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MIRIAM ALOUF, born in Israel, is a board certified teacher graduate
from WIZO teacher’s seminar and the London School of Arts where she
studied Ceramics and Sculpture. Her work was shown in Jerusalem, Tel
Aviv and New York. She taught soldiers Arts and Crafts while she
served in the Israeli army. In addition, Miriam was the founder of
the Ceramic Center in Great Neck where she held art classes and
parties for 25 years.
JUDE AMSEL, a photographer, ceramist, and glass artist, exhibits her
works in galleries nationwide. Her work is represented in museums,
public spaces, and is in many celebrity collections. Jude was
selected by the State of New York to create a commemorative work of
the fallen firefighters of September 11, 2001 at the New York City
Fire Museum. In 2003 she was presented the GNAC Artist of
Distinction award, bestowed to an individual artist or art activist
whose work in the field has been outstanding and deserving of
recognition. Visit
www.clayscreen.com.
JENNIFER ANDERSEN, an artist and teacher, graduated from Queens
College where she received an award for excellence in fine arts.
Jennifer also played a part in the 2006 art festival at the Waverly
School of the Arts and the 2007 art festival for the Uniondale
Public School District. Her specialties include drawing, painting,
collage, and ceramics. Aside from her artistic endeavors, Jennifer
has also studied acrobatics and gymnastics for more than twelve
years. She studied at, and performed for, Gardiners Avenue Saturday
Dance program in acrobatics, as well as taught there for three
years.
EVELYN BALASSANIAN started dancing at age 8. By age 12 she was
training in Russia and at 14 she was performing as a soloist with
major European dancers, teachers and choreographers: George
Balanchine in Serenade; John Butler in Schehrazade; Morris Bejar;
Robert DuWarren; Robert; and Inga Urazgildier. In the U.S. she
joined the Dance Theatre of Long Island with artistic director and
international choreographer, Ali Pourfarrokh. For 15 years she
taught and choreographed ballet at the Long Island School of Dance
and Berest School of Dance. She continues to teach and dance with
the American Theatre Dance and Eglevsky Ballet.
ELIZABETH BERMAN has a BM in Oboe
Performance, Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and a
Master of Arts from Goucher College. She has worked as a musician
with the Annie and Oliver! National Tours. In
addition, she has taught piano and oboe and has worked with outreach
programs with performance groups in high school and college.
IRA MATTHEW BERMAN has an MM,
Peabody Institute, and a BM Aaron Copland School of Music, in
Clarinet Performance. He has worked in the Pit Orchestra for
Annie, Oliver!, The Producers, Oklahoma!;
with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra and more. He is fluent in the
techniques on clarinet and also plays Eb soprano and bass
clarinet; and soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone.
ABBEY BOKLAN & PETER SUTTON are avid social ballroom dancers who
have taught social dancing on Carnival, Costa, Celebrity, and NCL
cruise lines. For the past six years, Abbey and Peter have studied
in New York and Buenos Aires with great tango masters including
Guillermina Guiroga and Mariel Franganillo of Forever Tango, Gustavo
Rosas, Osvaldo Zotto, Lorena Ermocida, and Juan Carlos Copes.
ELIZABETH CONNOLLY was born in Chicago, Illinois. First exposed to
art at an exhibition of Claude Monet, she went on to study art at
NIU, in DeKalb, IL. Awarded a BFA and MA in Fiber/Fabric, she left
the Midwest to seek her fortune in New York where she worked in the
fashion industry as a textile designer. Ms. Connolly has recently
completed the M.S. Ed program in Visual Arts at Hofstra and is eager
to pursue her new career as an art teacher.
CHASEY DEAN attended the Juilliard School and was a member of the
Pete Rugolo/ Stan Kenton and Charlie Barnett Orchestras. From
1956-60 he played with Xavier Cugat and Abbey Lane. He also played
four years at the Copacabana and frequently on Broadway. He has
played with all the jazz greats. He currently teaches saxophone,
clarinet, oboe and flute privately.
ERIC DIVITO holds a Bachelor’s Degree in classical guitar and music
education from the Crane School of Music and a Master’s Degree in
Jazz performance from Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College.
An active composer for ensembles and independent films; performs
with: NYC’s great Jazz musicians; his own Jazz trio, Project3Tet;
and is the musical director, arranger, and guitarist of
PepperSpray, a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band.
DAVID DODDS Dave found his true calling in the percussion section.
Years of classical training built a strong technical and musical
foundation for him while real-world experience with a number of
different jazz, rock, and fusion bands helped him develop. His focus
lies on timbre, musicality, dynamics and taste. His style of
classically grounded, jazzy beats can be heard with a number of
NY/New England artists including his favorite project, the
independent jam band Blake & The Family Dog.
EMILY GELLER
was a Semi-finalist in NATS Aria Competition, Orpheus National Vocal
Competition, Classical Singer AudComps and was awarded the NYSTEA
Award of Excellence for Exceptional Work in Theater. She graduated
with a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from New England
Conservatory. Emily earned both the Emmitt Quinton Scholarship for
Theater and the prestigious Ruth S. Morse Scholarship. She has
performed at Intermezzo Young Artist Program, Rising Star Singers
Audition Workshop, BU Tanglewood Institute and College Light Opera
Company.
BERNIE GENZER worked for 30 years in New York City as a Speech Arts
and Drama teacher. He has 15 years coaching experience for the
Richmond Hill High School fencing team in New York and 15 years
experience coaching the Great Neck Public Schools fencing teams. Mr. Genzer presently referees for Nassau County High Schools.
ENIKA GJOKORECI, a piano teacher for over 20 years, began teaching
applied piano and piano class at the Artistic Lyceum (the best music
school in the country) after graduating from the Academy of Arts in
Tirana/Albania. She has taught all ages and levels and her piano
students have been accepted in the most prestigious music schools
throughout Europe and the United States. In addition, Enika is a
very active soloist and chamber musician. Recitals in New York
brought her to venues such as: Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall,
Flushing Town Hall, LeFrack, Colden Center, and Bronx Community
College.
LOREN GONZALEZ, founder and instructor of Salsa Babies,
postnatal Latin dance program and Salsa & Karma's yoga, combines
her passion for yoga, her lifelong love of Latin Dance with her
desire to share these practices. An American Council on
Exercise certified group fitness and dance instructor; Early
Childhood Music & Movement Association and NYS Education Department
certifications.
ASIYA KALENDAR is from Tashkent, Uzbekistan where she received her
Master’s Degree from the Tashkent Conservatory. In 1972, she joined
the faculty of Tashkent’s Music School No. 21 as the principal
choral conductor and senior instructor in music history, theory and Solfeggio. As a skilled piano teacher, Mrs. Kalendar has brought
her students at the GNAC to a high level of accomplishment; many
going on to study at the Manhattan School of Music and other
distinguished music schools. Her students consistently achieve top
scores at the NYSSMA competition each year.
EDWARD KALENDAR was born in the former Soviet Republic of
Tajikistan. He studied classical composition with Aram Khachaturian. His music was played on the radio and television throughout the
Soviet Union and Europe. He studied conducting with legendary
Pierre Boulez and by 1975, Mr. Kalendar was a famous songwriter and
composer of over twenty-five film scores. Among major prizes in
musical composition, he was awarded the prestigious title of
“Honored Artist of the Republic” in Russia in 1988. In 1994 he
joined the faculty at GNAC. A concert at Alice Tully Hall in 2006
marks his most recent appearance.
DANIEL KLEIN has studied vocal pedagogy with legendary teachers
Judith Oas Natalucci and David Jones. His performance training has
come from Sherrill Milnes, Jerome Hines, Carlo Bergonzi, and Martina
Arroyo, among others. He received a Masters of Music in Vocal Arts
from the University of Southern California and his BFA in Vocal
Performance from Carnegie Mellon University. Daniel has appeared
with the Los Angeles Opera, Opera Pacific, Pittsburgh Opera, Bolshoi
Opera, and the Aspen Music Festival. He has sung in major concert
halls including Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood
Bowl, and the New Israeli Opera House.
JUDY LEFF is the Director/Owner of While They’re Little, a company
she started after her second child was born. She and her teachers
have all been trained to teach Music Together by the Center for
Music and Young Children in Princeton, NJ. In addition to the Mixed
Age Music Together classes, While They’re Little also offers Babies
Only classes as well as Music Together in a Pre-school setting.
Additional information about Music Together classes can be found at
www.whiletheyrelittle.com.
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GLENN MANION has been playing the guitar since 1969. In 1983, he and
his musical partner and wife, Suzanne Smithline, formed “Squeaky
Clean”, which specializes in presenting classic rock and roll in
schools, theaters, and the like. The group made regular appearances
on Nickelodeon’s “Eureka’s Castle” for several years. As a
songwriter, he has received awards from ASCAP and the SKC/ New York
Music Awards, BA New York University.
MARILYN MOSKOWITZ is a visual artist who has studied with some of
the great artists of our time (Milton Glaser, Fairfield Porter, Jack
Levine and Elisabeth Osborn). She is imbued with a deep respect for
the figurative tradition and the endless challenges for artists
working within the broad spectrum of the tradition. Her work has won
numerous awards and is included in many corporate and private
collections. B.F.A., University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts.
KRISTIN SAWYER NIKAJ is a violinist
who has performed throughout New York's premiere concert halls,
including Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall and Lincoln Center. She has
performed with numerous orchestras, both in the US and abroad. Ms.
Nikaj holds a Master’s Degree in Performance from Mannes College
where she served as principal violist of the Mannes Orchestra.
Primarily performing music of the classical genre, she occasionally
collaborates with popular artists, including Adele, Kid Cudi and
Ryan Leslie. Television appearances include The View; The
Late Show with David Letterman; BET's Rising Icons;
The Monique Show. Ms. Nikaj is a Suzuki certified instructor and
has been on faculty of the GNAC for six years.
HEATHER O'CONNELL is a NYS certified
teacher in Visual Arts with an MS Ed in Art Education from Hofstra
University. Heather has always had a very strong interest in Fashion
Design, Photography, Drawing, and Painting and hopes to take these
skills and use them to teach others to enjoy art as much as she
does. Currently Heather is teaching High School Art for the NYC city
public school system and couldn't love her job more. She looks
forward to seeing you in all of her fun and exciting classes here at
GNAC!
ANNIE PASQUA, a singer, pianist, and composer whose performance
credits include Carnegie Hall, Nassau Coliseum as well as an
appearance on Good Morning America with Kenny G. Annie received her
B.S. in Music Education from New York University and Masters in
Composition from Queens College. Annie has been a composer/lyricist
in the BMI Lehman Engel Music Theater Writing Workshop in Manhattan
and has musical directed works premiered at New World Stages and the
York Theater. Annie is currently workshopping her new musical, Tess
(based on Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles) with her sister
Jenna in Manhattan.
CAROL ROSENTHAL has been a loving and enthusiastic art instructor
for over 25 years. Her teaching experience includes: Lincoln Center
Institute, C.W. Post College and public schools across Long Island.
Her art specialties include: jewelry design; hand-painting clothing;
children's book writing; illustration; creating unusual books; and
giving workshops to teachers on how to enhance their academic
curriculum through the visual arts. Carol currently sits on the GNAC
Arts Advisory Committee
JOEL SALMAN is a Professional Chess Master and one of LI’s top ten
players who teaches chess full time in several Nassau County School
districts. He defeated a Grand Master in 1998 at the US Masters,
received the international title of FIDE Master in 1994, and was
awarded the Life Master (1993) and the National Master (1992) titles
from the United Chess Federation. His experience as a tournament
arbiter and organizer includes competitions for Inter-national
Grandmasters. BA in Mathematics, Johns Hopkins University.
CHARLENE SLOANE has found that the beading art form inspires her
most. Charlene has studied at FIT, the Long Island Embroidery Guild
of America and with numerous craftsmen from all over America.
Charlene’s beadwork has been published in Bead and Button and has
exhibited at World of Beads V and VI at the Museum of Arts and
Design in NY. Charlene was also the recipient of best mixed media
artwork in a juried art show at The Guild Hall Gallery in East
Hampton, New York.
DANIEL PITT STOLLER is an actor, director, and playwright. He holds
an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the
Arts. His musical, Benjamin Starling was produced in 2004 at the
Spirit of Broadway Theatre in Connecticut. Danny has previously
taught creative workshops for the Wingspan Arts Center, Making Books
Sing, and Junior Levels. He has also contributed musical theatre
study materials for Camp Broadway in New York City.
LESLEY STOLLER, a NYS Licensed Music Teacher with an MA in
Psychology. He has been teaching Music for the NYC Department of
Education at Queens Children’s Psychiatric Center for nineteen
years. Mr. Stoller is a permanent Member of the BMI Lehman Engel
Advanced Musical Theater Workshop where he developed his new
Musical, The Talking Cure. He is an ongoing contributor to The Night
Kitchen Radio Theater, and recently conducted his original score for
their production of The Emperor’s New Clothes at The Kennedy
Center’s Family Theater. Mr. Stoller is excited to be part of the
GNAC staff.
KATYA SURRENCE began studying ballet at the age of five with Mahri
Coshever. After adding jazz, tap, ballroom, voice, and acting to her
training, she performed in various regional ballet companies,
musicals, films and in revues and on cruise ships. She has taught in
California, the Bahamas, Japan, Guam, New Jersey, and in New York.
Katya believes that proper technique is important but must be
combined with the joy of movement as well.
LANCELOT THEOBALD Jr. a former professional football player with the
Italian Football League, has performed on Broadway in Indigo dancers
and at the Metropolitan Opera, Sampson et Delilah. He has trained
with George Faison, Frank Hatchett, Geoffrey Holder and Ted Levy. Lance’s choreography has been seen at Madison Square Garden, Radio
City Music Hall, CBS, NBC, Mary Tyler Moore’s walkathon for diabetes
research, and more. He has choreographed for the New York Knick
City Dancers and choreographed and assistant directed the
promotional tour and video for the hip-hop artist REYN and Motown’s
R&B artist Lateaf’s music video.
GEORGIA VAHUE is a Fulbright Fellow, Certified Teacher of K – 12,
Art Education with 12 years of teaching in Florida, London and New
York. She has significant experience in the arts: working with
curators and artists; published arts articles and arts education
curricula; curated and contributed to copious art exhibitions as an
artist and a guest juror.
JOHN WILHELM is a member of the United States Fencing
Association (USFA) and the United States Fencing Coaches
Association (USFCA). He received his foil fencing coach and
wheelchair fencing coach certification from the USFA at the
Olympic Training Camp in Colorado Springs. His teaching credits
include Stony Brook Fencing Club for 10 years and Youth Fencing
at New York City Parks Department. Mr. Wilhelm coordinated Stony
Brook’s Fencing Open, one of the largest USFA fencing
competitions on Long Island. Since 2004 he has instructed
individual and team fencing at the GNAC.
ASHLEY YOUNG is an artist and teacher who recently moved from
Pennsylvania where she taught multiple art programs at The Baum
School of Art and the Banana Factory. She graduated with her
Bachelors in Fine Arts at Albright College and continued her
education there taking additional classes in art education. She
has volunteered and taught lessons at the Reading Art Museum and
Freedman Gallery, working with a variety of different youth
programs, which included at risk programs, mural projects and
introduction classes to media. Ashley has been heavily involved
within her art community where she has participated in various
art festivals, auctions and exhibitions supporting and promoting
what she loves the most.
ANNETTE ZBODULA has been working in ceramics since 1981. She is a
graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder where she studied
with Betty Woodman. Annette’s wheel thrown bowls, plates and vase
forms are enhanced with brushwork and varied textures borrowed from
nature. A professional potter, her clay work is named after her
original space of Speakeasy Pottery.
LORI ZIMMERMAN, a prolific woodwind player for more than 20 years
and experienced music educator, graduated from the University at
Buffalo with Bachelors Degrees in Clarinet Performance and Music
Education. She then studied choral pedagogy at the Aaron Copland
School of Music, where she received her Masters in Music Education.
Lori also holds certificates as a NYSSMA Woodwind Adjudicator,
Levels I & II Orff-Schulwerk from Hofstra University, and Dalcroze
Eurythmics training from Julliard.
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