Teachers

“Life is a mystery to be lived continuously, not a problem to be solved suddenly.”
~ Kierkegaard

Sedrick Dellinger is a co-founder of Canongate and its Principal. He believes the Appalachian hills are indeed alive with the sound of music. He and his wife are raising four children in this music, on a little piece of land that sings of God’s presence and bounty.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, formally educated in Kentucky and Edinburgh, Scotland, he received a poetic and philosophical education that led him into full communion with the Catholic Church in 2004. As a teacher, inspired by the Integrated Humanities Program and the vision of John Senior, Mr. Dellinger is leading his students to anchor life and education in the permanent things. The mountains. The stars. Great books. Virtue. The altar. Love.

Festina Lente

“Tolle lege!”- St. Augustine, Confessions

Daniel, born in Colorado, comes from Newnan, Georgia. He holds a B.A. in English from Southern Catholic College, formerly located in Dawsonville Georgia. In Texas he attended the University of Dallas in the Humanities M.A. program, and has spent his teaching years helping new schools begin and thrive. A firm believer in classical and Catholic learning, he himself spent 18 years of his educational life studying in the classical model at Catholic institutions. He has a thorough and sound knowledge, love and respect for musical tradition, and has been a contract musician in numerous undertakings for the past 14 years. When not mounting Parnassus at school he spends his time with his wife Beatrice and their daughter Maeve Eliot.

As theatre director and part time music director for Canongate, Jennifer’s days are filled with directing. Whether at her home, Ovenbird Farm, where she and her husband are raising and teaching a family of 8 children, or at the Cradle of Forestry or her local parish leading theatrical and musical productions, or at Canongate bringing the joy and beauty of the arts to students, Jennifer strives to be, in the words of John Senior, “born in wonder.” Jennifer has a love of language and culture, music and drama, and of performance and the arts that imbues all she does, whether a play with the entire student body or a culinary experience for family and friends. She believes that the performing arts are a perfect medium for bringing the joy of wonder and Faith to students and to the current culture. Thankful for her home in the Carolina mountains, Jennifer encourages community and a sense of place through music and theatre, and especially through our shared Catholic heritage and the beauty of the Mass. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.

“‘The glory of God is man fully alive.”
~ St. Irenaeus

“Open your eyes; the mysteries hidden in the visible are revealed to you.”
~ Gregory of Nyssa

Claudia comes to us from sunny Mexico and feels at home in Asheville. A people-lover, she seeks to get to know her students deeply in order to better serve them. She is inspired by people of various ethnicities and diverse backgrounds because differences point to their common humanity. She enjoys languages immensely and has taught English, Spanish, French and Latin in the Asheville Area. A big fan of Maria Montessori and her positive view of children, she continues to work with young children through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

In her free time, Claudia enjoys drinking coffee with her children and friends while making material for faith formation to help children get closer to Jesus “by themselves.

Emanuel Burke is a western North Carolina native who developed an interest in the arts at a very young age. While in kindergarten he was inspired by Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and decided that he would grow up to be an artist.
Though Emanuel's path took a different direction than he expected, God reignited his love for the arts after seeing the beauty of God in an Orthodox sanctuary.
Emanuel immediately began to study ancient Christian art and write contemporary icons. Emanuel believes Christian sacred art, which communicates the objectivity of beauty, is the key to redeeming Western culture in America.
Emanuel has been married to his wife, Yam, for a little over 5 years and has two young children.