Luana Ayres attended Carnegie-Mellon University where she received her Bachelors Degree in Performance Piano. She later received her Masters Degree from the Manhattan School of Music where the exuberance of her interpretation of Bach in particular was met with high acclaim. Her primary teachers have been Constance Keene and Ralph Zitterbart. Master class studies include Earl Wild, John Browning, Edith Oppens and Gary Graffman. She has appeared at the Salzburg International Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Mellon Institute and on the Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Concerts.

Graduated from Johnson State College with a B.A. in Jazz Studies and Studio Recording. Brian has taught guitar, piano, banjo, and mandolin lessons for seventeen years in Westchester and is proficient in many styles of music. He is focused primarily on theory and improvisation, but enjoys all genres of music and teaches students of all ages and skill levels.

M.Mus., Jazz Studies, Purchase College; B.A., Symphonic Percussion and Music Education, Industrial University of Santander. Daniel is an award-winning drummer who has performed across the United States, South America, and Asia. He has collaborated with notable musicians, including Grammy Award-winning sax player David DeJesus, the Birdland Big Band, Brandon Lee, Grammy Award-winning pianist Manuel Valera, Pete Malinverni, legendary drummer Leon Parker, and bassist Doug Weiss, to name a few. He has appeared in many prominent venues, including Birdland, The Side Door, Cleopatra's Needle, and Bonafide Club. Daniel has been featured on distinguished recordings, including "Carry On (Unplugged)" by Big Ska Band with Emmy-winning producer Joe Ferry and Grammy winner Corey Glover.

Daniel leads his own band, "The Daniel Criado Project," which blends Colombian music with the roots of jazz, and a folk duo called "Dannies from the South." His music can be heard on Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, and Apple Music. Daniel is endorsed by Bosphorus Cymbals and Canopus Drums.

Has been studying, playing and composing music since age 6. She Received a BA in Music from Colby College, and is currently working on a Masters in Music Education at Lehman College. She is director of Asbury Handbell Choir. She plays piano, cello, guitar, lap dulcimer, and theremin, and sings with Angelic Women's Voices and the Croton Chorale of which she is assistant conductor. She believes every child deserves to be introduced to the joys of music, especially singing, which has made her life so rewarding.

MFA SUNY Purchase College, B.M Hartt School of Music.

A native of western NY, Sara has performed with such groups as The New Jersey Symphony, The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The Buffalo Philharmonic, The Jupiter Symphony, Cantori New York, The Ridgefield Symphony, The Fairfield Orchestra, The Connecticut Grand Opera, The Greenwich Symphony and Orchestra New England. She has also performed for Wicked, Les Miserables, Shrek & Something Rotten (Broadway), the Radio City Christmas Show, Summer Theater in New Canaan & Papermill Playhouse. Prior to coming to NYC, she served as co-principal horn in The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in Israel, where she was invited to the Kfar Bloom Chamber Festival. Sara has recorded with Natalie Cole and jazz pianist Dena DeRose; toured with The Aspen Woodwind Quintet and with Indian film composer A.R. Rahman. She has performed on WNYC’s Soundcheck with John Schaefer as a guest artist with the Omni Ensemble. She is on the faculty of Rye Country Day School.

B.M., New England Conservatory; M.M., Manhattan School of Music. Bruce has taught students between the ages of 8-80, beginners to professionals. He has performed with the American Symphony Orchestra, N.Y.C. Opera, American Classical Orchestra, and the N.Y. Pops. Bruce has also played with Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett. He has toured with the Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, and Artie Shaw big bands, and recorded with Wayne Shorter, Phil Collins, and Mario Bauza. He has been hired for 18 Broadway shows and substituted on 60 others. Bruce is excited to be teaching students at the Bennett Conservatory.

M.M. Temple University, B.M. Cincinnati College-Conservatory of music. Diane performs frequently with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Hartford Symphony Orchestra and the Collegium Westchester. She is a former member of the Springfield (MA) Symphony Orchestra. She has taught at numerous institutions including Deerfield Academy, Amherst, Smith, Mt Holyoke and Westfield State Colleges. Her summer seasons have included the Spoleto Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival and the Chautauqua Institute.

M.F.A. SUNY Purchase, NY (Jazz Performance), B.M. University of Miami (Jazz and Studio Performance.) Michael has worked with leading jazz artists and has played throughout the metropolitan area at clubs such as BB Kings and Smalls. Michael has recorded T.V. jingles, feature films and for Vitamin records. Currently you can hear him on a new CD entitled "Big Boss Bossa Nova in the Doug Munro Group (Chase Music.) Michael has worked on Broadway in such shows as The Producers, Young Frankenstein and Les Miserables. He has extensive teaching experience in both individual and group settings and is currently on the faculty of the University of Bridgeport, CT, and Westchester Community College.

M.Mus. (Performance), SUNY Stony Brook; B.M. (Music Education), Boston Conservatory (now Boston Conservatory at Berklee). He studied with Luis Leguria and Timothy Eddy. For 35 years, Davis worked as conductor and director of the orchestra and chamber music programs at Horace Greeley High School. He has also been active with the Westchester County School Music Association as a conductor. He served as adjunct professor of string pedagogy at Concordia College. For 14 years, Davis was orchestral conductor of Hoff-Barthelson’s summer music program. He has conducted the Putnam Symphony and was guest conductor for the Eastern Regional District Junior Concert for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association. Davis was associate conductor of the Chappaqua Orchestra and guest conductor of the St. Thomas Orchestra. He currently performs as section cellist with Orchestra 914, the Yonkers Philharmonic, and the St. Thomas Orchestra.

M.Mus. & B. Mus. North Carolina School of the Arts (violin Performance) Founder and Director of "The Sound and the Light." Joel's career as a violinist, composer, and educator reflects his eclectic musical interests. From free improv shows at ABC No Rio, to his own classical series at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn, to new music at National Sawdust, to Radio City's New York Spectacular and Broadway's Burn the Floor, to past membership in metal band Resolution15, Joel is equally comfortable on the pop and rock stage as he is with an orchestra. He has been a Teaching Artist for Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2005 and the Abrons Art Center since 2013. He has designed electronic music composition classes for New York City public schools, and for non-performers through Abrons Art Center. He has a private teaching studio in Brooklyn.

Sanjra has been a percussionist/vocalist for over 30 yrs. Starting in High School, she was a drummer in the marching band. Studying, majoring in Voice, at Kentucky State University, she was a member of the Concert Choir, Gospel Choir, and Percussion Ensemble. Upon graduation, she performed with several bands, and percussion groups.

She continued to play, and study drums, including jazz, and African Drumming. She studied African drumming with Yaya Diallo- Master African Drummer from Mali, Musa Utman- Master African Drummer - Ghana. After relocation to NY, she studied with Kazi Oliver- Master African Drummer, and Luis Andino, Master Afro-Cuban Percussionist.

Sanjra was a founding member of a female African drum group, in KY, called, Mystic Rhythms. They performed for several venues. Teaching beginning drumming, she often uses music as a tool, to help promote relaxation. She is also a Registered Nurse/ Reiki II Practitioner.

Jill is an award-nominated actress and singer and recent transplant to Croton-on-Hudson. Her Broadway credits include An American in Paris (Milo), Matilda (Miss Honey), The 39 Steps, Curtains (Niki Harris) and The Woman in White (Laura Fairlie). She also appeared on the West End in The Woman in White and Gone with the Wind (Scarlett O'Hara). Some of her other credits include Company starring Neil Patrick Harris and filmed for PBS, Maury Yeston's Death Takes a Holiday (Grazia, original cast recording), the national tour of Les Miserables and Mamma Mia (Sophie in Las Vegas). Jill is a voice student of the incredible Joan Lader. She has a Bachelor of Music in Musical Theater from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory where she studied under Victoria Bussert.

Jill is a voice teacher and an acting coach who specializes in teaching acting in song. She excels at helping students find material that brings them joy and allows them to shine in the audition room or on stage. She teaches her students how to approach the material with the mind of an actor, and how to prepare for a performance or audition. Her 20+ years in the business have given her a unique perspective that she is excited to share with her students.

M.A. (Teacher Education) Lehman College, CUNY; B.Ed (Music) London University; Certificate of Education (Music and Drama), Homerton College, Cambridge University. Jane grew up in rural England, 175 miles southwest of London. In elementary school, she was chosen from her recorder group to play the violin! This opportunity, together with an inspirational school trip to hear the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra play Britten's "Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra," paved the way for her love of the violin and her lifelong devotion to classical music. As an orchestral violinist, Jane has played at the Salzburg Festival and at the National Center for Orchestral Studies in London with esteemed conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, to name a few. As a violin teacher, Jane has offered individual and group instruction in Great Britain and the United States. In London, she worked closely with the acclaimed string pedagogue Sheila Nelson, who utilized the Rolland method of string teaching. In the United States, Jane has taught and played in Washington D.C., Boston, and New York. At the Powers Music School (Belmont, MA), Jane established and co-directed a highly successful summer music and drama camp. In 2001, she moved to Croton-on-Hudson, where she began teaching strings at Bennett and at CET. In addition to teaching violin, viola, and early childhood music at Bennett, Jane became the director of the Bennett Conservatory in 2015.

M.Mus. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; B.A. (Music) Skidmore College. Her primary teachers include Frances Drinker, Jan Vinci, and Alexander Murray. Rebecca has performed with Collegium Westchester, Taconic Opera, the Conductor’s Institute at Bard College, The Riverside Orchestra, The Croton Chorale and Chamber Orchestra, and taught at the Skidmore Summer Flute Institute. Rebecca performs with Orchestra 914, and has served on their board as secretary since 2019. She is a founding member of the flute choir, Northern Westchester Flutes; and the woodwind quintet, Senasqua Winds. Fluent in Japanese, Rebecca has studied the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) under the instruction of Ralph Samuelson. She served as the webmaster for seven years at the New York Flute Club. She was a member of the editorial advisory board for The Flutist Quarterly (2011-17), the publication of the National Flute Association. She performed at NFA National Conventions in 2009 and 2015 with Robert Dick. Rebecca is the author of “Planning the Music for Your Wedding,” published by Cherry Lane Music (2003). Rebecca was an adjunct instructor of music at Concordia College (2016-21).  She is currently a BOCES teaching artist, a member of the faculty at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, and the Bennett Conservatory.

Rebecca lives in Cortlandt Manor with her husband, two teenagers, and their dog. She established her private studio there in 2001.

M. Mus., Manhattan School of Music (Jazz Composition); B. Mus., University of Toronto (Jazz Saxophone).

A native of Ottawa, Canada, Michael and his family have lived in Croton since 2017. He is equally passionate about performing music on his saxophones, composing original Jazz works for his 17-piece orchestra Leading Lines and 6-piece group Momentus, and teaching music to students of all ages and skill levels.

Michael believes that every student can experience joy learning a musical instrument while working towards technical and expressive excellence. In addition to developing skills on the saxophone, Michael’s students learn about music theory, how to listen critically to themselves and more experienced players, and how to create momentum in music.

In addition to his 20 years of private teaching experience, Michael was the Jazz Ensemble Director at the Special Music School High School in Manhattan from 2015-2019, served as Middle and Upper School Band Director at the Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn during the 2019-2020 school year, and has led ensembles, taught Jazz theory and improvisation classes for the New York Jazz Academy since 2009.

Michael appeared frequently with the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada from 1997-2013, and was a featured soloist in this capacity with Glen Campbell, Doc Severinsen, the Jon Pizzarelli Trio, and Barbara Cooke.

With Street Beat Brass Band, Michael performed on Good Morning America’s 2017 Mardi Gras broadcast, opened for the New York Philharmonic’s Concert in the Park summer series, and traveled to Venezuela for two U.S. Embassy sponsored tours.

B.F.A. Syracuse University with study abroad in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Whitney made her professional debut at the age of 11 and has 30 years of experience singing, dancing, and acting on Broadway, and at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and toured in the great theatres of North America, Europe, Japan, and Hong Kong. She believes that everyone is born with an innate need for creative self-expression. To ensure a life-long future of creative endeavor, she strives to nurture and train each student as a well-rounded artist with rock-solid technique, a little grit and a whole lot of joy-seeking.