Faculty

Important Information
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REGISTER NOW FOR THE FALL 2025 CLASSES AND PRIVATE LESSONS!

Online education also available.

- To register for either Classes or Lessons, go to the Contact Us tab, fill out either the Student or Adult Musician form and click your section's Submit button.

- School year classes: Combo classes begin the week of October 6 (enrollment open into November). Theory and Jazz Instrumental Techniques classes begin the week of November 3.

- Private lessons can begin upon confirmation of instructor availability.

- Classes and private lessons are available year-round in all instruments.

- Vocal lessons are available in all styles.

- Scholarships awarded for students taking two or more classes or a combination of private lessons and classes.

Contact Us!

- All classes and lessons are held late afternoon and evening and meet once per week.

- Convenient location just off I-235, 8th Street
exit in West Des Moines.

SUSIE MIGET - Founder; Jazz Theory and Improvisation, Bass, Piano, Guitar, Trombone, and Voice

Susie Miget is a bassist, pianist, vocalist, guitarist, trombonist, composer, arranger and an expert in jazz theory and improvisation. Her education began early as both of her parents are jazz musicians, arrangers and music educators. She studied at Fontbonne College, Eddie Brauer Studios and Mel Bay Studios in St. Louis. She majored in trombone and voice at Murry State University, and bass and composition at Drake University.

Susie began performing at age six with her sisters, also musicians, in the St. Louis area for numerous television, radio and concert appearances. She has performed with many jazz greats over the years and also led many successful jazz groups of her own. She is highly respected as a musician, educator and composer and continues to perform regularly. Susie has received many awards as a musician, composer and educator over the years including the 2014 Jazz Educators of Iowa Hall of Fame Award, the CJC Jazz Hall of Fame induction - musician and educator in 2009 and several National Association of Jazz Educator performance awards.

Susie began her private studio teaching in 1974. She has taught as Director of Jazz Studies at Central College and jazz bass instructor at Simpson, Southwest Community and William Penn Colleges. She has taught as a clinician at many colleges, high schools, junior high schools and summer jazz camps and adjudicated many jazz competitions.

In 1995 Susie founded Creative Music Studio. Susie is proud of the history of great jazz and jazz education in Iowa, in both the professional world of jazz performance and the exceptional jazz programs in our junior high and high schools. She has enjoyed working with the many great jazz musicians and jazz band directors over the years to expand the knowledge of this great art form. Many of her students have been accepted into prestigious college jazz programs and become nationally known jazz artists.

Susie is dedicated to truly helping students to become individual artists. She believes in the combination of technique, theory, a good overview of jazz through listening, and most of all, the development of your own, individual, artistic expression. Susie also very much enjoys sharing and perpetuating the art of jazz through teaching our young musicians.

DAVE REZEK - Director; Trumpet, Jazz Theory and Improvisation, Jazz Techniques, Performance Combos

Trumpeter Dave Rezek, a Des Moines native, received his Bachelor of Music Education degree with a jazz specialization from the University of Northern Iowa and his Master of Music degree in Jazz Trumpet Performance from New England Conservatory in Boston.

Dave has worked as a professional musician throughout the Midwest, New England and New York City. When living and working in NYC, he played with many jazz greats in both innovative large and small jazz groups, including the Grammy-nominated big band "Darcy James Argue's Secret Society". He also played in pit orchestras for many Broadway shows, which included a highlight onstage performance at the 2006 Tony Awards show with the cast of Jersey Boys, which took home the award for Best Musical.

He leads his own original music septet, "Dave Rezek's Alpha State Agents", was the Artistic Director and bandleader of the Des Moines Big Band from 2016-2025, and he also performs as a member of several of Iowa's top jazz ensembles including the Iowa Jazz Composers Orchestra, the Paul Lichty Jazz Orchestra, and the Brian Martin Big Band. He has performed in shows at The Des Moines Playhouse and the Civic Center. His experiences have covered all styles from jazz to salsa, Broadway musicals, fusion, R&B, and classical. Dave has taught for many years and is a much sought-after musician, educator, clinician, festival adjudicator and arranger. As a private teacher, Dave has helped many students get accepted to the Iowa All-State Band, Orchestra and Jazz Band, as well as numerous top music colleges and universities. Additionally, he was the director of Roosevelt High School's Jazz Orchestra for several years, has been on faculty at the University of Northern Iowa's Summer Jazz Combo Camp since 2022, and he was inducted into the Community Jazz Center Hall of Fame in 2023.

Dave believes that the biggest rewards in music are freedom of expression, emotional connection, heightened creativity, self-confidence, inspiration and enlightenment. By focusing on trumpet flexibility, technical facility, active listening of recordings, and absorbing the improvisational and performance styles of the jazz & classical greats, students will experience the confidence, joy, success and kinship that will lead them to those rewards.

DAVE BOHL - Saxophone

Dave Bohl is an Iowa native and is a highly respected and sought after jazz saxophonist. A graduate of Drake University, Dave performs in groups all over the midwest including The Des Moines Big Band, Son Peruchos, the Matt Terronez Quartet and Orquesta Alto Maiz. Throughout his music career, he has also performed with nationally and internationally known artists including Aretha Franklin, Idina Menzel, Bernadette Peters, 10,000 Maniacs and many more. He also leads his own quartet playing original compositions and arrangements. Dave joined the faculty of Creative Music Studio in 2022.

During the day, you can hear Dave anchoring the news on iHeart Radio stations across the Midwest, including Des Moines' flagship news station, NewsRadio 1040 WHO.

Dave believes that music should be a fun, energizing, and cathartic pursuit in life, and that the better you play, the more it becomes all of those things. He focuses on building solid fundamental technique on the saxophone, including embouchure, sound production, extended techniques, and more. Students will also work on improvisation, classical playing for those entering solo and ensemble contests or auditioning for All State, sight reading, and section playing. Dave always wants to find out what a student’s goals are as a musician and help students work toward realizing those goals.

BRIDGET SHOEMAKER - Bass

Bridget Shoemaker is a lifetime Iowan and graduate from both the University of Northern Iowa and Drake University. She has a diverse musical background ranging from jazz groups, classical ensembles, musical theater, and opera. As a member of the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Band One she traveled and performed in various countries including Cuba, and Brazil and has had many opportunities to work with professional musicians such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Rufus Reid, and Carl Allen. Joining the CMS faculty in fall of 2024, Bridget is an active bassist in the Des Moines community and can be heard playing with the Thankful Band Jazz Trio, Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus, Des Moines Community Orchestra, and many other musical performances.

Bridget values developing students in the areas of their interests and goals through a foundation of strong technique and individual expression. Both in jazz and classical repertoires she believes students can excel in solo and ensemble playing with style and feel essential to bringing music to life.

PAUL LICHTY - Trombone

Paul Lichty has become one of Des Moines’ most prolific freelance musicians and composers since moving there in 2020. Now the bandleader of the Paul Lichty Jazz Orchestra (PLJO), music director/trombonist for BYOBrass, and trombonist for the 515 Brass Collective, Paul balances these duties with performing and arranging for a wide array of professional ensembles across Iowa while also working as a middle school band director at Winterset Junior High School. PLJO’s first album, “Dark Soul”, was released in 2021 and can be found on all streaming platforms, BandCamp, as well as Paul’s website.  BYOBrass' newest album, scheduled to be released in 2025, will feature several of his newest arrangements and compositions. In 2024, Paul was recipient of the CJC Des Moines Hall of Fame "Next Generation" award which recognizes an up-and-coming musician who has made an impact on the music scene in Des Moines.

Paul's private lesson instruction focuses on helping students obtain the fundamental, technical, theoretical, and aural skills and their application to improvisation, jazz repertoire, and transcription, with the ultimate goal being to nurture their development of their own voice as a creative musician.

More information can be found at his website: paullichtymusic.com.

JASON DANIELSON - Piano

A former student of Susie Miget at Creative Music Studio and Dr. Bob Washut at the University of Northern Iowa, Jason Danielson is a jazz pianist whose performance credits include Aretha Franklin, Bernadette Peters, Claudio Roditi, Dick Oatts, the Mingus Dynasty, Ryan Kisor, Paul McKee, Frank Perowsky, Corey Christianson, Jack Wilkins, Chris Merz, Terry Bradshaw, Rose Colella, Elaine Dame, the Jimmy Dorsey Big Band, the Des Moines Big Band, Orquesta Alto Maiz, Dave Rezek, Susie Miget, Wayne Page, Bryan Schumacker, Max Wellman, Gabriel Espinosa, Steve Charlson, John Kizilarmut, and two solo shows for Iowa Public Television. He has been in the orchestra pit for various national Broadway tours, including “Jersey Boys,” “West Side Story,” and “Wicked.”

Jason is pianist and arranger for local cabaret singers Fred Gazzo, Gina Gedler, and Napoleon Douglas. He has been a performer and clinician for jazz festivals and a long-time faculty member of the Simpson College Jazz Camp. His recordings include “All the Way,” “The Good Life, and “Christmas Dreams” with Fred Gazzo, which he also arranged and directed; “Let’s Play One” and “Landmark” with the Des Moines Big Band; “Skywalk” with Scott Davis; “Abraham” with Madison Ray and the Finesse; and three albums with UNI’s Jazz Band One. In 2021 he was inducted into the Des Moines Community Jazz Center Hall of Fame, and in 2023 he arranged and performed a concert series at Noce showcasing a chronology of his favorite musician, Herbie Hancock.

Jason is also a historian and educator in the Des Moines Public Schools. He has presented at state and national conferences on music of the civil rights movement and music as a primary source in the classroom. Jason believes in a holistic approach to music and life that honors the past and nurtures the future by recognizing that art occurs not in a vacuum but in an always evolving social context. He has a passion for using music as a vehicle for learning about our shared history and humanity and producing art that helps create a better world.