn and appreciate all types of music, but to reach their goals of becoming the musicians they hope to be.
Caleb Baer
Violin/Viola Instructor / Strings Director
Caleb Baer started playing music at age five and settled on the violin at seven. He continued classical violin training into high school, as well as picking up other instruments along the way such as the mandolin and guitar. He enjoyed participating in orchestra, bands, and chamber music in high school, which led to his decision to pursue music full time in college.
Caleb has a degree in music from Morningstar University and a Certification in the O’Connor Violin Method from Gardner-Webb University.
Caleb currently teaches music students at Piedmont Music Academy, Cramerton Christian Academy, The Fine Arts Academy of Belmont, and Acorn Acres String Camps, as well as teaching privately in the Charlotte, NC area.
He is dedicated to helping students find the same enjoyment for music that he has!
Sarah Andrico
Suzuki Violin Instructor
Sarah Andrico has had a love for the violin and music since she was just a child, though she did not begin taking lessons until she was a young teenager. Beginning later than most Suzuki students, learning was quite challenging at times, but so often her challenges are what have made her grow and progress the most.
Sarah has had the privilege of teaching young children and teenagers in various settings and environments over the past several years. During this time her love of teaching grew more and more and it propelled her towards the path of teaching violin. Sarah has discovered how many different ways children learn and how important it is for them to be taught in a way that works best for their unique learning style. Sarah truly believes that “Every Child Can!” and her goal is to impart this truth to each student developing their skills and confidence along the way.
Sarah has studied under Elizabeth Ratchev since she originally began taking lessons. In 2019 she assisted Elizabeth Ratchev as an Intern, observing and assisting in classes. She has completed the Suzuki Every Child Can! training course, Suzuki Units One, Two and Three under Mrs. Linda Steig and Mrs. Amanda Schubert, as well as the Suzuki Principles in Action course under Ms. Beth Titterington. Sarah has had the privilege to play at a number of events over the past few years.
She currently teaches at several studios in the Charlotte and Rock Hill area.
Sarahʼs other interests include teaching swing and ballroom dance classes with her husband to both young children and adults, reading a good book, exercising, baking and taking care of her sweet Bernedoodle, Daisy Anne.
Hannah Bledsoe
Violin Instructor
She plays weekly in multiple church worship bands and performs at weddings, parties, and concerts, as well as the occasional street performance, in a duo with her brother, a cellist. She regularly performs with the Gardner Webb University orchestra and as a guest musician with the Western Piedmont Symphony and the Rutherford County Symphony.
Melinda Boyle
Violin Instructor
Melinda is a musician, mom to musicians and a teacher of musicians of all ages! Though she has played violin since age 10, she started singing and playing the piano well before then. As a nurturing teacher, her goal is to give her students a solid foundation of holistic musicality and then expose them to a world of music genres, including western classical and American bluegrass, as well as sounds from across the Atlantic. She shapes each lesson to fit her students’ learning styles and will either find music to play or create it for them. As a perennial learner, she is currently taking lessons on the Erhu, the Chinese 2 string violin.
She teaches locally, in Columbia, and also online, where she has students from all over the world.
She holds Master’s degrees in worship studies and ethnomusicology, specializing in world fiddle styles. You will find her performing all over South Carolina in church orchestras, weddings or special events, and worship bands.
When she is not practicing, performing or teaching, she likes to be around water—paddling a kayak across a lake, swimming in a pool, or flying across the ocean to another land to hear their music.
Lauren Hinkelman
Suzuki Violin Instructor
A native of Charlotte, NC, Lauren started playing the violin when she was 7 years old and continued playing and taking lessons throughout high school. After being homeschooled for the entirety of her primary and secondary school years, she attended Grove City College in Pennsylvania to pursue a music degree with concentrations in violin and voice. She graduated with her Bachelor of Music degree in May of 2021 and since then has been teaching violin and viola in the Charlotte area.
Lauren was trained using the Suzuki Method and uses that same method in her own teaching. In 2019 she completed the Unit 1 Teacher Training for the Suzuki Method at the Virginia Suzuki Institute with Libby Armour. She loves spreading a love of music to her students and is excited to begin teaching at Piedmont Music Academy this fall!