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Sharon taught music at PS 11 in Chelsea for 25 years. Prior to that, she taught piano privately with students ages 4 to adult. She played, toured, and recorded with several rock bands. Sharon has authored 2 music books called Rock Spell-A-Story (Vol. I & II).
Sharon is the former Chair of The NYC Music Teachers Association/UFT Committee and former chair of the Music Educators’ Association of NYC (MEANYC) Workshop and Professional Development Committee.
Sharon is currently teaching at her synagogue in their Children's Program and is on their Welcoming, Hospitality, Board elections, Connecting, Democracy in Action, Ending Mass Incarceration, Engagement, Limmud B’Shabbat, Mishpacha, Vaccine Angels, and Chesed Committees.
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Penny Prince is a professor of music at Lehman College, City University of New York. Her main work is the training of new and future music educators, and she is always happy to speak with prospective undergrads or graduate students. Dr. Prince is also a prolific musical theatre composer. In 2022, she was awarded The American Prize in Musical Theatre for her original CINDERELLA '21. Her email is penny.prince@lehman.cuny.edu
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Passionate about the benefits of music education in the lives of children, Michael Salzman has been active in professional associations throughout his career. He is a Past President of NYSSMA, the New York State School Music Association, having served as President of this association of more than 5000 members in 2018-2019. The theme of his presidency was “Making the Magic of Music Education Accessible to All” and during his term he advocated throughout the state of New York for the right of every child to have access to a high quality Music Education. This work led to him becoming a MEANYC Honoree in 2023.
Salzman retired from the Syosset Central School District in 2022, having served as the Coordinator of Performing Arts for eighteen years. He has taught music at every grade level from Pre-K through college and has served on the music faculty of Hofstra University since 1993. At Hofstra he teaches tuba and euphonium, directs the Brass Ensemble and Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble, and teaches in the Music Education Program.
Michael earned Music Performance degrees at Indiana University and the Mannes College of Music, and is currently pursuing his DMA at Stony Brook University. His principal teachers were Harvey Phillips, Sam Pilafian, Warren Deck and Bill Barber. He is well known and regarded in the New York City area as a tuba player. He is a former Principal Tuba player of the Long Island Philharmonic and a founding member of the Cosmopolitan Brass Quintet. He is also the Regional Coordinator of the TubaChristmas concerts held every year at Rockefeller Center. His first solo album, Salztuba was released in 2020 to critical acclaim. For more information, visit www.salztuba.com.
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Elise S. Sobol, Ed.D. music educator, first authored the text An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners in 2001 helping to shape the global field of music teaching in special education. The text, now translated into numerous languages, also has had two updates, 2008, 2nd edition and 2017, 3rd edition reflecting her PK-12+ experience and research in public and higher education.
Contributing author to numerous state and national publications, she continues to serve the educational field by developing new materials for teaching neurodiverse learners across the curriculum, as well as serving on the advisory boards of Music Educators Association of New York City, the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education in Boston and the Fundacion Muchila Creativo in Aruba. Stateside, she served as the New York State School Music Association Chair for Music for Special Learners (1993-2019) and is currently a member of the NYSSMA Belonging Equity Diversity and Representation (BEDR) Committee.
Her educational background includes an Associate in Arts (A.A.) from Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Massachusetts; a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in liberal arts from the New School, New York; Master of Arts (M.A.) in music and music education from Teachers College, Columbia University, NY; and a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Instructional Leadership and Curriculum Development from St. John’s University, New York.
Listed on the National Honor Roll of Teachers, Dr. Sobol was selected as one of five finalists for the 2015 New York State Teacher of the Year, and was named in the same year, 2016 Outstanding Professor of the Year in Educational Update and MEANYC Honoree.
As a concert pianist, Dr. Sobol has appeared as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist within the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia. As a lecturer, along with other presentations, she has appeared at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and participated in prestigious conferences, including the panel for “Promoting inclusive and equitable access to public services” for the Global Conference on the SDG 16 (Sustainable Development Goals) co-hosted by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the International Development Law Organization, and the Government of Italy, and for the 2022 Arts Education Partners Virtual Gathering, “Advancing Policy by Desiloing Arts Education and Disability Studies.”
A PK-12 music educator in general and special education for over thirty years, she has retired from her full time faculty position as Director of Music Education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She continues to serve the field as Founder of the Continuing Education in Music (CEM) community outreach program at NYU, as an adjunct professor at LIU Post’s campus on the undergraduate and graduate music education faculty for the College of Arts and Design and on the doctoral faculty in dissertation advisement for the College of Education, Information, and Technology’s Transformational Leadership Program.
Her greatest joy is as mentor to current and aspiring music educators and delights in her role at MEANYC on the Advisory Board.
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Gina has spent the last 19 years teaching general music, chorus, and modern band to students in grades 3K through 12. She received her Bachelor's in Music Education from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, a Master’s in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Master’s in School Building Leadership from City College of New York.
Gina has presented workshops for Carnegie Hall, Music Will, MEANYC, NYSSMA, and at NAfME National and Eastern Division Conferences. In 2015, she co-founded the Music Educators Collective and she is a co-producer of the City Music Educators Festival: Uptown.
In years past, Gina co-chaired the NYSSMA 2020-2021 Best Practices in Music Education Committee, wrote curriculum and served as an Arts Office Lead Teacher for New York City Public Schools, served as a Site Supervisor for the Middle School Arts Audition Boot Camp and on the Future of All National Honor Ensembles Task Force for NAfME.
Gina is currently the Past President of MEANYC and a Model Teacher. She is a member of the NYSSMA Technology and BEDR Committees, and facilitates professional development sessions in NYC.
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Jerel Witsell serves as the General and Instrumental music teacher at PS MS 29 in the South Bronx. He holds a Bachelor’s in Music Education from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam and a Master’s in Multiple Woodwind Performance and Wind Conducting from the University of North Texas. Jerel also holds Orff Schulwerk Level 1 Certification.
As an educator, he has taught general and instrumental music to various ages in New York and Texas. As a performer, he has performed at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Meyerson Concert Hall. He has recorded with the University of North Texas Symphonic Band and University of North Texas Wind Symphony and still plays with various orchestras, chamber ensembles, and theaters around New York City. When he is not teaching or performing, Jerel likes reading, trying new recipes, and playing Mario Cart.
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Dr. Renee Duncan holds a B.A. in Multi-Instrumental Performance (Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Australia), an M.A. in Music Education: K-12 (New York University), and Ed.D. in Music Education (Teachers College, Columbia University). With 12 years of teaching experience, Renee taught high school instrumental and general music in Australia for the Department of Education and the Young Conservatorium of Music. Renee currently teaches middle school band and general music at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School and is the webmaster for the Music Eductor’s Association of New York City (MEANYC).
Renee’s primary areas of research are in K-12 curriculum, instruction, and technology integration with published articles in General Music Today and Teaching Music. She has presented at conferences for the International Society for Music Education (ISME), the International Music Livelihoods Symposium (IMLS), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA). Renee’s most recent publications include “Cognitive Processing in Digital Audio Workstations” (General Music Today), “Simple Strategies for Co-Planning With Students” (Teaching Music), and “Are Schwab’s Commonplaces Common in Music Teaching?” (ProQuest Dissertations).
Renee is a woodwind specialist and her Australian performance credits include productions such as Jesus Christ Superstar, The Wizard of Oz, and Sweet Charity in addition to the Queensland Wind Orchestra as an augmenting performer on both clarinet and alto saxophone.
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Viviana Garcia was born and raised in Marin County, California where she started the violin at the age of nine in her school ensembles. Since then she has participated in various ensembles and El Sistema inspired organizations both in New York City and the Bay Area.
Viviana graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Teaching Music: All Grades PK-12 Initial Certification and recently completed her Master of Arts degree in Music and Music Education at Teachers College. Today she is a proud NYCDOE orchestra teacher and a current graduate student pursuing a Master of Education degree in Music and Music Education at Teachers College Columbia University.
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Angela Burtulato is a senior music education major with a concentration in voice at New York University Steinhardt. She calls Philadelphia, PA her hometown. Along with serving on the MEANYC board, Angela is the Province 6 Representative for New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Collegiate. On campus, Angela serves as a first-year RA and as the President for A Class Act NYU She also has sung in University Singers and is a current member of NYU Chorale.
Along with classical and choral performances, Angela loves musical theatre, and has performed in many musicals since the age of 7. Angela is ecstatic to meet other music educators, and hopes to build stronger connections among us all. She is extremely grateful for this opportunity and is excited to represent the voices of emerging music educators!
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Sondra Braeutigam is in her 17th year of directing various levels of instrumental music at the Grand Street Campus High Schools in Brooklyn. She received a BME from The Ohio State University and an MME from Queens College. Sondra teaches Concert Band and is the Chair of the New York City High School Honors Music Festival.
As a Modern Band teacher as well, she is a Little Kids Rock “Ambassador Teacher” for the NYC Community and has presented at national and state conferences on this subject. She continues to play the flute in the Brooklyn Wind Symphony and is a founding member of the Metropolitan Music Community, a non-profit organization that encompasses four adult community ensembles.
Sondra considers herself to be extremely fortunate to be surrounded by the greatest colleagues and community of musicians and educators in New York City.
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Sara Shikowitz is a proud New York City music educator with a mission to bring communities together through song. She has served as the choral director at Halsey Junior High School 157 in Rego Park, Queens, for the past twelve years. She has been an adjunct lecturer at Queens College since 2015. Ms. Shikowitz is a facilitator for the NYC Citywide Music Professional Learning Team. She is the conductor of the Citywide Salute to Music .
A seasoned presenter, she has provided workshops for NYSSMA, NAfME, MEANYC, and the New York City Department of Education. She is the chairperson and choral coordinator for the Zone 12 Junior Area All State.
She was a NYC Big Apple Award finalist in 2019 and the winner of the Manilow Music Award in 2023. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Ithaca College and her Master's Degree in Music Education from Queens College.
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Katherine Gordon has spent the last four years teaching general music, chorus, and musical theatre to students grades 3K through 8th. She received her Bachelor's in Music Education at New York University, and her Master's in Music Composition at Hunter College. Katherine currently teaches at PS64 Robert Simon Elementary School. She is also a board director of a non-profit who brings free, private music lessons to NYC children, called the Musical Mentors Collaborative (MMC).
Matthew Innamorato (co-chair) and Katherine are working to produce the first elementary choir and band festival with MEANYC. They look forward to launching the festival in October 2024!
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