PIANO
Knarik Nerkararyan is an operatic soprano and pianist. She graduated with honors from the Komitas Yerevan State Conservatory. In 2006 she received a scholarship to continue her studies in the 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 premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera“ The Snow Maiden” Zemfira in Rachmaninov’s opera “ Aleko”
Madeline Bucci, though originally from the Pittsburgh area, is a Boston-based pianist and music educator of 7 years. She received her Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance and Master’s of Music in Music Education from Boston University in 2019 and 2020 respectively before becoming the general music teacher and 5th grade chorus director at Northeast Elementary in Waltham. In recent history, Madeline has taught piano to children as young as 3 and adults as old as 75 while working as a teaching fellow for Boston Children’s Chorus. When she’s not making or teaching music, you’ll find her wandering around outdoors or with her nose stuck in a book!
Piano
Piano
Suzanne Pittorino began her classical piano training at the age of 6, studying with Epp Sonin, Ruth Edwards, and Anna Soukiassian. She was a Piano Performance minor at the University of New Hampshire, accompanying many fellow musicians and performing a solo Senior Recital. An ELA teacher at Kennedy Middle School, she enjoys teaching beginning students the joys of playing the piano.
Judy Zuckerman is a veteran general music teacher for the Waltham Public Schools and long time private lesson teacher for our program. She teaches piano and acoustic guitar at the MacArthur School. She also performs regularly with an adult Choir in the Boston area.
Piano/Acoustic Guitar
Piano
Yuko Yoshikawa has been teaching piano and marimba in the Boston area for 20 years. She is a piano faculty at Key Notes School of Music and was a long-time Piano Faculty at Merry Melody Music Academy.
Yuko has performed and taught as a guest artist at The Conservatorio Nacional de Música (Mexico), University of South Florida, Zeltsman Marimba Festival, Berklee College of Music's Percussion Week, and KOSA to name a few.
Yuko graduated from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee with a Master's Degree in Marimba Performance, and Osaka College of Music with a Bachelor's Degree in Percussion.
Yuko was a semi-finalist of both The Universal Marimba Competition (Belgium) in 2004 and The World Marimba Competition (Germany) in 2002. Yuko was a winner of the Percussion Solo Competition at Aspen Music Festival and School (2000).
Brad Young is a Berklee College of Music graduate with a major in Music Production. He currently owns and operates a recording studio working with Artists in the Pop, Rock, and R&B genres. Although Guitar is his primary instrument, he enjoys introducing Piano and Music Theory to young beginner students.
Piano, Keyboard, Electric & Acoustic Guitar
Piano
Ellyn Rossi has been teaching with our program for three years and enjoys sharing her knowledge of piano and music with her students. She also works for the Lexington Public schools.
Rusty Chandler studied jazz bass performance at Manhattan School of Music. Growing up in Lexington, MA he began playing bass guitar in middle school and picked up the upright bass while playing in the Lexington High School Jazz program including Jazz Combo and Jazz Ensemble as well as orchestra. Since 2006 he has played in musical theatre pit orchestras in the Boston area including at the Reagle Music Theatre, Moonbox Productions and Wheelock Family Theatre. Rusty plays upright bass and bass guitar in folk, rock and roll, and reggae bands. He has been teaching guitar and bass in the Waltham Public Schools and elsewhere since 2010.
Electric Bass, Upright Bass & Acoustic Guitar
Peter Raymond Subramanian is a native of Havertown, PA and graduate of Berklee College of Music. His current focus of style is Irish traditional fiddle, but he studies and performs old time clawhammer banjo as well. Peter comes from a family of music patrons who nurtured his love of singing and music-making from early childhood. He spent his middle and high school years with the Keystone State Boychoir where he developed his musicianship, performing craft, and professionalism. Today he lives in Brighton, MA, teaches private lessons, and often leads sessions in the Boston area.
Violin & Viola
Flute
Grace Helmke is a passionate musician and teacher, experienced in principal flute performance and in teaching students of all ages. She recently performed a sold-out Carnegie Hall debut, and in 2021 won 1st prize in the James Pappoutsakis Memorial Competition & The Boston Woodwind Society/Matthew Ruggerio International Woodwind Competition. She played principal flute with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, with which the Boston Classical Review described her performance of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra as having “sang beguilingly.” Grace was recently named a first call sub with the Vista Philharmonic Orchestra, and has been on the sublist for the Boston Lyric Opera since September 2022.
Karina Perebeyeva received her BA from Almaty College of Music (USSR) and her Masters of Music degree with a major in Flute and minor in Piano from Almaty State Conservatory of Music (USSR). Karina continued to study flute with Leonard Mironovich of the Longy School of Music and has performed on Almaty radio and television. Today, Karina continues to perform professionally with various chamber groups. Karina has more than 15 years of teaching experience across all ages and abilities.
Karina’s goal is to instill a sense of music appreciation and encourage students to expand their interests. She takes a serious, academic approach at a highly professional level in preparing those looking towards competitive performances, but equally enjoys teaching students who simply wish to better understand music. Karina focuses on offering praise and positive encouragement to keep students motivated and eager to learn and progress in their development.
Karina thinks that every child is unique and she creates a special approach to musical education for every young student.
Flute
Paul Tomashefsky
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Tomashefsky received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from the Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the director of the Bentley College Jazz Ensemble in Waltham, MA from 1985 until 1996. During that time, he initiated an inter-collegiate jazz exchange program between Berklee College, M.I.T., Boston University, Harvard University, and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute jazz departments. He has been on the faculty of the Westborough Public Schools Fine Arts / Music Department from 1989 through 2020. Before moving to Central Massachusetts, he held teaching positions in East Boston, Newton, Malden, Duxbury, Wellesley, and the Dedham public school systems.
As a performer, he is a recognized "Yamaha" Band Instrument Co. Trumpet Artist since 1988. He is currently active as a free-lance performer with such local groups as The Fantasy Big Band, "Sultans of Swing" Dance & Wedding band, the Midtown Horns and the Double Take Jazz Combo. Past performances and recording credits include; Jordan Valentine & The Sunday Saints, A Decade of Soul, Quintessential Brass, Bobby Rydell, The Four Tops, Jacques D’Amboise and the National Dance Institute, Harvard University's (Hasty Pudding Theatrical Society), Turtle Lane Theater, and his own Spectrum Jazz Quintet. Mr. Tomashefsky’s publishing credits as a visual artist include having designed several book covers for Charles Colin Music publishers under composer/arranger David Berger in New York City, and a commissioned portrait of jazz bassist Charles Mingus for 106.7 WMJX FM radio in Boston, MA
Presently teaching in the Shrewsbury Public Schools, as an after school trumpet instructor, Mr. Tomashefsky was the recipient of two Westborough Education Foundation Teaching Grants: "Music Notation in the next Millennium" in 1996 and again in 2001 for "Journey into Jazz" an after school program, which encourages fifth and sixth grade band students to explore and perform music from various jazz periods and styles.
It has been an honor and a privilege teaching in communities that recognize Art, Music, Dance and Drama as part of their core curriculum. While not busy teaching or performing, Mr. Tomashefsky enjoys spending time with his family at the beach in York Harbor, Maine.
Trumpet
Saxophone & Clarinet
David Daquil comes to us as a recently retired public school music teacher from Southboro Mass. As a performer, he has played throughout New England as a free-lance woodwind musician. Performance highlights include playing for Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford. Performing ensembles range from orchestras, theatre pits to big bands. David has played with the Thayer Symphony Orchestra and Claiflin Hill Orchestra. For theater work he has performed at Theatre by the Sea, Reagle Players and the Hanover Theater to name a few. He has also performed with the following big bands: Jerry Seeco and the Jazz Machine, Worcester Jazz Orchestra, Hal McIntyre Orchestra, and the
Artie Barsamian Boston Big Band. He has recorded three cds with Artie Barsamian and The Boston Big Band. David graduated from the Kent State University with a Masters of Music Degree in Music Education in 2017 and Berklee College of Music in 1990 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. While at Berklee, he studied woodwinds with Joseph Viola and arranging with Herb Pomeroy and Robert Freedman.
Tsyoshi Honjo has performed at many music festivals and with various ensembles around the world— including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and Thailand. He has been active as a classical, jazz, and contemporary improvisation saxophonist and clarinetist. Tsuyoshi has taught for Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools, Lincoln Public Schools, Bedford Patrons of Music Students and Wayland Public Schools. In addition to teaching woodwinds, he’s also taught workshops on jazz music theory, performance practice techniques, and improvisational composition in colleges around Boston. Tsuyoshi received a Bachelor of Music in jazz guitar and music theory from Berklee College of Music and a Master of Music in Modern American Music and Artist Diploma in classical saxophone from the Longy School of Music. He also received a Doctor of Musical Arts for the saxophone from Boston University. Tsuyoshi attended Darmstadt Contemporary Music Institute in Germany and Habanera Saxophone Academy in France.
Saxophone & Clarinet
Trombone
Jay Abolofia is a versatile trombonist who enjoys playing and teaching a wide range of musical styles. He performs with the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra as well as in various local klezmer ensembles and brass bands. In college, he played with the popular ska/reggae band The Georgetown Orbits. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Jay attended college in Seattle and earned his PhD in economics from UC Davis. Jay lives with his wife and three daughters in Waltham, where his children attend the Waltham Public Schools. When he’s not making music or spending time with family, Jay provides personal financial planning advice through his company, Lyon Financial Planning. He is excited to share his love of music and help his students grow as musicians.
Celeste McGinty was adopted at 17 months old from Cambodia. She began suzuki cello lessons at age 3 1⁄2. For 3 years she attended the Longy School for private lessons and groups. Then from ages 6-18 she attended the Rivers School Conservatory studying cello, piano, theory and chamber music. From the Rivers Conservatory she graduated with an Young Artist Diploma level 3 as well as the Directors Award for most progress shown. As a student she was a member for 5 years of the Advanced Rivers Youth Orchestra RYO.
Recently, as an adult, she has held the Principal cello position of the Rivers Symphony Orchestra for 3 years. Throughout her studies Celeste has given many Solo performances and solo recitals, as well as chamber music concerts. She attended the Hartt School of Music for 1 year and then transferred to UMass Boston, graduating with a major in Psychology and a minor in Asian American Studies. She continues her regular private cello lessons with Professor Alexander Badalov at Rivers School Conservatory. Celeste is truly excited to begin as a cello teacher in the Waltham Public School Music Program!
Cello
Anthony Meconiates has been playing the trumpet for 15 years and is a former student of the Waltham public schools where he performed in several different ensembles within the middle and high school level. He is currently a PLTW teacher at KenedyMiddle School.
