Faculty and Staff

Community School of the Arts selects professional faculty with credentials and/or degrees in their fields of instruction. We require our instructors to be active participants in their disciplines in the community and to be dedicated to the school’s mission.

Staff

Cecilia Stair, Executive Director

Cecilia Stair is board-certified music therapist, instrumentalist, music instructor, songwriter, and community arts leader based in Knoxville, Tennessee. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a concentration in cello performance at the University of Tennessee and a Bachelor’s Equivalency Degree and Master of Music Degree in Music Therapy at the University of Kentucky. Following a clinical internship with UK Healthcare, she became board-certified as a music therapist and also became NICU and Orff Level 1 certified. Cecilia’s clinical work has supported students in special education settings, individuals living with Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and other chronic health conditions, as well as individuals and families impacted by substance use disorders in both clinical and community settings. She has partnered with non-profits, community organizers, healthcare providers, and educators to develop projects that explore connections between music, wellness, and community health.

As a performer, Cecilia has performed with a wide range of artists including the Lonetones, RB Morris, Senora May, Warren Byrom, Lucette, William Tyler, Jon Whitlock, Peter Gregson, and Trampled by Turtles. She is particularly passionate about collaborating with innovative Appalachian musicians. She was a contributing artist for Tyler Childers’ Grammy-nominated album, Long Violent History. Additionally, she writes, records, and produces original music.

For over 15 years, Cecilia served as a private music instructor, including positions at Community School of the Arts in Knoxville, Tennessee and Central Music Academy in Lexington, Kentucky. She produced and hosted the “Pass the Mic: Creating a Stage for Change” podcast for the Tennessee Theatre and recently served as project supervisor for composer Lisa Bielawa’s Knoxville Broadcast, a Big Ears production that brought together 14 ensembles and approximately 500 musicians of all ages for a large-scale, site-specific performance at World’s Fair Park. She was named “40 under 40” by Knox News in 2024. At the heart of Cecilia’s work is a commitment to expanding access, opportunity, and equity in the arts.

Jenn Ritter, Administrative Director

Jenn Ritter most recently worked as a project assistant for ImagePoint, Inc. During her six years with ImagePoint, she provided administrative support to teams that managed the accounts of DaimlerChrysler and Nissan North America. She also was a member of the planning committee for the company’s annual United Way fundraising campaign. Before moving to Tennessee in 2003, Jenn was administrative assistant to the Community Services Director for the City of Delano in Delano, California, for eight years. While living in Delano, she also served on the Board of Directors for Harvest Holidays, Inc. and the Filipino Community of Delano, helping to organize and promote community-wide celebrations and events.

Jennifer Willard, Founding Executive Director (Retired)

Jennifer Willard, a native of Alaska, was appointed the first executive director of the Community School of the Arts in July 1992. A graduate in music history and voice from the University of Tennessee and a doctoral candidate in music history at the University of Chicago, she began her career in arts management in 1979 with the Music of the Baroque concert series in Chicago. Since then, she has held management positions with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Fort Worth (Texas) Opera and Birmingham (Alabama) Opera Theatre, where she was the company’s first executive director. Prior to returning to Knoxville, Willard served as fine arts coordinator for the University of Alabama system, where she oversaw all fine arts and humanities projects for the campuses at Tuscaloosa, Huntsville and Birmingham. She is a member of Leadership Knoxville (Class of 1998), earned the YWCA Tribute to Women Award in the category of fine arts in 2001, received the Long Haul Award from the Tennessee Alliance for Progress in 2010, was inducted into the University of Tennessee Educators Hall of Honor in 2013 and is a Cornerstone Foundation Scholar at the University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business.

Faculty

Nathan Barrett has been playing drums and percussion for more than 25 years, performing with various musical and theatrical groups in East Tennessee and Austin, Texas. Since 1996, he has served as accompanist, performer, choreographer and music director for Circle Modern Dance, where he is currently a member of the Core Company and Circle's Artistic Committee. Nate also is a member and student instructor with Capoeira Fundo da Mata. As half of the acclaimed electronic pop/rock duo Hudson K, he has performed at Bonnaroo, Rhythm & Blooms and many other festivals.

Nathan Barrett

Percussion

Greg Horne has been performing and teaching music for more than 25 years. He performs as a multi-instrumentalist with regional and touring artists and has written and produced albums of his own songs. Greg, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the College of Wooster, teaches songwriting at the Crown Guitar Workshop & Festival in Montana and was a senior faculty member of the National Guitar Workshop, a well-known summer program with campuses across the country. He has written over a dozen educational books published internationally by Alfred Music, including methods for acoustic guitar, mandolin, ukulele and songwriting.

Greg Horne

Guitar, Piano, Traditional Instruments

Ashton Ludden earned her Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from the University of Tennessee in 2013 and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in engraving arts and printmaking from Emporia State University in 2009. Her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally, as well as at conferences, including the 2012 Animals, Ethics & Law Symposium and the 2013 International Veterinary Social Work Summit with keynote speaker Dr. Temple Grandin. She was an artist-in-residence at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, Poland, in 2012. Ashton was awarded the 2013 Frogman's Graduate Scholarship Fellowship and the 2013 Emporia State University Liberal Arts & Sciences Outstanding Recent Graduate Award. Currently, she is the 2D coordinator for pentaculum at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, an active artist member of the Vacuum Shop Studios collaborative and the head sign artist for Trader Joe's in Knoxville.

Ashton Ludden

Visual Arts, Printmaking

Ben Maney studied with renowned jazz great Donald Brown at the University of Tennessee and is a pianist, keyboardist, singer, songwriter and composer living in Knoxville. Having worked for more than 20 years as a pianist and keyboardist with a myriad of bands, Ben has had the good fortune of opening for such famed musicians as Johnny Winter, Béla Fleck, Delbert McClinton, John Scofield and Acoustic Alchemy to name a few. As a full-time member of the Mitch Rutman Group, he appeared at the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival in Puerto Plata and at Bonnaroo. His original compositions are licensed by ROBA Production Music in Hamburg, Germany. Ben and his music also were featured in the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's Symphony in the Park concert at Ijams Nature Center in 2016.

Ben Maney

Piano, Jazz, Composition

Mary Pulgar holds a master's degree in violin performance from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Duquesne University, where she graduated magna cum laude. She currently plays first violin with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and is professor of strings at Carson-Newman University. Prior to moving to Tennessee, she played with several professional orchestras, including Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra and Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. Mary has appeared as soloist with Orquesta Sinfónica del Delta Amacuro in Venezuela, where she also provided a number of master classes. She spends her summers performing at music festivals and has been a member of the Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra since 2006.

Mary Pulgar

Violin

Board of Directors 2026-2027

Anthony Wilson, President

Sherri Bevis, Vice-President

Chase Womble, Treasurer

Tasha Mahurin, Secretary

Laurie Craig

Dallas DeArmond

Anne Jackson

Ann Reego

Nathan Rowell, Member Emeritus

Diana Samples, Member Emeritus