The Prelude Team!

Meet Our Teachers

Our teachers come from all sorts of backgrounds, but they're united by a common passion: Sharing the joy of music with children and families in Houston, The Heights, and The Woodlands!

All teachers have successfully completed the live Music Together® Teacher Training, which is built on research in early childhood and music development. We keep our skills fresh through workshops every semester and advanced trainings offered by Music Together Worldwide.

 

 

Ana Treviño-Godfrey, Director & Co-founder; Director of Education for the Prelude Music Foundation

A classically trained professional vocalist, Prelude Director Ana Treviño-Godfrey completed her doctorate in music at Rice University in 2009. She has taught students of all ages — at Michigan's Interlochen Arts Camp, The Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice University, and the Rice Preparatory Summer Vocal Camp. Ana is a certified Music Together® teacher and in 2006, her love for music and children inspired her to create Prelude Music Classes. Ana is a Teacher Trainer and workshop leader for Music Together worldwide.

 

Jonathan Godfrey, Co-founder & Instructor; Executive Director of the Prelude Music Foundation

Professional violinist Jonathan Godfrey has been teaching students of all ages for more than two decades. He is the concertmaster and co-founder of Mercury Chamber Orchestra. He has served as the assistant concertmaster of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and violin faculty at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan and the Rocky Mountain Summer Conservatory in Colorado. Jonathan has also taught alongside some of the nation's most renowned violin educators, including Julia Bushkova at the Interlochen Arts Academy and Kathleen Winkler at Rice University, where he completed his Master of Music Degree.

 

 

Atalia Castro, Instructor; Music Specialist for the Prelude Music Foundation 

Atalia Castro is a passionate educator, dancer, and community leader, originally from Mexico and now based in Houston, Texas. Having moved to the U.S. at the age of eight, Atalia discovered her love for dance early on and pursued her passion at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where she honed her skills in theater and dance. Atalia continued her journey at Stephen F. Austin State University, where she majored in Child Development and minored in Dance. After college, she continued to teach and perform dance while impacting her community, working in the early childhood non-profit sector.  In addition to her professional endeavors, Atalia has a rich musical background, influenced by her mother, who taught her to play guitar. Growing up singing in church, music has always been a significant part of her life. Most recently, Atalia directed the children's ministry for the Spanish-speaking congregation at Second Baptist Church, where she led the children's worship team. Atalia's diverse experiences reflect her dedication to both the arts and education, making her a vibrant force in her community.

 

 

Dionte West, Instructor; Music Specialist for the Prelude Music Foundation 

Dionte West is a musician, educator, and mentor whose passion for authentic self-expression through music began when he first picked up a guitar as a teenager in Atlanta, Georgia. Drawing on a strong foundation in English and Creative Writing from the University of Notre Dame, he has spent his career empowering youth—particularly children in foster care—by using music as a powerful tool for emotional expression, social development, and confidence-building. Through his work as a teacher, mentor, and program developer, Dionte creates opportunities for individuals to connect with their true selves. Now, he’s eager to bring his passion for authenticity and creative expression to Prelude, inspiring others to align with their core values through the transformative power of music.

 

 

Francyne Davis Jacobs, Instructor

Francyne Davis Jacobs, MAJMus, MAJEd, has been teaching music since 1994. She has taught all ages, from preschool through adult, and has directed both youth and adult choirs. Francyne discovered Prelude Music Classes when her daughter was five months old and continued classes with her son. Her children still love music and the memories they made in class together. Francyne hopes to make these kinds of special memories for all the families in her classes.

 

 

 

Isani Cayetano, Instructor

Isani Cayetano was born in the seaside town of Dangriga, the “culture capital” of Belize, to a family of teachers and specifically to a mom and dad passionate about cultural retrieval and preservation. That meant hearing and playing, singing and dancing traditional Garifuna music practically since his first steps. When he was 9 years old, his grandmother, the matriarch of the family, handed him a guitar, declared he was to learn to play, and his passion for music only grew. These days, having practiced the art of capoeira for the last 14 years, he plays a variety of Brazilian percussive instruments with the berimbau being his favorite, and has performed on many stages here in Houston including at Jones Hall and The Toyota Center for the Latin Grammys.  He is so passionate about music in fact, that upon becoming a father for the first time he named his son “Uremu” which in Garifuna means “music.” 

 

 

Jacinta Massey, Instructor

Jacinta was born in Argentina and has been living in the USA for the last 9 years. Music & dance have been Jactina's world ever since she was very young, and she started taking singing & dancing lessons when she was only 5 years old, and learned how to play the piano at age 6 under the tutelage of her grandmother, a professional concert pianist. She carried this love for music making throughout her formative years, singing in choir, doing musical theatre, and even spent her high school years teaching jazz dance lessons to 3-9 year olds. Jacinta holds AMI Montessori Teacher Diplomas on both Assistants to Infancy and Primary levels. Her greatest passion is to work with children and their parents bringing music, support, and knowledge during the early childhood years. Jacinta also enjoys being outdoors, surfing, practicing yoga, painting, learning about human development, and enjoying adventures with her family.

 

Patti Stoddart, Instructor

A lifelong music-lover and a longtime Music Together® parent, some of Patti's earliest memories are of singing and changing nursery rhymes with her mother. Growing up, Patti joined every choir she could find, and just kept singing whenever and wherever she could. After graduating from Austin College with a B.a. in German, she headed off to Germany as a Fulbright Scholar. She could often be found listening to a variety of live music at venues throughout Germany and Austria. When her older daughter was 16 months old, she brought her to a Music Together® class at Prelude. It was love at first listen and they never looked back. Music Together® continues to bring great joy to Patti, her husband, and two daughters. She is grateful to be part of the Prelude community and is delighted to share the joy of music making with other families.

 

 

Ruth Alejandra Garcia Rodriguez, Instructor

Ms. Ruth Garcia was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She played in the Chamber Orchestra at the National Autonomous University of Honduras and also volunteered as a conductor and violin teacher at the FARECOH music foundation. In 2018, she moved to Natchitoches, Louisiana, where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Violin Performance from Northwestern State University of Louisiana. She recently earned a Master's degree in Viola Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Houston, where she also worked as a Teaching Assistant in Music Theory and Aural Skills. Ms. Ruth has taken part in international orchestra festivals and ensembles in plaes like Nicaragua, Chile, Panama, and the U.S. 

Ms. Ruth loves sharing music with her students and helping them grow with confidence. One of her favorite parts of teaching is guiding their families as they explore and enjoy the world of music together.

 

 

Tricia Monticello Kievlan, Instructor; Director of Development of the Prelude Music Foundation

Tricia is a writer and educator who grew up singing and playing the piano in The Woodlands. Tricia loves to sing, whether it's leading worship as a cantor at church, singing with a choir, or sitting around the fire-pit with her family. She first learned about Music Together when she was in graduate school studying human development and psychology, and she was delighted to enroll in classes at Prelude when her daughter was just five months old. Tricia spent the first decade of her career working as a teacher and administrator in schools, and she transitioned to the nonprofit sector, where she writes and consults on creativity, technology, and collaboration. She holds a master's degree in Mind, Brain, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor's degree in Plan II Honors and English from the University of Texas at Austin. She is excited to make Music Together with her neighbors at Prelude!

 

 

Meet Our Admin Team

 

Margaret Owen, Office Manager; Director of Operations at the Prelude Music Foundation

Margaret Owen, a native Houstonian, has loved music since childhood. Margaret grew up singing with her grandmother, exploring her father's records of the Kingston Trio, Simon and Garfunkle, and Gordon Lightfoot, and attending ballets with her mother and sisters. Margaret continued singing in high school and through college as a member of the UT Women's Chorus and has sung professionally at weddings - including each of her three siblings'! A writer, illustrator, and creative professional, Margaret graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Texas at Austin. With a passion for education, Margaret has created educational content for various curriculum companies in Houston. Due to most serendipitous circumstances, Margaret started working at Prelude and the Prelude Music Foundation in October of 2016 and has no intention of leaving! As the Prelude Music Foundation continues to grow, she completed the Fort Bend for Excellence for Nonprofit Leadership course through the George Foundation and is a member of the Upswell Forum at Harvard Business School 24-25 cohort. Margaret is an avid fan of anything in the genre of fantasy or science fiction, a novice Dungeons and Dragons player, and an aspiring author and illustrator of both children's books and comic books featuring her nieces and nephews.

 

 

Alia Campbell, Prelude Administrator & Registrar

Alia is a third-culture individual: born abroad and was raised in various countries across the world--Australasia, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and so on--before moving to the United States where she got her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Savannah, Georgia. Alia was inspired from a young age to pursue a creative career and could always be found drawing, writing, and creating in her free time. She vividly recalls sitting in the audience at the Sydney Opera House, age 4, watching a large-scale puppet show of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and how that show ignited the creative spark inside of her; the characters from her favorite bedtime story coming to life on stage. Completely and totally enraptured by the complexity of cross-medium storytelling, and how the medium and atmosphere in which art is consumed changes the memory and emotion of the art itself, Alia developed a lifelong love of art, music, and storytelling. She picked up the flute and guitar, and has been creating music & art ever since. Alia graduated college in 2014 and spent her first few years post-graduation animating & writing for independent studios in Atlanta, and moved to Houston in 2019 to be closer to her grandfather, and just so happened to find an apartment right next door to one Margaret Owen. She curiously asked to know more about the wonderful place Margaret kept talking about, and has been a member of the Prelude family ever since. Alia is an avid fan of fantasy, speculative fiction, and space operas, playing video games, watching video essays, and absorbing obscure & fascinating factoids.

 

 
To learn more about our music classes for children in Houston, The Heights, and The Woodlands, call us at (832) 803-7701 or send an email to [email protected]

 

Music is a universal language. It transcends boundaries and reaches beyond culture to touch the depths of our souls, express our common emotions, and inspire us all. Now serving 2,500 communities in over 40 countries, Music Together connects families and communities across the globe as they express and explore our basic human instinct for making music.