Valerie J. Becker is a multi-faceted musician who is active as a pianist, conductor and music educator in the Boston area. A native of Boston, Ms. Becker received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Boston University where she was a student of Anthony di Bonaventura. Her post graduate studies led her to the University of Illinois where she worked on a collaborative artist degree, to Austria where she studied German Lied and to Italy where she performed with the Rome Festival Orchestra. She has been soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra and has appeared in recital with many major artists throughout the world. As a former rehearsal pianist for the Boston Ms. Becker had the occasion to play for world-renowned artists such as Midori, YoYo Ma, James Galway and Kathleen Battle. She served on the faculty of North Carolina School of the Arts, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and was Artistic Director for The Treble Chorus of New England for many years. Ms. Becker has adjudicated Northeast District Auditions, conducted the Northeast District Treble Chorus in concert and was a choral clinician for The Choristers Guild Southeastern Children’s Festival. Currently she is on the Performing Arts Faculty at the Commonwealth School, Needham High School, a faculty accompanist at The Rivers School and New England Conservatory, Music Director for the Congregational Church of Needham, pianist for both the Andover Choral Society and the Kodaly Institute of Boston’s summer program and coaches and teaches piano privately.
John DiTomaso is a trumpet player, vocalist, mult-instrumentalist and educator who works frequently around the Boston area. He has been teaching the Music Technology curriculum at Arlington High School since 2008. John currently performs and records with the Strung Out Playboys, The Few Abide, Madhouse, White Lightnin’, Big Ben Hillman, Tony Gallo Group and has been an in-demand player for Boston Horns, Kickin It, Groove Alliance, Blue Moon Band, Boston Baked Blues, Robert Johnson’s Dimestore Cowboys, and a few he may not still remember. John is “on call” whenever tight section playing and exciting solos are needed.
Trumpet lessons with Mr. DiTomaso are held in the Music Technology lab at AHS.
Dan Teager began studying the trumpet at the tender age of seven and now, a few decades later, he continues to be enthusiastic about the instrument and its capabilities. After graduating from Princeton University, he went on to study electronic music composition at NEC with Robert Ceely. Teager was introduced as a young artist by the Armenian Renaissance Association in 1989, and has performed as a featured soloist in venues ranging from the Massachusetts State House to the historic 12th Baptist Church in Roxbury. Though primarily a trumpet player, he is known locally as a bandleader, songwriter and, arranger as well. As a teacher he has taught both trumpet and recorder to students as young as five, as established as eighty, and most ages in between. In 1996, he founded the 15-piece world music group, Black Sea Salsa, with the idea of creating an original sound by fusing elements of Middle Eastern music with Latin Jazz and blues. Since its first concert, the group has gone on to establish itself as one of Boston’s premier festival bands, performing up and down the East Coast. Black Sea Salsa has recorded two CDs, and played at venues such as Boston Harborfest, Steppin’ Out Boston, and Philadelphia’s Arts on the Main Line. As its director, writer and arranger Teager has been recognized with awards from the Massachusetts Arts Council, and the Armenian Foundation for Film Music and Art. In addition to his teaching, freelance work, and leading Black Sea Salsa, Teager also directs the Youth Choir at the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in Cambridge. As he tells all of his students: “they call it playing music for a good reason.”
Trombone, Tuba, Baritone Horn. (BM New England Conservatory of Music, MM from University of Southern California, Diploma in Film scoring, Berklee College of Music).
A Boston area freelance trombonist playing everything from salsa to jazz to classical. Mr. Hamlin is heard on recordings under such labels as Naxos, OM, and Bib Records, and has appeared as an onstage musician with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company in their 2004 production of “Much ado about Nothing” on Boston Common. A Composer of orchestral and pop music he has had works performed with the Waltham Symphony, Hillyer Festival Orchestra, and the Thayer Symphony. Faculty member UMass Boston, Winchester Music School, and Arlington Public Schools. You can see more of Seth's projects at: http://www.sethhamlin.com
A CD release and culmination of Seth’s songwriting, compositional, and brass playing abilities can be found at: http://bandcamp.com
“We can run away in fear from these trying times, or we can look at them as an opportunity to grow, adapt, and learn new skills!”
Kristi Scaccia, born and raised in sunny Florida, began her music journey playing the Piano and organ alongside her grandfather at a very young age. She holds a Bachelor degree in Horn performance from Florida State University and a Master in Performance from the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Switzerland, where she studied with world renowned Horn players David Johnson, and Alessio Allegrini. Early in her music career she earned a DCI World Championship and performed internationally with Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps. She has performed with Busch Gardens Theme Parks, College Light Opera Company, and held positions in Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Panama City POPS Orchestra and recently played with Orchestra Fiati della Svizzera Italiana (OFSI) and the Lugano Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland. Last year she even had the opportunity to tour with OFSI and play two concerts in the Vatican City in Rome. In addition to her performing experience, Kristi has a deep seeded passion for teaching. She has been a marching band instructor for many years, was a visual technician with Ancient City Ensemble Indoor Percussion, teaches private horn and brass lessons, beginning piano lessons, teaches English as a second language, and is on staff with Art & Music Italia! In fact, Kristi has recently collaborated with Tino D’Agostino on Nagy Zsolt’s Happy Blues for solo horn with added electric bass accompaniment.
Aside from her life of music, Kristi enjoys training dogs, learning and teaching yoga for musicians, learning and coaching personal development, coaching Free FitCamp Workouts, and spending time outside with her dogs Monty and Sofia.
Saxophonist and woodwind specialist Bill Vint, originally from Tucson Arizona began playing with jazz, blues, and latin bands in local nightclubs and venues while still in high school. A move to Boston then followed to attend Berklee College of Music where he studied woodwinds with Joe Viola and Bill Pierce, and was in many of the school’s most prestigious ensembles including Herb Pomeroy’s Concert Jazz Orchestra and the Thelonious Monk Ensemble. After graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1996 for the next four years Bill played in the house band aboard the Odyssey, a large luxury yacht that does Boston harbor cruises. Bill has performed in bands backing up such artists as Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Ojays, Frankie Valli, Kristin Chenoweth, Johnny Mathis, Josh Groban, Bernadette Peters, John Mayer, David Foster and Bobby Caldwell. Also with instrumental jazz artists Joe Zawinal, John Abercrombie, Toshiko Akiyoshi, John Faddis, Bobby Shew and Steve Marcus, as well as participating in the recording project “Spajazzy” featuring guitarist Mike Stern. He has done big band/swing tours with the Artie Shaw, Jimmy Dorsey, and Harry James Orchestras and performed with various groups at the Montreaux, Nice, Monterey, and North Sea Jazz Festivals. When many touring productions of Broadway musicals come through the northeast Bill has played in the pit orchestra for shows including “Book Of Mormon”, “Motown”, “Chicago”, “Grease”, “Cats”, “Legally Blonde”, “Sister Act”, “42nd St.”, “Peter Pan”, “A Chorus Line”, “White Christmas”, and “Miss Saigon”. Currently Bill plays in the band Clockwork, is a member of the John Allmark Jazz Orchestra, and teaches woodwinds and jazz improvisation at Providence College and the Arlington MA public schools.
James Knapik is a woodwind player and music educator who grew up in New Jersey and has recently moved to the greater Boston area. In May 2023, James received his bachelor’s degree in music education with a Minor in Art History from Rutgers University. Ever since he was in high school, James has performed professionally on the clarinet in groups such as the Veritas Youth Orchestra, Sussex County Youth Orchestra, New Jersey All State Band, Rutgers Symphony Orchestra, Rutgers Wind Ensemble, and the August Symphony. While clarinet is his primary instrument, he also has experience as a woodwind doubler, performing on other instruments including flute, piccolo, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, oboe, and bass clarinet. As both a volunteer and professional musician, James has performed for dozens of shows with groups such as Livingston Theater Company, The Charles Seller Foundation and Faith Center for the Arts. James’ passion for performing is equally matched by his passion to teach children. For over a year, he has been teaching privately with JAK Music Studios LLC, giving mainly piano and guitar lessons. Since settling into the greater Boston area, James has begun a new position teaching elementary woodwind classes with Arlington Public Schools. When James isn’t teaching or playing music, he enjoys painting, drawing, reading, and exploring the outdoors.
Ceora Jaffe has enjoyed educating flautists in the Boston area for over 10 years. She is committed to helping flautists achieve their individual goals and develop their own unique musical voice and personality. She works with students to overcome technical challenges in order to fully express and communicate through music. Ms. Jaffe enjoys building relationships with students and helping them learn to cultivate good practice habits which can translate to success in other areas. In addition to her active private studio, Ms. Jaffe has also taught for the private lesson program at Brimmer and May, for the Stokes Forest Music Camp, Camp Encore/Coda, and for Symphony New Hampshire's "Adopt a School Program."
She can be heard regularly throughout New England performing with groups including The Albany Symphony, The Springfield Symphony, Symphony New Hampshire, The Atlantic Symphony and The New Bedford Symphony. She is also an active chamber musician and has performed as guest artist with the Williams Chamber players, in recital at the Boston Public Library, and with the Eleva Chamber Players.
Ms. Jaffe received her Master's and Bachelor's degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with Joshua Smith. She has attended the Kent/Blossom Professional Training program and the Domaine Forget Academy of Music and Dance.
For more information about Ceora and her performances and recordings, please visit http://www.ceorajaffe.com
Soprano, Hannah Meloy, is an emerging artist in the Boston community. With an affinity for interpreting and performing art song, she was selected to participate in the 2016 Cleveland Art Song Festival where she worked with Susan Graham, Bradley Moore, Eduardo Valdes, and Edwin Crossley-Mercer. In the 2018 she won 3rd prize in the Philharmonic Society of Arlington's Young Artist Concerto Competition for her performance of Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915. She was one of four singers chosen to attend the Stratton Mountain Vocal Workshop at the 2018 Manchester Music Festival where she coached with Warren Jones and Sidney Outlaw and shared the stage with Warren Jones and Renee Tatum.
Her operatic roles include most recently, Zerlina in Don Giovanni; Valencienne in The Merry Widow; Miss Paige in Dan Shore's An Embarrassing Position; scene work as Sophie in Werther, Norina in Don Pasquale, and Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel; Despina in Così fan tutte; Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro; Pamina in Die Zauberflöte; and Foreign Woman in The Consul. She has performed with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the Beiras Philharmonic Orchestra in Portugal as well as with the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hannah obtained her Master of Music degree from the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, MA. During her tenure at Longy she was a winner of the 2016 Longy Honors Competition.
In addition to her work as a performer, Hannah has a passion for teaching aspiring singers of all levels. She maintains a private teaching studio in Arlington, MA where she helps her students develop a healthy singing technique and pursue their musical goals. Her pupils can be found singing in top level collegiate programs, as well as high school and community theater performances.
Knarik Nerkararyan is an operatic soprano. She graduated with honors from the Komitas Yerevan State Conservatory.. In 2006 she received scholarship to continue her studies in US and in 2008 earned her Degree in Vocal Performance, from Azusa Pacific University. During 2003 and 2004 she participated in the International Christian Music Festival SOZO in Baja, Hungary, where she introduced wide audiences to Armenian medieval spiritual music. In 2007and 2008 Knarik was granted scholarships from Armenian General Benevolent Union. Also, in 2008 she won 2nd prize at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition for Vocalists. She is the winner of the 2007 and 2010 Concerto Competition at Azusa Pacific University. In 2010 she was granted a scholarship and selected for the Intimate Opera Fifth Annual Vocal Workshop. In 2011 she won the American Educators of Italian Origin United 41st Annual Opera Auditions. In 2010 she was selected as a Resident Artist in the Riverside Lyric Opera. In 2011 Knarik performed Mimi’s role in " La Bohem" with Repertory Opera Company. She performed scenes from “The Abduction from the Seraglio” as Konstanze and “Lucia di Lammermoor” as Lucia with the Intimate Opera Company. Among her other operatic roles are Fiordiligi in “ Cosi fan tutte”, Sister Angelica in “ Sister Angelica”, Mother in “Amahl and the night visitors”, Tatiana in “Eugene Onegin”, Kupava in the US premier of Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera“ The Snow Maiden” Zemfira in Rachmaninov’s opera “ Aleko”
Active as both a soloist and a chamber musician, cellist Alan Toda-Ambaras has performed with renowned artists such as Midori, Yo-Yo Ma, Sandeep Das and other members of the Silk Road Ensemble, the Borromeo Quartet, the Parker Quartet, the Boston Trio, and he has appeared twice as a soloist with the North Carolina Symphony.
He has been featured on French television, in several European documentaries and was named the recipient of the Prize for Most Promising Contestant at the 2005 Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris. Alan has also been heard on NPR's From The Top program, New York's WKCR Classical station, and Boston’s Neighborhood News Network.
Alan is an avid explorer of new music, and is the dedicatee and premiere performer of Trevor Bača's "Huitzil" for solo cello and Stephanie Ann Boyd's Tekton cello concerto, amongst other pieces. He performed the latter with Boston’s Eureka Ensemble in May 2017.
His performances have gained enthusiastic reviews. In Paris, he “touched the public and the jury” (musique.france2.fr). The Washington Post noted that Alan “has the poise of a seasoned performer” and “showed off his strengths convincingly in the demanding repertoire.” And another critic declared that Alan’s playing “proved remarkable by any standard. . . . Toda-Ambaras is worth seeking out and hearing.”
Alan is passionate about engaging with communities through performances and discussions about the arts and humanities in modern society. During the 2018-19 season, Alan was the cellist in Midori's Music Sharing quartet program, through which they conducted cultural exchange and social service performances at assisted living centers and schools throughout Vietnam and Japan. He is also the director and primary coach for the Quad Chamber Players, a program he established during his three-year term as Music Scholar-in-Residence for Harvard's Cabot House. As a non-resident tutor in the Quad, Alan continues directing the program in collaboration with Professor Merry Peckham of the New England Conservatory.
Alan has participated in master classes and taken lessons with many of the world’s foremost artists, including Benjamin Zander, Luis Claret, Philippe Muller, Ralph Kirshbaum, Gary Hoffman, David Geringas (at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, in Siena, Italy), Jens Peter Maintz, Frans Helmerson, Anner Bylsma (all three at the Kronberg Academy in Germany), Janos Starker, and Joel Krosnick. At Harvard, he enjoyed studying the evolving significance of human gesture and physicality in modern and postmodern painting. Alan has a B.A. in History of Art and Architecture from Harvard and an M.M. from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Laurence Lesser.
Recent appearances include performances in Tokyo's Ohji Hall and Zojoji Temple; Osaka's Phoenix Hall; the National Music Academy in Vietnam; the Massachusetts State House, the Taos Music Festival, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Harvard University's Paine Hall, and the New England Conservatory
Jeffrey Chew is a graduate from Boston University with a dual degree in Cello Performance and Computer Science. He teaches after school private lessons through Arlington Public Schools.
Throughout his music career, he has been an avid member of various orchestras in the Boston area, including the Boston University Symphony/Chamber Orchestra, the Reading Symphony Orchestra, and various orchestras at the New England Conservatory. He has also performed in various chamber music groups at Boston University and the New England Conservatory.
While a student at Boston University, he studied with renowned cellists Marc Johnson, Rhonda Rider and Hyun-Ji Kwon. He performed Elgar's Cello Concerto and Prokofiev's Cello Sonata in C Major at his senior recital. Prior to his time at Boston University, he studied with Carol Ou through the New England Conservatory Preparatory School.
Outside of music, he is also working at Arlington Public Schools as a Desktop Support Specialist.
A passionate teacher, Miranda Henne teaches cello in Boston, MA and coaches chamber music for the Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras and the Lexington Chamber Music Center. For 4 weeks in the summer, she teaches cello, improvisation and poetry writing at Friends Music Camp at Earlham College in Indiana. While residing in Dallas, TX, she maintained a studio of 28 cello students and taught music appreciation courses as a Graduate Assistant at Southern Methodist University. Her cello students advanced to All Region Orchestra, and 20 students won top honors at the 2014 Plano I.S.D. Solo Contest. In her 12 years of teaching, her students have ranged from ages 8-80.
As a performer, Miranda soloed with the Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra and was twice featured at the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. She has also shared the improv, rock and folk stage with the likes of Mike Mills from R.E.M., Abigail Washburn, Mike Block, Rushad Eggleston, fiddler Bruce Molsky and the piri and Saengwhang player Gamin. In 2012, Miranda collaborated with Shen Wei, choreographer of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Ceremony, to create and premiere The New You, featuring her musical improvisation. She has also worked with and premiered pieces by composers like Libby Larson.
Miranda holds a B.A. in Music with a minor in English from the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University and a M.M. from Southern Methodist University. In 2015, she studied at the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. As an undergraduate, Miranda spent a semester studying Shakespeare’s plays in Oxford, U.K. and a month in Wallacedene, South Africa helping local high school students write and produce a musical play. An avid runner and soccer fan, Miranda played on the champion intramural soccer team at Southern Methodist University.
Ms. Kaede Kobayashi-Kirker was born in Tokyo, Japan. She holds Master's degree in violin performance from the Boston Conservatory. Her main teachers include Lynn Chang, and Burton Kaplan. She loves to ski, and watch hockey games with her husband.
Mark Paxson, violin/viola Violinist Mark Paxson enjoys a varied career as an orchestral and chamber musician, concertmaster and teacher. A longtime member of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, he has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra (with which he has made numerous US tours), the Boston Ballet, the Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, the Boston Philharmonic, and Emmanuel Music. In addition, he has been a member of both the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. In the summer, Mr. Paxson performs with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Idaho, and also appears at the Monadnock Music Festival, the New Hampshire Music Festival, and with the Portland Opera Repertory Theater. Past career highlights have also included a month-long tour of Japan with the American Symphony Orchestra, performances with the Malaysia Philharmonic, and period instrument concerts with the Handel & Haydn Society and Boston Baroque.
Mr. Paxson was guest first violinist of the Ives String Quartet in 2003. He has also performed chamber music at the Woodstock Mozart Festival, the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival, White Mountain Musical Arts, the Taos School of Music and at Ernen Musikdorf. He has been concertmaster of the Monadnock Music Festival Orchestra, the New Hampshire Symphony, The Bostonians, the North Shore Philharmonic, the New England Philharmonic and, since 1999, for the annual oratorio concert at the First Parish Church in Brunswick, Maine. He has also acted in principal positions with the Portland Symphony Orchestra and with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony.
Mr. Paxson has taught at New England Conservatory's Extension Division, Northeastern University, Longy School of Music, Sun Valley Music Conservatory, Rocky Ridge Music Center (Colorado), and at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada. He also teaches in music programs in both Arlington and Ipswich, MA. His students have won both regional and state competitions, as well as positions in all-state and northeastern Massachusetts district orchestras. He studied in New York City and holds degrees with honors from Indiana University and the New England Conservatory of Music.
Japanese violinist Asuka Usui is a former student of the great violin pedagogue Eric Rosenblith. Asuka has appeared with the Boston Lyric Opera, Portland Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic, Topeka Symphony, Miami Pops, and the Florida Symphony. She has spent past summers performing at the International Musical Arts Institute in Maine, and the Ameropa Chamber Music Festival in Prague, as well teaching on the violin faculty at the Caritas String Summer Festival in Edinburgh. She maintains a private violin studio, and teaches lessons in the Wellesley Public Schools. Asuka lives in Arlington, Massachusetts with her husband, violist Jason Fisher and their son Kaito. B.M., University of Kansas. M.M., Longy School of Music.
Praised by the Boston Globe for her "silky tone," violinist Hikaru Yonezaki is passionately committed to connecting to the world around her, having already been heard in Europe and South America, as well as the United States and Canada.
A special part of her latest tour included bringing music to less fortunate communities. As part of her commitment to community, she worked with younger musicians to encourage their love for music in South America and arranged short programs for nursing facilities in Asia.
Her most recent international appearance was as a selected Young Artist at the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy, where she gave concerts at the Palazzo Barberini. She has spent several summers in Austria as a student of Michael Frischenschlager, where she has had the pleasure of collaborating with pianists Veronika Kopjova and Aki Maeda. She has performed for many galas, including the Fritz Kreisler Gala in Vienna and the Boston Philharmonic Rising Stars Gala. At the age of 15, Hikaru served as the youngest concertmistress in the 48-year history of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra at New England Conservatory Preparatory School, participating in a tour of Europe that ended with Mahler’s Symphony no. 9 in Vienna’s legendary Musikverein. Following the completion of her bachelor’s degree at The Juilliard School, she is pursuing her master’s degree with Masao Kawasaki. She has performed in masterclasses for Pamela Frank and Frans Helmerson while at Juilliard, where she is also a member of the orchestra. Carrying a deep admiration for collaboration, she has a strong affinity to double concertos and chamber music works.
Michael Simon is a professional double bassist and educator based in Boston, Massachusetts, and currently the Elementary and Middle School String Program Director for Arlington Public Schools.
Michael received a Graduate Performance Diploma in Double Bass Performance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee under the private direction of Thomas Van Dyck of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as earned his Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees in Double Bass Performance from the Boston Conservatory under the direction of Lawrence Wolfe, Assistant Principal of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Benjamin Levy of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, respectively.
As a performer, Michael has been a member of the Vista Philharmonic since 2016, and has performed with various other symphonic, operatic, and musical theater orchestras throughout the Greater Boston area, including the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Lexington Symphony, Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Boston Opera Collaborative, New Repertory Theater, and the Lyric Stage Company of Boston.
As an educator, Michael has previously served as a string faculty member for both Arlington Public Schools and the Boston Music Project in Boston. He is also currently a regular coach for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, and maintains a prominent private studio comprised of various string students ranging from first grade to high school.
Beyond his career in music, Michael enjoys spending his free time playing board games with his family, reading (he's a huge Harry Potter fan), and binge watching as many TV shows as he possibly can.