Staff Directory

Born with a passion for percussion and Latin music, Tony Ayala started his professional career at an early age, as the conguero for Rafy Castro y Su Orquesta in the 1980s, which evolved into the award-winning Salsa Syndicate. Thereafter he joined Claudio y la Orquesta, making his directorial debut with Salsa Power.

In the 1990s, Tony got involved in a new genre of music, Pop Rock, with award winners Sister Moon with whom he made a music video, recorded and toured. Also during this time, he had the privilege of working with local and international sensations-LaChazz Jazz Ensemble, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, The Love Monkeys, Punto de Vista, and Bahia.

He has shared the stage with internationally-known artists such as Eddie Santiago, Anthony Cruz, Papo Rivera, Edwin Cepeda, Edwin Sanchez, and Kid Rock’s drummer Stephanie Wildenburg. His repertoire includes recordings with Del Bennet, the Bystanders, Alaria Taylor, Barbara Stephan, Johnny Padilla, and Keith Polvermucker.

Recently, Tony’s love for music and eclectic experiences have given rise to his first original salsa band and WAMI award winner Nabori with whom he also produced music and recorded.

At this time, he is eagerly working on his newest project with a unique twist in salsa called D’CalleSon.

Neil Davis is an emerging talent.

He started playing jazz in Milwaukee in 2002. Also in that same year Neil began teaching private lessons to aspiring guitarists at all levels.

As time went on he reached a peak of 72 students per week. The grueling schedule led him to yearn for an environment where he could focus his methods on students who were interested in jazz.

Davis is honored and excited to be a part of the Jazz Studies Program at MYSO. Neil is sought after as a sideman and also leads his own quartet. He is also half of the Davis\Peplin Duo.

As well as playing jazz Neil uses his talent in the world of Modern Dance. He is has been an accompanist for the UWM dance dept. since 2005.

Programs

Jazz Studies

Jason Goldsmith is a fourth generation musician who started playing piano at age three. By age eight, he could play guitar, banjo, and mandolin. In fourth grade, Jason wanted to play trumpet in the school band, but his braces cut his lips when he played, so he switched to saxophone as a compromise. He didn’t take the instrument very seriously until, at the age of 15, he encountered a Charlie Parker recording. That record lit a spark and inspired him to practice with renewed interest. Since that time, he has pursued the art of improvisation.

Jason attended UW-Whitewater, where he received his bachelor’s degree in saxophone performance under the tutelage of Maynard Ferguson alum Steve Wiest, who is currently professor of jazz at North Texas University. He played in the UWW Jazz Symposium, which provided opportunities to play in European jazz festivals, as well as alongside some of our country’s finest jazz musicians, including Ernie Watts, Ed Shaughnessy, Vinnie Calioutta, Bob Mintzer, James Moody, Slide Hampton, Brad Lehli, Dave Pietro, Tim Reis, and Rick Margitza. He also served as a jazz clinician at UWW’s jazz camp for five years.

Jason moved to Milwaukee in 2003 and has performed with local bands including The Booze Brothers, Cold Sweat, Paradise String Band, The Paul Silbergleit Quintet, The Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra, Rockin’ Robins, The Pipe Circus, and The Acid Sextet. He’s also performed with The Temptations and The Dorsey Brothers Band.

Currently, Jason can be heard playing his sax locally with The North Coast Orchestra, with polka icon Steve Meisner, and of course, with the All-Star SUPERband. Watch for Jason’s new jazz quintet to make a splash on the local scene in the near future.

Programs

Jazz Studies

Jazz Studies Instructor Kyrstyna Jones is a student at UW-Milwaukee and a MYSO alumna. From 2014-2018, she was a part of the Jazz Studies program. During her time in MYSO, she developed a love for improvisation, and in her senior year of high school, she premiered her first composition, One Shot. The positive feedback from her fellow students and teachers was the pivotal point in her decision to pursue her career in composition. Currently, Kyrstyna is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music composition and technology, and has made significant progress towards her musical career since being in the program. In the Spring ‘24 semester, she had the opportunity to take part in a workshop for the Fisher/Lau Project, and premiered her piece Ambition. After graduating in 2026, Kyrstyna’s next goals are to release a jazz album, pursue film scoring, and have a wider diversity in composing for multiple genres.

Ms. Jones is very honored to be back at MYSO as a jazz program instructor to pass on the knowledge and wisdom she received from her previous mentors during her time there.

Programs

Jazz Studies

Bio coming soon.

Programs

Jazz Studies

Chris Mell has been part of MYSO since 2008, starting as a drum set technique instructor and in 2012, he became the Jazz Studies Director. Chris has been performing and teaching drums for more than three decades and has taught students ranging in age from 3 to 70 in a wide variety of percussion and drum set styles. He has taught bucket drumming and West African drumming classes for the Boys and Girls Clubs, and for many years taught drum line for Cudahy Middle/High School and Franklin High School. Chris most recently started working for the Milwaukee Public Schools as a traveling music teacher. He teaches private lessons and drum line for six MPS schools including Bradley Tech, Humboldt Park, MacDowell Montessori, Milwaukee School of Languages, Obama, and Washington High School.

Chris graduated from UW-Whitewater with a Bachelor’s degree in music with a jazz emphasis. Over his career he has studied and toured with John Becker, Steve Wiest, Ed Shaughnessy, Brad Leahi, Dave Pietro, Michael Spiro, Billy Cobham, the Maynard Ferguson Big Band, Joan Rivers among many more. Chris was also a founding member of the UW-Whitewater Jazz Symposium that did two tours of Europe playing the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival and several club dates in Germany, London, and Paris. The Jazz Symposium was so successful that it became part of the UW-W Jazz curriculum. Chris Mell currently lives in Milwaukee and is a freelance artist for various groups throughout the greater Milwaukee area and Wisconsin.

Programs

Jazz Studies

Johnny Padilla is a self-taught saxophonist from Miami, FL. Having honed his skills as a musician in the vibrant touring, recording, and performance scene in Florida, he relocated to Milwaukee in 2002.

Johnny has been a touring musician for Jimmy Buffett, Mongo Santamaria, and Angela Carrasco and has also performed with Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D’Rivera. He is an active musician in recording, musical theater, and live performance in the Greater Milwaukee area. Since moving to Milwaukee, he has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Tanner-Monagle Studios, and the Fireside Theater.

Johnny has toured in Austria, The Bahamas, Canada, Colombia, England, France, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and throughout the U.S.

Johnny has been a featured artist for: Fox River Chamber Fest (Appleton); Jazz in Cutler Park (Waukesha); Third Ward Jazz Festival (Milwaukee); Sharon Lynne Wilson Center’s Starry Nights (Brookfield); the Towers Concert (Naragansett, RI); Arts Concert (Vero Beach, FL); the Miami Latin Jazz Festival, Hispanic Heritage Festival, Beaux Arts Festival of Art, Dade County Youth Fair, and Dade County Book Fair (Miami, FL); Tropical Nights and Artwalk (Hollywood, FL); Riverwalk Sunday Brunch (Ft. Lauderdale, FL); the Art Council’s Concert (Key West, FL); and Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World (Orlando, FL).

He is currently the adjunct professor of saxophone at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Johnny is also currently leading his jazz quartet in support of his recording Bright Morning.

Programs

Jazz Studies

A MYSO alumnus, Isaiah Simons has been playing the double bass for the past 15 years. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Master of Music degree from Michigan State University, where he studied on a full graduate fellowship.

Isaiah performs throughout the Milwaukee area as a sideman with a wide variety of local musicians, and also holds a contract as a section bassist in the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. He has also toured throughout Canada for the past three summers with the Orchestre de la Francophonie, where he performed as principal bass.

In addition to his work as a musician, Isaiah enjoys cooking, and is an avid Milwaukee Bucks fan.

Programs

Jazz Studies

John Simons has been playing music professionally since his late teens. His formal training began on the trombone while in middle school and he picked up the guitar and bass shortly thereafter.

Since then, he has studied at UW-Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, and privately with musicians from the symphony and the jazz community. He continues to play out mostly on upright and electric bass, and is privileged to share the stage with many of Milwaukee’s finest musicians.

His current projects include playing with the North Coast Orchestra, the Stomata Trio, and the Carlos Adames trio.

John has taught in MYSO’s Jazz Studies program since 2011 and teaches math during the day at a local K-8 school on Milwaukee’s South Side.

Programs

Jazz Studies

Bio coming soon.

Programs

Jazz Studies