Community Learning Programs
The Waynesburg University Fine Arts Academy consists of community-based, non-credit courses and is open to anyone wanting to study comprehensive collegiate music and/or visual art taught by our current Waynesburg University professors.
About Our Instructors
Emily Wiedner
Emily Wiedner is the Director of the Fine Arts Academy and instructor of art at Waynesburg University. Holding a Master's Degree in Studio Arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Ms. Wiedner is a versatile artist who works in graphite, watercolor, clay and other media. She teaches studio art classes and art history. When Ms. Wiedner is not teaching at Waynesburg University, she is teaching pre-school students.
Through her love of teaching art to students of all ages, Ms. Wiedner has implemented a variety of studio classes within the Fine Arts Academy, including the Summer Art Camps.
Eric Brewer
Eric Brewer is the Director of the Music Program at Waynesburg University. Here, he conducts the Symphonic Band and Brass Ensemble as well as teach individual brass lessons. Prior to Waynesburg University, Mr. Brewer was on faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Kent State University in Ohio. For over a decade he served as the Principal Trumpet of the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater where he performed with artists such as Marnie Nixon, Joy Hermalyn, Faith Esham and Michael Ballam.
As a trumpet soloist, Mr. Brewer has been featured with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, New Music Ensemble at the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University and with the Utah Festival Opera Orchestra. He has recorded music for San Jose Chamber Orchestra and the Imperial Brass. Mr. Brewer has performed with numerous professional ensembles around the country including the Dallas Wind Symphony, Wichita Falls Symphony, Plano Symphony and Springfield Orchestra.
A graduate of the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory and the Yale School of Music, Mr. Brewer was a trumpet student of James Darling of the Cleveland Orchestra and Allan Dean of the New York Brass Quintet. He has studied conducting with Dwight Oltman, John DeMain and is currently working on his Doctorate of Musical Arts at West Virginia University with Dr. Scott Tobias.
Melanie Catana
Melanie Catana is an assistant professor of Vocal Music, the director of Choral Music and in her 14th year teaching at Waynesburg University. Previous to her appointment at the University, Ms. Catana performed professionally as an operatic soprano soloist for more than 10 years in theaters including: the New York City Opera, Sarasota Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Ms. Catana has performed the roles of Micaela in "Carmen," Musetta in "La Boheme," Lucia in "Lucia di Lammermoor," Anne Trulove from the "Rake’s Progress," to name a few. She holds her bachelor's and master’s degrees in music, K-12 certification in teaching and a minor in jazz voice from Carnegie Mellon University.
Camilo Jauregui
Residing in Pittsburgh, Percussionist Camilo Jauregui plays an important role in various musical groups and ensembles throughout the Pennsylvania area. He serves as the Kiltie Band Percussion Instructor at Carnegie Mellon University, Percussion Teacher at Waynesburg University, Music lecture teacher at Pittsburgh University and Percussion Instructor at South Fayette High School.
Mr. Jauregui's diverse background as a percussionist, composer and conductor takes him worldwide, allowing him to share and acquire knowledge of world music, with a particular focus on the impact of music education in postwar zones. He is the co-founder and co-director of Camerata 33, establishing the first and only Latin-American Chamber Orchestra in the Pittsburgh area. His artistic residencies include notable collaborations with the National Ballet of Cuba and many professional orchestras in Colombia. With prior teaching experience at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul, The Music Project in Sri Lanka, “Tocar y Luchar” in Bogota, Colombia, Mr. Jauregui has enriched his pedagogical experiences.
Mr. Jauregui holds a master’s degree in music from Corpas University and Masters in Musicology from Universidad de la Rioja in Spain, complemented by bachelor’s degrees in Percussion Performance and Conducting. His creative output includes numerous compositions for percussion, string and wind ensembles, as well as solo pieces. Notably, his series of small pieces, "Music in a Social Distance for not conventional instruments” and "Retazos for Solo Instruments," and the Afghan fantasy for vibraphone and small orchestra have been frequently performed in various countries.
Dr. Sora Lee
Dr. Sora Lee is teaching and accompanying at Waynesburg University. Dr. Lee, originally from South Korea, currently lives in Morgantown, WV. She earned the Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance from the University of California Irvine and holds the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Collaborative Piano from WVU. She was the recipient of The Valerie Canady Charitable Foundation Scholarships, the Toni and Red Cowsert Music Scholarship and the Kathy Sprouse Music Scholarships. She also was the recipient of the WVU Foundation Distinguished Doctoral Award in 2016.
Dr. Lee is an active collaborative pianist working with many singers and instrumentalists. She was selected as an accompanist for the WVU Bavarian Summer Voice and Piano Collaborative Workshop and performed in the Rubinsteinsaal at the Steinway-Haus in Munich. She has been also awarded a grant from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
Dr. Lee can be heard on the new international recording Return to Old Ireland: Music of Mary McAuliffe from Delos. She also co-produced the documentary “Munz: A Pianist’s Story”, which was released in 2021 and premiered on West Virginia Public Broadcasting in July 2022. The documentary was produced based on her awarded dissertation “The life and legacy of Mieczuslaw Munz.
Jeremy Olisar
Jeremy Olisar is in his 19th year at Waynesburg University (WU) as a Part-Time Professor of Woodwinds in the music department, teaching woodwind lessons, assisting as the woodwind tech of the Symphonic Band, and directing the Woodwind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Kiltie Band (or bagpipe and drum band). He is also in his 5th year at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) where he is an Artist Lecturer in Music Education in the school of music and Director of the Kiltie Band, the university's premier marching and concert ensemble for non-music majors.
Mr. Olisar is a graduate of CMU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in clarinet performance and minors in music education and conducting. While attending, he studied clarinet from Michael Rusinek, past principal clarinetist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; composition from Nancy Galbraith, an American Composer who has played a leading role in defining the sound of contemporary classical music for four decades; conducting from Denis Colwell, past Music Director of both the River City Brass Band and CMU Wind Ensemble; and bagpipes from Alasdair Gillies, one of the most successful competitive solo players of all time. After earning his Pennsylvania Certification in Music Education, K-12 through CMU's certification program, Mr. Olisar taught full time in the public school system for six years before going on to earn a Master of Arts in band conducting from the American Band College in Ashland, Oregon.
Through his multitude of teaching experiences, Mr. Olisar has had the opportunity to work with students from kindergarten to college in a wide variety of music contexts, including concert band, jazz band, marching band, pep band, general music, life skills, chorus, chamber ensembles, and individual lessons. In 2021, he received the Lucas-Hathaway Award for Excellence in Teaching by Part-Time Faculty from WU. As a performer, he has played clarinet, saxophone, and bagpipes as a soloist and in a variety of chamber ensembles, bands, and orchestras.
Mr. Olisar serves and continues his own development in the field of music education as site host of the annual Pittsburgh High Notes Festival, attendee and exhibitor at the annual Midwest Clinic: International Band, Orchestra and Music Conference and Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Annual In-Service Conference, and most recently one of the organizers and teachers of the Bridging Cultures Through Music Initiative in Bogotá, Colombia. He is also a member of the American School Band Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, and Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society.
Summer Camps
Group Classes
Private Lessons
CUSTOMIZABLE SCHEDULE WITH A ONE-ON-ONE APPROACH TO LEARNING
For All Ages
Private Lessons are scheduled on an ongoing basis. Students now have the option to sign up for 1-10 lessons at a time. Registration for private lessons is ALWAYS open. Please carefully read the description of the lesson you are interested in. Each type of lesson has a different window of availability and requirements. After you register, your instructor will contact you to schedule your lessons. Please read the terms and conditions below.
Summer Lessons will begin in May. Some instructor availability will change during the summer months. Please read each class description carefully.
Free Programs
Join University programs free of charge! These groups meet according to the University semester schedule.
Gift Certificates
Give the gift of education and creativity with a Fine Arts Academy Gift Certificate! Help someone special to take lessons and classes in music or visual arts. Gift Certificates through the FAA can be used to pay for any private lessons or group classes offered throughout the year. All Gift Certificates are good for 12 months after purchase.
Obtaining your Gift Certificate:
After registration and payment have been verified by the Waynesburg University Fine Arts Academy, the FAA Director, Emily Wiedner, will send your gift certificate and instructions on how to use it to your email.
- Registration & payment must be completed before a student may attend.
- Private lesson schedules to be arranged between the students and instructors.
- Special requests should be made in writing to the Fine Arts Department Chair.
- For more information email the Fine Arts Academy Director, Emily Wiedner.
Waynesburg University Fine Arts Academy Cancellation Policy
Private Lessons
Prior to setting a finalized schedule for lessons, students are required to notify instructors of any lesson dates they will not be available.
Students must notify instructors at least 48 hours prior to a lesson if they cannot attend. If instructors receive at least a 48-hour notice, the lesson will be rescheduled. Late cancellation or a missed session will be charged and refunds will not be given. Rescheduling of a missed lesson is at the instructor's discretion. Emergencies or sudden illnesses are an exception.
Students are required to call their instructor and notify them if they are going to be late to their scheduled lesson. Time missed will not be refunded or rescheduled. It is at the instructor’s discretion to reschedule the time missed.
Instructors will also follow these procedures in the event that they need to cancel. If the instructor cancels a lesson, it will be rescheduled.
If you wish to withdraw from your Fine Arts Academy class, you must do so before the third week of classes in order to get a refund. You will not be refunded for classes that took place prior to your withdrawal. Funds paid toward supplies will not be refunded. If you wish to withdraw from your Fine Arts Academy class, you must contact the Fine Arts Academy Director, Emily Wiedner.
Group Classes
Dates for group classes are posted clearly under the class description. Students who register for these classes understand that they are expected to attend all listed dates. If a session is missed, it will not be refunded or rescheduled.
If you wish to withdraw from your Fine Arts Academy class, you must do so three weeks prior to the class start date to get a refund. If a class is canceled after you have registered, you will receive notification of cancellation and a full refund. You will also have the option to put those funds towards a different Fine Arts Academy class.
If an instructor must cancel a class session you will receive a notification via email. The missed session will be made up on one of the make-up dates listed under the class description. If you wish to withdraw from your Fine Arts Academy class, you must contact the Fine Arts Academy Director, Emily Wiedner.