Joanie Calem
Interactive Music & Storytelling
Joanie Calem has been a performing musician, music teacher, and storyteller since 1983. She graduated from the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, Israel, with a major in piano and went on to study music education at the Levinsky Teaching Seminar in Ramat Aviv, Israel. She studied composition with Israeli composer Hagar Kadima in Tel Aviv, Israel, and completed her degree, Music in Community Building, at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Having lived overseas for 23 years, Joanie is well versed in multi-cultural experiences and cross-cultural interchanges. Joanie moved to the Columbus, Ohio, area in 1998 and has been teaching music and performing all over the Midwest ever since.…
Sara Caplinger
Visual Arts: Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, & Printmaking
Sara Caplinger lives in Northeast Ohio and is a multidisciplinary artist that is continually seeking out new forms of expression through the visual arts. Sara’s background as a teaching artist is in the area of trauma. Sara has several years under her belt teaching grades K-12 through the trauma informed lens and working with at-risk youth. The trauma informed approach not only addresses the five areas of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) but transforms our understanding on what art can do in the classroom. This learning method is more process based than product base and creates a culture of agency, creativity, empowerment, decision making, and mindfulness.…
Malik Carrington
Visual Arts: Painting & Mixed Media
I’m a mixed media artist with a passion to showcase feelings of togetherness and family. My parents, born and raised in the US Virgin Islands, instilled this foundational core value into my siblings and me early in our development and it’s stayed with me ever since. Growing up in Columbus, Ohio has encouraged my love for the arts in many ways through working with the community for the past 8 years. I like to hear the feedback, different perceptions, and interpretations of what my art pieces mean to those viewing them.…
Padma Chebrolu
Indian Dance/Movement
Padma Chebrolu is an accomplished teaching and performing dance and visual artist and is the artistic director of the Cultural Centre of India (CCI) which she founded in Cincinnati. Her exemplary artistic abilities, leadership, and creativity have created tremendous impact on the arts education and public appreciation for the heritage arts in Ohio’s schools and community organizations.
Padma is the recipient of the Ohio Heritage Fellowship Award from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) in recognition of the dedication and significant contributions she had on the community through the advancement and preservation of traditional arts.…
Diana Chittester
Music, Singing/Songwriting, & Guitar
Diana Chittester has been building a reputation as one of the area’s most gifted guitar players, intimate songwriters, and forceful vocalists over the past decade, releasing a series of albums that display her growing confidence and ability to communicate feelings that are deeply personal yet universal.
Diana has shared the stage with Lyle Lovett, Gin Blossoms, The Accidentals, Joan Osborne, Peter Mulvey, Chris Trapper, Lisa Loeb, and Colin Hay; performing at PACs and venues across the Eastern US & Canada including Kent State PAC, Stocker Arts, Showplace Centre, Evening Muse, Music Box Supper Club, and The Ark.…
Keri Chryst
Music: Jazz, Improvisation, & French Culture
Ohio native, Keri Chryst (Olentangy High School, class of 1992), has been living and working as a professional vocalist, composer- arranger, and educator in Paris, France since 2003. She specializes in both vocal and instrumental jazz music (Bachelor of Music in jazz studies, 1997, and masters in jazz pedagogy, 1998, Northwestern University) and is also well versed in a variety of styles including Broadway, pop, soul, gospel, and classic choral literature.
For much of the year, Keri travels internationally to perform with big bands and jazz combos or with the jazz vocal trio “Sweet System“.…
Risa Cohen
Music & Dance/Movement
Risa Beth Cohen, M.S.Ed. is an educator, singer/songwriter, speaker, and storyteller. She works with people of all ages and abilities, leading music circles and storytelling workshops. As the Founder and Creative Director of Sing into Reading, Risa is passionate about teaching literacy through music and movement. Risa holds a B.F.A. in acting from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and an M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood/ Elementary Education from Bank Street College. In 2016, she was the Featured Teller at “Tellebration” in Toledo, Ohio. She is able to craft music and movement classes to align with any topic, ensuring that they are developmentally appropriate and fun.…
