We are Daniel Island Music Academy.

Daniel Island Music Academy (DIMA) exists to raise up musicians who bring life into the community with their music. Students of all ages 6+ are welcome to take lessons, which are offered on pop/rock instruments, as well as classical piano, and voice. But ultimately the goal is for music to extend beyond just the classroom! Our goal is to develop lifelong musicians who learn to play and sing the music that they love and share it with others. 

DIMA is a ministry of Church of the Holy Spirit and lessons take place in the Parish Life Center on the church’s campus. Church of the Holy Spirit is a community-focused, family-focused church, and DIMA aims to lean into both of these things. In addition to in-house performances for beginners, we aim to be deeply involved in our community by providing opportunities for more experienced students to play and sing for as many events in the area as possible. We try to actively foster relationships with local businesses and community organizations to bring as much live music into our community as we can!

We also want the community's homes themselves to be filled with music as students discover their passion for it and share it with their families. As much as possible, our philosophy is to help students learn the music they naturally love and are interested in, as we believe this encourages further playing and growth for the student.

As a function of Church of the Holy Spirit, DIMA also has a specific vision and passion for training musicians who play with the music teams at Holy Spirit or their own local church, should this be of interest to the student and family. Playing in church can be a fantastic way to gain experience and work through the nerves of public performance for a young musician. We want to offer this opportunity to every student who is ready and interested, and we believe it will bring great joy to our worship services and other worship services in our community!

We are so glad you're here and we cannot wait to be a part of you and your family's musical journey!

Meet the Team

  • Jake Willis

    DIRECTOR

    Jake is the Director of Music Ministries at Church of the Holy Spirit, which includes being the Director of Daniel Island Music Academy and overseeing the church’s musical worship needs. Jake is also the contemporary worship leader at Holy Spirit and an instructor for DIMA. The idea for DIMA was birthed by Jake and campus pastor Jonathan Bennett as they dreamed of ways to bring together Jake's love for teaching music with his role at the church. As an instructor himself, Jake personally loves helping our instructors develop students who play instruments and sing, who play in bands, and Jake is passionate about having students involved with the musical life of the community and the church. Jake has led contemporary worship as well as played in original music projects and cover groups around the Carolina's for over 15 years.

    Jake and his wife Jessica have a young daughter named Junia.

  • Lindsey Heyward

    ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

    Lindsey’s role as Associate Director involves managing our scheduling and payment systems; when you need something regarding those things, she is likely who you will be talking to via the dima@holyspiritdi.org email address. Lindsey also helps coordinate our instructors, plan our events, and launch new ideas to help the school grow and improve.

    Lindsey is also one of our instructors herself. Coming from a singing family, Lindsey has sung since she was a little girl. Lindsey started playing drums first at 10 years old in church. She started guitar and piano when she was 13. She has been giving music lessons on and off for the past 10 years on a variety of instruments. Being able to share her talents and love for music has always been a desire of hers. Lindsey is glad that she has the opportunity to pour into her students’ lives and to share her love of music with them, as well as help DIMA run smoothly for all our students and instructors.

  • Catherine Bowen

    ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

    Catherine Bowen is our Administrative Assistant! She is the welcoming face you'll see each time you come to DIMA. She can answer so many questions and help you with anything you need. She attends Church of the Holy Spirit and lives on Daniel Island.