The Portland Conservatory of Music is home to over 50 outstanding faculty who teach young people and adults how to play more than 30 instruments. Get to know our teachers and then register for lessons. Questions? Email or call us at (207) 775-3356.
By Instrument
By Name
Titus Abbott
Titus Abbott holds a B.Mus. in classical composition techniques from the University of Montreal and an M.M. in Composition from the University of Southern Maine. He studied clarinet at the University of Ottawa followed by jazz studies on saxophone at Humber College, Toronto under the tutelage of saxophonist Pat Labarbera. He has also studied with jazz greats Kenny Wheeler, Dave Holland, Steve Coleman, Muhal Richard Abrams and Roscoe Mitchell.
Titus has performed as leader and sideman in various ensembles in Canada, Europe and the US. Since arriving in Maine in 2002 Titus has led his own groups and collaborations include performances with the outstanding pianists Curtis Clark and Frank Carlberg and the late Oud Master Al Gardner.
Titus has been teaching saxophone and clarinet for over 25 years where he specializes in tone development and articulation as well as jazz improvisation and phrasing. He is the director of the PCM’s Jazz Studies Program.
Titus holds a B.Mus. in classical composition techniques from the University of Montreal and a M.M. in Composition from the University of Southern Maine.
Julia Adams
Julia Adams is a graduate of Oberlin College (B.A. in Music). She received her M.A. in Music Performance from San Francisco State College and has an Honorary PhD. in Music from Colby College where, as the violist of the Portland String Quartet (PSO), she served as Artist in Residence for a span of 20 years.
Julia has toured professionally with the PSQ to over 24 countries and has been awarded, with her colleagues, top critical acclaim from the New York Times, the Boston Globe and other major news sources for concert performances and recording releases.
She was principal violist of the Eastern Philharmonic, the Northeast Chamber Orchestra and the Portland Symphony Orchestra, and several viola concertos were written for and premiered by her—including Walter Piston, Robert Kelly, Norman Cazden and Jonathan Hallstrom.
Her major teachers were Kim Harriman, Ferenc Molnar and Lillian Fuchs. She especially enjoys encouraging young violists to explore and champion the viola as a distinct and special tenor voice in the string family.
Julia was the founding principal violist of The Portland String Quartet. She received a B.A. from Oberlin, an M.A. in Music Performance from San Francisco State College and an Honorary PhD. from Colby College.
John Bennett
Cellist John Bennett was born and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area of California until 2018 when he and his wife relocated to Portland, ME. He attended San Francisco State University and California State College, Easy Bay, and his cello teachers included Margaret Rowell, Irene Sharp, Lazlo Varga, and Burton Kaplan’s Practice Retreats in New York. His chamber music coaches were Roy Bogas and Bonnie Hampton.
For many years John taught students of all levels and ages in his private studio and led workshops and cello ensembles. For 20 years he was the adjunct cello instructor at Pacific Union College and the Paulin Center for the Creative Arts in Angwin, California, where he taught lessons, coached chamber music, and conducted a youth orchestra. For 12 years, John was the cello/bass coach and a member of the Artist in Residence String Quartet for the Berkeley Youth Orchestra.
In addition to teaching, he was a tenured member of the Vallejo and Napa Valley Symphonies, freelanced as much as possible, and performed in chamber music and duo recitals.
John’s greatest love has always been helping and guiding students of all ages and levels achieve their musical goals. “I don’t teach the cello; I teach the human being, one of my teachers said to me. This has always been my guiding principle.”
John attended San Francisco State University and California State College, East Bay
Peter Blackstone
Peter Blackstone has played piano accordion for most of his life. He first studied the accordion with George Mancini in New York and later studied guitar with Val Molineaux in Portland. He holds an undergraduate degrees in Poetry from the State University of New York at Purchase and a Masters in Education from the University of Southern Maine.
Peter has been an active musician in the Portland area for decades, playing in a wide variety of musical styles. He has performed on accordion with Zydeco Swamp Thing, the Benard Tshimangoley Band, the Poor Valley Salvation Society, Tilin Tilin, a cumbia ensemble, and on both accordion and guitar with Mainley Folk. He is currently performing on accordion with the Maine Squeeze Accordion Ensemble, and the Maine Ideal Band. He also currently plays guitar with the Casco Bay Tango Project.
Peter has composed and performed songs and instrumental pieces on both of his instruments as a solo performer and in many of the bands he has played with.
He used his musical skills in his elementary school teaching career, offering students exposure to the historical and cultural roles music plays in our lives. Dancing and singing often ensued.
Peter offers his piano accordion students that same well rounded approach to learning accordion. He tunes his instruction to teaching accordion based on the interests of each student, while providing a basic foundation of left and right hand skills and techniques, and an introduction to the many worldwide musical styles of the “squeeze box.”
Naydene Bowder
A teacher of many award-winning students, Naydene is a graduate of the Juilliard School and has done graduate studies at Hartt College, Manhattan School, and Columbia.
She studied piano with Adele Marcus, Jacob Lateiner, and Ocy Downs, theory with Vincent Persichetti, harpsichord with Joseph Payne, chamber music with Ivan Galamian, Leonard Rose, Louis Persinger, and Bernard Greenhouse.
Naydene has appeared as both soloist and chamber musician throughout New England. She is currently on the faculty at Bowdoin College as well as the Portland Conservatory of Music.
She has taught public school music in Maine and Connecticut, as well as Theory, Music History and Appreciation at University of Southern Maine from 1964-1981.
For 20 years, she has been a member of the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s keyboard section, was accompanist for the Hartford Symphony Chorus, and was keyboard director of the Hartt Collegium Musicum, among many other musical activities.
Timothy Burris
Timothy Burris has performed throughout Europe and the US, both as a soloist and an accompanist. He has appeared in concert with such esteemed artists as the mezzo Jennifer Lane and the keyboardist Robert Hill, as well as under the baton of Peter Schreier and René Clemencic, among others. In a review of The Songs of Philip Rosseter, Part II, The Lute Society Magazine said of his skills as an accompanist: “Burris … plays with beautiful tone and is an absolutely first-class accompanist.”
In addition to solo recordings, he has done CD projects with Jennifer Lane and Tamara Matthews with New York Baroque; Willeke te Brummelstroete with Koorprojekt Rotterdam; Timothy Neill Johnson; and Ensemble Pentacost, among others. He can be heard playing Bach’s c minor Prelude in Shock Act, the prize-winning short-film DVD by Seth Grossman.
Tim taught lute for six years at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp, and currently teaches at Colby College and the Portland Conservatory of Music (Maine).
His foreign-language talents include fluency in German, French, and Dutch, and excellent facility in Spanish and Italian. His linguistic skills enhance his abilities as an accompanist, as well as adding to his effectiveness in coaching singers and instrumentalists in educational events such as master classes. He has an especial interest in French poetry, something he nurtured during more than two years of private study with French professors at the universities of Amsterdam and Leiden.
His dissertation research was done primarily at Dresden’s Sächsische Landesbibliothek, in the final stages with the generous support of a Fulbright fellowship (to the Technical University of Dresden). Tim has a Ph.D. from Duke University and a soloist’s diploma from the Royal Conservatory, The Hague.
Tim has a soloist’s diploma, Royal Conservatory, The Hague and a Ph.D., Duke University.
Laura del Sol Jiménez
Laura was a prizewinner in the Gran Premio de Santiago Flute competition in Chile, Colombia’s Concurso Universitario de Flauta de Bogotá, Ciudad de Bogotá Woodwind Competition, and selected five times for the roster of the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango Concert Series.
Laura has appeared as a soloist with the Cali Philharmonic Orchestra, Marga-Marga Symphony, Caldas Symphonic Orchestra, Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia Orchestra, and Universidad Javeriana Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Colombia National Symphony Orchestra, Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, and the CUNY Dominican Studies Symphony Orchestra.
Equally at home as a chamber musician, Laura has performed at international music festivals such as the Bowdoin Music Festival and the Portland Bach Festival, and collaborated with groups such as Windscape and the Jupiter String Quartet. In 2015, Laura founded the Linos trio, which toured Colombia and produced a much-acclaimed album premiering music of contemporary Latin American composers.
Laura has dedicated much of her career to commissioning and performing works of Latin American composers. Originally from the coffee-belt Colombian town of Calarcá, she has uniquely experienced the power of music to heal communities in war-torn countries. To help provide musical resources to under-served Colombian communities, Laura founded the Orpheus Cultural Foundation in 2013, dedicated to achieving social inclusion and encouraging the development of arts in communities devastated by Colombia’s 50-year war.
Laura holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. She performs on a Sankyo silver flute and Emmanuel gold head joint. Laura is the director of PCM’s College Prep Program.
Laura’s degrees include: D.M.A., M.A. Performance, Manhattan School of Music, B.M., Pontifical Xaverian, University of Bogotá.
Julia Frothingham
Julia Frothingham studied with Leon Russianoff, Charles Niedich (Soloist), Charles Russo (New York City Opera), and Michael Sussman (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra). She played Principal Clarinet with the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra, Maine Pro Musica and the Northshore Philharmonic.
She has also appeared with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, Maine State Ballet, Maine Chamber Ensemble, Maine Pro Musica, Lyric Theater, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Massachusetts Wind Orchestra and the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival.
Founder and member of the Port City Winds, Julia, in addition to being on the faculty of the Portland Conservatory, has has been faculty at the Encore/Coda Music Camp and on staff at the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Camp as clarinet instructor and chamber music coach.
She received a Master of Music from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a Bachelor of Music and Music Education from the Julius Hartt School of Music.
Julia received a M.M. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a B.M. and B.M.Ed. from the Julius Hartt School of Music.
Robert Gans
Robert is a multi-genre composer, pianist, teacher and writer. In 2019 he premiered his piano composition A Distant Shore, an American Prize semi-finalist at the Portland Conservatory’s Noonday Concert Series, had readings of his two most recent plays Debussy’s Daughter and Cleopatra’s Tomb by actors from the Maine theater community, and had two movements of his Blue Ballet Suite recorded by the Ergon Ensemble through Parma Recordings. In April 2021 he released his album, The Presence of That Absence, and followed it up with a performance of two movements from Blue Ballet Suite at a Portland Conservatory Noonday Concert in December 2021 and an album of piano music by himself and others entitled Touch and Go in July of 2022.
Robert received his baccalaureate degree in music from the State University of New York at Oswego where he studied piano with Anthony Crain DMA. After a semester of post baccalaureate study, he continued his piano studies in NY with concert pianist John Contiguglia, theory, piano, music history and ear training with composer Roland Trogan, jazz piano at Lynn Oliver Studios, arranging and production with Jordan Kaplan, taught at the NY School of Music and Ridge Music Outlet, and worked for music industry leaders such as Gil Evans, Warner Bros. Music, and Chappell Music.
Robert then moved to Portland, Maine where he worked as a full time multi keyboardist/vocalist for six years throughout Northern New England. He joined the piano faculty at the Portland Conservatory of Music from 2005 to 2010 and returned in 2017 after working and residing in the San Francisco Bay area from 2010 to 2016.
Robert is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). His music is available online through iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and other outlets and can be heard worldwide on Soundcloud and Jango Internet Radio.
Jara Goodrich
Jara Goodrich began her study of the harp at age eight. Her early education included attendance at recitals of advanced students of Carlos Salzedo, whom she studied with for six years. She continued her studies with Jeanne Chalifoux, Edna Phillips and with Alice Chalifoux at the Cleveland Institiute of Music.
She has been principal harpist with North Carolina Symphony, Goldovsky Opera, National Lyric Opera, and, for 32 years, with the Portland Symphony Orchestra.
Jara was also principal harpist with the Bangor Symphony, PORT Opera and Portland Ballet. Those three positions are now held by a former student, Mo Nichols. Other students have annually performed at Allstate and University of Southern Maine.
Jara has been teaching all levels of harp for over 30 years and now especially enjoys her students at the Portland Conservatory of Music, where she and the Conservatory plan to provide access to harps and opportunities for students to participate in harp ensembles.
Sarah Hasegawa
Sarah has been a featured artist in Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan, performing in renowned venues such as La Maison Symphonique, Haydn Hall, The Glenn Gould Studio, Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden.
Sarah is currently recording and concertizing in a less conventionally grouped trio of Clarinet, Violin and Piano, performing pieces that are under the radar, along with works in commission by modern female composers.
A graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music for both Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy with First Class Honors, Sarah has studied with Marina Mdivani for her Bachelor of Music at McGill University, Gregory Chaverdian for her Artist Diploma at Concordia University and John Byrne for her Master of Music at the Royal College of Music.
Rachel Herzer
A piano teacher for more than ten years, Rachel Herzer relocated from Michigan to Maine in the summer of 2011. She teaches students aged five through adult. Her teaching concentrates on classical training and utilizes material from a variety of teaching curricula.
Rachel has B.A. in Music from Western Michigan University’s School of Music, where she studied under the tutelage of Dr. Silvia Roederer. In addition to being on the piano faculty at the Portland Conservatory of Music, she is a pianist for the Tory Hill First Congregational Church in Buxton, ME.
Having devoted her life to education and the arts, she has spent years on the piano faculty at Bay Chamber Music School (Rockport, ME), Breakwater School’s Enrichment Program (Portland, ME) and the Crescendo Academy of Music (Kalamazoo, MI).
“My teaching philosophy is to instill the love of music in my students. Technique, practice, and repertoire are important yet mean nothing without passion and a desire to learn. It is my responsibility and delight as an educator to not only help students develop technical ability, but to also foster a lifelong love of music.”
Tyler Heydolph
After being immersed in private study with bassists James MacDonald (at the Vermont Jazz Center) and Marcus Maclaurine (Clark Terry, Abdullah Ibrahim), bassist Tyler Heydolph quickly became a first call bassist in the New England Jazz and improvised music scene.
He has performed with Charles Neville, Miro Sprague, Grace Kelly, and been on several East Coast tours with drummer Alex Snydman among others.
Tyler can be heard on recordings from Alex Snydman (Fortunate Action), Doug Abrams (Looking Forward) and Mark Tipton (Alchemist’s Dream).
He currently performs throughout the area with Mark Tipton’s Les Sorciers Perdus, collective-improv trio Earbus and folk-punk stalwarts Snaex.
Tyler’s education has been primarily through private instruction with master bass players.
Margaret Hopkins
Margaret Bruziak Hopkins was born in Poland where she began violin and piano studies. She received a B.M. in Performance from University of Mass. at Lowell where she also pursued Music Education.
She received extensive Suzuki training at various universities in the USA. Margaret has performed in various countries throughout Europe, Canada and the United States. She has been active in promoting music education through participation with various organizations, and in lead positions at Maine Suzuki Association, Maine American String Teachers Association, and Maine Music Educators Association.
Margaret has just retired from teaching violin in Saco schools and general music at Old Orchard Beach. She has been with PCM well over 10 years. She performs with the Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra where she is the concertmaster, the Maine Pro Musica, Opera Maine, Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra, the New Hampshire Music Festival, Deep Blue C Studio Orchestra and freelances in the New England area.
Margaret has a B.M. in Performance from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
Amy Hunter
A native of Maine, Amy Hunter holds a B.M. and M.M. in piano performance from Temple University’s Esther Boyer School of Music where she studied with Dr. Charles Abramovic. She performed in master classes with Arnaldo Cohen, Alexander Fiorillo, Lara Kargul, Oleg Koshelev, and Wu Han. Amy has taught private piano lessons for over 20 years in Philadelphia PA, Yerevan Armenia, Washington DC, San Jose CA, and Portland ME, and group piano and theory classes at Montgomery County Community College in PA.
During her time in Philadelphia Amy accompanied numerous college choirs including Temple University, Villanova University, Rosemont College, and Gwynedd-Mercy College. She also served as organist and musical director at various churches and denominations throughout Philadelphia and Washington DC. She has won or been a finalist at various competitions including Bay Chamber Concert Prizes, Pine Tree Competition, Bangor Concerto Competition, and University of Maine Farmington Concerto Competition.
In 2015 Amy founded the music school, The Hunter School of Music, in San Jose, CA where she taught and was the Executive Director for six years. HSM served over 100 students a week and employed six talented faculty members. When Amy and her family decided to move back to Maine in 2021, she passed the music school on to a new director where it continues to grow and thrive.
Amy enjoys teaching students of all ages and abilities through positive reinforcement, patience, and is dedicated to helping students feel motivated and connected to the music they are playing.
Robin Jellis
Robin Jellis has performed cello in Maine for more than 15 years. She received a Music Talent Scholarship (4 years) to attend the University of Southern Maine where she graduated cum lade with a Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance.
She played with the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra. She studied jazz improvisation with Gary Pack and was principal cellist with the USM Jazz Philharmonic. She has performed with the Bangor Symphony, in productions at Portland Players community theater and at the summer Bach festival in North Conway, New Hampshire. She also plays with the Maine State Ballet Orchestra each year for their production of “The Nutcracker.”
Robin started Suzuki Cello with Richard Noyes (Portland Symphony Orchestra) and continued her studies with William Rounds (PSO, Boston Pops) and Paul Ross (Portland String Quartet). She studied chamber music with the PSQ at Colby College, with Laura Kargul and Laurence Golan at University of Southern Maine, and at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in New Hampshire, among others.
She studied Medieval and Renaissance music with Pamela Blake. She is a member of the Medieval ensemble Trobairitz! Robin was a featured composer for the Yarmouth Contemporary Music Days in 2011 and has collaborated with several Maine recording artists. She performs regularly with Martin Steingesser, first Poet Laureate of Portland and provides music accompaniment for Rhythmic Cypher, a regular poetry reading in Portland.
A registered Suzuki teacher, she received her teacher training at the Suzuki Institutes of Ithaca College and Hartt School of Music. In addition to being on the faculty at the Portland Conservatory of Music, Robin also teaches at the Waynflete School.
Robin has a B.M. in Performance from the University of Southern Maine.
Sebastian Jerosch
Born into a musical family—his father is a professional pianist—Sebastian grew up in East Berlin, former East Germany. He began studying piano at age 5 and later switched to the trombone receiving his first lessons from trombonists of the Komische Oper (Comic Opera) and Deutsche Staatsoper (German State Opera) in Berlin.
He moved to the United States in 1992, and in 1994 was awarded a scholarship to study trombone performance at the Mannes College of Music. His teachers there included Per Brevig, principal trombonist, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and David Taylor, New York based freelance recording artist.
After graduating in 1997, he married and moved with his wife to Maine, her home state. Sebastian keeps an active performing schedule throughout the state ranging from engagements with the Portland and Bangor Symphonies, Portland Opera and Ballet orchestras, the Maine Chamber Ensemble, brass ensembles all the way to jazz gigs and shows at the Maine State Theatre.
Before joining the faculty at the Portland Conservatory in 2012, Sebastian had extensive teaching experience with prior appointments at the University of Maine at Augusta (1998), Colby (2000) and Bates (2001) as instructor for trombone and lecturer. He has continued to teach at all three institutions and has conducted many master classes.
Sebastian also owns a small masonry business, and he has recently completed studies for a Bachelor degree in Architecture at UMA. He lives in Yarmouth with his wife, their three children and several pets.
Sebastian has a degree in Trombone Performance from the Mannes College of Music.
John Johnstone
John Johnstone holds a B.M. in Classical Guitar Performance from the University of Southern Maine, and an Associate Degree in Jazz from the University of Maine, Augusta. He has studied with David Leisner, Neil Anderson, George Sakellariou, and Bob Sullivan, and has participated in master classes with Manuel Barrueco, Sharon Isbin, Nicholas Goluses, Adam and Bruce Holzman, Norbert Kraft and many others.
John has performed with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble, and the Choral Art Society. Other performances include an all Bach solo guitar concert at the Maine Festival, a Renaissance solo guitar concert at St. Joseph’s College, and solo and chamber recitals at Olin Arts Center, Corthell Hall and Bowdoin Chapel.
His classical, jazz, and electronic compositions have been performed at the Portland Conservatory of Music. Soundboard magazine has favorably reviewed his classical guitar compositions.
In addition to playing and teaching classical and jazz guitar, he also teaches blues, rock and folk styles. Other instruments that he teaches include electric bass and ukulele. Mr. Johnstone is also on the guitar faculty at Bowdoin College.
John has a B.M. in Performance from the University of Southern Maine and an A.A. in Jazz from the University of Maine at Augusta.
Paul Kneller
Paul Kneller holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Southern Maine. He studied classical guitar with two prominent teachers in the Portland, Maine area, John Johnstone and Keith Crook.
While studying at the university, he participated in a Master Class with Lily Afshar and performed in the 41st Honors Recital.
Apart from solo performances, he has had the opportunity to play with a variety of different instrumentalists. He has performed and recorded with groups outside the classical realm, focusing on noise, punk, and lo-fi aesthetics.
Since 2017, Paul has been teaching guitar in southern Maine. Paul joined the faculty of the Portland Conservatory in 2021
Paul holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Southern Maine.
Nathan Kolosko
Multi-instrumentalist/composer Nathan Kolosko received his M.A. in classical guitar performance at the University of Denver, Lamont School of Music. Nathan has been a private music instructor for over 25 years. Nathan has been on the faculty of the University of Southern Maine, St. Joseph’s College, Maine College of Art and the Portland Conservatory of Music.
Nathan is a fun, engaging and dedicated teacher as well as a certified Suzuki guitar instructor. In 2008 Nathan founded the guitar program at the New England Suzuki Institute and played a critical role in writing the curriculum for the music minor at Maine College of Art.
Nathan has studied with luminaries from the guitar world including Ricardo Iznaola, the Castellani-Andriaccio Duo, Pierre Bensusan, Lorenzo Micheli and Oscar Ghiglia. He has recorded four studio albums which have received critical praise: “A high-octane agenda from a guitarist with the skill, imagination, and confidence to bring it alive.” – Classical Guitar, London. Nathan has over 20 published compositions which have been performed and recorded by musicians throughout the world from Japan and Taiwan, to Belgium, New Zealand and Australia. He has received grants and awards from the Maine Arts Commission, the Allied Arts Foundation and D’Addario Strings.
Nathan has collaborated with numerous musicians including Carl Dimow and Dan Cosley, as well as visual artist Ling-Wen Tsai. In addition to guitar, Nathan also performs on Oud, Persian Tar and Kamanche/Tarhu with the Portland based Middle Eastern ensemble Zapion.
Nathan’s has earned the following degrees: M.A. Performance, University of Denver, Lamont School of Music; B.S. Performance, University of Buffalo; A.S. Performance N.C.C.C.; Suzuki Certification, Hartt School of Music.
Eric LaPerna
Eric LaPerna has been a performing musician for over 25 years. He is well versed in many different styles of percussion but Middle Eastern hand drums and rhythmic systems are his specialty.
He is a founding member of Okbari Middle Eastern Ensemble and Zapion and has played with some of Maine’s most prestigious ensembles and performers including the Daponte String Quartet and the late Udi Alan Shavarsh Bardezbanian.
Eric is the Director of the Bowdoin College Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, and is a member of the Applied Music Faculty at Bates College as well as adjunct instructor of hand percussion at Bowdoin College.
He also teaches private lessons and workshops on Middle Eastern hand drums and music throughout New England.
Eleanor Lehmann
Eleanor Lehmann began her musical studies on violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, in California. In 1960, she received a degree in music education and performance from California State University, San Francisco.
In 1965, after a year of public school teaching, she had the opportunity to move to the country of Mexico and work as teacher and professional violin/violist with many of the orchestras of the region.
Returning to California in 1986, she accepted positions as violist with the Modesto and Stockton Symphonies and entered into the teaching profession with the Merced City School District, a position she held for fifteen years.
In 2003, she moved to Maine where she taught both the violin and viola at her private studio and the Portland Conservatory of Music. In 2007, she initiated violin classes at the University of Southern Maine for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute where people over the age of 55 could fulfill their wish to learn how to play the violin.
Eleanor presently holds the titled position of President for the two music clubs in the area, the Portland Rossini and Marston-Kotzschmar Music Clubs.
Eleanor has a B.A. in Music Education and Performance from the California State University, San Francisco.
Brandon li
Brandon has been teaching piano for over 25 years across the United States, Taiwan, and Mainland China. His students have gone on to study at some of the most prestigious music schools in the world, including the Curtis Institute of Music and Shanghai Conservatory. Other students have embarked on careers in composition and music education. While in China, he served as a jury member for numerous piano competitions, and his students were consistently medalists when competing.
Brandon earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Boston University College of Music, studying under Anthony di Bonaventura, a pupil of Isabelle Vengerova. His piano mentors also include Frank Wiens, Joan McGann, and Vladislav Kovalsky. His chamber music coaches include Leslie Parnas and Peter Zazofsky. He has also participated in masterclasses led by Russell Sherman, Tong il-Han, and Victor Rosenbaum.
Melissa Lund Ziegler
Described as “exciting to watch”, violist Melissa Lund Ziegler is an experienced and sought out teacher and orchestral musician. She was a member of the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra and performed regularly with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and the Muncie and Anderson Symphony Orchestras. Melissa has also performed with many other orchestras and music festivals in Europe and across the United States including CCM Spoleto (Spoleto, Italy), the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Fox Valley, Sheboygan, Richmond (IN) Symphony, and Owensboro Symphony Orchestras.
Melissa is a dynamic chamber musician and is passionate about new music. She was a founding member of the Muse Trio and Take 3 String Trio and has collaborated with violists Katrin Meidell and Michael Chen. She has performed as part of the 360 Lecture Series at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay performing a history of jazz dance styles. Melissa served as Assistant Director for the Ball State University New Music Ensemble. She has collaborated with many young composers in efforts to improve their knowledge of string writing, several of whom have written pieces for her.
Melissa holds two degrees in viola performance from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, OH and an Artist Diploma from Ball State University in Muncie, IN. Her major teachers have included Dr. Catharine Lees, Masao Kawasaki, Rebecca Barnes, and Dr. Katrin Meidell.
Michael Lund Ziegler
PCM’s Executive Director, Michael Lund Ziegler is an active conductor and classical saxophonist. Michael has held conducting positions with youth, collegiate, community, and professional orchestras and bands and both public and private schools. At each level, he has been noted for his clarity on the podium and an ability to create an empowering sense of ensemble and accomplishment amongst the players. He is currently the Music Director of the Southern Maine New Horizons Band.
As a saxophonist, Michael is an active chamber musician, appearing frequently in PCM’s Noonday concert series and other PCM special events. An advocate and lover of new music, Michael has most recently premiered Robert Gans Breathing Space, a quintet for flute, alto saxophone, viola, cello, and piano and William Traschel’s Meep Meep for viola and tenor saxophone. He continues to seek opportunities to spread the love of classical saxophone in Southern Maine.
Kathleen McNerney
A graduate of the Hartt School and the University of Southern California, Kathleen McNerney has been hailed by critics for her “rich, full-bodied tone” and “attention to the natural and enticing timbre of the instrument.”
With Dean Stein, she founded and is Artistic Director of VentiCordi Chamber Music, dedicated to performing innovative programs that artfully combine winds and strings.
Kathleen has performed with many New England and Maine-based orchestras such as the Portland Symphony, PortOpera, Bay Chamber Music, Maine Music Society, Maine Chamber Ensemble, and New Hampshire Symphony.
Before moving to Maine, she enjoyed a prolific and varied playing career in Los Angeles, participating in two woodwind quintets, Imbroglio and Calico Winds, and recording with each group.
Kathleen currently teaches oboe at Portland Conservatory of Music, Bowdoin and Bates Colleges, and is the woodwind chamber music coach at Bowdoin.
Kathleen is a graduate of the Hartt School of Music and the University of Southern California.
Chiharu Naruse
Chiharu Naruse holds a Masters Degree in Music Performance and a Masters Degree in Music Instruction from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, Germany. In Berlin, she studied piano under Klaus Bäßler and Lied Accompaniment under Wolfram Riegar.
Chiharu has performed throughout the world in recitals and piano competitions, including a piano concert to benefit Amnesty International in Germany, the Hyogo Piano Competition in Japan (silver prize), the Clara Haskil piano competition in Switzerland, the Pescara Academie Piano Competition in Italy, and the International Mozart Wettbewerb in Salzburg Austria.
In the spring of 2002, she moved to the United States to study under Frank Glazer. Since her arrival, Naruse has given several recitals at Bates College and Bowdoin College. She has also collaborated with the Portland String Quartet, the DaPonte String Quartet and Frank Glazer. She has performed Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, Mozart’s Piano Concerto K466, and the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto with the Augusta Symphony and toured with the Maine Pro Musica Ensemble under conductor Janna Hymes, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3. In addition, Chiharu appeared as a featured artist at the Ocean Park Music Festival and the Franco-American Heritage Center.
During the 2012-13 seasons she performed all 10 of Beethoven’s Sonatas for violin and piano with violinist Dean Stein at Bates College. In 2014, she was invited to perform at the Parma Music Festival. Her solo performance was selected to be one of the tracks on a CD, released in June 2015, capturing the highlights from the three-day long musical festival. This recording is now available on iTunes and Spotify.
In addition to maintaining a regular performance schedule, Chiharu is also a well-respected music teacher, chamber music coach, music competition adjudicator and accompanist, with many of her students receiving competition prizes. She currently is a member of the applied music faculty at Bates College as well as a faculty member at the Portland Conservatory of Music.
Chiharu holds a M.A. in Music Performance and a M.A. in Music Instruction from the Hochschule fur Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin.
Ben Noyes
Benjamin Noyes grew up in Portland, inheriting a rich musical/pedagogical heritage from his parents. He found local acclaim immediately and while attending Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, Irene Sharp invited him to study in San Francisco where he attended the School of the Arts and San Francisco Conservatory’s preparatory division.
He won numerous awards, including top prizes in NFAA’s ARTS Recognition, National Federation of Music Clubs, and National ASTA competitions, as well as being selected by Yo-Yo Ma to participate as soloist and recitalist throughout China to perform with the Beijing, Chengdu, Shenzen and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras.
As a fellowship recipient he attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Yale’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Sarasota Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Festival, and Meadowmount.
As an undergraduate, he attended Eastman School of Music, received his B.M. from Rice University and his M.M. from Northwestern University where he participated in the Chicago Symphony’s Civic Orchestra program playing under maestros Pierre Boulez, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Daniel Barenboim, among others.
He held a position with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and various summer opera orchestras for five years before moving to Virginia to focus on teaching and performing.. He played with the Roanoke Symphony, Roanoke Opera Orchestra, Miami Symphony and was adjunct faculty at Randolph College in Lynchburg.
Ben has a private studio and continues to garner acclaim for performances of solo recital programs, chamber ensemble concerts as well as various non-classical ventures. Pursuing the artist’s life has led him to collaborations and performances throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as teaching, coaching, and motivating individuals of all ages and professions.
Composition
Ben received his B.M. from Rice University and his M.M. from Northwestern University.
Ed Pearlman
Ed Pearlman has specialized in performing and teaching fiddle music since the 1980s, focusing especially on Scottish and Cape Breton styles, but also playing a variety of others, including American contradance music, Irish, bluegrass, jazz, Hungarian, Quebecois, and klezmer.
He likes to teach ergonomic playing, quality sound, spirit and musicality. Ed’s early training was with Perry Crafton (Chicago Symphony), Daniel Stepner (Boston Museum Trio), and Roger Shermont (Boston Symphony). One high point was playing in the Yale Symphony’s European premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass.
Ed founded and directed the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club, the Hatch Shell Celtic Festival, directed Ashokan’s Celtic Week, and a large contradance band. He has taught students privately, in workshops, and at music camps throughout the US and in Scotland.
His innovative website offers learning resources as well as live online workshops taught by Ed and world-class guest fiddlers.
Working often with members of his family band, Highland Soles, Ed has toured the U.S., Canada, and Scotland, playing concerts and dances, as well as sponsoring seasonal ceilidhs with his wife, dancer Laura Scott, in Portland. He has 3 solo CDs.
Ed has served as a judge for the U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championships many times, has written the music column for Scottish Life magazine for over 20 years, and writes a column for Fiddler magazine. Each summer, Ed co-leads music and walking tours of Scotland.
Dr. John Ross
Flutist John Ross is an accomplished soloist, educator, chamber musician, and orchestral performer. He is on the music faculty at Cottey College in Nevada, MO and teaches and performs in the summers for Sparrow Music Camp in High Springs, FL and the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra in Branson, MO. He has also taught on the faculty of the FSU Summer Music Camps and Music for the Sake of Music (MFSOM) in Green Bay, WI.
Dr. Ross has been principal flute of the orchestra for MFSOM, the Italian-American Opera Festival Orchestra (CA), the Charleston Chamber Orchestra (WV), and has also performed with the Topeka Symphony, the Muncie Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, and the Charleston Light Opera Guild. He has appeared as soloist with the WVSU Wind Ensemble, the FSU Symphonic Band, and the orchestra of MFSOM. He has been a featured soloist with the WVSU and Cottey College Wind Ensembles, the Florida State University Symphonic Band, the orchestra of Music for the Sake of Music, and the Butler Philharmonic Orchestra in Hamilton, OH. His flute ensemble Silver Lining Flutes toured around Costa Rica in Spring 2017, performing and giving masterclasses as part of the Promising Artists of the 21st Century series. His folk trios, Cuttin’ Bracken and Rakish Ramblers, have performed throughout northern Florida, including multiple performances at the Florida Folk Festival in White Springs, FL.
Dr. Ross attended West Virginia University, Ball State University, and Florida State University, studying with Joyce Catalfano, Thomas Godfrey, Francesca Arnone, Mihoko Watanabe, and Eva Amsler. He is also pursuing a certification in body mapping through the Association for Body Mapping Education, studying with Amy Likar.
Dr. Ross attended West Virginia University, Ball State University, and Florida State University, studying with Joyce Catalfano, Thomas Godfrey, Francesca Arnone, Mihoko Watanabe, and Eva Amsler. He is also pursuing a certification in body mapping through the Association for Body Mapping Education, studying with Amy Likar.
Luette Saul
Luette Saul, soprano, holds degrees in vocal performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of Southern Maine.
Since moving to Maine in 2009, Luette has been active as a recitalist and soloist with recent appearances including Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Maine Music Society and Bates Chorale, and Kathe Kollwitz, a recently commissioned work by Tom Myron for soprano and string quartet with the Portland String Quartet.
As a director she has put together lieder ensembles and opera scenes concerts for performance throughout Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. She also teaches voice at Bates College.
Luette has a B.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a M.M. from the University of Southern Maine.
Wren Saunders
Wren Saunders holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern Maine and a Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory of Music in bassoon performance. While at New England Conservatory she studied with Richard Svoboda; other teachers include Richard Ranti, Ben Kamins, and John Hunt.
Wren is currently principal bassoon of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra (MA) and formerly held the associate principal bassoon position with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (TN). In 2007 she was a concerto soloist with the Bangor Symphony.
As an active freelancer she has played with the region’s top orchestras including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, BMOP, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Boston Ballet, Vermont Symphony, and the ProArte Chamber Orchestra of Boston among others. Wren can be heard playing principal bassoon with the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra performing Violin Concerto No. 6 “Old Brass” on Mark O’Connor’s CD “Americana Symphony” on the OMAC label.
Wren has a vibrant and successful bassoon studio where her students are regularly accepted into the Maine All-State and District festivals, the University of Southern Maine Youth Ensembles as well as New England Conservatory’s Youth Orchestras and the Boston Youth Orchestras in Massachusetts. She has had five students perform on From the Top.
Wren is currently also on the faculty of the University of Southern Maine.
Wren received a B.M. from the University of Southern Maine and a M.M. from New England Conservatory of Music in bassoon performance.
Miriam Schwanauer
Born and raised in Maine, Miriam Schwanauer was a pupil of Ocy L. Downs and, at age 19, was honored to be selected to play for a master class given by Garrick Ohlsson. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music (B.M. in Applied Piano, and M.M. in Piano Performance and Literature), her teachers include Frank Glazer and Rebecca Penneys.
Miriam served on the piano faculty of PCM from 1996 to 2001, taught at the Hill School and at the Waynflete School, and performed as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and choir director. She served on the faculty of Saint Joseph’s College, teaching courses in Music History and Appreciation. In 2002, after relocating to Illinois, Miriam joined the piano faculty of the Conservatory of Central Illinois, where she taught until 2020.
Miriam has held the positions of liturgical pianist/organist and director of music at St. Raphael Church (Kittery, Maine), Brackett Memorial United Methodist Church, and St. Christopher Parish (Peaks Island, Maine), and St. Thomas Church (Philo, Illinois.) She continues to perform as a soloist, a chamber musician, and a collaborative pianist.
Dedicated to teaching students of any age, beginning through advanced levels, Miriam counts among her students many who have won awards and chosen to pursue music professionally. Devoted to teaching for over 30 years, her broad background in piano pedagogy and literature allows her to tailor her teaching approach to the needs of her individual students.
Miriam is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music (B.M. in Applied Piano, and M.M. in Piano Performance and Literature).
Sylvia Schwartz
Deeply inspired by the relationship between music, movement, and dance, violinist and teacher Sylvia Schwartz is a passionate chamber musician in both modern and historical performance practices. The power of music to heal and to bring us together drives Sylvia to teach through the Suzuki method and to perform wherever she can, from the Scarborough, ME COVID-19 vaccine clinic to Shostakovich Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia—and many places in between.
Sylvia’s history with the Suzuki method goes back to her first experiences with the violin. After a demonstration in her Kindermusik class by Stow, MA-based Suzuki teacher Doris Goldman, Sylvia was very definite about starting lessons. Her mother believes at least in part Sylvia was drawn to Doris’s vibrant, deeply kind, nurturing, and loving spirit, as well as her joy in making and teaching music. Sylvia strives to bring that same deeply kind spirit to her own students, sharing her own love of performing and music in the community as she gives students the technical, artistic, and practice tools to develop into capable, creative, and healthy musicians—and people! She has taught at Waynflete, Winchester Community Music School, Vienna Music Institute in Irvine, CA, the Boston Music Project (formerly JQOP), and was Interim Orchestra Director for three fabulous orchestras at Woodbridge HS, a Grammy Signature School.
She steadfastly believes that every child—every person—can learn, and makes it her business to meet each individual where they are on their journey of learning, discovery, and mastery. Sylvia enriches the Suzuki curriculum by drawing on her own experiences with Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, dance, theatre, and historical performance—something that in particular offers great insights into Shinichi Suzuki’s choice to include so many baroque works in his foundational repertoire. Truly, a sense of rhetoric in this music sets up compelling musicianship in the music of any era and genre and speaks to our own humanity.
Sylvia is an active and committed performer, enjoying the ways her performing and teaching inform and enrich each other. She co-founded and directs Guts Baroque, one of the first North American early music groups to livestream concerts in 2020. Guts continued a monthly livestream series through the spring of 2022, and now performs on series and festivals throughout New England including Noonday Concert Series, SoHIP, Portland Bach Experience, and Quietside Chamber Music Festival. Sylvia also plays with Baroque Orchestra of Maine (BOOM), Classical Uprising, Newton Baroque, Eudaimonia: A Purposeful Period Band, and has performed with Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Los Angeles Baroque, L’Esprit Baroque, LA Master Chorale, New England Classical Singers, Harvard Baroque, and the the Amherst Baroque Academy opera orchestra. She was thrilled to return to live performances with Portland Bach Experience 2021, playing ten concerts in two weeks as Concertmaster of the festival orchestra and as Guts Baroque.
Sylvia earned an M.Mus. in Violin Performance from Longy School of Music, where she studied violin with Laura Bossert and historically-informed performance with Dana Maiben, Na’ama Lion, and Vivian Montgomery. She has continued her education with Julie Andrijeski and Elizabeth Blumenstock. She also earned a B.S. in Engineering from Olin College, where she was Concertmaster of the Olin Conductorless Orchestra.
Violin, Suzuki and Traditional
Deeply inspired by the relationship between music, movement, and dance, violinist and teacher Sylvia Schwartz is a passionate chamber musician in both modern and historical performance practices.
Dean Stein
Violinist Dean Stein has performed throughout the world in recital, with orchestras, chamber music ensembles, and as soloist. His performances frequently garner critical acclaim, as in a recording of which ‘The Strad’ magazine wrote, “Dean Arthur Stein excels in the first violin’s improvisatory cadenza, his fierce yet luxuriant tone setting the mood…”
Mr. Stein was honored to be chosen as first violinist of the Portland String Quartet in 2013, the first change of personnel in the distinguished PSQ’s history since it’s formation in 1969.
In 2009, Mr. Stein, together with oboist Kathleen McNerney, created VentiCordi Chamber Music, focusing on combining wind and string instruments. Their performances each summer in the Kennebunks and throughout Maine have been enthusiastically received and critically acclaimed.
From 2003 – 08 Mr. Stein directed the Arcady Music Festival in Bar Harbor, Maine. At Arcady, he performed in chamber ensembles, brought internationally renowned artists to perform in Down East Maine, and gave high priority to educational programs, bringing musicians to perform directly for Maine schoolchildren.
Mr. Stein also currently performs as violinist with the Atlantic Piano Trio, is the concertmaster of the Maine Music Society, and enjoys a violin/piano partnership with Pamela Mia Paul.
Chamber music audiences have heard Mr. Stein in performances from Ogunquit to Orono, Glasgow, Montreal, Music Mountain, Eastern Music Festival, Harvard, Bowdoin and Bates Colleges and many more venues.
A highly sought after teacher and clinician, Mr. Stein is on the faculty of Bowdoin and Bates Colleges, coaches string quartets with the PSQ at Newagen Seaside Inn, St. Joseph’s College and Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, and has taught at New England Conservatory’s Preparatory Division, and University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
He studied first with Margaret Berend at the Henry Street Settlement, then at The Juilliard School with Lewis Kaplan and Ivan Galamian, and at University of Maryland, College Park, with Gerald Fischbach and members of the Guarneri String Quartet.
Violinist Dean Stein has performed throughout the world in recital, with orchestras, chamber music ensembles, and as soloist.
Harold Stover
Harold Stover is a native of Latrobe, PA, a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York, and a charter member of the conservatory faculty. His performing career spans half a century and includes concerts on most major organ recital series in New York, at the National Cathedral in Washington, Westminster Abbey in London, Harvard and Princeton universities, and many other distinguished venues.
His compositions are published by the Augsburg-Fortress, ECS, MorningStar, and Paraclete presses and are recorded on the Albany, ACA Digital, and Gloriae Dei Cantores labels.
He has made ten appearances as composer and/or organist on Pipedreams, the radio program of organ music from American Public Media, and has been featured as performer, composer, and lecturer at regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists.
His scholarly articles on organ and choral music, with an emphasis on American works, have been published in The American Organist, The Diapason, and other professional journals.
Now retired from full time church music work after serving churches in New York and Portland, he presently directs the Portland-based chorus Renaissance Voices and pursues an active career as a free-lance organist and composer in addition to his work at the conservatory.
Victoria Stubbs
Victoria Stubbs was born and raised in New England, and began classical piano lessons at the age of 5. In high school, studying classical and contemporary music with Tom Bucci, she was fortunate to work as music director and performer for local professional and community theaters.
She has a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Southern Maine, where she was the winner of the Concerto Competition and performed with the Portland String Quartet. Victoria received a full scholarship to attend the Thornton School of Music at The University of Southern California where she earned a Master’s of Music in Piano Performance and Keyboard Collaborative Arts, studying piano with Mme. Gwendolyn Koldofsky and Dr. Alan L. Smith.
She has music directed, coached vocalists, performed, arranged and composed music on both coasts. She taught chorus at St. Francis High School in LaCanda, CA, and established a Yamaha Music School for young children in Glendale, CA. A founding member of Mad Horse Theater Company, her theater credits in Maine include Maine State Music Theater, the Ogunquit Playhouse, and Good Theater in Portland, ME.
Returning to Maine in 2000, Victoria created and built the contemporary music program at Portland Arts & Technology High school, a performance based program with additional focus on songwriting, music theory, and recording studio technology. After 22 years teaching at PATHS, she recently retired in June 2023, and received the distinction of 2023 Maine Music Educator of the Year from Maine Academy of Modern Music.
Teaching piano and vocal coaching to all ages and levels and musical styles for 40+ years, she has earned high acclaim as a teacher and performer.
Victoria holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Southern California.
Colin Whiteman
Colin Whiteman received his Masters in Vocal Performance from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music. He strongly believes that practice and technique paired with exploration of true artistic passions can lead anyone and everyone to find joy and beauty in their own voice.
He fell in love with singing and performance at a young age, appearing in many local musical theatre productions. During and after college, he relished the discipline required to bring music to life and has been fortunate to study and further his training in France, Italy, and Austria, and went on to perform around Manhattan, and to teach voice in the New York area.
Colin has a wide-ranging interest in vocal styles. Most recently he has explored an interest in songwriting and dived into other performance opportunities, joining with local bands, and recently appearing in somewhere/elsewhere
Colin’s teaching philosophy is to instill students with confidence in their musical ability. His goal is to use classical singing techniques as a basis for creating a healthy and strong instrument that leads to ease and control within any style of singing. He is excited to help others in his home state of Maine find their own voice.
