Bhome Beat Makers Lab

Nick started Bellinghome School of Music in 2017 after teaching privately in Bellingham since 2012 and playing in various local bands. His favorite genres are funk, jazz, R&B, Blues, hip hop, and jamband.

Nick’s enthusiasm for helping kids be creative and productive in a musical setting as well as having fun together as a team, has produced several successful student bands over the years. Nick’s student groups have played all around Bellingham and Whatcom county and have recorded singles and albums in Bellinghome’s recording studio.

“I want to be sure our next generation of musicians get as much group and peer to peer collaboration opportunities as possible. Whether that is a bluegrass circle, beat making sessions, songwriting workshops, or being in a rock band; live music with real musicians sharing their life journeys is one of the ultimate human experiences. We need to keep that spark alive in our youth!”

Guitar Class

Chris is a Bellingham songwriter, piano entertainer, and educator. He plays solo sets and leads group jam sessions to bring fun, beauty, and meaningful stories to his audience and fellow performers. His favorite genres are blues, folk, ragtime, funk -- and whatever his fellow musicians bring to the stage. Chris' teaching style reinforces music theory so students know how to create the sounds they hear in their minds! Teacher-student time is for learning new ideas, putting them together, and creating clear steps for practice; student time is for practice, practice, practice, and the joy of self-exploration. One of Chris' favorite recent projects was being the piano player and session leader for a weekly music improv group, creating new songs and arrangements in front of a live audience by tapping into the skills of the musicians present. His favorite piano job was playing two dinners per week at a sushi restaurant in Alaska (yum). He loves working with people who want to keep learning and growing, because that is his secret to a happy life.

Piano and Keyboards

Orion is a dynamic music educator with over 5 years of experience teaching K–6 music at a Montessori school and more than a decade of private piano instruction. As a multi-instrumentalist and seasoned performer, Orion brings real-world experience to every lesson. He performs regularly with Pacific Northwest bands including The Sleepy Alligators, Ska Island, Glyf, Brasscadia, The Fighting Instruments of Karma, Grüv, The Reels of Rhyme, and have collaborated with The Living Arrows, The Endorfins, and Yogo Man Burning Band, in addition to creating captivating solo looping sets.

Orion blends foundational technique with a creative, non-traditional approach to music coaching. Students are guided to explore music theory in a way that’s relevant and applicable through their own personal interests—whether learning their favorite songs, writing original music, or playing in a group. Orion teaches piano/synth, ukulele, voice, and percussion, helping to support each student discover their own unique connection to music and musical identity.

Singing and Choir

Veronica West has been a singer her whole life. She began learning to read music at the age of four and sang in the Pacifica Choirs based in Seattle from age 7-18. She performed at events such as NW Folk Life, Fort Worden Children’s Choral Festival, and multiple ACDA Conventions. She has been fortunate to be part of multiple choir tours, traveling to Germany and Austria in high school to sing with Eric Whitacre for his premier of Paradise Lost, to Argentina and Uruguay in college with Western WA University’s Chamber Choir, and most recently to Spain and Portugal in 2019 singing in a choir of women from all over the U.S. She has experience in performing music in dozens of languages and is well-trained in solfege singing and interval training.

Veronica also plays guitar and loves to sing her favorites from folk songs of the 1960s to music from newer artists such as Billie Eillish. She would love to help you put together a set of songs to sing and perform that make you feel like a superstar! She can also help you to prepare for choir or solo and ensemble competitions and offer a solid foundation for healthy vocal technique. She loves to encourage her students to see themselves as instruments, so that the whole body is involved in sound production.