Jiyeon graduated with Bachelor of Music with distinction from Queen’s University. She began her violin studies with Ray Dotoratos in New York, and continued her violin studies with Kyung ae Kim and Gisèle Dalbec. She is an enthusiastic chamber musician. Throughout her career, she has participated in many ensembles and orchestras, including Boheme Chamber Ensemble, Ars Nova Ensemble, Seoul Orchestra, and Tongyoung International Music Festival Ensemble. She also played as a member of Bohemian Soloists.
Jiyeon has been teaching since 2002. She has worked with students of all ages, and with her knowledge in Psychology, which she also holds degree in, she focuses on fun and leads her students to enjoy their music making.
For Ara Arakelyan, music has always been a way of life. He has graduated from the special music school after Sayat-Nova for gifted children with honor. Afterwards, Ara entered the Komitas State Conservatory, where he received B. A. with Honors and is pursuing his Master’s degree in Wind Instruments with specialization in Saxophone.
Since 2011, Mr. Arakelyan has launched a very successful career. He worked as a performer, Leading Saxophonist of the symphonic orchestra, and pedagogue at various teaching levels: music schools and colleges. He was also a soloist at Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet after A. Spendiaryan and Armenian State Jazz Band.
In the period of 2005 – 2012, Mr. Arakelyan performed more than 20 solo and collaborative recitals and participated in many international Competitions & Festivals in Armenia, USA, Germany, Sweden, Georgia, and Egypt. Ara is a Laureate of the “Golden Note” amateur arts festival, “Renaissance” International Competition, Kavkaz Jazz Fest. As of now, Ara Arakelyan has already recorded 3 DVDs.
Since 2013, Ara has begun to work at Sheraton Cadwell Orchestra as a leading saxophonist and running a very busy music studio.
Fernando’s diverse musical career goes back to his high school days when he learned to play various woodwind instruments including the clarinet, bass clarinet, the all members of the sax family. In Grade 10, he picked up the trumpet as well but his teacher persuaded him to switch back to the clarinet family. Afterwards, Fernando was urged to pursue full-time studies at the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music. There, during the 1980’s, he excelled in his studies under the teachings of his mentors including Paul Grice (clarinet), Robert Linzon (piano), Timothy Sullivan (harmony, counterpoint and composition), Josph Macerollo (history), Wes Wragget (electronic music). During this period, Fernando was very active, along his teachers and peers in trying to save the downtown branch of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto from being sold and moved to another location. They succeeded in their efforts.
In 1992, Fernando graduated from York University having studied composition with James Tenney. During these years, Fernando wrote many original compositions in all styles including a 10-minute background score used by a major advertising company, and dozens of arrangements of classical and popular pieces for band and keyboard ensembles. He used these in his extensive studio teachings in private music studios in the Scarborough area. Even with his extensive schedule, Fernando continued his studies in music education and graduated with a Bachelor degree in Education from the University of Toronto in 2002.
Over the years, Fernando’s love for teaching is reflected in the success of his students as many of them are currently on staff in music studios throughout the GTA. In short, Fernando’s passion continues to to be that of a truly dedicated piano and theory (all grades and subjects) to all age groups. “Music is meant for anyone and everyone…” will continue to be his motto. His classes are fun, creative, motivational and geared towards a life long musical learning.
Since 2000, Fernando resides in Markham with his family, his wife Susanna and his two kids Joshua and Josiah.
Elliott has been playing piano since he was 4 years old. He has had a love for jazz even in his early years studying the Royal Conservatory of Music program.
During his high school years, he shared his love for jazz with audiences through various solo and ensemble performances. He was the pianist for the King City Secondary School Jazz Improv Combo Ensemble (invited in grade 8), a guest performer at Michelle Mele’s Inaugural Sunburst Festival, the Friday night pianist at Port Soire, Schomberg, ON and volunteered to play the piano at Hogan’s Inn Restaurant, King City, ON on Friday nights (grade 8).
Elliott never passes up the opportunity to play a piano, including airports and underground parking garages (yes, they can be found in Europe!).
Prior to the pandemic, Elliott provided weekly entertainment at a local retirement residence where he had a regular audience. Now that pandemic restrictions have lifted, he has returned and can be heard in the atrium every Sunday afternoon.
Elliott formed the 6 Feet Apart TRIO in the winter of 2020 and performed at the 2021 Toronto Undergraduate Jazz Festival and was the pianist in the Maddie Zeidenberg Jazz Band, also performers at the Toronto Undergraduate Jazz Festival in 2020. He was the pianist for the Toronto All Star Big Band in 2021-2022.
Elliott has studied under Amanda Tosoff, Richard Whiteman, Mark Eisenman, Adrean Farrugia. He is currently studying under Hannah Barstow in the Jazz Performance Program at the University of Toronto.
Robert graduated from Seneca at York University’s Independent Music Production Program. He teaches guitar as well as the rudiments of drums and bass. He had experience helping and organizing students into bands and oversaw their rehearsals and performances. He has played in many bands as a musician.
To listen to Robert’s compositions, please click here.
Helen started playing piano at the age of four. She began classical training in voice 17 years ago and continues to take lessons to this day. Helen has over 15 years of teaching experience. While she has prepared many students for Royal Conservatory of Music examinations and competitions, her passion is to inspire students to explore the power of sounds and to teach them how to play by ear. Her classes are designed to be fun and engaging. Helen will soon be studying the Sound Healing Associates Degree Program at the Globe Institute and intends on becoming a Sound Healer.
Besides music, Helen is also a certified holistic nutritionist and a juice fanatic.
Adrew began his violin study at ten in his hometown Hong Kong. He played in various performing groups in Hong Kong in his youth, and was appointed as the concertmaster of Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Andrew studied in the School of Music of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and graduated with Bachelor of Music (with High Honors) and Master of Music degrees in violin performance. He was awarded tuition waiver during his studies. He studied violin performance under Prof. Sherban Lupu, and chamber music under members of the Pacifica Quartet. He played in various performing groups in and outside school, and was appointed as the concertmaster of the University of Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra.
After graduation, Andrew joined Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the training orchestra of Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was also selected in Civic Orchestra as a member of MusiCorps program, in which he performed with fellow Civic members in various elementary schools, high schools and parks in Chicago, and introducing different string instruments and explaining their performing methods to the students and audience.
Andrew went back to Hong Kong after leaving Civic Orchestra and taught violin in various secondary and primary schools, and in the Music Office. He also performed in several orchestras including the Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Strings, and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. Andrew relocated to Canada in August 2022 and is now excited to continue his music career here!
Hadara started taking piano lessons at the age of 5, and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Education in Music from the Jerusalem Academy of Music. For 13 years, Hadara worked as a piano teacher at Forte Music School in Oak Ridges, where she enjoyed sharing her passion for music with students of all ages. Throughout the years, Hadara proudly watched her students grow and develop their musical skills, participate in recitals, and excel at RCM exams. Since 2010, Hadara has also been working as a piano accompanist for the Evergreen Choir in Aurora, under the direction of Dr. Richard Heinzle.
Irina received her Bachelor’s in Music with Honours in Piano pedagogy at Moscow College of Music with further graduate studies at Saratov State Conservatory, earning her Master’s degree in piano pedagogy.
Irina has been teaching piano for all ages and levels for over 25 years and very passionate about sharing her knowledge with her students. Irina’s teaching approach to motivate and inspire her students helping them to reach their potential and achieve an excellent results on RCM exams
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Simon first discovered the joy of playing the violin at the age of 9. Under the tutelage of maestro Thomas Wang, Simon was considered a late starter by many, but quickly mastered the necessary skills and became one of the youngest members of the Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra at the time. He subsequently became Concertmaster for the same orchestra and other ones as well.
At the age of 16, Simon organized his own chamber group “Bachanini” and won many awards at the Hong Kong School Music and Speech Festival. He was also one of the youngest violinists to have obtained the LRSM certification from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in England.
After arriving in Canada, he had studied under many master violinists, including the late professor Eugene Kash of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Simon has been a member of several music organizations in Canada, including the York Symphony Orchestra.
RCM Silver & Gold Medalists:
2013 – Student received Gr 1 RCM Gold Medal in violin for the highest examination grades in Ontario
Davina holds an ARCT in Piano Performance. She also studied piano pedagogy with Mrs. Marina Geringas at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and the Orff Method with Mrs. Margaret Huggett.
Davina is a co-founder of the Music Clubhouse and Music Adventure programs. She loves teaching children and puts great emphasis in making her lessons fun and enjoyable. She also serves as organist at her local church.
Kristal is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with a major in clarinet at the University of Toronto. She studied clarinet with Stephen Pierre and now studies with Richard Thomson. Presently, she is also an ARCT piano performance candidate, studying under Glenn Gould School instructor, Lang-Ning Liu.
Kristal began her musical studies with piano lessons at the age of 5, and has since developed an appreciation for music. As a piano accompanist, she has played at churches, recitals and weddings. At the age of 11, she began to learn the clarinet and was a member of the 2017 and 2018 Ontario Provincial Honour Band.
In the summers of 2017 and 2018, Kristal was a teacher assistant at Pro Music’s summer camp. There, she was able to help many children discover music for the first time, such as playing their first notes on an instrument. It brings her so much joy to see children develop their passion and explore the world of music.
Kristal enjoys teaching a variety of musical styles, from classical to pop to contemporary Christian music. Furthermore, she uses many different approaches to teach students of all ages and backgrounds.
Finding his passion in music during the years at Diocesan Boys’ School, Lee rose to leadership in his alma mater’s school choirs, discovering his enthusiasm for education. In his chairmanship, he led the senior choirs to South Africa, participating in the 10th World Choir Games. The choirs obtained spectacular results, claiming 3 Gold Medals, 2 Champions, and landing the title as the 1st ranking Male Choir in the INTERKULTUR choir ranks.
Throughout his musical endeavor, Lee had taken the international stage in the USA, UK, South Africa, and Japan. He has also represented Hong Kong in multiple international choir projects and performed at various events and platforms, including singing at the TED Talk and events by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Lee’s repertoire covers a variety of music genres, including but not limited to Classical, Broadway, and Pop.
Click here to Lee’s YouTube channel.
David graduated from Centennial College, with Music Industry And Arts Performance Advanced Diploma. He has been playing acoustic and electric guitar for 17 years, in many genres including: blues, folk, pop, rock, R&B, finger-style, etc. Besides, he composes, arranges, records and performs.
Some of his works on YouTube:
• Arrangement: https://youtu.be/WmR3KuFQiTw
• Recording: https://youtu.be/K-hWgJiMsAY
• Performance: https://youtu.be/lZ_dHvmUxZs
As a guitar teacher, David is always patient and inspire students with tasteful music. Study materials and handouts are well prepared before classes, but also he’s glad to work on the music that students are interested as well.
Sidney has been playing music for the majority of her life starting at the age of four when she first picked up the guitar and began music lessons. From there she developed a love for singing and song writing which continued to grow as she continued her music education. She pursued this passion for singing and song writing at Carleton University where she studied within their singer-songwriter program, which she has recently graduated from with her BA in Music. Sidney is a firm believer in the power and importance of music education within the school system and is currently completing her Bachelor of Education to become a music teacher within the public system.
Tatyana has 20 years of experience as a teacher and an accompanist. She possesses strong knowledge of classical, romantic and modern music that she has successfully instructed students of various age groups. Her professional studies started in the Sayat-Nova State Music School after which she was accepted in the Arno Babadjanian State Music College. She continued her studies in the Armenian State Pedagogical University and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with specialization as a Choir Director. In 1989, Tatyana received her Bachelor and Masters Degree in Yerevan State University with specialization in Piano Performance. She also received qualification to teach music at the college and university level. She remained teaching university students and conducting extensive research of Methods in Music Pedagogy for public school systems. She commuted to and from Gertzen’s University and St. Petersburg where she participated in conferences and gained extensive knowledge in various disciplines of Pedagogy. Currently, Tatyana works as a Piano Instructor and Accompanist as well as adjudicates at festivals and competitions. Tatyana is very passionate about working with students and sharing her knowledge of music. Many of her students achieved great results and have gone on to receive ARCT diplomas. Tatyana has worked at many churches where she has accompanied choirs and musical ensembles.
Jerson Munoz is a Toronto trombonist who has graduated from Humber College with a Bachelor of Music. He has studied privately with Kelsley Grant and had masterclasses with Al Kay. During his time at Humber, Jerson was a part of the Mark Promane Big Band, the Latin Big Band, the Brass Choir, and the Trombone Ensemble.
Throughout his career, Jerson has also been a part of the Toronto All-Star Big Band, the Metro Big Band, and the Big City Big Band as the lead trombone and soloist. He has also done recordings with his quintet and has also performed on recordings for various artists.
In the spring of 2007, Jerson had the opportunity to travel and play in Budapest, Oradea, Prague and Vienna with his high school jazz band and concert band. He has also played at various festivals and events in Toronto, such as the Beaches International Jazz Festival and Corso Italia, weddings, and functions.
Aside from performing, he has worked doing live sound engineering for Humber and MusicFest Canada.
Jerson is currently freelancing and is on the faculty for Pro-Music Conservatory of Music in Richmond Hill as a coordinator and trombone instructor.
At the age of 5, Guzal started learning piano with M.Sultanova, who graduated from Moscow State Conservatory in the class of Prof. D.Bashkirov.
Guzal studied 11 years at Uspensky Music School for Gifted Children and graduated with BA and MA in Piano Pedagogy from Tashkent State Conservatory.
Guzal had an opportunity to complete her internship in Moscow State Conservatory, where attended classes of M.Voskresensky.
Guzal gave her first private lesson at the age of 19. After receiving her diplomas, she returned to Uspensky School where she worked until 2010.
In the meantime she worked also as an accompanist in Tashkent State Conservatory and Institute of Theatre & Arts and had the opportunity to stay in UK (1996-1999) and France (2002-2007) where she continued to work as a piano teacher.
Her extensive experience includes teaching piano to children of various ages, preparing them for piano examinations and recitals, accompanying the school’s choir, vocalists and violin players during repetitions and various performances. Throughout her work experience in Toronto, Guzal was proud to see her students progress and improve their piano skills, win or get good results at piano contests such as Kiwanis, North York and CCC Music Festivals.
Jason’s musical background consists of an ARCT in piano performance and a Master of Music specializing in music technology and digital media from the University of Toronto. He has a decade of experience teaching piano and music to students of all ages and of diverse backgrounds and special needs.
As a music teacher, he genuinely believes that the primary role is to inspire passion in students by exposing them to music’s expressive powers, how deeply entrenched music is within culture and the human psyche, and how emotionally and intellectually rewarding it can be to make music. With that as a foundation, he proceeds to teaching technical proficiency and exploring a repertoire of interest.
As a composer and audio engineer, his work focuses on the intersection of digital media, electronic synthesis, and acoustic sound recording. He has produced music and sound effects for a variety of projects, from indie films and video games to internet ads to web series. He has also produced and engineered a number of small-ensemble jazz and classical studio recordings.
Website: http://www.jasonhmng.ca
Oxana Podoliak has been teaching woodwinds for over 25 years. She began her music education at Lviv State College of Music with further graduate studies at Lviv State Music Academy, earning her degree in Performance and Pedagogy. With a background in solo, chamber music and orchestral playing, Oxana’s passion for wind instruments has seen her engaged over the years in multiple performances.
Currently, Oxana is giving flute, clarinet and saxophone lessons to students of all RCM levels and ARCT in and around the Toronto area. Among her students, many of them are Regional RCM Gold Medal receipents and winners of local and provincial music festivals. Some of them got accepted to the music program in universities.
Maggie graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours). Also, she holds ATCL level of the Trinity College London in Recital in Piano.
She has been teaching piano for over 20 years and had been successfully sent her students for the piano exams at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Most of her students have passed with merit and distinction in the examination.
Thanks for her passion, well-rounded approach of techniques and musicality, her students received outstanding awards in music competitions.
Karen graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Faculty of Music at York University. She studied piano with Christina Petrowska Quilico and music composition with David Mott. Karen also holds an ARCT Diploma in Piano Performance, and has studied piano pedagogy at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Her teaching style was influenced by the inspiring and encouraging guidance of Marina Geringas. To date, Karen’s students have always achieved First-class Honours in RCM examinations, and won awards in various music festival competitions.
Karen is also one of the experienced Music Adventure (group lessons) teachers at Pro-Music. She has taught Music Adventure to junior and senior kindergarten students at Wesley Christian Academy. In addition to her teaching, Karen actively participates in many music workshops, to share ideas and discuss issues relevant to piano pedagogy. The Orff Approach that she studied under Margaret Hugget has effectively enhanced her group and piano lessons through its emphasis on songs, games, rhythms, poems, stories and percussion instruments. Karen’s teaching approach emphasizes a balance of affection, patience and strength, and encourages her students to enjoy the process of learning.
Cara composed her first song at the age of 5 (Busy-Dizzy Day) and her first piano piece when she was 11 years old (Lunchtime). Since Lunchtime, she has further explored piano composition. In 2015, she completed a Bachelor of Music degree with a History/Theory specialization from the University of Toronto. Cara then completed a Master of Music degree in Music Technology and Digital Media at the same school, in 2019. Throughout these years, she wrote works for piano, voice, choir, violin, brass quintet, and more. Currently, she is working on her first musical, From Straw to Gold, based on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin. Cara enjoys teaching children, and has instructed them in piano, theory, history, vocal, and composition.
Website: https://caratorsmusic.com