About Us

PIANIST & VOCALIST

Chase Ludeau, a native to Lafayette, LA has been playing the piano and singing for over twenty years. He holds music degrees from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in classical piano performance and pedagogy, with minor areas of study in vocal performance and dance. Chase also holds an official piano teacher certification through the Music Teacher’s National Association. With extensive knowledge in the field of piano pedagogy Chase is an extremely comprehensive piano instructor as well as a vocal instructor. His vocal teaching expands in a variety of areas including the celebrity world. Chase has been contracted through Warner Bros. Studio as a vocal coach for several large feature films. As an eclectic and diverse musician, Chase regularly accompanies himself vocally in a variety of styles as well as performs with classical chamber groups, choirs, jazz ensembles, and many soloists. With a huge passion for the stage Chase has musically directed several shows, some of those titles include: Singin’ in the Rain, Mary Poppins, The Taffetas, Beauty and the Beast, and Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat, and many more. Away from the stage, Chase also has many years of experience in religious and sacred music. Although he has had a wide range of exposure to many different denominations, Chase is currently the music director of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Metairie. At St. Augustine’s Church he directs, accompanies, and cantors for both the adult choir and children’s choir. Presently, Chase resides in New Orleans where he continues to expand and develop his career as a performing artist, music director, and instructor.

PIANIST

Oona Jenkins is a pianist and composer from Dallas, Texas. As a small child, her adoration of “Baby Mozart” and her father’s love of Rock-and-Roll left lasting impressions on her, and by 4 years old she was begging for a full-sized piano to replace her toy version. Beginning by ear, Oona later started formal lessons in the SMU Piano Preparatory Department under Kevin Gunter. His wonderful tutelage on technique enabled her to continue her studies with a ravenous appetite for pieces that were more and more challenging, her focus mainly on contemporary classical compositions. Oona went on to study under Dr. Catharine Lysinger at Southern Methodist University, where she earned a Bachelors of Music in Piano Performance, with an emphasis in Pedagogy. These studies helped her to refine her understanding of technique and the importance it holds on a pianist’s comfort and capabilities, and she applies these teachings to her students as well as herself. During her time at SMU, she also completed a private study of pedagogical composition with Dr. David Karp, a celebrated composer of modern pedagogy. With a decade of experience under her belt, Oona continues to push her students to achieve new goals and to play what inspires them to make music, while providing them with all the tools to make it happen.

GUITARIST

Christopher Burris Hochkeppel is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and educator. He is most known for his success as the frontman and producer for his project Burris, and has also contributed content to national outlets including SYFY, E!, Lifetime, and Discovery Network. While in Burris, Hochkeppel has toured nationally playing venues and festivals such as Bethlehem’s Musikfest and Rockwood Music Hall, NYC. His most recent album “Over You” charted top 150 on the 2020 NACC Radio Charts. In addition to his work in music media, Hochkeppel is a faculty member at Louisiana Academy of The Performing arts and an avid supporter of arts education. He received the Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Education Award in 2013 while studying music Education at Louisiana State University, and is a member of the Memphis chapter of the Recording Academy.

PIANIST & VOCALIST

Sofia Riggio is a New Orleans based conductor and lyric coloratura soprano born and raised in New York City. Over the last 6 years, Riggio has studied vocal technique intensively with acclaimed singers and coaches Andrea DelGiudice, Luretta Bybee, and Dr. Tyler Smith; as a conductor, with Dr. Carol Rausch and Dr. Meg Frazier. Experienced in teaching music and language to students of all ages, Riggio earned her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance as a soprano and in 2022 she is set to be one of the first students to complete their master’s degree in conducting from Loyola University New Orleans. Since moving to New Orleans, she has participated as a singer in various operas and scenes produced by the Loyola Opera Theatre, such as Massenet's Cendrillon and Weill's Street Scene. In 2019 she sang in the New Orleans Opera’s production of Bizet’s Carmen. At Loyola, Riggio has conducted many vocal ensembles both in rehearsal and concert, which earned her the award for Outstanding Choir Student in 2020. In spring of 2021 she conducted Mozart’s The Impresario and Purcell’s Dido and Aenaes for the Loyola Opera Theatre. Locally, she also co-conducts the Voices of New Orleans, a volunteer choir. Before COVID-19, she was the assistant conductor of the St. Louis Cathedral choir in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. In July 2021, Riggio conducted scenes from various operas and acted as the assistant conductor of Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Jake Landau’s Pietà for the Narnia Arts Festival in Narni, Italy. Her teaching style is based on the individual learning needs of each student and a holistic approach to music as a natural art form.

PIANIST

Max DoVale is a New Orleans based pianist, composer, and educator. Growing up in California, Max played in jazz groups around the Los Angeles area, playing in country clubs and restaurants, as well as writing and arranging music for local jazz ensembles. He moved to New Orleans in 2017 and received his Bachelor's of Music in Composition with a Concentration in Jazz Piano from Loyola University New Orleans. While in New Orleans, Max has played piano with a variety of jazz ensembles in various venues, such as the French Market, the Hilton, and the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. He currently serves as an accompanist for vocalists in Loyola's Jazz department and Musical Theatre department. Max enjoys writing music for orchestra, jazz ensembles, choirs, and other ensembles, as well as scoring films and other forms of media. Max has taught piano as well as jazz improvisation to students of various ages over the years.

VOCALIST

Melissa Marshall is a New Orleans native and versatile performer and scholar of international recognition known for her vocal range, who was living in Germany and was actively performing in Europe. She was seen singing the role of Carlotta Guidicelli in the Original Broadway Production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s, The Phantom of the Opera in Germany. Melissa received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance and Drama at Loyola University College of Music, and her Master’s of Music Degree and Post Graduate Degree in Voice from the Mannes Conservatory of Music in New York City. She was fortunate to perform with renown artists from the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center and Broadway legends at Carnegie Hall. Melissa also holds an Artist’s Diploma from the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. Melissa is well known to opera and musical theatre audiences in and around the New Orleans area. Being known as a supportive voice teacher, Melissa had continued to enjoy teaching her private voice students in Germany, where she also holds certification in German Language Studies. She has proven to be a knowledgeable, creative, and resourceful voice teacher with experience in developing students’ vocal abilities and a healthy technique in both Opera and Musical Theatre. Melissa and her daughter were thrilled return to the US. She is so honored to have joined the Voice and Theatre, Arts, and Dance faculty at Loyola University, Voice Faculty at Tulane University, and Music Theater director for the Academy of Sacred Heart Highschool, and The Chase Conservatory of Music.

PIANIST & VOCALIST

Jake Jenkins is a bass opera singer, classical pianist and composer from Houston, Texas. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance from SMU studying under Clif Forbis, and a Master's Degree in Vocal Performance at Loyola University while Studying with Luretta Bybee. Jake has been a competitive pianist for fifteen years, and studied at Rice University through their preparatory program. Jake regularly sings with the New Orleans Opera Chorus, at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church, and for special events. He has played several roles, such as Zarastro from Mozart's The Magic Flute, Balthazaar from Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Simone from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi.