Instrument/Teachers

(Note: Teacher biographies are listed below)

Piano	Cheryl Duboff Herb Nichols Catherine Sangiolo Alice Backer
Guitar	Conrad de la Cruz Christopher Griffiths Herb Nichols Daniel Taber
Drums	Don Santa
Voice	Sandra Hartman
Violin	Alice Backer Herb Nichols
Viola	Alice Backer
Cello	Conrad de la Cruz  Herb Nichols
Bass	Conrad de la Cruz Herb Nichols
Flute	Ericka Schlankermann
Clarinet	Ericka Schlankermann
Saxophone	Ericka Schlankermann
Banjo	Herb Nichols
Mandolin	Herb Nichols
Harmonica	Herb Nichols
Tabla	Conrad de la Cruz
African Drums	Herb Nichols
Accordion	Adam Kowalewski

  

Teacher Biographies

Adam Kowalewski Accordion Adam started playing various instruments at the age of 5.  Among others, he plays accordion, piano, guitar, saxophone and trombone.  He completed 18 years of formal music education obtaining his Master's Degree in Music Education, while still in Poland.  He is no stranger to composition either.  During his career, Adam collaborated with various music groups both, as performer as well as music director. Since his arrival in the United States, Adam has been very active as a teacher, working with children and adults.  He has also been involved with various choral groups, performing and producing concerts.

Alice Backer Violin, Viola, Piano, Guitar, Autoharp      Alice has been playing the violin since she was seven years old.  She studied classical violin with 2 members of the Pittsburgh Symphony and played with the Pitt String Quartet and Chamber Orchestra.  She also studied piano with Aaron Gross in Pittsburgh.   She has a Masters Degree in Education from Pace University.  She is a certified Suzuki Violin Instructor and has been teaching violin, viola, piano, and folk guitar to children and adults in the Westchester area for the past 10 years.  She is also an accomplished and high-energy fiddler of Old-Timey, Bluegrass, French Canadian, and Scottish music.  She is currently a member of the Risky Business Bluegrass Band, the Bossy Frog Children’s Band,  the Cameron Scottish Musicians, and the CrossStitch Folk Duo.  Alice feels that learning any instrument should be a combination of hard work and lots of fun.  Although her teaching style concentrates on classical music, she also enjoys teaching modern and ethnic music to her students.  Alice is an active member of MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) and ASTA (American String Teachers Association).

Conrad de la Cruz Cello, Guitar, Bass, Tabla Conrad has been a professional musician for over 30 years, both teaching and playing guitar, bass guitar, upright bass, cello, and tabla. Conrad’s training includes studies at the Naropa Institute, Mannes Conservatory, the Ali Akbar Khan College, Sounds of Joy, and private lessons with Richard Davis, Bob Seacrest, Zakir Hussain, and Ralph Towner. As a performer, Conrad has been seen most recently on stage with Teatro Imperfecto, a musical storytelling troupe, in New York public schools and libraries.  He is also known for his original compositions with A. Animal, The View, and The Adaptors Movement Theatre Co. Conrad is also a graduate of the Institute of Audio Research, and a skilled audio and recording engineer.  His production of “Rainbow Train” for “Talking Hands, Talking Feet” won a 2002 Parents’ Choice Award.  He currently engineers live sound for theatrical performances and concerts at venues throughout the New York area, and records at his own Little Anguilla Studio.

Cheryl Wurzburger Duboff  Piano Cheryl received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Performing at The State University of New York at Purchase.  She has done graduate studies at the Juilliard School as well as at the Manhattan School of Music.   She has been on the faculty of the Westchester Conservatory for over 10 years and was the coordinator of its northern branch in Mount Kisco, New York.  She was also music coordinator of the dance department for the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York for 8 years as well as accompanist for the dance department at the State University of New York in Purchase.  She has also been a coach for chamber music groups in Maine under the auspices of Manhattan School of Music, as well as in the tri-state area.  In addition she has been on the faculty of the Yorktown School of Music.   She has studied with renowned recitalists such as: Joseph Seiger, Zenon Fishbein, Michael Pollon, Jacob Lateiner and Peter Vinograde.  She is currently studying with Efrem Briskin.  She has also given many master classes, as well as participated in master classes given by such notable artists as Vladimir Feltsman.   She has performed numerous solo recitals and has been accompanist for instrumentalists and vocalists, in addition to appearances with chamber music groups and orchestras throughout the Metropolitan area.  She has also performed under the auspices of the International Academy of Music in Russia at St. Petersburg where she performed solo piano works and chamber music performances.   She has been on the faculty of the Mount Kisco School of Music since 1989.

Christopher Griffiths Guitar and Bass Guitar

Sandra Hartman Voice Singer and actress Sandra Hartman began her training at the Settlement Music School in  Philadelphia. She was a two time recipient of the Mario Lanza Award, and holds a B.M. degree from the Phila.College of Performing Arts.  She studied acting at both the Wilma and Walnut Theaters in Phila.  In New York, she studied Shakespeare at the HB Studios, and received on-camera training at the Weisst- Barron Commercial School.  Sandra is a member of Actor's Equity. Sandra was engaged for seven years in Theater des Westens in Berlin, Germany, where she performed extensively in Musicals and Operetta.  She also toured throughout Germany with the ensemble "Operetten Express".  In the U.S., Sandra has toured nationally with "Man of La Mancha" and "Carousel", and has performed leading roles in many regional theaters.  She also performed in the Off-Broadway Musical "Mamaleh".  Sandra has performed in over fifty productions of Musicals, Operetta, and Opera.  Some of her favorite roles incldue: Aldonza (Man of La Mancha), Desiree (A Little Night Music), Marguerite (The Scarlet Pimpernel), Antonia (The Tales of Hoffmann), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), and Stasi (The Gypsy Princess). As a director, Sandra has staged operas for the Delaware Valley Opera Company and the New York Metro Arts Ensemble.  She is currently singing concerts with the vocal group "Touch of Classics", and can be seen in commercials for Time Warner, Cable Vision, the Skooter Store, and Modell's.

Herbert Nichols Guitar, Piano, Violin, Cello, Banjo, Bass and African drums Herb has been teaching music at NWMS for 6 years and he loves it.  His students are great.  He finds that each aspiring  musician is unique unto themselves, and he adjusts their lessons accordingly.  He finds studying and playing a musical instrument to be a joyous experience and he tries to create an atmosphere that allows the learning that takes place to be just that.  Herb has a Bachelor of Science Music Education Degree from C.U.N.Y.

Catherine Sangiolo Piano   Catherine started teaching piano at NWMS in September 1999.  Her students range in age from 5 to 16 years old and she also teaches adults of various ages.  She teaches beginning, intermediate and advanced levels on piano.  She also works with student evaluations at NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) and she prepares students for piano competition auditions.  She is currently in the process of acquiring a National Music Teachers Certification and she has already passed the proficiency exams in Piano Pedagogy and Music Theory.

Don Santa Drums   Don has been teaching at NWMS for three years.  He has been playing the drums since he was ten years old.  He started to play by ear, then he started to embellish, then he started to improvise, and he started to make up songs as the years went by.  He studied with various drum teachers in the New York Westchester area.  He played with different bands as he grew older.  The most serious band that he played with was The Red Saturns, and he was with that band for eight years.  When he was in the Service for the Army, he played with some great musicians and that's when he really got into Jazz.  He is now playing with a band that plays Swing music from the 20s, 30s, 40, and 50s.  This band is under the direction of Ben DeClementi, who has obtained all the original charts.  The band plays with Charts and you must be able to read music.  During the past few years, he developed his own method of teaching.  Not all students are the same.  We must engage students by helping them become confident well-rounded musicians.  There are many areas of music.  (Technique is just one area, improvization,sight-reading, rhythm, etc.)  He tries to teach his students to listen and have knowledge of all types of music.  He says that you must remember as a teacher that most students are involved in other activities in school.  Therefore, you must identify their goals again, if you have a child interested in Drums.

Ericka Schlankermann Woodwinds

Daniel Taber Guitar As a double-major, Daniel graduated Magda Cum Laude in 2002 from SUNY Purchase.  Studying under John Sanborn and Jim McElwaine, he earned a B.A. in Studio Composition, which is a program that focuses primarily on songwriting and recording through intensive study of theory, sight-reading, ear-training, world music, history, orchestration and performance.  His second B.A. is in Literature. Daniel has ten years of experience teaching and fifteen years of experience performing.  He has been studying the guitar since 1985.  Since then he has worked and continues to play with numerous groups.  His strengths are Rock, Blues, R&B, and Jazz, yet he is open and appreciative of all styles.  Whether it be original music or the music of others, Daniel has been found performing in such venues as Joe’s Pub and the Lion’s Den in Manhattan, among numerous others. He has worked in theatre with Waterwell Productions, during which time he co-wrote and performed music for the play, Episodes in Blue.  Also, beyond the schools and private teaching, he has worked with large groups of children in summer camps.  He enjoys having fun with students while they learn, positively promotes the importance of consistent practice and believes in the healing power of music.