INSTRUCTORS
We conveniently help you maximize your time + music skills both ONLINE
and IN-PERSON in the convenience of your home.
OUR HIGHLY SKILLED TEACHERS HELP YOU SUCCEED IN MUSIC REGARDLESS OF AGE OR SKILL LEVEL.
OUR LESSONS ARE TAILORED TO FIT YOUR UNIQUE DESIRES & INTERESTS IN ORDER TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS.
OUR FREE INTRODUCTORY CALL IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR UNIQUE GOALS & DREAMS.
POSSIBLE TOPICS TO STUDY & DEVELOP IN:
Some students want to learn songwriting while others want music training to be in a band.
Our personable music instructors customize lessons to make them both fun and enriching. They are highly competent in music and have a wide array of music performance experience. Our skilled instructors have at least a bachelor’s in music or are working towards earning a music degree.
MOLLY TENGWALL
Molly Tengwall is a vocal and guitar teacher with Briana Lyn Studios.
Molly is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Music Education and Vocal Performance at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. Molly’s vocal training lies in both classical and musical theater literature, enabling her to teach these genres and more to her students. She is also a singer/songwriter who emphasizes using guitar to express oneself and share music with others.
Molly utilizes a student-centered pedagogy to meet a student where they are in order to best serve their individual needs. She is passionate about connecting with her students and giving them the agency to be the kind of musician they want to be.
Molly has taken voice and guitar lessons for 8 years and piano lessons for 6 years. She has performed with the Augsburg University Choir, as well as the Rose Ensemble and the West Central Singers Community Choir. Molly is also passionate about music theater, having performed in 15+ productions since the age of 5, her most recent being with the Augsburg University Music-Theatre Club.
MOLLY SEHMAN
PIANO, VOCAL & GUITAR INSTRUCTOR
Molly Sehman is a music teacher specializing in vocal, piano & guitar with Briana Lyn Studios.
Molly is a graduate of the University of Northwestern, St. Paul, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Vocal Music Education. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Elementary Music Education from the University of St. Thomas. Molly works as an elementary music teacher during the school year, and during the summer she is a vocal director for community theatres around the Twin Cities. Molly has vocal directed Matilda, Something Rotten, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and the Addams Family. When you take lessons with Molly, you can expect a team member who works with you to help you accomplish your goals as a musician and performer.
Molly Enjoys working with musicians of all ages to help them learn about music in a variety of styles including Contemporary, Bel Canto, and Musical Theatre. She aims to help her students become independent musicians by providing the tools that they need so that they can create beautiful music. Molly loves stories, and she teaches her students to use music as a method of communication and storytelling.
When you take lessons with Molly, you can expect a team member who works with you to help you accomplish your goals as a musician and performer.
PAUL WINCHESTER
PIANO, VOCAL & GUITAR INSTRUCTOR
Paul Winchester is a piano, vocal & guitar teacher with Briana Lyn Studios.
Equally important, he is a composer, songwriter, performer, educator, and music director currently working in the Twin Cities. Paul holds a B.Mus. in Music Composition from The College of Wooster and an M.Mus. in Music Composition from Syracuse University, where he was a Heaton Fellow and recipient of the Brian Israel Prize in Composition. Paul has received commissions from The Society for New Music, Okemos High School, The University of Minnesota-Duluth Theater Department, and The Ohio Shakespeare Festival.
In addition, Paul attended the Interlochen Arts Camp in the summer of 2005 as a musical theater major. While there, he performed as an actor and pit band member in shows such as Peter Pan, Rags, Beauty and the Beast, Cabaret, Tick…Tick…Boom!, and The Music Man. Not to mention, Paul has performed as a singer in numerous choirs. Notably, Paul is a member of The Singers in St. Paul, MN. Not only has he recorded as a vocalist and instrumentalist for numerous rock, pop, jazz, and folk projects, but also just released his debut solo EP, Love Songs.
Additionally, Paul is also a professional game developer. He is currently freelancing after working for 3 years with Fantasy Flight Games in Roseville. While working there, he served on the development team and subsequently served as lead designer and producer for the product line of Star Wars: Imperial Assault, winner of the 2016 Board Game of the Year Origin Award.
Currently, Paul is the Music Director of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka.
PAUL CUSHMAN
PIANO, VOCAL & FLUTE INSTRUCTOR
Paul Cushman is a piano, vocal & flute teacher with Briana Lyn Studios.
Paul is an exuberant, welcoming educator and a working actor/musician in the Twin Cities area.
With a newly minted B.F.A. in Musical Theatre and a minor in Dance from Millikin University, as well as 15+ years of Music and Performance experience, Paul brings both a strong classical foundation and an expansive knowledge of applied performance technique to their instruction.
Paul’s Musical tutorage focuses on balancing technique and artistry in order to find freedom + ease within the voice, body, and mind of young musicians. It is crucial to foster wholistic musicians, artists who are able to both express themselves openly and execute their artistic vision with precision and skill.
Their specialities include: Classical Piano, Classical + Contemporary Vocal Stylings, Performance Technique, Developing Songwriting + Story, and Audition Technique/Coaching.
A few of Paul’s Performance Highlights include Anything Goes, Company, The Music Man, The Sound of Music, Shrek, Romeo + Juliet, and the National Eagle Cancer Telethon (Survivors Showcase). Catch their next engagement, HAMLET at the Guthrie in Spring 2023.
SAMANTHA ROSEMEIER
PIANO INSTRUCTOR
Samantha Rosemeier is a piano instructor with Briana Lyn Studios.
For as long as she can remember, Samantha has loved playing the piano and singing in choirs. Samantha received a Bachelor of Science in Music Therapy at Augsburg University.
She is a life-long learner of music studying piano, voice and guitar. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, attending musical events, expanding her music library, going swing dancing, biking, exploring new foods and traveling.
In addition, she loves being able to share her talent and love for music by inspiring the next generation through music instruction.
Zachary Swank
PIANO, VOICE, UKULELE, RECORDER & SONGWRITING INSTRUCTOR
Zachary Swank is a music teacher specializing in voice, piano, recorder, ukulele, trumpet and songwriting with Briana Lyn Studios.
Zaq graduated from Bemidji State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in general music with an emphasis on vocal performance and composition. While at BSU, he served as the tenor section leader of the Bemidji Choir, and student director of both the Chamber Singers and Musikanten-the TTBB choir. He also performed in the BSU music department’s opera productions of “Speed Dating Tonight! and “Pirates of Penzance.”
Zaq is the assistant director and a longtime singer in the chamber ensemble From Age to Age. He has placed in both singer/songwriter and choral composition competitions, and enjoys performing original music at open mic nights. Zaq has perfect pitch, and brings with it a well polished expertise and ability with ear training. He owes much of his musical ambitions and accomplishments from his immersion with The Beatles’ music as a child.
Zaq’s music teaching philosophy is a humanistic approach, focusing on empowerment, mutual respect and inspiring musical growth. Willing to work with different styles of music and vocals, his methods start from a place that is intersectional to high quality, efficient and sustainable singing whether it’s classical music or pop music of today. Zaq’s music lessons emphasize the development of good habits until they become prevalent. He makes it a point to find each student’s unique stage of development and guide them forward.
