MEET THE FACULTY!
Derrick Gardner
Introduction to Songwriting
GarageBand
Alia Albin
Teens & Tweens Pottery Wheel
Kathy King
Fun with Photos!
Michael Koz
Fun with Storytelling & Animation
Musician, educator, composer, and arranger are some of the hats Derrick has worn since childhood.
​
Derrick is currently the Music Program Director at Brevard Academy and Music Director for The Arts For Christ TAFC Band, which is the band behind all of Alvin Moore's hit stage plays. Derrick has also worked with American Idol contests such as Rueben Studdard (2003 Winner), Orna Jones (2005), Destini Winters (2012).
​
Since 2000, Derrick has played the IAJE Festival (International Association of Jazz Educators), Umbria Jazz Festival, City Stages Festival(Birmingham), Porretta Soul Festival (Italy), Africa in April Festival (Memphis), Paducah Summer Festival, and the IBFF of Nashville (International Black Film Festival).
​
Derrick is also a member of the Board of Directors of Transylvania Community Arts Council.
Kathy’s love for photography began many years ago in the days of film, and evolved as film gave way to digital sensors, and fully manual cameras were replaced by the sophisticated models that are available today. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is her joy of teaching kids and adults the basics of digital photography.
Kathy relocated to Brevard in 2013, after spending almost 20 years in Dallas, Texas, where she had practiced law. While in Dallas, she honed her skills as a wedding and event photographer. Since relocating to Brevard, Kathy’s photography focus has shifted to portraits and macro photography, and to teaching photography and post-processing classes. Locally, she has taught photography and photo editing classes at Blue Ridge Community College and Connestee Falls and English at Brevard College.
Kathy is also the Executive Director of Transylvania Community Arts Council.
​
Michael Koz has been a Multimedia Designer for 25 years and loves teaching people what he loves to do. His fun and exciting skills include graphics, motion graphics, animation, and character animation.
Michael has worked for the U.S. Navy to help educate pilots, and for WalMart and Sam’s Club on nationwide graphics.
While working for Exciting Events, his "outside of the box" creativity was encouraged. Some events included Jurassic Park, Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, and many more.
Recently, he has joined the faculty of Blue Ridge Community College as a Graphic Design instructor.
Anne Murray
Pangram Books
Kristen Pangle
Broadway Bound!
Kristen is the owner and director of Pisgah Dance Academy located in Pisgah Forest, North Carolina. Kristen has been dancing for 25 years, and teaches all styles of dance at her studio – Classical Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Cheer-Dance, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Musical Theater, Clogging, Ballroom, and Zumba.
For the past 16 years, Kristen has choreographed in all phases of dance, from her own productions to competitive teams. She is also a traveling judge for the dance industry. She feels truly blessed to be able to pass the love of dance and the quality of the art along to her students.
In her off time, she enjoys spending time with her two puppies and her building projects. Kristen is excited to be teaching dance at Transylvania County Arts Council for her 18th season.
Cindy Rehm
Art Exploration
Nature Art
Drawing & Painting
Designing Minds
Cindy Rehm resides in Brevard, after a rich and rewarding career in Arts Education and Arts Administration in Connecticut. Cindy served as Supervisor of Art Education K-12 in Simsbury and founded and directed the Simsbury Arts Academy, a thriving vibrant extended day and year arts education program which provides the school districts, and Connecticut area students with year-round opportunities to study music, visual art, and theatre.
​
Cindy has worked as an arts education consultant, locally, statewide and nationally, in arts educational curriculum and assessment development, including for The Getty Center for Education in the Arts.
Her awards and recognitions include the Connecticut Art Education Association: Distinguished Art Supervisor and Art Educator Awards, and Simsbury Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year Award.
​
She is a mixed media two-dimensional artist creating abstract, floral, landscape and figurative artwork.
​
​
Billy Smith
Drawing with Billy Smith
When “God-taught” artist Billy Smith paints, his brush connects the Divine to the canvas. Born and raised just north of Brevard in Pisgah Forest, Billy, the youngest of six siblings, spent a good amount of his younger days in the woods exploring colors, textures and shapes. Instead of an instructional art book - the flowers, trees, dirt, sky and everything in between inspired him.
Pushed through the typical “school system,” Billy always knew there was more. After multiple adversities, he came to the realization that he could be an artist, as it was innately planted in him.
What started with him sketching local musicians, turned into commissions to create murals around town and then grew into a full-blown art studio instructing Brevard’s youth.
In 2018, Billy learned that he had Type 1 Diabetes, and during his hospital stay after a ketoacidosis coma, he clarified that he is also a filmmaker. He has since produced multiple videos for clients across the board.
Billy is also the Fine Arts Director at Destiny Church as well as the Vice President of the Transylvania Community Arts Council.
​