About Us
Musical Duo
We are a guitar/keyboard/vocal duo based in Meadville, PA. We perform classical, pop, rock, originals, and more for a variety of venues and occasions. We also write our own original songs and have collaborated with other musicians.
Our biggest influences are The Beatles, Nick Drake, Radiohead, and pretty much any music from the 1960s. We both grew up playing and listening to classical music, and our favorites include J.S. and C.P.E. Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, Chopin, Beethoven, and Debussy.
The name for our duo came to us during a conversation about our childhood nicknames. Jay had always been called "Jay Bird" by friends and family, and Haley was called "Haley Bee" by her Nana and Aunt Cathy and later by friends. Then it struck us... bird... bee... the birds and bees... Jay Bird and Haley Bee!
(And, yes, we are a couple! We got married on September 29, 2018.)
Jay Byham (Guitar, Vocals)
Jay is from Meadville, Pennsylvania. He started piano lessons at the age of five, but he found his true passion with guitar at the age of ten. He has studied guitar with Raymond Migdal (Meadville), Jim Froman (Allegheny College) and Dr. Francois Fowler (Youngstown State University) and majored in classical guitar at Youngstown State University. Jay is the primary songwriter for Jay Bird and Haley Bee, and he has been writing since the age of thirteen. In addition to performing with Jay Bird and Haley Bee, he also plays solo gigs and in other local groups (Emil and the Palookas). He also teaches private guitar lessons in Northwest PA, including at the Creative Learning Christian School in Mercer and the Edinboro University Community Music School.
Haley Beverburg (Keyboard, Vocals)
Haley is originally from Arkansas and ended up in Pennsylvania after a long and winding path. She enjoyed singing and piano from the age of about three or four, and wrote her first composition at the age of five. She majored in composition at the University of Arkansas, studying composition with Dr. James Greeson and piano with the late Mrs. Carolyn Hickson. After a year teaching English in Stuttgart, Germany with the J. William Fulbright teaching program, she returned to earn her PhD in music theory at the University of Michigan; while there, she studied piano with Dr. John Ellis. She taught as a graduate student instructor at the University of Michigan, as an adjunct professor at Youngstown State University, and as a performing arts enrichment instructor for the Youngstown City School District. She now teaches courses at Allegheny College in Meadville, class piano at the SMARTS Art School in Youngstown, and general music at the Creating Landscapes Learning Center in Meadville. She also teaches private lessons in piano, voice, and composition in Northeast Ohio and Northwest PA.