Shejeru Sarmiento
Violin, Viola
Shejeru Sarmiento has over 15 years of violin performance experience. Born and raised in Venezuela, Ms. Sarmiento received her initial music education in the internationally recognized Sistema de Orquestas of Venezuela. In the United States, Ms. Shejeru attended the Aaron Copland School of Music as an undergraduate in violin performance. Ms. Shejeru has toured internationally with professional orchestras to countries as far as China and Japan. She has given multiple performances throughout North and South America, including as a soloist with the Orquesta Juvenil de Maracay and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Aragua. Ms. Sarmiento is one of our bilingual teachers offering lessons in both English and Spanish.
Maxfield Panish
Violin, Viola, Composition
Maxfield Panish is a violinist and composer who distinguishes himself through his creative artistry and musical passion. Since beginning his violin studies at age five, Maxfield has shown musical promise, performing in his first recitals at age six and debuting as a soloist with an orchestra at ten years old. He has performed concerts in prominent halls throughout the United States, including Carnegie Hall and David Geffin Hall, and has won prizes at both the Rocky Mountain Music Competition and the Aaron Copland School of Music Concerto Competition. Maxfield studied with notable violin pedagogues Lisa Kim and Daniel Phillips. He currently holds a bachelor’s degree in violin performance and a master’s degree in music composition.
Erich Johnson
Guitar
A Los Angeles native, Erich’s initial forays into guitar were self-taught, learning classic rock and blues styles. He has played with various bands while studying with musicians from the Thornton School of Music and teaching at the famous Dietz Brothers Music. Erich received his Undergraduate degree from the Berklee School of Music in Boston and went on to receive his Master’s degree at Queens College in New York. Erich has been teaching guitar for close to a decade and has taught thousands of lessons. His approach is rather fluid, based on the needs of each individual student. In the lesson, Erich maintains the fun and wonderment of guitar playing and makes sure the student leaves each lesson with a sense of accomplishment. He emphasizes solid technique, but with a relaxed and non-dogmatic approach.
Matt Kent
Piano, Song-writing
Matt Kent is a singer-songwriter-musician currently based in New York. After obtaining a music performance degree at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Matt has continued on to teach and perform on various instruments such as voice, piano, violin. As the winner of the Coffee Music Project competition, Matt Kent was given the opportunity to perform at festivals in New York and London. Matt Kent has over 8 years of teaching experience and has students of all ages and levels.
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Name, Title
Ernesto Sarmiento
Flute
Ernesto Sarmiento has over 20 years of performance experience and more than ten years of teaching experience. Musically trained in the El Sistema de Orquestas de Venezuela, Ernesto has performed as a soloist and section member in the most highly-skilled music ensembles in Venezuela such as the Simon Bolivar Baroque Orchestra, Camerata de Caracas, and the National Children's Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, conducted by the world-renowned Gustavo Dudamel. Ernesto attended the Universidad Experimental de Las Artes and the Simon Bolivar Conservatory. Ernesto has spent many years teaching privately as well as in respected educational institutions such as the UNESCO Center of the Arts and the Club Hebraica.
Sara Strozzo
Cello
Sara Strozzo is an Italian cellist with over 10 years of teaching and performance experience. Sara graduated from the Conservatory "Agostino Steffani" in Castelfranco Veneto (Italy) and came to New York to obtain her Master's degree in Cello Performance at the Aaron Copland School of Music. Sara has taught in multiple European countries and the U.S while also cultivating an extensive performance carrier that include several concerts in multiple continents. Sara has attended numerous masterclasses with the most renowned cello teachers and interpreters such as Natalia Gutman, Julius Berger, Giovanni Gnocchi and Anna Serova and Marci Rosen.
Joseph Staten
Cello
Originally from the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, cellist Joseph Staten has performed in numerous major music festivals around the world. At 14, Joseph was awarded his solo debut with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and has appeared in the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, the Emerald Coast Music Alliance, and the Festival de Musica Camerata in San Miguel de Allende, among others. His solo and chamber performances have been featured on The Violin Channel, WQXR, and many other platforms. A passionate teacher, Joseph started a free, daily cello scale class in the beginning of the Covid pandemic. It is based off The First Hour, an acclaimed scale book Joseph edited and helped write with his former teacher, Amit Peled. Joseph has attended The Heifetz International Music Institute, the Keshet Eilon International Mastercourse, the Lev Aaronson Memorial Cello Festival, and performs regularly with such ensembles as the Peabody Peled Cello Gang and the Mt. Vernon Virtuosi. An avid chamber musician, Joseph has collaborated with such artists as Guy Braunstein, Leon Fleisher, Sergei Ostrovsky, and Alon Goldstein. Joseph has played in masterclasses for Frans Helmerson, Lynn Harrell, and Ralph Kirshbaum among others. He earned his Master’s at the Juilliard School studying with Timothy Eddy, and his Bachelor's at the Peabody Institute with Amit Peled, to whom Joseph served as teaching assistant in technique class. Joseph is currently pursuing his doctorate at the CUNY Graduate Center, studying with Marcy Rosen.
