Grant is a multi-instrumentalist & composer based out of Connecticut. Specializing in jazz trumpet, neo soul keyboards, and singer-songwriter guitar, he performs frequently in Hartford, New Haven, & New York. His music for film has been a part of festivals in Berlin, Cardiff, Los Angeles, and more. During his time at the University of Connecticut, he studied composition and trumpet with Grammy-winning artists Kenneth Fuchs and Louis Hanzlik, and piano and arranging with Earl MacDonald.
Believing that music should be collaborative & expressive, Grant's focus is growing students that are both proficient musicians and enthusiastic creators!
GRANT
Tyriq is a skilled woodwinds player based out of Waterbury CT. Performing often around CT, he performs at many restaurants, breweries, wineries, and other live music venues across the state. Tyriq predominantly plays alto, tenor, soprano saxophone and is proficient on clarinet and flute as well.
Tyriq graduated from Western Connecticut State University in 2022 with a BA in Music. He has been teaching saxophone, clarinet, and flute privately at music studios in Waterbury and Stratford. While at WCSU, Tyriq has gained knowledge not only on woodwinds performance but also digital music. Tyriq has proficient knowledge of Logic Pro X, vocal recording, instrumental recording and other aspects of pro audio.
TYRIQ
Teresa is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance. She also holds a Master of Music degree from Ithaca College in Violin Performance with a Suzuki Emphasis. Teresa teaches classical violin, viola and beginner piano and has a lifelong love of popular, Broadway, ethnic and folk music.
Teresa particularly enjoys helping students become aware of their own ability to learn, to discover, and to create.
Teresa has performed with the New Haven and Waterbury Symphony Orchestras, and at the Shubert, Oakdale and Bushnell with popular performers such as Harry Connick, Jr., and Johnny Mathis. She lives in Cheshire with her family and farm animals, pigs, ducks, and chickens. She welcomes students of all ages to come and learn.
TERESA
Based in New Haven, Connecticut, violinist Marika Basagoitia maintains an active career as a performer and teacher in the New England area. She has performed with symphony orchestras including the Hartford, Eastern Connecticut, Norwalk, and Waterbury symphony orchestras, among others, and is currently a Harmony Fellow with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Marika is passionate about reaching music students from underrepresented backgrounds and has been a part of an outreach initiative in the New Haven public school system through her tenure as a Harmony Fellow. She has ten years of experience teaching privately and has worked with students of all ages and abilities.
Marika received her Master of Music degree in Violin Performance from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Northern Colorado. She was a recipient of the Regents Award for Outstanding Graduate Students at the University of Hartford in 2022. Her principal teachers include Dr. Katie Lansdale, Dr. Jubal Fulks, and Joy Plesner. Marika has attended festivals such as the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, the Vienna Summer Music Festival, and the Promisek Bach+ Workshops, where she also served as co-director alongside Katie Lansdale in 2021. Marika has performed in venues such as Woolsey Hall (New Haven, CT) and the Ehrbar Saal (Vienna, Austria)
MARIKA
Nathan is an active and accomplished composer and multi-instrumentalist currently completing a doctoral program in composition at The Hartt School. Nathan holds an MM in Composition from Binghamton University, where he studied composition with Daniel Thomas Davis and trombone with Don Robertson, as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music and Economics from Swarthmore College, where he studied composition with Gerald Levinson, piano with Hans Lüdemann, and trombone with Paul Arbogast. While a DMA student in Composition at the Hartt School, Nathan was a teaching fellow, working with undergraduates in music theory studies. He previously served as an adjunct professor at Binghamton University.
Always interested in breaking down barriers between genres, he regularly performs as a pianist, trombonist, and drummer in a range of styles including jazz, rock, classical, and musical theater. As a teacher, Nathan emphasizes building strong fundamental skills that enable students to move successfully between musical contexts and play the music that makes them love music, whatever that may be. He is passionate about helping students to discover their own musical voice.
NATHAN
Sandy holds a Bachelors Degree in Music Performance from Humboldt State University in CA. She has 8 years of experience teaching private lessons and general music to all ages, from preschoolers to adults. Sandy teaches piano and ukulele lessons.
“Hi, my name is Sandy! I'm not just here to teach you how to play, I'm also here to make sure that you ENJOY what you play. My goal is not to craft students into the perfect performer, nor to force a proficiency through strict and rigid practice structures. Instead, I aim to work with my students to find where their interests lie, and curate their lessons to best suit them. Because first and foremost, we play music for ourselves, and if we aren’t enjoying it, what’s the point? Music is something that we choose to do, not something that we have to do.”
SANDY
Luke enjoys teaching all styles of music, and truly enjoys fostering excitement about music in students of all ages.
He is an accomplished professional guitarist that has worked in many styles doing pop, funk, blues, folk, rock, jazz, and world music in a plethora of settings. He has opened for legendary acts such as Al Green, Sun Ra, and Los Lobos, performed on Broadway, composed and recorded for television and film, worked with dance ensembles, cruise ships, theatre companies, and bands.
His latest obsession, gypsy jazz, has been keeping him quite busy these past couple of years. Luke has traveled to the Netherlands to study with Paulus Schafer and Fapy Lafertin, at their Sinti camp, traveled across Europe performing and learning. He has also studied with Jack Peterson, Billy “spaceman” Patterson, Gonzalo Bergara, Stephane Wrembel, Paquito Lorier and performed with many of the above as well. Luke was an instructor at Django in June in 2017 and recently came out with his first gypsy jazz album entitled, “Silk and Steel” which. Jazz Profiles Says is “an homage to Django’s influence accompanied by Luke’s statement of independent creativity.” And The New York City Jazz Record states that his “take on the style is to inject some very modern energy along with judiciously placed non-jazz undertones. That’s the crucial difference between maintaining and enriching a legacy.”
LUKE
Hannah has been teaching private voice lessons since 2014. She grew up constantly singing in choirs at church and school, and in musicals offered by the Waterbury Arts Magnet School. After years studying voice pre-professionally with Marianna Vagnini-Dadamo, Deborah Lifton, and Julio Agustin Matos, she earned her B.A in Musical Theatre from WCSU. She went on to work professionally in theatre performance and production, and to teach voice, acting, and ballroom dance! In voice lessons, Hannah practices an uplifting teaching style, empowering students to achieve their singing goals using techniques that support vocal flexibility and lifelong vocal health.
HANNAH
Harry is a highly sought-after multiple woodwind player, chamber musician, and teacher based in Hartford. He regularly performs throughout CT in pit orchestras including the Goodspeed Opera House, Playhouse on Park, The Norma Terris Theater, and the Ivoryton Playhouse. He recently had the privilege of serving as the principal oboist with the Ballet Theater Company of West Hartford for the premiere of Speranza, a new ballet by Mark Mazzarella and Sean Pallatroni.
Harry graduated from the Hartt School in 2017 with a BMus in Saxophone Performance. He has been an adjunct faculty member at Hartt where he taught woodwind methods, and is currently the woodwind instructor at the Rectory School in Pomfret, CT. While at Hartt, Harry won the 2016 Paranov Concerto Competition as a soloist and the 2015 competition with the Resurgam Quartet. He has played with several ensembles including the New Haven Symphony, Waterbury Symphony, the Hartford Gay Men's Chorus, the Farmington Valley Symphony, and the College Light Opera Company of Falmouth, MA.
HARRY
Justin is a percussionist and composer from Hartford, who specializes in drum set. He has been playing drums in the CT and NY area since 2009, opening for acts including Panic at the Disco, Local H and Consider the Source. He loves playing all genres of music, and has been in bands ranging from "Hard Rock" to "Alternative Jazz Hip Hop".
Justin graduated from UConn with a B.A. in Music, studying Percussion. He performed with the UConn Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and Women's Choir. Since graduating, Justin has been enthusiastically sharing his love of music through education and performance. He believes that improvisation and composition are important to unlock creative freedom in any musician. Other than percussion, he also teaches beginner piano, guitar, and ukulele.
JUSTIN
Jillian is a graduate of the Hartt School and with a Master of Music degree in Cello Performance. She has 10 years of experience teaching cello, violin, and viola lessons; her teaching career began during college while earning a Bachelors of Science in Biological Systems Engineering from Kansas State University. In addition to teaching around central Connecticut, Jillian is also an active cellist that captures a wide variety of styles, from performing with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony to recording with Broadway star Javier Muñoz.
JILLIAN
With over 30 years of experience in performance, and 20 years of experience in teaching, Billy has made a full-time career out of music since the early 90’s. As lead guitarist for Eddie Seville/Steel Rodeo, as well as for Morgan Skelly & The Old Crows, he has hundreds of performances under his belt.
“My job as an instructor is to build a solid foundation in both technique and the understanding of the instrument, while also making clear the basic concepts of music theory. Learning to play an instrument can sometimes be a daunting task, I am here to make it as easy and exciting as possible.”
As an accomplished professional guitarist whose style is built around years of playing Rock, Country, and Blues, Billy is here to make your musical aspirations a reality.
BILLY
JOY
Tom is a dedicated guitarist and educator from Southeastern Connecticut. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Connecticut, where he studied with Doug Maher. Tom gigs across New England and enjoys performing in a variety of musical settings including jazz ensembles, pit orchestras, his wedding band Soul Factory, and original music project Number One Babe. Groups Tom has led have opened for international acts such as Blues Traveler, Toto, Whitney, and Herman’s Hermits. Recently, Tom had the privilege to perform “Mamma Mia” and “Jesus Christ Superstar” in the Nutmeg Summer Series under the direction of Broadway legend Terrence Mann. A passionate learner, Tom also performs on bass, banjo, and Ukulele. In his teaching, Tom emphasizes foundational skills and their application in a variety of musical contexts. Above all else, he aims to encourage in his students a lifetime of learning and curiosity.
TOM
Nick is a guitarist and teacher from Milford, CT. After a childhood spent listening to and playing popular music, he decided in 2018 to take his playing to the next level. After deciding to pursue a music degree at the University of Connecticut, he would go on to study jazz guitar with legendary jazz guitar giants Doug Maher and Chris Morrison. He also attended classes and participated in ensembles led by world-class performers and renowned educators Earl MacDonald, John Mastroanni, and Steven Bulmer, eventually receiving his degree in February of 2023.
Nick has performed in a variety of different professional musical settings, including jazz, rock, and musical theater, and has played in numerous venues all across New England.
NICK Z
Nick is a guitar player and instructor based in New Haven county. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in jazz studies from Western Connecticut State University. Nick started playing guitar at age 10, beginning with rock tunes and the blues. Since then, he has studied a wide range of styles including jazz and classical music with renowned teachers such as Christopher Morrison and Joe Tinari. Nick has played at venues around Connecticut with rock, blues, jazz, and funk bands. He has also played many gigs as a solo guitar player playing everything from the Beatles to Beethoven. Nick has experience working with students of all ages and skill levels.
NICK B