Cornerstone is happy to offer lessons from several Instructors!
Find out more about our Instructors, Mrs. Cati, Mrs. Linda, Mr. Dre , Mrs. Barb, and Mrs. Colette below!
About Mrs. Cati
Catheryn (Mrs. Cati) Ferguson, M.A., has been teaching music in various settings for 18 years. She has made it her life goal to inspire and teach music students of all ages by equipping them with the essential skills to become disciplined, expressive, and creative musicians.
Mrs. Cati grew up here in Lebanon, IN where she was homeschooled and participated in 4-H, piano festivals, and church band/choir. She began teaching private lessons in high school for Family Music Studio. It was a hard decision to move away to Florida for school, but she is excited to be back in Lebanon with her husband, near family and teaching music lessons in her hometown again.
Her love of music started when she was about nine: it started with piano lessons, but then grew to a life filled with music! She has been part of multiple bands, orchestras, traveling choirs, and has studied several instruments to varying levels.
Mrs. Cati graduated from JUFL in 2015 with a Bachelors of Arts in Bible and Musical Arts, and then from UCF in 2017 with a Master of Arts in Music with a focus in Piano Pedagogy.
She has taught as a Lecturing Music Professor at Johnson University Florida, teaching Music Appreciation and Music Theory Lab (levels 1-4). Mrs. Cati has also taught at Seminole State College and University of Central Florida as an Adjunct Professor of Music teaching Music Appreciation and Class Piano (levels 1-4).
Mrs. Cati currently serves as President of the Board for the Boone County Community Orchestra and Directs a local fiddle group, Fiddlesticks.
About Mrs. Linda
Mrs. Linda grew up and graduated from Columbus North High School in southern Indiana. She began taking piano lessons at the age of nine and continued through graduation. She continued on to attend Western Kentucky University, pursuing a degree in Classical Piano. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Mrs. Linda returned home and decided to change career paths. She graduated with a Registered Nursing degree from IUPUI. She worked primarily as an ICU Nurse for several years and in 1978 moved to Boone County where she and her husband owned and operated a local restaurant while raising a family of four. As their family grew, Mrs. Linda renewed her interest in piano and received lessons from three advanced classical and pedagogy teachers at Meridian Music for a few years. In the early 2000’s she began offering lessons at students’ homes in the Carmel/Zionsville area. She had 22 students and held recitals at the Sugar Creek Art Center.
Mrs. Linda has played in church ministries, weddings, as well as accompanied individual artists. She has taught children as young as three years old, teenagers, and adults of all ages. Mrs. Linda is very excited to be part of the Cornerstone Music Studio teaching team. She often quotes to parents and students, “You won’t be playing sports at 90, but you can play the piano for the rest of your life!”
About Mr. Dre
Mr. Dre is Cornerstone Music Studio's first Student Teacher! Our Student Teacher program is dear to Mrs. Cati's heart as she started teaching as a student teacher at the age of 15, making a huge difference in her life! Cornerstone not only lays the foundation for musicians, but also for our future music educators.
Mr. Dre is 16 years old and has been playing the guitar for nearly two years, taking lessons at Cornerstone Music Studio. He recently started taking piano and music theory lessons at Cornerstone Music Studio in addition to his guitar lessons. Mr. Dre is fascinated with all styles of music, having a primary interest and experience in Folk, Rock, and Metal. There is no genre Mr. Dre shies away from as he enjoys all types of music!
Mr. Dre grew up in the neighboring town, Thorntown, where he has performed in the local Turning of the Leaves Festival. He performs monthly with a local fiddle and guitar ensemble, Fiddlesticks, at local nursing homes and events including Lebanon's Christmas on the Square.
Dre is excited to help others discover their love of music, and help them realize that music really isn't that scary.
About Mrs. Barb
Mrs. Barb grew up on a farm in South Dakota, but she has been a transplant Hoosier for over 16 years now! One of her earliest memories is singing “You Are My Sunshine” for family at age 3. She took piano lessons for about 10 years, and played percussion in elementary, Junior High, and High School band for 9 years. She was part of the Marching Band, Concert Band, Pep Band, and Percussion Ensemble.
Mrs. Barb has always enjoyed singing throughout Junior High and High School as an Alto, performing solos and duets at music competitions. She was selected to S.D. All-State Choir 3 years in H.S., as well as being part of her High School’s Select Group choir.
While attending college, Miss Barb sang in the Women’s Choir for 2-1/2 years as an Alto. She auditioned for the Concert Choir and was a part for 2 years. She took voice lessons while in college also from a former opera singer, challenging herself with singing in foreign languages. She has also sung in church choir for 6+ years, has led Vacation Bible School Music for 5+ years, and was a Preschool Music Teacher. Her teaching experience also branches out to substitute teaching at the elementary level.
Fun Fact: Mrs. Barb has sung in 11 weddings too!
She looks forward to helping students learn more about their singing voice, improve their skills, sing songs they love, and find joy in music! Singing is a lifelong musical gift that you can use to relieve stress, connect with others, explore new musical genres and languages, and bring joy to your audience.
About Mrs. Colette
Miss Colette grew up in Lafayette, Indiana, where she performed as a dancer both competitively and for fun. She taught dance classes through college, realizing that her favorite part of teaching was getting to share in the excitement of their achievements. The performing arts have always been a part of her life, and she hopes to take the stage as a musician going forward, just like you!
She has been playing piano for two years, taking lessons at Cornerstone Music Studio. Since moving to North Carolina a year ago, she has been taking virtual lessons to continue her learning journey from a distance.
Miss Colette is doing virtual lessons to meet you where you are. She aims to convince students, especially busy adults, that their dreams of learning music are far more achievable than they think! She prioritizes creating a positive, engaging, and supportive learning environment where students can develop their love for music as a creative outlet.