Teaching Artists/Specialists

Lori Pagano is a member of the Union Avenue Opera.

Jan Parkes received a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a master’s degree from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She has been principal oboist with the Ballet Orchestra, the Bach Society Orchestra, the Fox Theatre Orchestra, the Opera Theater Orchestra, and the St. Louis Trio, as well as performing as a substitute oboist with the St. Louis Symphony and the Muny Opera Orchestra. She has taught music at the elementary and junior high school levels, and is very active as an oboe teacher and free–lance musician. Many of her students have earned prominent chairs in the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and Missouri and Illinois All–State Bands and Orchestras. She had the great honor and pleasure to hire the orchestras that accompanied the services when Pope John Paul II visited St. Louis in 1999.

Donna Patton has a bachelor’s degree in theatre from the University of Dallas and has acted professionally in New York, Chicago, and Louisville. In addition to her work with Springboard to Learning & Young Audiences of St. Louis, she also teaches theatre classes at COCA.

Charlie Pfeffer has sung and played the guitar and mandolin in a variety of traditional American musical styles for 33 years. Charlie has performed with Young Audiences of St. Louis since 1981. He also performs with the St. Louis based folk group The Flying Mules.

Nancy Powers received her bachelor of science from Webster University, and completed her MFA from University of Missouri–St. Louis in May 2006. Her poems have appeared in Mankato Poetry Review, Fugue, Melic Review, Poetry Southeast, PMS (PoemMemoirStory), and Small Spiral Notebook. Nancy has done many public poetry readings, and won the Wednesday Club prize in 2006. Other prizes include the 2004 Wednesday Club Poetry Award and the Arts in Transit award. Nancy is currently the Communications Manager at Moneta Group.