Faculty Listings

Faculty

The superb quality of our educational offerings is made possible by the high level of arts education, musicianship and pedagogical experience of the faculty. Over half of our internationally trained faculty members hold a Masters degree or higher.

(Scroll down or click on a name for bios)

FOLK MUSIC
Lorraine Lee Hammond (American Folk Repertoire)
Bennett Hammond (Appalachian Dulcimer, Autoharp, Folk Guitar)

VOICE
Carola Emrich-Fisher
Erin Holmes
Bonnie Pomfret
Katie Seiler

2011-2012 Department Coordinators
Guitar: Brendan Burns
Piano: Lindsay Albert
Percussion: Scott Pittman
Suzuki: Amy Poliakoff
Voice: Bonnie Pomfret
Winds: Chris Veilleux
Jazz/Rock Ensembles: John Purcell
Chamber Ensembles: Karen Robbins

KONSTANTIN ARAKELOV Suzuki violin. B.M. Violin Teaching and Performance, Baku Music College, M.M. Violin Teaching and Performance, Azerbaijan State Conservatory. Konstantin Arakelov has a passion for teaching and has been teaching individual violin and violin ensemble lessons privately and in music schools for over twenty years. Konstantin began teaching violin and violin ensemble lessons in 1989 at music schools in Belarus. He has enjoyed teaching students ages 3 and up in a private violin studio in Brookline. He worked as a Violin Ensemble Teacher in Newton. Konstantin Arakelov teaches using the Suzuki and Traditional methods, tailoring the instructions to each student to get the best results. He received Suzuki training at the Hartt Institute and at the Suzuki School of Newton with Edward Kreitman and Carol Sykes who worked and studied with Dr. Suzuki in Japan. Konstantin is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas.

ADRIANA AUSCH-SIMMEL Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Master’s in Dalcroze Eurhythmics; Dalcroze License at Longy School of Music; Master of Music in Vocal Performance at Longy School of Music of Bard College. In her native country, Romania, Adriana studied classical piano at the Tg.-Mures Conservatory, earned her Master’s Degree in Architecture and City Planning in Bucharest, while becoming an across-style singer and songwriter. She appeared on tv and radio shows, toured Romania, and released a CD in Germany. She holds several performance awards as a singer-songwriter and belonged to the Romanian protest song and folk movement in communist times. Adriana has been on the faculty at All Newton Music School, Winchester Community Music School, and Riverside Theatreworks NEC Project STEP. For the last ten years, Adriana has performed in the Boston area primarily as solo singer, appearing with the cabaret group The Follen Angels and the vocal group Pandora’s Vox. Currently, she is teaching Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Plastique Animé and Cabaret at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, Winchester Community Music School and Brookline Music School.

LINDSAY ALBERT Piano. M.M, Collaborative Piano, The Longy School of Music, 2007; B.A. with honors, French and Music, Boston College, 2005. Adjunct Faculty, Staff Pianist/Vocal Coach, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA; Private Voice Studio Pianist, Longy School of Music. Former Assistant Director of the New School of Music in Cambridge, MA. Teachers include Iras Roback, Dr. Sandra Hebert, Wayman Chin. Lindsay lives and works in Boston as a performing collaborative pianist, vocal coach, and private instructor.

EMILIAN BADEA Accordion; Bassoon. MM and DM, Boston University. Member, International Double Reed Society, American Accordionists' Association, Accordion Teachers Association of Massachusetts. Freelance musician, has performed with Boston Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Classical Players, Boston Academy of Music, New Hampshire Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic. Faculty, University of Massachusetts, Boston.

KARINE BAGDASARIAN Piano. B.M. from Tchaikovsky Music School, M.M. with honor - from Komitas Conservatory (Armenia). Has taught there on Piano Performance and Collaborative Faculties as Associate Professor until 1995. Postgraduate and Artist Diplomas-from St.Petersburg Conservatory(Russia). Participated at various festivals, toured with State Chamber Orchestra, premiered many compositions, given numerous solo and chamber recitals. Awarded "Special Performance Prize" in 2009 Perrenoud Foundation Competition.

RUTH BLACKBURN Piano. BA, University of Pennsylvania; MM and Dalcroze Certificate, Longy School of Music. Additional studies in piano, theory, composition, and improvisation, both privately and at New England Conservatory. Teachers include Lisa Parker, Ran Blake, Paul Brust, and Joyce Kouffman. Former member (pianist) of the Motion Collective, an improvisational dance company based in Maine. Faculty: Spring Hill Montessori School.

BRENDAN BURNS Guitar; Guitar Dept. Coordinator. BM, Professional Music, Berklee. Brendan has been teaching privately since 1999, and has been affiliated with Berklee College of Music's Music Mentoring program, and Newton Community Eduction. Brendan is the guitar department coordinator at BMS, overseeing GUITOBER - a month long celebration of guitar held every fall. He also teaches at Tune Foolery, an artistic collective of musicians with psychiatric disabilities, and online for JamPlay.com. Brendan is the musical director of The Elephant Tango, the featured houseband in the monthly Bent Wit Cabaret, as well as a creative and dynamic a shadow-puppet troupe. http://www.BrendanBurns.com

SASHA CALLAHAN Violin; Viola. BM, Violin Performance, Rice University; MM, Boston University. Founding member - Lunaire String Quartet and Kalistos Chamber Orchestra. Performed with Lunaire and Corigliano Quartets, Corbett Duo and featured in recitals at Mozarteum (Austria), Leopold Auer Academy (Hungary) and American Academy of Arts and Letters (NYC). Attended Tanglewood Music Center (2002) as Edward G. Shufro fellow. Performs with Portland Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Boston Pops, BMOP, and at New Hampshire Music Festival. Principal teachers: Lucia Lin, Sergiu Luca, Denes Zsigmondy, and Carol Sindell.

ANA-SOFIA CAMPESINO Oboe. Artist Diploma, Longy School of Music, MM Oboe Performance, Peabody Conservatory, John Hopkins University, BM, Oboe Performance, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Active Boston area performer and a founding member of the wind quintet Vento Chiaro. Sofie has appeared with the Boston Pops, Emmanuel Music, Boston Musica Viva, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Opera Boston, among other ensembles. She was awarded fellowships at Tanglewood and the European Mozart Academy and earned degrees from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the Peabody Conservatory. A faculty member of Boston University Tanglewood Institute for the past eleven years, Sofie has served as the Associate Director and an oboe instructor at the Rivers School Conservatory in Weston, MA. She was also Acting Director at the Dana Hall School of Music and a faculty member of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division. Her principal teachers are Sara Lambert Bloom, Richard Woodhams and Robert Sheena.

MARIO CERRA Saxophone; clarinet; flute. Summa Cum Laude, Berklee College of Music; Joe Viola Award 1999. Mario has worked as a recording artist and Musical Director for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, recording several works in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has performed with internationally acclaimed artists including Greg Hopkins, Joe Lovano, and Maria Schneider, and currently with some of the finest musicians in the Boston Area.

SARA CHEN Piano. BME, National Tainan Teachers’ College.Taiwan; MM, Piano Performance, Longy School of Music; additional studies, Vienna School of Music, Austria. Piano studies with Hugh Hinton, Sally Pinkas, Anne Franciose Perrault, I-Tao Kuo, Tzu-yu Kuo, Peter Ritzen and Tsui-Pi Huang. Recitals in Taiwan, England, Austria and U.S.

MARGARET DENTON Piano; Director of Education. BM, MM, Rice University, student of John Perry; DM, Indiana University, Piano Performance with minor in Music Education. Fulbright Grant recipient, Hochschule für Musik, Freiburg, Germany. Faculty, Former faculty and teaching positions, Rice University, Indiana University, South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. Faculty, Longy School of Music. Solo, collaborative and concerto appearances across the U.S., Canada and Europe. margaretdentonpiano.com

WILL DICK Guitar (acoustic, electric, bass). AB, Harvard University; Senior Diploma and Teacher’s Certificate, Longy School of Music. Faculty positions have included Dedham Country Day School, Pine Manor College, St. Paul’s School and Winsor School. Has recorded classical, popular and original music for guitar and vocals, and performed extensively throughout eastern U.S.

SHUFANG DU Violin; Piano. BM, National Taiwan Normal University; MM, Boston Conservatory, Violin Performance; MM candidate, Boston Conservatory, Piano Performance; Doctorate , Boston University, Violin Performance. Appeared as a soloist with Boston Classical Orchestra, Boston University Orchestra, and The Boston Conservatory Orchestra. As a pianist at the Boston Conservatory, she was a concerto competition winner and is a staff accompanist at the school. Co-founder of Parnassus String Quartet.

LEO EGUCHI Cello. Bachelor’s degrees with honors in Physics and Cello Performance from University of Michigan; Masters degree from Boston University. Founding and active member of Kalistos Chamber Orchestra, principal cellist of New Bedford Symphony and member of Portland Symphony. Cellist for Lunaire String Quartet and Arioso Chamber Players. Frequently appears with contemporary music groups such as Brave New Works, Boston Modern Orchestra Project and ALEA III. Studies with George Neikrug, Anthony Elliott, Louis Potter, Jr., Eva Ell. Faculty, Emery Arts Center and University of Maine.

CAROLA EMRICH-FISHER Mezzo-soprano; BM New England Conservatory; MM Longy School of Music. Her solo performances have been broadcast on Classical 95.9 WCRI and WERS 88.9 FM. She can be heard on the Newport Baroque recording of Dido and Aeneas. Professional engagements with Handel and Haydn Society, Cantata Singers, Lorelei Ensemble, Libella Quartet, First Church of Boston. Member of NATS and frequent vocal workshop facilitator. German Diction Coach for Opera Boston and Cantata Singers. For more info: www.carolaemrichfisher.com.

JULIA EVANS Suzuki Violin. B.A in violin performance, the Mannes College of Music; M.A. violin performance, NYU; Suzuki teacher training certificate at the School for Strings, New York. Firmly based in the Suzuki technique, Julia also teaches different methods in both French and English. For ten years, she has been teaching students of all ages and levels, from 3-year-olds to adult and coaching chamber music to students ages 11 to 18. Her teaching experience includes music schools, after school programs, preparing older students for auditions and being a teaching artist for the orchestra of St Luke's all in the NY area. Julia has been an active professional violinist since 2004 with Orchestra of St Luke's, Westchester Philharmonic, Long Island Philharmonic, and the Broadway musical "Hairspray."

BRYAN EYBERG Piano. Jazz and Contemporary Piano. M.M., University of Michigan School of Music; B.M., Simpson College. Has been teaching piano for sixteen years. Studied piano with Anton Nel and Dr. Robert Larsen, vocal accompanying with Martin Katz and composition with Bright Sheng. Has performed solo and with groups across the mid-west and throughout the Boston area, as well as written and produced two albums of his own music.

ERIKA FEBRINI Piano. B.F.A. from Christ’s College, Taipei, Taiwan, and M.M. from the Boston Conservatory. Her major teachers include Qi Mei Chen and Dr. Jonathan Bass. She has performed frequently as recitalist in Taiwan and the Boston area, and has served as accompanist for the Stella Maris Church in her native Indonesia. She is fluent in Indonesian, English and Chinese and has been an active teacher throughout her own college studies and beyond.

NIVA FRIED Piano. Undergraduate Diploma, Rubin Academy, Tel Aviv; MM, doctoral studies, Boston University. Studies with Leonard Shure, Maria Clodes, Gabriel Chodos. Winner of awards for excellence in performance, including Aaron Richmond and Harvard Music Association Distinction. Active member, MMTA, and Chair of Materials Committee, NEPTA. Faculty, Indian Hill Music Center.

SCOTT GOULDING Drums; Percussion. Berklee College Music, 1993. Studies with Ian Froman, Joe Hunt, John Ramsay, and Hal Crook. International Jazz performer, recording artist, and educator. Appeared on over 30 CD releases on labels in U.S., Europe and Japan. Experience in Jazz, Latin, Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, Funk, Rock, and Concert Classical styles. Performed with Sheila Jordan, George Garzone, Larry Grenadier, Jerry Bergonzi. Endorser for Paiste Cymbals and Canopus Drums.

NICK GRONDIN Guitar. BA, Macalester College; MM, New England Conservatory in Jazz Studies: Composition; additional studies at the CIM and EDIM Schools of Modern Music in Paris, France. Performs actively on guitar in jazz and rock groups, and leads the Nick Grondin Group, an original jazz group which performs regularly in the Boston area. Winner of awards from ASCAP and Down Beat Magazine for his compositions, Nick also leads his own big band, which will be releasing their first CD of original pieces in the summer of 2009. www.nickgrondin.com

TOM HALTER Trumpet. BM, Music Performance, University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Studies with Ralph Towner, Paul McCandless, Ran Blake, George Russell, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Manieri. Founding member, Grammy-nominated Either Orchestra. Music Director, Mariachi Mexamerica. Co-founder/leader, Grupo Panamericano. Member, Orchestra Morphine (U.S. and European performances). Faculty, Blackstone Milville Regional Schools, Braintree Public Schools.

JESSICA KLETT Piano. B.M. Wheaton Conservatory of Music; M.M. New England Conservatory of Music. Jessica has performed throughout the United States and Japan. She has appeared as soloist in the M. Steinert and Sons Steinway Solo Piano Recital series as well as with the Wheaton Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she performed with Trio Sophisticate throughout the Chicago area. In addition to classical music, she performs Hungarian fiddle with musicians from Hungary and the United States. Jessica teachers have included William Phemister and Gabriel Chodos. She has been teaching at her own piano studio since 2006 and has also taught private piano at Solomon Schechter School in Newton.

LORRAINE LEE HAMMOND American Folk Repertoire. Recently named Artistic Director of Summer Acoustic Music Week, a program sponsored by WUMB-fm and the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and an adjunct professor at Lasell College in Newton, MA, where she teaches American Folk Music and World Music. Lorraine and her husband Bennett Hammond perform extensively, and record on their Brookline label, “Snowy Egret Music.” A lifetime New Englander, Lorraine was raised in the rural musical traditions of the Connecticut Berkshires. Her most recent release, “The Opal Ring”, includes traditional New England songs, in addition to songs she has written about her Berkshire childhood. See www.greatacoustics.org for more information about the Hammonds and their music.

MEGAN HENDERSON BM Piano Performance, New England Conservatory. Pianist and Outreach Director of Winsor Music. Faculty member of PALS Children's Chorus, Village Harmony Summer Camp. Teaching Assistant at Harvard Summer School and Harvard Extension. Collaborative pianist in the Boston area. Vocal performances and recordings with Boston Camerata and Schola Cantorum. Former faculty of All Newton Music School, Powers Music School and Emerson College.

ERIN HOLMES Voice. M.M. Vocal Performance, New England Conservatory; B.M. Vocal Performance, B.A. Spanish, Towson University. A Baltimore native, Miss Holmes is an active performer and educator. She has appeared with Opera Boston, Opera Providence, Longwood Opera, New England Light Opera, Opera del West, Teatro della Bicchieraia (Italy), New England Conservatory Opera Theatre, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Washington D.C.’s Strathmore Hall. In 2006 Miss Holmes was a featured singer and music teacher in the nationally televised Spanish television program, “Padres en apuros” in Madrid. Faculty, Music 101 Studios.

ANNE HOWARTH French Horn. BM and BA from Oberlin College & Conservatory; MM, New England Conservatory, studies at Hochschule für Musik, Munich; BA. Studies with Jay Wadenpfuhl and James Somerville (Boston Symphony) and Richard King (Cleveland Orchestra). Founding member, Radius Ensemble & member Vento Chiaro. Performances with Boston Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Portland (ME) Symphony Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Plymouth Philharmonic. Faculty, Tufts University, UMASS Boston, BUTI.

LUIS ANTONIO IBÁÑEZ R. Violin. Studied at Conservatorio Nacional de Musica, La Paz , Bolivia; BM, Performance, University of Southern Maine; MM, Manhattan School of Music, NY. Studies with Portland String Quartet, Steven Kecskemethy, Ani Kavafian, Ariana Browne, Glen Dicterow,Yuri Marzukievich. Performances with Boston Classical Orchestra, Boston Festival Orchestra,New Hampshire Symphony, Pro Arte Orchestra,Vermont Symphony, New Hampshire Music Festival, Alea III. Lexinton Symphony. Granite State Symphony. Currently, member of Portland Symphony, PORT Opera Maine,Palace theatre Orchestra, Masterworks Chorale Orchestra, "Duo Ibanez", "Ritmos 3", and Free-lance in New England. Faculty, Lexinton Music School.

TOMOKO IWAMOTO Viola; Violin; Suzuki and Traditional. BS, Keio University, Tokyo; BA, Berklee College of Music. Studied jazz composition and arranging with Herb Pomeroy, jazz performance with Matt Glaser, classical violin with Sharon Leventhal and Jun Ishii. Suzuki training with Donald Becker. Active arranger for Mood Swing Orchestra and All Newton City Orchestra. Member of J-Way String Quartet.

PAUL JACOBS Piano. Artist Diploma, Piano Performance, Longy School of Music; MM, Michigan State University; BM, Hope College. Piano with Randall Hodgkinson, Deborah Moriarty; Chamber music with Wayman Chin, Victor Rosenbaum; Master classes with Pacifica Quartet, Frederic Chiu and Sergey Schepkin. Former faculty member at Komitas Music School, Friends Music Camp, OH. Winner of Hope College concerto competition and Musical Showcase, Longy Honors Concert. Performances with Longitude New Music Ensemble.

RUSSELL JEWELL Trombone; Trumpet; Tuba; Baritone/Euphonium. University of Illinois. BM, Berklee College of Music. Studies with Tim Meyers (St Louis Symphony), Dr. Richard Monaco, Don Sanders (Boston Ballet, Boston Pops). Jazz studies with Jerry Bergonzi, Herb Pomeroy, Phil Wilson. Toured and recorded with Grammy-nominated Either Orchestra and Mighty Sam McClain. Co-founder, leader of Pan-American chamber group, Brass Roots.

JULIANNE JOHNSTON Flute; Suzuk. Flute Performance: BM, New England Conservatory, Augusta State University; MM, University of South Carolina. Studies with Lois Schaeffer, William Bennett, Geoffrey Gilbert. Studied at Talent Education Institute, Matsumoto, Japan, with Toshio Takahashi.

ATSUKO JOZAKI Piano. BA, Elisabeth University, Japan; Real Conservatorio Superior de Madrid, Spain; MM, Stanford University; DMA, Piano, Boston University. Performances in Japan, Spain, and U.S. Former faculty, Elisabeth University. Faculty, All Newton Music School.

TOM KRUSINSKI Creative Movement/Dance; Harmonica. BA, Psychology, minor, Elementary Education. Trained in New York and Boston at Jacob’s Pillow, Harvard Summer Dance and Naropa Institute. Many years performing in modern dance and interdisciplinary events with architects, sound sculptors and visual artists. Teaches at nursery and elementary schools throughout Massachusetts. Guest teacher and speaker at colleges, PTO, and teacher training events.

FRANCO LEON Piano. BM, Magna Cum Laude, Piano Performance, Boston Conservatory; MM, Piano Performance, Boston Conservatory. Studies with Jonathan Bass, Max Levinson, Janice Weber, Lynn Chang and Jung-Ja Kim. Recipient of H. Wilfred Churchill and Ricardo and Hans Lewitus scholarships. Winner, Chamber Honors Competition, Boston Conservatory, and Bela Bartok Latin American Piano competition at age 8. Performances in Europe, North, and South America. Live broadcasts in Lima’s ‘Filarmonia’ radio 102.7. Founder and Artistic director of “Escucha!” music festival. Faculty, Boston Piano Academy.

MIN LEW Piano. B.A. Wellesley College; M.M. Longy School of Music. Min has always had a tremendous passion for education and has been teaching students of all ages and levels since she was 12. She is certified in the Keys-for-Kids methodology that introduces foundations in piano playing and music theory in a fun, creative manner. Ms. Lew is currently a faculty member at Brookline Music School, Powers Music School, Keys-for-Kids Music School and Stoneham Theater.

MARINA MAGAZINNIK Piano. BM, MM, Ph.D., Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Moscow, conducted lectures on piano performance styles. Solo and chamber performances in Russia, recorded for Moscow radio and television. Performs throughout New England including solo and chamber music concerts for Graubart-Irving Concert Fund, Longy School of Music, New England Conservatory, Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society. Performances with violinists Tamara Smirnova and Janet Packer. Former accompanist for Professor James Buswell and Marylou Churchill. Faculty, Northeastern University.

JOHN MARTIN Flute; Executive Director. BM, University of Montevallo; MM Florida State University, student of Charles DeLaney. Former faculty at University of Wisconsin, University of Alabama, and Michigan State University. Former director of Wausau Conservatory of Music, Michigan State University Community Music School, and Jefferson County Schools, Florida, Fine Arts Program.

JUSTIN MEYER Double Bass; Bass Guitar. BA, Philosophy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; MM, Longy School of Music. Additional coursework, Berklee College of Music. Studies with John Lockwood, Dave Clark, Oscar Stegnaro. Many years experience playing in jazz, blues, rock and funk bands. Performed with the Indian Hill Symphony Orchestra, Jon Damien, Toni Lynn Washington, Ray Santisi, Jeff Stout, Dick Johnson, Barry Ries. Faculty, Indian Hill Music Center, Lawrence Academy.

KARINE NOWICK Violin. BA, MM, Boston University. Studies with Roman Totenberg, Raphael Druian, Peter Zazofsky. Soloist with The New England String Ensemble, Pythagorean Festival Orchestra. Former concertmaster and soloist with Indian Hill Symphony. Freelances with Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Boston Ballet. Member, Boston Lyric Opera. Semifinalist, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra auditions. Faculty, Phillips Academy.

SCOTT PITTMAN Drums; Mallet Percussion; Music Technology; Guitar; Bass; Banjo; Ukulele. BA, Percussion Performance, UMASS Lowell. Studied with Neil Grover, Fred Buda, and Alan Dawson. Toured with The Bosstones; accompanied blues legend, 'Honeyboy' Edwards; many tours and albums with The Shods, and Delmark's Frank Morey. Has been enthusiastically teaching for 17 years. Enjoys staying at the forefront of the intersection where music meets technology.

AMY POLIAKOFF Flute; Suzuki; Suzuki Dept. Coordinator. BA, Marlboro College; MM, Flute Performance, Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University. Performed with New England Bach Festival, Berkshire Lyric Theatre. Former Principal Flute, Chicago Philharmonia. Winner, Society of American Musicians Young Artists Competition. Performs with Ensemble Bacchanale. Former faculty, Brattleboro Music School, Pittsfield Community Music School, Simon’s Rock of Bard College.

BONNIE POMFRET Voice; Soprano. DM in Voice, Indiana University; MM in Voice, Boston Conservatory; BM, Voice and Piano, Musikhochschule Freiburg, Germany. Soloist with Atlanta Symphony, Sinfonia da Camera, Indiana Opera Theater and Capitol Cities Opera, solo concerts in U.S., Euorpe, Asia. Former faculty, Emory University and Illinois State University; singing voice specialist at Peoria ENT and Emory Voice Center. Currently teaches at Boston University, South Shore Conservatory, and privately.

JOHN PURCELL Saxophone; Jazz/Rock Ensembles. Freelance saxophonist and arranger.
Performs under his name and with The White Heat Swing Orchestra.

JEANNE RINTELL Early Childhood. BM, Vocal Performance, University of Southern California; MM candidate, Boston University. Studies with S. Mark Aliapoulios, Phyllis Curtin, Charles Roe. Vocal soloist with orchestras in California and New England.

KAREN ROBBINS Flute; Baroque Flute; Clarinet; Saxophone; Recorder. MM, Baroque, Silver Flute, San Francisco Conservatory; MA, Music History, SUNY-Binghamton. Jazz studies with Charlie Banacos. Studies with Wilbert Hazelzet, Royal Conservatory, Den Hague. Specializations, Baroque and contemporary music. Over 15 world premieres. Featured on radio and television in San Francisco, Boston, New York, Holland. Doubles on clarinet, saxophone in theater pits and orchestras. Performs with Quincy Symphony.

ANNE ROBINSON Piano. BM, University of Missouri-Columbia. Currently pursuing MM, Boston Conservatory. Studies with Max Levinson, Peter Miyamoto, Ayako Tsuruta, and Gloria Chuang. Master classes with Loretta Blumberg, Hugh Hinton and Melvin Chen. First place awards include the Sigma Alpha Iota Competition of St. Louis, MO, 2007, the Sonatina Festival of Milwaukee, WI, 2004 and 2005, and the Wisconsin Music Teacher’s Association (WMTA) of 2003 and 2005.

VALERIE ROSS Piano. BM University of the Pacific; MM with distinction Longy School of Music, student of Randall Hodgkinson. Single subject credential in music eduation, CA. Recepient of excellence in performance scholarships and honors recital performances. Member of MMTA. Faculty at Viki’s Piano Studio and Music con brio Piano; Accompanist for the Halalisa singers. Solo and collaborative performances and interactive concerts across the US.

MICHELLE RUSH Viola; Violin; Suzuki. BM, University of Houston; MM and DM, Florida State University. Performs with chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout New England on modern and baroque viola. Her research on injury prevention and the physiology of string playing is a cornerstone of her teaching method, a hallmark of her playing and has been published in the ASTA journal.

PHILIP RUSH Violin; Viola. BA, cum laude, University of California at Riverside; Master of Fine Arts in viola performance, California Institute of the Arts; Doctor of Music in viola performance, Florida State University. String Department Chair at the South Shore Conservatory. Performs with the Gardner Chamber Orchestra, Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Intermezzo Opera Boston, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Handel and Haydn Society, and Cantata Singers.

CYNTHIA MEDD SANGER Piano. BS, Northwestern University; MM, Longy School of Music. Cynthia has taught piano since the age of 13 and has had been a teacher ever since. She taught piano while earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees and also while working in other fields. Cynthia has been a middle school classroom teacher, an elementary school music and movement specialist, and a collaborative pianist. She also has a passion for Dalcroze Eurhythmics and has taught early childhood classes at the Brookline Music School. Cynthia has appeared in Boston and in her native Midwest as a choral member, chamber musician, orchestral soloist, and piano soloist. She has performed at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Babson College, the Chromatic Society of Boston, and Pickman Hall at the Longy School of Music.

RUTH SCHECHTER Early Childhood, Cello, Viola. Ruth returned as our Director of Early Childhood and Youth Programs in October 2011. Ruth worked in the same position at BMS for 13 years. While exploring new endeavors over the past 13 years, she developed and taught classes for special needs children and developed intergenerational music classes for nursing home residents and preschoolers. Her goals are to bring these programs to BMS, in addition to strengthening the overall programming for young children. Ruth leads the intergenerational music class, Bridging the Generations, at Goddard House in Brookline Assisted Living. Ruth also teaches chi gung (tai chi) to seniors at Brookline Tai Chi, as well as plays the cello and viola da gamba. Ruth performed and toured with the Greenwood Consort (Renaissance quintet), playing the Baroque cello and with Banchetto Musicale (now Boston Baroque), playing the viola da gamba.

KATIE SEILER Voice. MM Jazz Voice Performance, New England Conservatory; BM Jazz Voice Performance, Western Michigan University. Katie was born in Durham, NH and began classical piano lessons at eight years old. Since 2002 she has been studying voice and has performed regularly as a solo and ensemble vocalist in both classical and jazz styles, with WMU Gold Company Jazz Choir with Donny McCaslin, Pollyfolia Vocal Festival with the WMU Gold Co. Sextet in Normandy, France, The Oprah Show, and with vocal ensemble “Prism.” Studio recordings include those at WMU, with Tim Hauser on his recent CD, and Gary Fry in Chicago. Private coaching by Luciana Souza, Kim Nazarian, Fred Hersch, Jason Moran, Dominique Eade, George Garzone, Frank Carlberg, Jerry Bergonzi, and Stefon Harris.

GREG SELTZER Guitar (Acoustic, Electric, Jazz Guitar). BFA, Jazz Guitar Performance, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music; MS, Music Industry Leadership, Northeastern University. Previous faculty position as jazz guitar coordinator at Thames Valley Music School. Special expertise in teaching beginner to advanced students. Special expertise in those prepping for high school or college auditions and singers who want to practice with an accompanist. Specializing in Rock, Jazz, R&B and Popular Music. www.gregseltzer.com

DAN SNAPE Piano. Classically trained through the Royal School of Music in England; BA, Jazz Performance, Leeds College of Music; Diploma, Jazz Composition, Berklee. Twice winner of Daily Telegraph Young Jazz musician of the Year. Toured with Blues Brothers official european band as keyboardist and Musical Director. Performed in all of Europe's major cities, New England and New York. Has performed with Philip Bailey of Earth Wind and Fire. Studies with Django Bates, JoAnne Brackeen and Cyrus Chestnut.

GREG TOLWINSKI Piano. MM Candidate, 2012, Piano Performance, Boston Conservatory. BA, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. Studies with Max Levinson, Sergey Schepkin, Ya-Fei Chuang, Ilya Itin, Sedmara Rutstein. Former faculty, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. New York solo and chamber performances with the Brooklyn Conservatory New Music Collective and OMNI Ensemble. Accompanying and solo performances at the Casalmaggiore International Festival, Italy. Appearing as soloist with the Stow Festival Orchestra in March, 2012.

CHRIS VEILLEUX Saxophone; Clarinet; Flute; Winds Dept. Coordinator. BA, Northern Illinois University; MM, New England Conservatory. Chris is a woodwind player and composer whose music stems from jazz, free jazz, world music, rock and classical. He co-leads the sax, guitar, and drums trio Industrious Noise, and Roving Soul, with more of a world music influence. He is a member of Charlie Kohlhase’s Saxophone Support Group and Jerry Sabatini’s Sonic Explorer’s. Chris has studied with Ran Blake, Joey Sellers, Steve Duke, Jerry Bergonzi, Allan Chase, Charlie Kohlhase, and Anthony Coleman. For more info check out www.chrisveilleux.com

DAYSE WAISSMAN Early Childhood; Suzuki Flute. BA, Flute Performance, Federal University, Rio de Janeiro; Performance Diploma, Flute, Longy School of Music. Trained in Music and Movement with Ruth Schecter, Brookline Music School. Voice studies with Suzanne Ehly. Recipient of Certificate for Intro to Developmental Individual Relationship (DIR), Floor-time - approach developed by Dr. Greenspan and Dr. Wider for special needs children.

ROBERT WARD Guitar. BM, San Francisco Conservatory of Music; MA, University of California, San Diego. Studies with Angel Pepe, Celin Romero. Radio performances on Morning Pro Musica, Classics in the Morning, Chamberworks, Off the Record. Recorded on Centaur Records. Performances in New England, Texas, California, Hawaii, Cuba, France, Greece. Faculty, Northeastern University.