Our Teachers

Paul Bakeman teaches Percussion Group at Mosley Music. He has been teaching K-5 general music in Hanover County, VA since 1994.  In 2001, Paul was selected as his school’s Teacher of the Year, and in 2002 he was the recipient of the R.E.B. Award for Teaching Excellence.  With the funds he received from this award, Paul traveled to Ghana, West Africa and Hawaii to study drumming.  He holds a B.M. in Music Education and an M.M. in Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University.  He has published a recorder method entitled Recorder Connections that is used by music teachers nationally, and has presented many workshops on music education.

Rudy Bzdyk teaches violin/fiddle, piano, accordion, drum set/percussion, mandolin, banjo, trumpet, trombone, baritone, horn, tuba, harmonica, recorder, composition/theory, and production. From a very early age, Rudy reacted to music. He began piano lessons at age four, and ever since has been learning and sharing it any way he can. Whether or not it was because he started on piano (it was) , he found himself able to learn other instruments with a degree of ease. A typical jazz or rock rhythm section (bass, drums, guitar) and the brass family (trumpet, trombone, baritone, tuba) entered his world at around age 12. He started playing loud, repetitive music with his friends, and by the end of high school was arranging three part harmonies and achieving commercial success in a folk band with some of the same friends, while maintaining a studio of piano students. He received a scholarship from Shepherd University to study tuba and music education, and upon graduation was hired by Loudoun County Public Schools as an elementary music teacher. While he enjoyed his time with LCPS, he has since transitioned to freelance and lives and works in Richmond, VA as a fiddler, and teaches people to play the piano, the string family (orchestral, electric, folk), the brass family, drums, accordion, harmonica, and others. For Rudy, teaching music is not entirely selfless, because it allows him to pursue a deeper understanding of its most fundamental elements. He is on a constant search for new steps along what he calls “the great staircase,” and often spends time wondering where this staircase really begins or ends. He feels overwhelming gratitude to have the opportunity each and every day to share and demystify this beautiful art form.

Benjamin DaCosta-Kaufman teaches voice lessons at Mosley Music. He is a tenor hailing from Richmond, Virginia, and is excited to be able to share his art with the community that bore him! He has given private instruction during his time at Northwestern in pursuit of a master's degree and is no stranger to the professional stage. He has appeared as a young artist at Sarasota Opera (2020), Central City Opera (2018-2019), Des Moines Metro Opera (2017), as well as Charlottesville Opera (2016). Past professional roles include Corydon in Acis and Galatea, and Second Priest in Die Zauberflöte, both at Central City Opera. He is a recent graduate from Northwestern University, where he performed as Satyavan in Gustav Holst’s Savitri, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Septimius in Handel’s Theodora, the eponymous Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, as well as Benedict in Berlioz’s Beatrice et Benedict. In his undergraduate studies at Shenandoah Conservatory, he performed such roles as Eisenstein in (Die Fledermaus), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), and the titular role in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring. Benjamin is currently in the studio of W. Stephen Smith.  

Tucker Flythe teaches guitar (acoustic, electric, bass), ukulele, and mandolin at Mosley Music. A professional Guitarist in the New York City area until this summer, Tucker has been involved in music since he was 11 years old when he started playing guitar. He has a Masters in Jazz Performance from Rutgers University and a Bachelors in Jazz Performance from Duquesne University. He has performed with Victor Lewis, Conrad Herwig, Ralph Bowen, The Drifters, The Skyliners, American Idol’s Adam Brock, and Peggy March. His private instructors have included Vic Juris, Sean Jones, Ralph Bowen, Joe Negri, Ken Karsh, and Mark Strickland. Some of Tucker’s most notable performances have been at The Bitter End, Somethin’ Jazz Club, Manchester Craftsman Guild, Trumpets Jazz Club, Jamboree in the Hills, Wheeling Jamboree, The Kennedy Center, Blues Alley, and Heinz Field. Also in 2007 at the Mid-Atlantic Guitar Festival Tucker received the first Annual Glen McCarthy Award. 

Eric Godsey teaches percussion, guitar, ukulele, electric bass, piano/keyboard, as well as sound production and music theory. He has been teaching private lessons for nearly 15 years! Eric teaches K-5 general music at Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts. He has 5 years of public teaching experience. He holds a B.M. in Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University and a B.S. in Music Production/Business from Old Dominion University. Eric uses his silly sense of humor and child-like nature to make learning fun! He can also be seen playing drums and singing background vocals in the quirky rock n' soul group The Wimps!

Emily is the owner of Mosley Music. In addition to running the studio, she teaches piano lessons and most of our classes. Emily began piano lessons at the age of 6. She studied with Grace Chase, Virginia Carroll and Dr. Martha Fickett. She studied voice with Kathy Ahearn at Mary Washington and James Taylor at VCU. Emily has over 18 years of experience teaching private piano lessons, in addition to teaching chorus and general music at every level from preschool to high school in both public and independent school settings. Emily has conducted and accompanied adult and senior adult choirs and welcomes students of all ages. Emily holds a BA in Music from Mary Washington College and a Master of Music with a focus in Music Education from VCU.

Mara Smith teaches guitar and ukulele at Mosley Music and will host Making Music through STEAM and Storytelling with Ms. Smith this summer. She is a passionate musician and dedicated educator in the Richmond, VA area. She has been a elementary music teacher in Hanover County, VA since 2014. She holds a B.A. in Music and French from the College of William and Mary, and B.M. of Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. From 2012-2018 she served as a elementary choral director with City Singers Youth Choirs in Richmond, Virginia. She is a creative artist, composer and multi-instrumentalist who collaborates in the Funk/R&B project PPL MAG The Band, which premiered at the Broadberry, Richmond in January 2020 and continues its emergence on the Richmond music scene.

Mary Catherine Stegall serves as the brass instructor at Mosley Music. She received a Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech. Mary Catherine studied horn under Wallace Easter and performs with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and previously as principal with the Virginia Tech Wind Ensemble, New River Valley Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Tech Brass Ensemble, and the Virginia Tech Horn Ensemble at both the International Horn Workshop and Southeast Horn Workshop. She has served as a brass coach with surrounding high schools as well as the section leader for the Marching Virginians for the 2017-2019 seasons. Mary Catherine teaches Elementary Music at Seven Pines and Sandston Elementary School in Henrico County. 

John McAlister teaches private percussion lessons and pep band at Mosley Music. He is currently the instrumental music teacher for The Steward School in Richmond, VA, where he began the instrumental music program in the Fall of 2002. He is a native of Fairfax, VA and a graduate of James Madison University, where he received a Bachelor of Music Education degree with an emphasis on percussion performance. He has also studied at VanderCook College of Music, Longwood University, Villanova University, the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Band Director Academy. His professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, the Virginia Music Educators Association, and the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors’ Association.

John has taught band and/or choir for West Point, Mathews, Spotsylvania, and Henrico Public Schools at the elementary, middle, & high school level over the last 30 years. He has also been a percussion, marching drill, and music clinician for Mid-Atlantic Band Camps; and has worked with marching bands from Henrico, Hanover, Chesterfield, Goochland, Roanoke, & Halifax Counties in Virginia and Pasquotank County in Elizabeth City, NC.

As a performer, John has played with the Henrico Theater Company, CYT Christian Youth Theater, the Richmond Pops Band, the Richmond Philharmonic, the Virginia Wind Symphony, the Commonwealth Winds Concert Band, the University of Richmond Wind Ensemble, the Kings of Swing, the house band at the Tides Inn of Irvington, VA, and worked full time as a musician and band leader for Kings Dominion. As a student, John performed with the JMU Marching Royal Dukes, the JMU Wind Symphony, Walt Disney Productions, and the All American College Marching Band for the Presidential Inaugural and the rededication of the Statue of Liberty. As a member of Shady Grove United Methodist Church in Mechanicsville, VA, John plays and sings with the Hyperlink Praise Band and directs the Trinity Children’s Choir and Orff Ensemble. John currently performs regularly with the Midnight Ukulele Society, the acoustic rock trio Pavlov’s Dog, and directs the John Marshall Alumni Concert Band.

The Steward School instrumental music program includes a middle school band, a high school concert and jazz band, and a basketball pep band. Besides his regular teaching responsibilities, John also arranges all tunes for the basketball pep band, sponsors a small group jazz combo called Varsity Jazz that performs at special events, plays percussion in lower school music department productions, directs and produces the annual Middle and Upper School Talent Night, and produces the SpartaFest Rocktoberfest event.