Our Staff at Herndon at H.K. Lee

Ryan Hall is the Site Director at B2R Herndon. Although he relocated to Northern Virginia from the Midwest, he is no stranger to the East Coast. Ryan holds a BA in Music from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management from Columbia College Chicago. During his Windy City years, Ryan also worked in event production, helping to coordinate such major festivals as Lollapalooza, Taste of Chicago, and The North Coast Music Festival. Although Ryan’s current focus is arts administration, he has a unique musical background that includes bass and tuba performance, composition, and studio production. Ryan is thrilled to be a part of the B2R team. His passion for quality music education and organizational development make working with Bach to Rock a dream come true. His taste in music is as diverse as his background, ranging from The Arcade Fire to U2 one day, to the works of Gustav Holst and Igor Stravinsky, another.

Matt Bickert is a Music specialist at B2R Lansdowne and South Riding who teaches Drums/Percussion. He has over 16 years of experience with drum set and percussion. He got his start playing drums in a youth group band at his church at the age of eleven. Matt has taught private lesson for the past seven years from drum set, snare rudiments, high school marching drum lines, to piano. He is also the Drum set and Percussion teacher at the British School of Washington located in Georgetown. He received his Bachelors degree in Music from Radford University where he studied percussion under Al Wojtera. While he was in college he performed with several musical ensembles including jazz band, pep band, concert band, and percussion ensemble. Many of these groups toured the Southwest Virginia/North Carolina region. His musical influences are the Beatles, Buddy Rich, Bruce Springsteen, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Northern Mississippi All-stars, Zac Brown Band, and Earth, Wind, and Fire.

Tom Hatcher is a guitar and bass instructor, and band coach at B2R Herndon. He plays guitar, bass and drums. After listening to The Beatles and other great classic rock, which his father would always play on the stereo, he gained an appreciation for music. Then, his brother, who played guitar, showed him how to play. His cousin, Matt Cummings (B2R McLean), started playing guitar shortly after, and the two formed a musical duo. After years of playing, and graduating high school, Tom and Matt played professionally as part of a trio called Saucy Bills. They recorded at Sheffield Studios and even in Tom's own living room. Infusing styles of funk, RnB and blues into rock, the band had a very distinct sound. Today, Tom and Matt both work for Bach to Rock, and continue to work on projects. Tom inspires children to find their inner musical voice and gives them the keys to take their playing to the next level.

Erica Hirt is a music specialist and early childhood class instructor at the B2R in Herndon and Lansdowne locations. A native of Northern Virginia, Erica played saxophone and tuba in her middle and high school bands before settling on bassoon. She completed her Bachelor of Music with a concentration in Music Education from James Madison University. While at college she was a regular member of several of JMU's exquisite performing ensembles and multiple chamber ensembles. She is currently a free lance instructor and performer in the northern Virginia area. She performs with both the Fairfax Wind Symphony and as a substitute bassoonist for the Manassas Symphony Orchestra.

Terri Lee teaches early childhood classes at Herndon, VA. Originally from the Philadelphia area she has participated in a wide range of music ensembles during her high school and college careers including symphonic bands, choral ensembles and musical theater. Terri began her love of music in fourth grade when she began learning the clarinet, which later led to the desire to learn new instruments. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Berry College in Rome, GA; and recently her Masters of Arts in Teaching from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN. Terri was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi: The Education Honor Society while attending East Tennessee State University.

Yanisley López “Yani” started her music education in Cuba at the age of 8. She plays piano, clarinet and guitar, but her real passion singing. In Puerto Rico, she studied clarinet and was a member of the formal school band and Choir of the Libre de Musica Ernesto Ramos Antonini. In high school, she was awarded the Gold Medal at the International Music Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York. For the past 5 years, she has been the lead singer and song composer of her band, "Calidoscopio". She worked as the producer of their first album “Armonia Ligera”. Yani also has extended experience in the creation and development of rock bands, vocal groups and choirs. Some of her songs have being performed in musical festival competitions and even winning best music arrangement and best lyrics. Currently, she is teaching voice lessons, early childhood programs, clarinet, Glee Club and also coached rock bands.

Daniel Walsh is a music specialist at B2R Herndon. He is a recent college graduate from Indiana University with extensive experience at all levels of music education. His instructors chronologically list as follows: Kim Haywood, Philip Mikula, CJ Menge, David Walker, Anthony Cirone, Wilber England, and Chris Smith. As a large ensemble performer Danny has played at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis as a member of the feature drumline at BOA Grand Nationals with the Indiana University Marching Hundred and again with the Indianapolis Colts Drumline. On stage he has performed with the Indiana University Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera, Ballet, Concert Band and Percussion Ensemble. Small groups he has drummed for range from Punk-Rock to Steel Drum bands. His private students have competed well individually and attained college scholarships.

Jonathan Weiss teaches piano at Bach to Rock’s Herndon location. He is a recent graduate from William and Mary where he studied biology and, of course, music. Jonathan enjoys music from a variety of ages, cultures, and species (don’t count out bird songs). He has been having a blast helping his students discover their own love of the piano and looks forward to learning what his students will teach him about the value of music.