Creative Arts, YOUR Non-Profit
Community
School for Theatre, Music and Art.

25 Woburn St.
Reading, MA 01867
phone: 781.942.9600

Email: info@WeTeachCreativeArts.org

Winter/Spring Office Hours:
Mon-Thurs 11am-6:30pm, Fridays noon-5pm; & by app't

Closed: 5/28

 
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THEATRE
MUSIC
ART

Scroll down to read bios on our current faculty or click a quick link below.



Visual Arts
Nedret Andre - coming soon!

Kirsten Brown - AS from Middlesex Community College. Office of Child Care Services Teacher certified. Kirsten has been teaching children for over 4 years. She has shown her artwork at the annual Creative Arts Faculty concert and has volunteered her time at numerous Creative Arts events. Kirsten is an active volunteer in the arts.

Dennis Hart - MFA in Visual Arts from Vermont College, 2010. BFA in Painting & Illustration, Massachusetts College of Art; Graphic Design Certificate, MassArt. He has exhibited his artwork in Creative Arts' Faculty Exhibit; at First Expressions Gallery in Boston; Essex Art Center, Lawrence; The Foster Gallery, Worcester; and in private collections in the area. He is also a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. Visit his work at www.dennishartstudios.com.

Lesley King - BFA from Massachusetts College of Art in Ceramics. Lesley's skills include hand building, wheel work, altered wheel thrown work, glazing (low & high fire), special techniques for low fire glazing and overglazing. She has attended numerous NCECA conferences and has taken many workshops with well-known ceramic artists at Medflat Studio, Radcliff Studios and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. Lesley has been involved with ceramics for thirty plus years and enjoys sharing her skills, techniques, secreats and enthusiasm with others. She joined the Creative Arts team in Spring 2009.

Jamie (MacInnes) McDonough - BFA from Massachusetts College of Art in Community Art Education, Minor in Ceramics. She has been teaching art to students from ages 18 months - 18 years for over ten years. She is also the art teacher at Odyssey Day School in Wakefield, MA. Jamie is currently enrolled in Graduate school to obtain her masters in elementary education. Jamie is also department of education certified in Art education and she is also department of child care services certified. She has exhibited her artwork in the Greater-Boston area, including Creative Arts' Faculty Exhibit. Visit her work at www.jamiemcdonough.daportfolio.com.

Rick Shaffer - BA from Hofstra University. Rick is a professional artist specializing in watercolor; he has worked in this medium for over 20 years and has a strong passion for the arts. Rick has shown his artwork in shows all over the Northeast.
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Theatre
Kirsten Brown - See bio under Art Faculty.

Angela Merrill - BA in English from the University of Massachusetts where she studied The Works of Shakespeare, English Literature and Creative Writing. For sixteen years, Angela was a dance student learning the inside and out of stage performance. Creative Arts Theatre teacher since 2002. Angela has written many of the plays her students perform at Creative Arts. She is Office of Child Care Services Teacher certified.

Adam Schuler - is a theater instructor who has been heavily involved in the theatrical arts since the age of ten. Schuler has studied theater arts at Adelphi University and Johnson State College. Schuler’s previous directing credits include Curtains and Little by Little with Colonial Chorus Players, WRT's She Loves Me and Alice In Wonderland, Thanks Awfully, Nothing On, Laugh-In and The Role Of Della. Adam is frequently seen onstage as well where favorite roles include Oscar in Sweet Charity, Kenickie in Grease, Joseph in Joseph…, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, John in Peter Pan and Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew, and Will Parker in Oklahoma. Adam is thrilled to be working with Creative Arts!
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Music
STRINGS
Laura Burgess (Traditional & Suzuki violin, viola) Masters in Music Education and Viola Performance from the Boston Conservatory in 1999 with additional graduate education credits from Salem State, Lesley college NEC Kodaly Program, Hartt University and UMASS Lowell (to name a few). Her music teaching credentials are extensive: Arlington Public Schools (orchestra and group lessons), Cambridge Public Schools (group lessons and All-City Orchestra), Concord-Carlisle High School (orchestra, group lessons, Music Technology), and Revere and Newburyport Public Schools (orchestra, private and group lessons). She also has experience teaching special needs students.

Laura teaches both traditional and Suzuki methods (violin and viola) to all ages and music abilities, and is Suzuki certified through Book 4. Laura taught at Creative Arts in the past and is excited to contribute to our mission and community!

Karl Ørvik (Violin & Viola) Just returning from Korea where he performed with the Klaritas Quartet, Karl is ready to jump into teaching at Creative Arts! In 2008 Karl and his family moved to Boston to pursue his Doctor of Music Arts from Boston University and study under Roman Totenberg. He received a Bachelor's in Music from Lawrence University and a Master's in Music from Cleveland Institute of Music. In addition to coaching youth orchestra and symphony programs, Karl has also taught at festivals, ran workshops and taught at the collegiate level. He currently has a small private studio, teaches 2nd-8th graders at The Waldorf School of Lexington, and has been on the faculty of both the Lexington Community Education and Conservatory Lab Charter School. Karl was also published in the May 2007 ASTA Journal, "The Practice Factory", and has two pieces under review - Practical Scale Method for Advanced Violinists and First Year Violin. Karl appreciates the sense of community and support, along with programming opportunities, that community schools like Creative Arts offer.

Jenna Potts (Suzuki violin) An Ohio native, Jenna began her Suzuki training at 6yrs old and, later, teaching Suzuki violin at 16. Her fondness for playing the violin and mentoring younger students blossomed into a music career. Jenna received her BA in music from Case Western University and will receive a Masters of Music in Violin Performance with an emphasis in Pedagogy from Longy School of Music in 2011. She has studied under Mark Lakirovich, Gabriel Pegis, Valarie B. Gardner and Suzuki Apprentiship training under Moshe Neumann and Kimberly Meier-Simms. She is Suzuki certified through Book 4 but is extremely experienced teaching in higher books. Jenna enjoys introducing students to and fostering a life-long relationship with music. For her students, Jenna seeks to "develop concrete technical skills, instill a love of music (in students and their families), encourage personal discipline,...and to provide a positive, encouraging environment while doing so." Jenna joined the Creative Arts Faculty in Fall 2009.

Elena Raucci (traditional cello, string orchestra) MM in Music Education, University of Connecticut. Dedicated music educator, including 18 years at Creative Arts. Also music instructor for Reading's public schools. Cellist with the Arioso Trio.

Shannon Snapp (traditional cello, string orchestra) After receiving her Master degree in Cello Performance from New England Conservatory of Music, Shannon performed in Europe and North America playing in Stuttgart, Vienna, Paris, Brussels, Boston, Cleveland and New York (just to name a few locations...). She has performed with members of Cleveland, Julliard and Guarneri Quartets and played alongside Paul Katz, Rudolf Kolisch, Peter Sellars, Craig Smith and many other fantastic musicians. After her rich performance experience, Shannon decided to relocate to Winchester, MA and share her love of music by inspiring and encouraging others; she decided to teach. Recently, Shannon, along several musician friends, started Alcyon Chamber Ensemble to bring music experience into public schools. Shannon joined the Creative Arts Faculty in Fall 2009.
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GUITAR
Mark Dante Troiano (guitar, bass guitar & electric guitar - rock, pop, folk, folk-rock, jazz and emo, music theory, songwriting, ear-training) Mark is a graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, MA. He has a BA in English: Dramatic Literature & Theater with a double minor in Music: Theory, Composition & Voice. At Wheaton, Mark was the Musical Director of the all-male A Capella vocal ensemble, The Wheaton College Gentlemen Callers. They recorded five albums together. He has just finished recording his debut solo album - The Lightworker's Union, and is now in the studio recording his follow-up album: The Long Walk Home. Mark can be found playing out at local clubs, bars, cafes, and coffeehouses.

Mark is a Contemporary Musician who teaches Holistically - He teachs to better then entire person. As a student of Zen, he incorporate principles of balance, musical discipline and self-awareness into his teaching methodology to allow the student's inner light to shine though. He is a self-taught musician and a professionally trained vocalist. Mark began at Creative Arts in 2007. Visit www.myspace.com/dante34 to hear his new CD - The Lightworker's Union.
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PIANO
Joseph Beninati (Traditional) Joe currently resides in Reading, and has been an integral part of the theater community of the North Shore for a number of years. Since graduating from Reading High School in 1978, Joe has maintained an extensive career in piano performance in the Northeast, having played for fifteen years with the LaPierre School of Ballet and a wide variety of community theater productions in Reading, Wilmington, Wakefield, Peabody and New Hampshire. In addition to teaching piano at Creative Arts, Joe is also the accompanist for The Reading Community Singers and The Wakefield Choral Society.

Brent Erstad (Traditional) Brent Erstad received his musical training at The Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of renowned Russian pianists Margarita Shevchenko and Olga Radosavljevich. In addition to solo and collaborative appearances across the United States, he was Organ Scholar at S. Stephen’s Church in Providence before accepting the post of Organist and Choirmaster at historic Trinity Church in Newport, Rhode Island. In demand as a collaborative artist, Brent is a staff pianist at The Boston Conservatory and former accompanist for The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus. An advocate of historically informed performance, Brent has appeared at the Montana Early Music Festival, the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute and with the Baroque Orchestra of Case Western Reserve University.

He enjoys playing classical piano and LOVES to perform (just about every musical genre). Brent joined the Creative Arts faculty in the Summer of 2009.

Tatyana Foaksman (Traditional) MS in Music Ed., I.P. Kotlyarevsky Kharkov, Ukraine. Staff pianist at Boston Ballet Company with public performances at Company Theater.

Sheryl LaFayette (Suzuki) She's back!! . . . bio coming soon . . .

Natacha Rist (Suzuki & Traditional) Natacha Rist is a Franco-American Pianist born and raised in France. She received her Performance Diploma in Piano Performance (eq. Masters in Music) from the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, her M.M. in Vocal Accompaniment from Boston University. Her teachers include : M. Rybicki in Paris (Neuhaus Russian Piano legacy), A. Rogers, A. DiBonaventura, M. Kroll, Lois Shapiro, B. Hatheway in Boston. She teaches Piano (both Suzuki and Non-Suzuki), at Creative Arts, Powers Music School, and at her home studio in Jamaica Plain. She enjoys building on her over 20 years extensive experience with students of all ages and levels. A certified Suzuki instructor, she has received her Suzuki training from Dr. Doris Harrel and participates regularly in Suzuki Festivals. Her Early Childhood training also includes : Methodes Actives Martenot, Dalcroze Eurythmics, "First steps" with Ruth Schechter, and introduction to Music Together and Musikgarten. Her exposure to such varied "Introduction to Music" approaches gives her a wide repertoire of tools to teach musical fluency, using various listening, movement, singing, rythm games etc ... N.B. : She's also very diligent about teaching music reading fluency to all her students, Suzuki and Non-Suzuki. As a professional Instrumental and Vocal Accompanist she is employed in many venues and studios, both privately and in several Boston area music schools. An active free-lance soloist and collaborative pianist, she performs Solo and Chamber Music in the New England area and in France and is a founding member of Kharis Chamber Players. She's also Organist and Music Director at First Baptist Church in Natick. Natacha joined the Creative Arts faculty in the Summer of 2009.

Roald Wilson (Traditional) has been teaching piano and ensembles at Creative Arts for 10 years. He has played in dozens of states and several other countries on keyboards, strings and wind instruments. He has composed for film and modern dance choreography; his acoustic ensemble band "Tornado Bros." based in Boston received regional radio airplay. Roald has built many instruments; collects and plays many more. His performance background includes classical, church, folk, Appalachian and Zydeco music. Roald studied music, religious studies, theatre and audio technology at Indiana University.
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BRASS/WOODWIND
Judy Braude (traditional flute) MM University of Illinois in flute performance. Former flute faculty Boston Conservatory of Music Division of Special Programs, Bradford, Notre Dame and Upsala Colleges; Manchester Community Music School, and the Perkins Center for the Arts (NJ). Presently Principal Flute of the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic, and the Salem Philharmonic Orchestras; former piccoloist with the NJ State Opera Orchestra; Flutist with the Arioso Trio, Concerto Soloist with the Livingston (NJ) Symphony, the MVPO, the Salem Philharmonic and the NJ Bach Festival Orchestras. Solo Recitals at The Behrend College of Penn State, King's Chapel (MA), and many library concert series including Reading Memorial Library and Andover Libraries.

John Korajczyk (clarinet & saxophone) He's back!! bio coming soon . . .
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VOICE
Andrea Loretz (traditional) MM in opera performance, Boston Conservatory of Music; BA State University of New York at Binghamton. Performed over 20 years throughout the East Coast, US and Europe. Taught at all vocal levels for over 15 years in the Boston area and New York, including 6 years at Creative Arts. Founder, Co-Director, and Performance Artist with Improvelocity (visit: www.improvelocity.com). Studied with Robert Honeysucker and Elizabeth Vrenios.

Brian Ocock (traditional) MM in applied voice, New England Conservatory of Music; BM in applied voice, Westminster College, PA. Studied with Mark Aliapoulios, Susan Clickner, Isaac Reid and Frank Pullano. Vocal coaching with Terry Decima & James Benner.

Mark Dante Troiano (traditional-broadway, belt, rock, pop, folk, folk-rock, emo, contemporary & jazz) - see bio. under guitar
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PERCUSSION
Joshua Jade (percussion)

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• Theatre, Winter 2012
• Art, Winter 2012

• Music, Winter 2012
• Adults & Seniors, Winter 2012