Meet Our Teachers
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Percussion
Massachusetts native, Bill Ricciardelli, is an enthusiastic and patient instructor who has been immersed in music his entire life. He began his musical journey at age five playing the alto saxophone before switching to drums at age 12. Upon graduating high school, Bill attended Berklee College of Music to further his studies on the drum set and percussion. Since earning his B.M. from Berklee, he has performed and recorded with various artists throughout the U.S. and Canada, and also maintains a busy schedule as a private instructor. As of 2019, Bill has been the Director of Percussion at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, MA, where he instructs the FXD7/8 percussion sections as well as the Concert Band & Hawkforce1 Drumline. Since 2011, Bill has been a private drum set instructor at Needham Music!

Piano
Alexandra Stoetzel began studying piano at age 5 after tagging along to her mother’s classical piano lessons, and has been teaching piano for 15+ years. Graduating Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Music Performance from Berklee College of Music, she continues her education through apprenticeships, private lessons, and real-world experience. She also led as a musical director in several contemporary ensembles, including blues, pop/rock, country, and jazz. Alexandra is passionate about introducing students of all ages to music and its powerful ability to lift their spirits, help them grow, and have fun. As a teacher, she focuses on balancing inspiration, explanation, and technique!

Guitar, Ukulele, Mandolin, Banjo
With Needham Music since 2003, Boston’s Bruce Millard teaches a range of string instruments and styles, from rock to jazz to folk and more, on guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and bass. A Berklee College Professional Music Scholarship and John Abercrombie Award recipient, he’s performed both locally and nationally since 1990. He has worked with Howard ‘Louie Bluie’ Armstrong, Tarbox Ramblers, the Tower of Power Horns, Toni Lynn Washington, Jim Kweskin, Men & Volts, Bob Moses, Jethro Burns, Dennis Brennan, Luther ‘Guitar Jr.’ Johnson and others, in venues as diverse as The New York City Blues Festival, Boston Folk Festival, PBS-TV, Boston Rock Pipeline Festival, and Country Music Hall of Fame. Patience, empathy, inspiration and fun are the cornerstones of his teaching.

Guitar, Ukulele, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin
Casey Abrams has a degree in composition and guitar performance from The University of Massachusetts. He has more than thirty years' playing and performing experience. He teaches guitar (fingerstyle, slide, folk, jazz, old-time, bluegrass, country, blues, metal, rock and pop) as well as ukulele, bass, banjo and mandolin. He also offers lessons in songwriting, music theory, performing and arranging. His focus is on helping students of any age or level of ability to achieve their goals through step-by-step, personalized lesson plans, using songs they want to play. Casey performs nationally and is currently at work on his fourth album of original material.

Percussion
Jaime Chan has been a professional drummer/percussionist, educator, multi-instrumentalist, and composer in the New England area for over 25 years. He has a B.A. from the Berklee College of Music where he studied drums, percussion, composition and arranging. Prior, Jaime attended Rhode Island College where he studied classical/orchestral percussion. Jaime’s professional playing experiences include performances all over the Northeast as well as tours in Germany and France. His musical focus on diversity has led to performances and recordings in a wide variety of music ranging between all the styles of American popular, street, and folk to classical/symphonic to world music. In 2004, Jaime co-founded the Boston-based R&B/funk band Kong who he continues to perform with today.

Trumpet, Trombone
Hailed by the New York Music Daily as a “carefree” and “soulful” player, Kevin A. Virgilio is a Boston-based trombonist and educator who’s performances run the gamut of contemporary and classical styles. An active freelance musician, Mr. Virgilio recently appeared with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the New York Festival Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale, the Bergen Symphony Orchestra, and the Westchester Oratorio Society. He has also made appearances in the orchestras for many notable musical theater productions, including West-Side Story, In the Heights, and The Music Man. He is a Teaching Artist with the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston. He is soon expecting to receive his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, where he is a student of Toby Oft.

Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute
Lee Altsher-Wood has been a musician for the majority of their life, starting with the piano at age 5, then saxophone at age 9. They have gone on to graduate Magna Cum Laude from SUNY Purchase College with a degree in Jazz Studies/Saxophone Performance. Lee primarily studied baritone saxophone performance, as well as flute, clarinet, composition and arranging. During their time at school, Lee has performed at various venues in New York City such as the Blue Note, Birdland, and Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Lee is also an experienced studio musician recording woodwinds. Lee is passionate about passing on what they have learned to the next generation of musicians. Lee provides a low-stress environment while teaching while still staying on task and making sure students are learning all that they need to flourish.

Guitar, Bass, Ukulele
Liam has been playing guitar for over a decade. In 2018, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Berklee College of Music with a degree in Guitar Performance. Liam has been a part of the Boston music scene for many years playing weddings, recording and performing with dozens of artists, most notably Tipling Rock. He was a member of Avante-Garde Jazz quintet, Law Years: a group that performs the eclectic and innovative music of fellow Berklee College of Music graduate Nathaniel Pierce. Liam currently performs with Tipling Rock and Vibrant Entertainment Wedding Band. He has recorded with Lo-Fi hip-hop artist altitude., as well as Red Mill, Claire Bryant, and many others. Liam has also done session work for the Berklee College of Music Film Scoring department.

Piano, Oboe
Masters of Music, Longy School of Music at Bard College. Sachiko Murata is an Oboe educator, composer, soloist, chamber, orchestral performer, and currently Principal Oboist with The Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts. Sachiko has performed around the world and won first prize at the Ralph Gomberg Oboe Merit Award. As a composer, her most recent work Kyo-Sen, was highly acclaimed at the 12th Annual Ikeda Forum for Intercultural Dialogue at the Ikeda Center of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ms. Murata comes from a musical family, and her father was a former principal oboist of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra.

Piano, Voice, Guitar, Ukulele
Bachelor of Arts Jose White Conservatory, Camaguey, Cuba; Classical Performance, Ensemble conductor and Music hand-copying. Post-Graduate University of Arts, Havana, Cuba; Classical Guitar Performance Scholarship recipient Berklee College of Music; Performance Methodology and pedagogy of musical instruments, proficiency on Guitar, Piano, Voice and Bass. Performs regularly with the Boston area group Clave & Blues.

Piano, Violin, Viola
Maryann Han has been playing piano for 21 years. She graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with a BM in piano performance, having been under the guidance of Victor Rosenbaum. Other teachers include Kathleen Panek, Keiko Sato, Mana Tokuno, and many more. She has performed multiple times in both solo and chamber settings on the historic Jordan Hall stage. With over 10 years of traditional teaching experience, Maryann is also certified in the Suzuki method for violin and piano, and enjoys helping students discover the love of music. Maryann currently teaches piano as well as violin at the Needham School of Music in Needham, MA, and maintains a private studio in the Boston area, while actively performing as chamber musician, soloist, and sought-after accompanist.
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Guitar
Originally from Miami Florida, Matt Silverstein has been performing music for over 25 years. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2012 he has contributed to countless projects as both a guitarist and a producer/engineer. Matt teaches guitar to students of all ages and skill levels and always makes sure to consider each student's unique learning style, strengths, and interests while developing lesson plans. His teaching philosophy is that students should leave each session with a sense of accomplishment.

Piano, Voice, & Trumpet
Tobias Duke is a Freelance Musician & Business Consultant operating in the Greater Boston Area. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2022 from Castleton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Associate of Science in Business Administration. He subsequently graduated in August 2023 from Castleton's Master of Business Administration (MBA) program with a concentration in “Leading Organizational Change”.
Outside of his freelance career, Tobias works as an "Accompanist" for the Needham Public Schools and Old Stoughton Musical Society, the longest continuously performing choral ensemble in the US. Beyond his collaborative roles, Tobias works at Needham Music as a Private Piano/Voice/Trumpet Teacher and has served as the "Music School Administrator" since August 2023.
As a musician, Tobias has always enjoyed working as a collaborative artist and helping others perform at their best, whether it be as their accompanist or supporting on stage myself. As a person, Tobias always enjoys working with people and helping them reach their goals.

Piano, Voice, & Ukulele
Valeriia Kuzmuk, also known as Valeriia Vovk, is a composer, producer, pianist, and singer from Ukraine. She started her musical journey as a classical pianist at Odesa Special Stolyarsky Music School. Since then she studied music in various schools around the world including Berklee College of Music from where she graduated in 2022. Apart from being the Berklee World Tour Scholarship recipient, Valeriia was also selected for the 2021 Vocal Writing Award by the chair of Contemporary Writing & Production Department at Berklee, and 2019 Diversity Grant for her achievements as a club leader. She has been teaching since 2017 as a private instructor in piano, vocals & theory. In 2020 she started a music school at LouderHub in Odesa where she taught students as young as 3 years old in private & group classes. She believes that uncovering musical potential requires an individualized teaching approach, and aims to create a comfortable environment for every student.

Piano, Voice, Ukulele
Zoe Gelinas has been teaching voice, piano, and ukulele lessons since 2013 when she graduated from Berklee College of Music. She has taught at Needham Music, Needham Public Schools, and at the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education. Zoe has a Master’s degree in Music Education with an Autism Concentration from Boston Conservatory at Berklee and will soon complete a Master’s in Special Education at Curry College. Zoe believes strongly in meeting every student where they are through creating personalized lesson plans and encouraging students’ love of music by ensuring they are learning music that they are passionate about while also learning the foundations of music. In addition to her passion for teaching, Zoe has also worked as a touring and studio musician in the New England area.