Meet Our Teachers and Therapists

With the right music teacher or therapist, learning a musical instrument can be a wonderful and fun experience!

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At Beachside Music, our in-home music lessons and music therapy will help build your confidence and skills in a warm and supportive environment.

Ashlee Hughes, MT-BC, NICU-MT

Founder, Music Therapist, Music Teacher

Ashlee Hughes grew up in New Smyrna Beach, Florida where she studied all types of music from an early age. She completed her bachelor's degree in music therapy at Florida State University. Ashlee has over 10 years of experience serving a variety of populations, including special needs, hospice, acute care medical, premature infants, traumatic brain injury, trauma, stroke, dementia, behavioral health, substance abuse, foster children, juvenile detention, and more. After running a successful hospital music therapy program for over 3 years, Ashlee moved  back to her home community to open Beachside Music Lessons & Therapy in 2016. In addition to music therapy, Ashlee also teaches voice, piano, guitar, saxophone, early childhood music private lessons, small group classes, and also a teen band. 

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Ashlee is proud to serve her home town community through local organizations like Ormond Beach Mainstreet, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Halifax Behavioral Health, Children's Home Society, Community Action Team, Welcoming Hearts, and more.    

Eliott Hughes

Operational Manager, Music Teacher

Eliott Hughes grew up in Vero Beach, FL where he attended a charter school for the arts and studied music from a young age.  At Beachside Music, Eliott is our operational manager and manages our students, families, teachers, and office. Eliott studied Music Composition and Theory at University of Florida. As a musician, he is proficient in theory, song writing, piano, voice, and guitar. Besides teaching, Eliott has been singing professionally for over 10 years, even having sang at Carnege Hall.  Eliott is experienced in singing in operas, musicals, chorus/choir, and as a soloist. Having studied theory and composition immensely, Eliott has a deep knowledge and understanding of the inner workings of music. Eliott has an unique ability to break down the elements of music and teach it in a simple and fun way.  Eliott enjoying teaching a love of music to all ages!   

Michelle Marie Lecza

Music Teacher

Michelle Marie Lecza is a local of Daytona Beach and has always been a musically inclined person for as long as she can remember. Throughout high school she was in Choir, Drama, and an Advanced Vocal Acapella group. Michelle privately studied Voice, Music Theory and Music Composition for 12 years. At Beachside Music she teaches Voice, Piano, and Guitar. In 2016 she appeared on season 15 of "American Idol" she was a heavy competitor with tons of air time and was eventually cut at the top 24. Aside from teaching, Michelle performs at local live music venues around Florida. Michelle also volunteers her time with different charities including, Halifax Hospice Care, The TEARS Foundations, Rolling Thunder, Local Veterans programs and more. She is extremely happy to be teaching with Beachside Music and hopes to inspire her students and lead them to a music loving life.

Katherine Borst, MT-BC

Music Therapist, Music Teacher

Katherine Borst grew up in Ormond Beach, Florida and began playing piano at 5 years old. Katherine is a graduate of the Molloy College and has been practicing music therapy for over 5 years. Music has been a defining part of Katherine's life from an early age, as she began piano lessons at 5 years old and was an active cantor throughout her school years. Katherine's music therapy experience includes neurodevelopmental disorders, medically fragile and complex medical needs, dementia and memory care, inpatient, outpatient, and residential behavioral health, trauma care, at-risk youth, special needs, traumatic brain injury, and more. In addition to music therapy, Katherine also teaches piano, guitar, vocal, and percussive instruction to all ages and abilities.  Katherine is grateful to be back in her hometown and passionate about sharing the joy of music with others in the our community. 

Hayley Spriggs, MT-BC

Music Therapist, Music Teacher

Hayley is a local and grew up in Orange City.  Hayley is a graduate of Elizabethtown College of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy.  Hayley completed her internship at United Community Options of Miami (formerly United Cerebral Palsy). During her internship, Hayley worked in a variety of charter school programs for individuals with an extensive range of disabilities and diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Intellectual Disability, and a broad range of vision and hearing impairments.  Hayley has a true passion for music therapy and working with the special needs community. In college, Hayley coordinated a music program for an adult daily living center, served as the marketing and publicity chairperson for her school’s autism awareness club, and worked at a local nursing home as an activity’s assistant. Hayley grew up in Volusia County and is excited to return and begin serving the Central Florida community with Beachside Music Lessons & Therapy! 

Music Teacher

Grant Perry

Grant Perry is a Daytona Beach local and has been playing the piano since he was 7 years old.  Grant was classically trained by Maria Santilli and District Student Day through Stetson University. Grant has lead worship for various churches and different services for over 5 years. He is a graduate of Boise Bible College where he studied Worship Ministry. Grant currently assists in leading worship for the Tomoka Christian Church satellite campuses.  Grant is looking forward to serving students of all ages and abilities in our community.  

Hayley Spriggs, MT-BC

Music Therapist, Music Teacher

Kristin grew up in Orlando, Florida where she was an active participant in all thing’s music and arts throughout her life. Kristin graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy. Growing up, she was a caregiver for special needs children and treasured experiences working with them alongside the Children’s Miracle Network. These experiences helped nurture a passion for working with special needs children and ultimately led her to pursue Music Therapy in college. Kristin completed her internship at Easterseals Midwest in Cape Girardeau, Missouri where she served children and adults with Autism. Throughout internship, she coordinated and implemented activities for individuals with Autism to help them meet their personal, academic, communication, and social goals. Kristin also had the opportunity to complete her Neurologic Music Therapy certificate at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the summer of 2018. Kristin is excited to share her passion for music within the Central Florida community that has given so much to her.

How It Works

Sign-up

Once you've made contact with us, we'll call you for the initial assessment. We'll go over the program, the cost, and find out if home music lessons are right for you. Then we begin the student/teacher matching process.

Student/Teacher Matching

This is what separates us from the rest. We take the time to hand match each student with a teacher or therapist we think will best fit their needs and goals. You don't have to worry about digging through pages of teacher listings hoping you find the right teacher. We do the work for you.  All of our teachers and therapists are background checked and highly qualified.

Schedule Your Lessons

We will work together with your hand picked teacher or therapist to schedule your weekly lessons. Our teachers/therapists then use our custom built online tool to track your weekly music lessons or therapy or any changes in your schedule.

It's easy to take the next step:

(386)-320-7762

ashlee@beachsidemusiclessons.com