Susan Lewis has been teaching piano and voice lessons in the Roanoke Valley for over 30 years.
Over time as her reputation has grown, she has added more and more students (now over 90),
and eventually accumulated a long waiting list of students eager to begin lessons.
Last spring, Lewis decided to remedy the situation by adding Associate Teachers Abby Shelton
and Latriva Pierce– both her own music students– to the studio so that students could begin their
music education sooner.
With Pierce leaving for college in Ohio in late summer, Angela Janney (also a Susan Lewis
student) joined the team as another associate teacher this fall. Shelton teaches voice in the Salem
area. Janney teaches both piano and voice in the Vinton and Smith Mountain Lake (SML) areas.
Each December Lewis’s students present a Christmas performance for family and friends,
usually at Thrasher Memorial United Methodist Church. With so many students enrolled this
year, Lewis decided to divide the group into two performances on two different dates— one at
Thrasher on Dec. 17 and one at Halesford Baptist Church (near SML) on Dec. 3. Both
performances were packed with cheering, applauding audiences.
students presented a Christmas performance at Thrasher Memorial UMC on Dec. 17— the
second of two recitals this holiday season, including students of Lewis and her Associate
Teachers Angela Janney and Abby Shelton. (photos by Debbie Adams)
The Susan Lewis Music recitals and Christmas performances celebrate students of all ages (from
4 through college students and adults) and levels of progress. Each student was able to select
their own Christmas song to perform, which resulted in a great variety of genres and surprisingly
little repetition. Janney accompanied vocalists on the piano at the Halesford Baptist performance;
Lewis accompanied the singers at Thrasher.
and Susan Lewis presented a Christmas performance at Halesford Baptist on Dec. 3.
teacher Susan Lewis (center) has added two Associate Teachers to the Susan Lewis Music Studio
staff this year—Angela Janney (on left) and Abby Shelton.
Performers at the first concert on Dec. 3 included pianists Isaiah Houf (“Silent Night”), Trey
Satterwhite (“A Special Stocking”), Lily Pasley (“Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star”), Ryleigh
Lawhard (“Must Be Santa”), Madelyn Floyd (“Angels We Have Heard on High”), Quinn Kane
(“Away in a Manger”), Hank Regal (“Jolly Old St. Nicholas”), Cora Graham (“O Little Town of
Bethlehem”), Grayson Holland (“Fallen Piano”), Norah Tatum (“Mary Had a Little Lamb”),
Livia Regal (“O Christmas Tree”), Daniel Binns-Loveman (”Deck the Halls”), Noah Walker
(“Jingle Bells”), Haleigh Alls (“Jolly Old St. Nicholas”), Eli Booth (“Alpine Melody”), and
Moriah Floyd (“Ukrainian Bell Carol”).
Vocalists included Rosalind Regal (“Jingle Bells”), Elizabeth Crowder, (“We Wish You a Merry
Christmas”), Amaryllis Pagans (“Waymaker”), Dejagaye Burnell (“Blessed Assurance), Whitley
Wade (“How Far I’ll Go”), and Cheyenne Graham (“Hard Candy Christmas”).
Hank Regal, Dejagaye Burnell, and Cheyenne Grantham are Susan Lewis students. The others
are taught by Janney.
“Blessed Assurance.”
“Hard Candy Christmas.”
The grand finale was a piano duet performed by Janney and Lewis— “Christmas Melody”— and
a performance by Janney, singing “Heaven Everywhere,” accompanying herself on the piano.
(forefront) and Susan Lewis performed a piano duet, “Christmas Melody.” at both performances.
Students at the Dec. 17 Christmas Performance included (on the piano): Miles Cole-Rueff
(“Happy Holiday”), Vivian Cain (“Up On the Housetop”), Jonah Franklin (“I Love My Candy
Cane”), Ethan Dailey (“Over the River and Through the Woods”), Maddox Sanctuary (“Good
King Wenceslas”), Jackson Doss (“Away in a Manger”), Ashlyn Woodford (“Joy to the World”),
Faith Dooley (“Jingle Bells”), Hazel Cole-Rueff (“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”), Emory
Mullins (“Go Tell It on the Mountain”), William Dodge (“The First Noel), Addy McLennan
(“While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks”), Cecilia Tollin (“Waltz of the Flowers”), R.J.
McLennan (“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”), Anna Carter (“Silver Bells”), Deon Staunton
(“Cold December Night”), Kori Carter (“A Holly Jolly Christmas”), Jackson Morris (“O
Christmas Tree”), Nolan Ferguson (“Silent Night”), Josue Smales (“Clair de Lune”), Lilla Clark
(“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”), Abigail Harvey (“What Child Is This?), Lucy Sealey (“The
Night Before Christmas Song”), Lily Sealey (“The Little Drummer Boy”), Kayleigh Taylor
(“Sonata in C Major, HOB:XVI:I Allegro”), Ellawyn Pagan (“Carol of the Bells”), Cary Jones
(“The Christmas Waltz”), Henry Saben (“Bratja”), Chloe Hopkins (“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”), Deborah Dreyer (“Joy to the World”), Allie Watson (“A Mad Russian’s Christmas”), and Steve Miller (“I’m Glad I’m One of Them”).
“Carol of the Bells.”
Vocalists at Christmas Performance # 2 included: Elizabeth Flint (“Rudolph the Red-Nosed
Reindeer”), Jacob Delgado (“We Wish You a Merry Christmas”), Malia Bowman (“O Come All
Ye Faithful/Away in a Manger”), Keegan Thacker (“Angels We Have Heard on High”), Crosby
Cannon (“I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”), Jayda Baldwin (“Snowman”), Emily Hall
(“Do You Hear What I Hear?”), Joelle Card (“Once Upon a December”), Petra Dodge (“Noel”),
Aubri Kessler (“Where Are You Christmas?”), Ryleigh Woolwine (“Santa Baby”), Dr. Mark
Schueler (“Oh Lord You’re Beautiful”), Scott Dreyer (“In the Bleak Midwinter”), Kelly Ronan
(“Bones”), Lyla Pollard (“White Christmas”), and Paul Sealey (“Because It’s Christmas/For all
the Children”).
Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”
performs “Santa Baby.”
Students who prepared for the Christmas concert but were unable to perform on Dec. 17 included
pianist Maia Sanctuary (“Rudolph’s Little Brother”), Julian Delgado (“Jingle Bell Rock”), Ryan
Saunders (“Deck the Halls”), Enna Schofield (“All I Want for Christmas Is You”), Elizabeth
Becker (“Where’s the Line to See Jesus?”), Brent Saunders (“I See the Light”), and Sherry
Holland (“O Holy Night”).
Janney’s students for Christmas Performance #2 included Maia and Maddox Sanctuary, Ashlyn
Woodford, and Malia Bowman. Shelton’s students included Elizabeth Flint, Jacob and Julian
Delgado, and Crosby Cannon. The remaining students are taught by Susan Lewis.
Lewis and Janney again performed their piano duet, “Christmas Melody” at the second concert.
Janney also performed “Heaven Everywhere,” while Shelton sang “Mary Did You Know?” to
conclude Christmas Performance # 2.
Lewis thanked the students, the families who support their students, and her associate teachers
for their efforts.
“Angela Janney has been a tremendous blessing to the Susan Lewis Music Studio,” Lewis said.
“It has been a privilege to mentor her.”
Janney said that “the Lord laid it on my heart” to become a music instructor. People kept asking
her to teach until she finally decided to give it a try and “fell in love with teaching. God blesses
us with talents and expects us to share them with others.”
Lewis has often applauded the extraordinary talents of Shelton, who has extensive experience in
not just singing, but in musical theatre and films. Shelton has just established a new business,
“Whimsical Wishes Character Experiences” for special events, such as birthday parties. Visit her
website at https://www.gabrielleeshelton.com/ for more information.
Lewis and her associate teachers thanked Halesford Baptist and Thrasher Memorial UMC for the
use of their facilities, Halesford Pastor Keith Floyd for his assistance, and Bob Whitlow of
Halesford for his work as sound technician. They expressed their thanks to Greg Chewning, the
sound technician at Thrasher, and Tim Lewis for recording the performance.
For more information on the Susan Lewis Music Studio visit
https://www.facebook.com/susanlewismusicstudio.
Photos of all students who performed in both recitals can be found on the Vinton Messenger Facebook page.
