About

Tamela Ponder, MT-BC, Program Director, & Co-founder, holds a Bachelor of Music Therapy, from Loyola University, and Associates of Arts in Music Education. She is a Board Certified Music Therapist and a member of the American Music Therapy Association. Ms. Tamela, completed training as an Infant Toddler Developmental Specialist at the University of Central Florida, and is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator. Ms. Tamela specializes in working with children with autism spectrum disorder and developmental delay.  Ms. Tamela has been the primary music teacher at several preschools, and has experience teaching piano, voice, and guitar. She has made it her life goal to teach families about the healing powers of music.

 

Randall Yates, Occupational Therapist,                 received a B.S. in O.T. in 1996 and an MBA in 2009. Randall has worked in a variety of settings including the NICU, Early Intervention/Early Steps, Inpatient Acute Pediatrics, Outpatient Patient Pediatrics, a Head Injury Unit in Hawaii, and Long-Term Care facilities in Florida and Oklahoma. Randall specializes in Pediatrics with a focus on children with ASD and Sensory Processing deficits and recognizes the powerful effect music has to bring joy and healing to children and their families.

Ms. Kim, Founder and Administrator, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator. She studied piano and voice. She enjoys singing in choral groups and teaching music to young children and has been the music instructor at a local preschool. Ms. Kim is passionate about music and believes strongly that it touches the heart of a child in a powerful way. Her own daughters attended Kindermusik. She was so impressed with the program and the way it touched the lives of her own children that she became a Kindermusik Educator and opened Joyful Music and Dance Studios.

Ms. Shelly is a gifted singer. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Performance, specifically, Musical Theater. She has worked in entertainment at Walt Disney World and she has conducted the children's choirs for Elementary age children as well as High School age children. Because of her deep love of music, she became a Kindermusik Educator in 2006. We are so pleased that she has joined the Joyful Music and Dance Studios team of committed educators.

 

Ms. Jen is an early childhood teacher. She is currently seeking her B.A.S. degree in Early Childhood Education. She has been a member of a variety of choral groups, and has sung in churches and ensembles since childhood. Because of her love for music and children, she decided to become a Kindermusik Educator. We are very happy that she has joined the team of committed educators at Joyful Music and Dance Studios.

Miss Wise studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. She has 37 years of experience teaching music. She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association and the National Guild of Piano Teachers. She enjoys teaching young children and has experience teaching piano to beginners as well as advanced students.
She will be teaching students at our studio on our newly acquired baby grand piano. We are so excited to have Miss Wise join us at Joyful Music and Dance Studios.

 

 

Joe Sandusky is a professional guitarist with a degree from the University of Central Florida. He has performed for Disney with "Tarzan Rocks" and "Kids of the Kingdom" stage shows. Joe also worked for Carnival Cruise Line’s "Destiny" and "Paradise". He has played in numerous bands and plays all around central Florida.

Mr. Sandusky is a premier instructor. He has taught private guitar lessons for over 15 years. He has been an adjunct teacher at Seminole Community College, where he started their jazz guitar curriculum.