Sohum Experts
Anne-Marie Hildebrandt,
Creative Musicianship Coach
Anne-Marie Hildebrandt is an award-winning educator, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, composer, and arranger. She received her Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School in Piano Performance, a Master of Arts from Teachers College Columbia University in Music and Music Education, and is currently working towards a Ph.D. in Music Education from Penn State. She enjoys an active career teaching, performing , and writing music, having performed Irish traditional music over 25 times at Carnegie Hall with artists such as Marie Reilly and Bobby McFerrin.
Anne-Marie has combined her experience teaching ear training and theory at The Juilliard School in the Pre-College and College Divisions with decades playing popular and folk music and a knowledge of research and learning theories to develop an innovative approach to music learning. But above all, Anne-Marie enjoys helping students have fun while developing the skills needed to express themselves creatively.
Anne-Marie has released several full-length albums of original and Irish music, and has recently presented her research on aural music learning at national and local music education conferences. She has seven choral titles published by Hinshaw Music and continues to write songs and arrangements for choirs and instrumentalists. She currently teaches and lives with her husband, two teenaged sons, three cats, a dog, and three chickens, in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, where she also enjoys making jewelry and ceramics.
Laura Van Velsor, Yoga for Optimum Breathing and Movement
Laura is registered with Yoga Alliance at the highest level, E-RYT 500, and has been teaching yoga since 2013. In 2014 she started as an adjunct lecturer for the PSU Kinesiology Department to share her love of movement, meditation & anatomy with hundreds of students every year. Her initial training was in classic yoga and since 2015 has advanced her studies in the LYT Method®, a modern approach to yoga informed by physiology, kinesiology & neurology developed by a Physical Therapist. Laura believes everyone should have access to sustainable yoga and that when we move from our center, we feel better and live more aligned with our core values.
Laura uses her passion for movement to help alleviate the suffering of animals with her Happy Dog Yoga project, raising over $10,000 since 2015 for local animal rescues simply by teaching yoga and has recently become involved with the Prison Society to offer yoga to women in the CCCF. You can find Laura teaching public group classes at Yoga Lab Studio in State College.
Jacquelyn Hamilton, Life Coach & Musician
Instigator. Of all the nicknames given to Jackie Hamilton, this is her favorite one. Jackie finds great pleasure in stoking the flames in her clients and audiences. She enjoys using her personal stories and insights to inspire change. A native of Statesboro, Georgia, Jackie is a magnetic, engaging, and nurturing soul who loves to make connections as she shares her life experiences and the lessons she gleans from them. Her words and actions carry her key message: get grounded, get clear, get intentional, and live inspired.
Jackie’s daily mission is to live a life that is weighted in purpose, one that has impact in the lives of others. One of her favorite quotes is by Ram Dass, an American spiritual teacher, psychologist, and author. He says, “We’re all just walking each other home.” His words are the fuel to her work as a life coach, speaker, and writer.
Jackie is a certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) master life coach and practitioner. She is also a certified Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher. Complimenting this certification is her almost 25 years of experience as a music educator and professional singer. Her professional development and research in the field of coaching and mindfulness is ongoing in her effort to provide effective coaching and the most current tools and practices. This culmination of training and experience has prepared her to aid her clients and audiences on their road to living with new perspective. Jacquelyn enjoys helping people of all ages find their power by honoring and serving their connection to themselves, their purpose and passion, and their world.