Bios
| BIOS Lisa Tan Lisa received her Master’s degree in piano performance from Arizona State University, after which she directed the Class Piano Program in the Herberger School of Music at ASU for eight years and taught piano, theory, and arts and sustainability courses there. She also has an undergraduate degree in Zoology and a Master’s degree in Botany from the same institution. Lisa was the Coordinator of the Adamant Music School in Adamant, Vermont, a piano school with an internationally renowned faculty and guest artists. She has performed all over the United States and in the Philippines. Before retiring to the Payson area, she also taught private students in piano and music theory. After retiring, she moved full-time to Whispering Pines in 2015, and taught music courses at Gila Community College, chemistry and physics at Payson High School, and music and choir at both Rim Country Middle School and Payson High School. She is the collaborative pianist for the Payson Choral Society, and the pianist/organist at the Community Presbyterian Church in Payson. Bette Acker Bette started playing flute in the 4th grade and studied privately until her sophomore year in college when she decided to study Chemistry. While in school she was first chair in both her high school and orchestra ensembles and competed in many competitions, achieving top honors. She studied privately as an adult at The Settlement Music School in Philadelphia and enjoyed playing in community bands and orchestras. She also was a private teacher to new flute students. Bette started playing the Native American Style Flutes in 1990 and has studied with Cornell Kinderknecht, Joseph Young, Mark Holland, Scott August and Mary Youngblood. When she was getting ready to retire, she was asked to play flute/tin whistle with a group of local musicians in an Irish band, Aine. She also studied jazz flute with Tony Vacca for a period of time. In 2017, she became a member of Sound Tapestry, a classical guitar/ flutes duo. She remains a member of this duo and plays at various locations in AZ. Ron Wolfgang Ron Wolfgang was born into a musical family. He studied piano with Anna Liva and Harvey Wedeen, the head of the piano faculty at Temple University; and flute with John Krell of the Curtis Institute and the Philadephia Orchestra. Ron has the distinction of having been awarded first chair of every orchestra and band he was in during high school. While at Temple, Ron joined the choir and performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadephia Orchestra. After completing a music education degree at Arizona State University, Ron taught band in the Mesa Public School system. His greatest joy was to create a safe, loving atmosphere in which to introduce music to young people. He also owned his own construction business and was a general contractor. Now retired, he moved to Whispering Pines, and is exploring creative endeavors including singing with the Payson Choral Society and the Presbyterian Church, painting with watercolors, and reading and writing poetry. |