by CalArts Community Arts Partnership
Charles Burns, Lead Instructor
Charles Burns is a saxophonist, composer, and educator. He was born in Florida, raised in New Jersey, lived in England for two years, and now loves living in Southern California. As a saxophonist and a composer, he has been a regular feature on stages, in concert halls, at festivals, and in clubs throughout the world. As an educator, he loves to empower his students and to help them find confidence and courage within themselves. He has played his music with the Starlight Bowl Orchestra, to thousands of concertgoers, and is the founder of the Charles Burns Big Band, which performs and records his compositions. Currently active in the jazz, orchestral, and electronic music scenes, his latest work seeks to combine these genres together.
Maleke Clemmons, Lead Instructor
Maleke Clemmons is a freelance pianist, bassist, and vibraphonist who plays throughout the country. He graduated from Chicago High School for the Arts in 2014 and he is currently studying Jazz Piano at CalArts. In Chicago, Maleke has played with many working musicians and has played at well-respected venues such as the Jazz Showcase, Room 43, and The Pritzker Pavilion. He has also played with famous names such as Gerald Clayton, Bobby Watson, Bobby Broom, Marquis Hill, and Antonio Hart. Maleke has played at the Chicago Jazz Fest, Hyde Park Jazz Fest, South Shore Jazz Fest, and at the Jazz Education Network.
Abigail Johnson, Current Student Instructor
Abigail Johnson is a sound artist and composer with great curiosity. With a mixed background in folk and concert music, Abigail has explored her musical values and ever-growing genre influences through Fresh Inc Festival and Space City New Music Festival in 2018, as well as Composing in the Wilderness in 2019. She is looking forward to the Yarn/Wire Institute, Hear Now Festival, and the Château D'Orquevaux in 2020 and 2021. Abigail graduated from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory with her BM in Composition May 2019. She is currently studying for her MFA in composition and experimental sound practices at CalArts.
Andrew Bedows, Current Student Instructor
Andrew Bedows is a producer, pianist, composer, and arranger currently studying at CalArts. Born and raised in Chicago, Andrew has produced for and/or performed with artists such as Elton Aura, Omar Apollo, KAINA, Lila Drew, Ric Wilson, Burns Twins, Nafets, Andrea Turk, and many others. In addition to playing at venues and music festivals across the country, Andrew has amassed over 7 and a half million plays on Spotify under the name “Bedows” through his collaborations. A number of songs Andrew has produced or co-produced have been featured on HBO’s The Chi, Selah and the Spades, Insecure, and others.
Ian Stahl, Current Student Instructor
Ian Stahl is a professional musician, composer, teacher, and recording engineer based in Los Angeles, CA. As a performer-composer, he has had his original works performed at venues all over the world ranging from the REDCAT New Original Works Festival in LA, to the Movement Research Festival in Brooklyn, NY, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. He is an in-house recording engineer at Kingsize Soundlabs in Eagle Rock and has worked with Hayley Westenra and Sean Foreman (3OH!3) amongst many others. He also plays and sings in his rock band, Cilience, which combines alternative rock and electronic influences with poetic, socially-minded lyrics.