Our Staff
Meet our experienced instructors! Contact anybody listed here with questions by filling out our contact form. Make sure to mention who the question is for!

Leena Alam, Clarinet
Founder
Leena Alam is a clarinetist who mainly works with and enjoys listening to classical music. As the founder of this organization, she holds a strong belief that everyone should have access to basic musical education and works hard to make that vision a reality. Having started the clarinet at the age of 8, Leena has played with high school ensembles since early in middle school, has been part of numerous ensembles and a wind quintet at the HARTT School of Music, and is president of Glastonbury Youth Symphony. She looks forward to helping as many students as possible!

Nicholas Biancolin, Piano, Trombone, Arranging/Composition/Theory
Secretary
Nicholas Biancolin, currently a high school student, is an up and coming jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. He started playing the piano at age 6, trombone at age 12, and arranging & composing music at age 13. Biancolin’s compositions and arrangements range from lush concert band scores to blazing fast jazz charts, and his music can be heard on the internet.

Lillian Yim, Cello
Instructor
Lillian Yim, a graduate of Farmington High School, studied cello with Katie Kennedy for nine years and Greg Beaver since October of 2019. She will be attending the New England Conservatory this fall and will study with Yeesun Kim. Lillian has been a major prize winner in the Hartford Music Teachers Alliance Concerto Competition, the Nutmeg Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Musical Club of Hartford Solo Competition, and the CT-ASTA Solo Competition. She has appeared as a guest soloist with the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra, where she played the entire Elgar Cello Concerto in January of 2020, and will appear as a soloist with the Nutmeg Symphony Orchestra playing the entire Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations in May 2021. Lillian has attended Curtis Summerfest, Indiana University Summer String Academy, Tanglewood Young Artists Orchestra Program, Credo Prelude Boston, and the Kinhaven Music School in previous summers.

Emily Loscialpo, Songwriting, Voice for Pop/Musical Theater, Piano
Instructor
Emily has 11+ years of piano experience, but has been singing anywhere and everywhere all her life. She specializes in pop and musical theater vocals, but also has classical training. She is skilled in accompanying herself on the piano, using her music theory knowledge to arrange piano parts that complement her singing. Emily has multiple original songs on iTunes and Spotify, and performs professionally as a singer/songwriter. She also has been participating in local musical theater productions for 7+ years, and currently studies with vocal coach Becki Walter.

Chloe Weathers, Classical Voice and Musical Theater
Instructor
Chloe Weathers is a high school student who enjoys singing and musical theatre. She attends an arts high school for musical theatre and volunteers at a children's theater. She has done musical theatre for over eight years. Something that is important to her is social justice issues. She enjoys spending time with her younger brother, singing, and dance.

Emma Kramer, Clarinet
Instructor
Emma Kramer is a senior at Conard High School. She loves playing the clarinet in pit orchestra for the musical, her student led quintet, GHYWE ensemble and trio at the Hartt Community Division, Northern Regionals, and All States. She has taught elementary school kids clarinet and looks forward to helping younger musicians develop their skills in this program!

Loulou Mahfouz, Flute
Instructor
Loulou Vivian Mahfouz has been playing the flute for 6 years and has developed a passion for music. She is a senior in high school, and loves to help out others. She has also started the playing the saxophone but considers the flute as her first love. Her hobbies include nail art, sleeping, taking care of her lovebirds, and cooking with her brother.

Erin LoMonaco, French Horn
Instructor
Music has been a part of Erin's life for as long as she can remember. She is a member of the Chester Fife and Drum corp, participates in band and pep band at her school, has attended many music festivals and auditions, and has gone to the New England Music Camp. She loves playing in large orchestras, and will be continuing her education in music in college next year in the form of a minor.

Corban Espinoza, Guitar
Instructor
Corban Espinoza is a self taught guitarist. He composes mostly on guitar, but also works with piano and launchpad. His compositions are based around roman numeral theory and scales, but also around abstract ideas and motifs. Some of Corban's favorite composers are Ramin Djawadi, Tosin Abasi, and Koji Kondo.

Brandon Kennedy, Fiddle
Content Creator
Brandon Kennedy is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist specializing in Irish and Scottish traditional folk music. With over 15 years of professional performance to his name, he is a music major at Berklee College of Music with several active projects such as “the Wandering Bard” and “MacPhersons Pocket Watch.” Active in the community, he travels the world collecting and preserving authentic music from its origin and collaborating with others.

Gesiye Okoya, Piano
Content Creator
Gesiye Okoya is a pianist from Oklahoma. She has been studying for 10+ years, and has participated in many activities revolving around music. She also devotes some of her time to her youth orchestra, where she plays upright bass. Her main studies are focused in classical, but has recently opened up to the world of jazz.

Natalie Ely, Piano
Content Creator
Natalie Ely is a current student at Liberty University working on her Bachelor's in Choral Music Education. She is a classically trained pianist that has played music from a wide variety of genres and composers. She has experience working with vocal and instrumental ensembles of all kinds as well as soloists.

Colin O'Brien, Piano, Voice
Content Creator
Colin is a 16 year old jazz pianist and singer who loves making music with others. Colin has been singing since before he could talk and playing the piano since he was six years old. Throughout his life, he has been involved in several choirs and other music programs. There's nothing that Colin loves more than music, and he'd love to share that passion.

James Crews, Composition/Theory
Content Creator
James is a composer, who enjoys a wide variety of genres. With a background and education in classical music, he has since forayed into writing for musical theater and popular music. Some of his influences include Gustav Holst, Pasek and Paul, Jacob Collier, and Charlie Puth. James has experience arranging and writing for concert bands, string quartets, and a capella groups. He is currently working on a musical about the life of Bayard Rustin, a civil rights leader in the 1960's.

Thomas Fabian, Ableton (DAW), Piano, Guitar, Bass
Content Creator
Thomas has been a musician for about 10 years. He has a wide taste in music/is open to all kinds of genres. Studied classical music, but more "at home" in rock/pop. Produced 2 self released records. Aims to help beginners understand how music works and how to create music that they like. 17 years old.

Fernando Sánchez, Piano, Guitar, Ukelele
Content Creator
Fernando Sanchez began with his love for music when he was 9 years old in the form of an old guitar that belonged to his sister. With the years he saw himself more and more inclined to more instruments and saw himself represented in compositions and music production. Now he produces electronic and lofi music and majors in musical production in New York.

Charlotte Ligtenberg, Clarinet
Blog Writer
Charlotte is young artist and performer who has loved music since she was a child. She can not only play clarinet but use her voice as an instrument and does so frequently. She loves listening to, writing and playing all sorts of genres and pieces, including concert pieces, pop and even some rock. Music is absolutely a part of her daily life and she has no clue where she'd be without it.

Wednesday Herrick, Flute
Blog Writer
Wednesday Herrick is a Senior in high school. They have played flute since 4th grade and are a member of the school band and have participated in the Glastonbury Town band. They have been a member of the experimental/ambient noise band Nux Vomica for a large part of their life. They have participated in musical theatre and show choir in the past and greatly enjoy singing.