Abintra's Artists in Residence

Abintra is proud to announce our 3 new artists in residence that have joined our community this year.  

Kari Buishas is with EC students every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon doing music.  She recently moved to Nashville from Illinois to be closer to her children and grandchildren.  In Illinois, she had a thriving Musikgarten business.  Prior to her Musikgarten business she taught piano for over 15 years in a private setting. Kari started teaching Musikgarten in January of 2007 at different facilities.  Kari started the music program at one of these schools.  She received the Musikgarten Achievement Award, which means she has been certified in every curriculum that they offer.  She has also been given the Exemplary Award for the past 4 years which means she has taught over 4 curriculum at the same time. Kari has invested extensively into teaching materials and instruments.

Duncan May is with LE students every Thursday and Friday teaching music.  He was born in Nashville, and after fifteen years of living in other states, returned to the Nashville area in 1993. Duncan received his Music Theory degree from Middle Tennessee State University in 2000 and has been not only teaching lessons on guitar, bass, drums and piano since then, but has also been a touring performing artist. He has written, recorded and produced seven full-length albums as well as scored an award-winning soundtrack to an independent film.  In 2009, he became involved with a non-profit organization called Star Education where he worked in community centers and public schools to offer young students the experience of learning and performing songs as a group on electric instruments. This after school program was introduced to Abintra by Duncan a few years ago and has enriched and inspired many students and families within the Abintra community.  To take the music education and inspiration one step further, Duncan began the Artistic Music Program at Abintra. AMP offers a creative learning environment where students explore and learn the basic elements and fundamentals of music through group exercises, activities and music exploration, so they may experience music in a way they never have before.  He is using his years of experience, passion for music and love of children, to teach and inspire tomorrow’s creative and critical thinkers. 

Sarah Trammel is with EC students every Thursday afternoon creating art.  In 2010, she moved to Nashville from Chicago where she worked for 5 years as an Interior designer after receiving her bachelor degree from Purdue University.   She also taught after school art at "By the Hand" in Chicago.  Painting with oil and acrylics and making wall hangings are the types of art Sarah enjoys the most.   She is currently a freelance Interior Designer.  Check out her work at Regiven.