Loveland Music Educators
Melissa Dennedy
5th and 6th grade general music,
6th grade beginning band and strings
Melissa Dennedy has always had a passion for music. A Cleveland native, Melissa was a member of the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony (1993-1995). She graduated from the College- Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati with a Bachelors of Music in Music Education with a concentration in clarinet (2000) and a Masters of Music in Music Education from Boston University (2010).
Melissa has been recognized both at the national and regional levels throughout her career for her musicianship and leadership in the community. She has served as one of the Band Directors and Music Teachers at Loveland City Schools for the past 21 years in the areas of marching band, concert bands, beginning, middle school, and high school instrumental and general music education at the primary and secondary grades.
Melissa has served on staff with numerous marching bands over the years, including training student leaders for 5 years for the University of Cincinnati Bearcat Bands. Melissa continues to be an active volunteer in Girl Scouts of America with her three children and is an active leadership, music education, and instrumental clinician throughout the State of Ohio.
Rachel Bierkan
Loveland Intermediate, Loveland Middle School and Loveland High School
Rachel Bierkan has been teaching in Loveland City Schools since 1999 when she was hired to start an orchestra program with 5th grade beginning string players. Those first students graduated from Loveland High School in 2007. Since then, Mrs. Bierkan has taught hundreds of 5-12 grade string players across the district. She has led young Loveland musicians as they collaborated with amateur musicians like the New Horizons Orchestra, professional musicians such as Jeremy Kittel, Break of Reality and members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and as they traveled to perform in Chicago at Northwestern University, Vandercook School of Music and the Field Museum and New York City at the Third Street Music Settlement, New York University and St. John the Divine Cathedral.
Mrs. Bierkan currently teaches 6th grade strings and 6th grade general music at Loveland Intermediate School, 7th grade orchestra and 8th grade orchestra at Loveland Middle School as well as String Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra at Loveland High School.
Geoffrey Miller
Loveland High School
Director of Bands:
Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Lab Band, Percussion Ensemble, Marching Band, Indoor Drumline
Geoffrey H. Miller serves as the Director of Bands at Loveland High School, where he conducts the Wind Symphony, the Symphonic Band, the Concert Band, the Marching Band, the Jazz Orchestra, and the Jazz Lab Band. As the band director at LHS, Mr. Miller has commissioned works from Dave Martin and Alex Shapiro, worked with John Mackey, Travis Cross, Ben Chamberlin, Gerrard Morris, and Gary Speck. Under the direction of Mr. Miller, the band has received straight division 1 ratings at the OMEA Concert and Sight Reading contest consistently competes at the state level with the marching band.
Geoffrey received his Masters in Music from Northwestern University where he studied with Mallory Thompson in the field of Wind Conducting. He received two Bachelors in Music from the College- Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati in Music Education and Clarinet Performance. Prior to his graduate study, Miller taught for six years in the Texas Public School System. In addition to his appointment at Loveland High School, Geoffrey also serves as the Pep Band Director at Xavier University.
Geoffrey Miller is a member of the Ohio Music Educator’s Association, the Conn- Selmer VIP Program, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
August Lamson
Loveland High School Show Choir
Middle School Show Choir Director
August Lamson is a choir director for Loveland Middle School and Loveland High School.
Christopher Huening
6th, 7th & 8th Grade Band, Loveland Middle School Stage Band, 5th Grade Music, 6th Grade Choir
Christopher Huening has been teaching music in Loveland City Schools since 2005. He is a graduate of Northern Kentucky University where he received bachelors degrees in Music Education and Music Performance, and a Masters degree in Music Education from Miami University. Currently he teaches 5th grade music, one section of 6th grade choir, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade bands, and is the director of the Loveland Middle School Stage Band.
As a performer, Christopher has maintained an active playing resume that includes performances with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, the Butler Philharmonic Orchestra, the Southwest Ohio Philharmonic, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, and the Frank Simon Band.
He lives in Loveland with his wife Rebecca, their children, and Bella, their Irish Doodle.
Drew Hadley
Loveland High School, Indoor Percussion, Fall Marching Band Percussion
Drew Hadley is the Percussion Director for the Loveland High School marching programs, including fall Marching Band and spring Indoor Percussion. Drew graduated from Lehigh University, where he received the Shields and Elkus music awards for outstanding freshman and senior musician, respectively. He marched drum and bugle corps in the “G-bugle and Mylar drum head” era and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps. Drew recently retired from P&G following a 30+ year engineering career. He has worked with Loveland since 2010, and assisted Geoffrey Miller in creating and growing the Indoor Percussion program beginning in 2015.
Loveland has been recognized for the quality of our percussion program, with numerous “Best Percussion” and consistent Superior ratings at OMEA-adjudicated Marching Band events. The Indoor Percussion group was promoted to Scholastic A competition in 2019, and most recently finished 2nd in Mideast Performance Association competition, receiving 1st in music execution. Equally importantly, the percussion students are creating a culture focused on having fun, working hard, accountability, hunger to learn, and pride in their results together.
Karen Knueven
Loveland Early Childhood Center
Kindergarten Music
Karen Knueven teaches the kindergarteners Music at LECC. At Loveland City Schools, we are so fortunate to provide our students with formal music instruction at the Kindergarten level. Music is offered to both full day and half day kindergarten students.
She graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Music Education and has training in Orff-Schulwerk (developed by Carl Orff and Keetman).She began playing piano and singing in a church choir very young and then went on to playing French Horn. Along with teaching music, Karen still continues playing the horn in several ensembles, both large and small throughout the greater Cincinnati area.
In music at LECC, Karen introduces many students to their very first musical experiences. Music at the kindergarten level helps to improve their motor skills, further language development, and builds self-confidence; it allows them time to learn another way to express themselves. During music students explore through play, movement, speech, and creation. Students play a variety of percussion instruments (such as drums, maracas, rhythm sticks, and woodblocks to name a few). The students also explore pitched instruments through xylophones. It is my hope to create life long learners of music
Shawn Miller
Loveland High School, Revolution, By Request, Allure, Resonance, LHS Drama Presents, Vocal Ensemble, and Chorale
Mr. Miller is a graduate of Northern Kentucky University and holds a Master’s Degree from Nova Southeastern. He is in his twenty-sixth year of teaching in the Loveland City School District.
He founded the middle school show choir “Revolution” in 1996 and has grown the program to three competitive groups with the Award Winning “By Request” and “Allure”. In Addition to Show Choir he is also the conductor of two successful concert groups and an A capella ensemble “Resonance” at Loveland High School. He is also the director of the Loveland High School theater program. In 2017 he was awarded the Award of Excellence at Showchoir Nationals in Nashville and this year received the Outstanding music educator award from Northrop High School. He lives in Loveland,OH with his wonderful wife Stacey and is the proud father of two amazing kids Gavin (2021 LHS graduate) and Paige
Jill Stagge
Loveland Middle School, 6th, 7th & 8th Grade Choir, 5th Grade Music, 6th Grade Band, Music Advisor for the District
Jill Stagg has taught music in the Loveland City School District since 2005. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Music Education from Miami University with a concentration on Choral/General Music. Currently, she teaches all of the curricular choirs in grades 6, 7, and 8, half of the 5th grade general music classes, and a little 6th grade band. Her previous teaching assignments in Loveland have included high school choirs, music theory, and music appreciation. Additionally, she serves as the K-12 Music Advisor for the district.
Mrs. Stagg is passionate about all Loveland students experiencing the benefits of music education. Whether or not a child grows up to be a professional musician or to work in an entirely different field, learning music will help that child to become a well-rounded human being.
Ashley Hogan
Loveland Schools Director of Color Guard and Winter Guard
Ashley Hogan is the director the Color Guard and Winter Guard program for Loveland Schools. Color guard is a performing activity. In the fall these programs are the visual interpretation of the music, enhancing the general effect of the marching band. In the winter they compete indoor without the band to a selected song that fits our theme of the season. Guard uses dance, performance, and manipulation of equipment to evoke the show theme to the audience.
Michele Henn
Loveland Elementary School
Michele Henn is the music teacher for 3rd and 4th grade at Loveland Elementary School. Ms. Henn holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the Bowling Green State University and a Master’s Degree from Boston University. She is a certified Orff specialist. Ms. Henn has presented multiple times at professional conferences.
Ms. Henn created the extra-curricular ensemble, Mallet Madness at the Elementary School. Mallet Madness is an Orff ensemble offering students a chance to grow and develop their musicianship through performance, composition and improvisation. With Ms. Henn, students in Mallet Madness have performed throughout Loveland and Cincinnati and across the country.
