| Our staff strives, through our individual lessons, ensembles, and classroom instruction, to provide our students with a holistic approach to music. We believe that, in order to make great music, students must not only master the technical aspects of their instrument, but also learn to listen and interpret. We encourage students to play together, and listen to one another as they shape their sound as a group. We help students to understand the historical and cultural backdrop that influenced the genre of music in which they are interested. Finally, we help them master the technical aspects of their instrument, and gain an understanding of music theory, critical listening, musicianship and notation. PianoTatiana AbramovaTatiana was born in Chernogorsk, Russia in 1976. In 1987, she was admitted into Special Music School for gifted children attached to the Novosibirsk State Conservatory, and studied with Professor Sofia Gindis. In 1994, she entered the Novosibirsk State Conservatory under the tutelage of the distinguished professor, Honored Artist of Russia, Mary Lebenzon until her graduation from postgraduate in 2002.
She more recently was a second prize winner of Los Angeles International Liszt competition in 2006. Besides her native country, Russia, she has performed extensively in France, Italy, Israel and Japan. From 1999 to 2002 she had held a teaching position at the Special Music School attached to the Novosibirsk State Conservatory. Tatiana is currently a doctoral student at the piano department at Temple University, Philadelphia. Anton FominRussian-born concert pianist and teacher Anton Fomin has been a faculty member at the Malvern School of Music since 2009. During this time, his students participated and displayed outstanding results at numerous music competitions and festivals in the US and abroad, such as: Kennett Symphony Young Artists Instrumental Competition, Tri-County Concerts Association Annual Youth Festival, Golden Key Music Festival in New York, USA and Vienna, Austria. .
Mr. Fomin holds a few professional degrees: Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from Novosibirsk Academy of Music, Russia; Piano Artist Diploma and Master of Music from Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX; Master of Music in Piano Accompanying / Chamber Music from Temple University. . Anton Fomin studied with renowned piano teachers including Honored Artist of Russia, Academician, and Professor of Novosibirsk State Conservatory Mary Lebenzon, Professor of TCU John Owings, and Temple University Professors Harvey Wedeen and Lambert Orkis. . Mr. Fomins performance experience includes active participation at international open master classes with worlds leading piano teachers, such as Rudolf Meister (Mannheim University of Music, Germany), Russell Sherman (New England Conservatory, Boston), and Arnaldo Cohen (Indiana University). Anton was a prizewinner of The International Martin Memorial Competition, Fort Worth, TX and a finalist of The Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition, Radford, VA. . Mr. Fomin appeared at the prestigious venues, including Novosibirsk Philharmonic Society (Russia), Bass Hall (Fort Worth, TX), Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square), Emilie K. Asplundh Hall at West Chester University. At Lyric Theater (Stuart, FL) Anton had an honor of performing Prokofievs Sonata for Cello and Piano with IMG Artist, Russian-American cellist Nina Kotova. In 2010 Mr. Fomin was invited to collaborate with Kennett Symphony Orchestra at the childrens concerts series.. Prior to taking a teaching position at Malvern School of Music, Anton Fomin served as a full-time professor at the Novosibirsk Music College (Russia) as well as a teaching assistant at Texas Christian University and Temple University. Olga BorisovskyAfter graduating from the Novosibirsk Music Academy (Russia) Olga Borisovsky worked as an accompanist in the Modern Ballet Theater and taught in the Institute of Culture in Leningrad. In 1990, she immigrated to Israel, where she worked as a piano teacher and accompanist at the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. She has lived in the U.S.A. since 2002. Mrs. Borisovsky has performed in numerous festivals, like the Piano Duo International Festival in Jerusalem (in a piano duet with her husband), and in the Golden Key Festival in Vienna. She has also collaborated with the members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and performed at Temple University and the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Mrs. Borisovsky has performed in Germany, Switzerland, Israel, Russia and Austria. Her students have won prizes in several orchestra competitions and have participated in different international festivals. Bonnie SumerfieldBonnie holds a Bachelors degree in Piano Performance from the Boston Conservatory and a Master of Music in Accompanying from West Chester University. Ms. Sumerfield has been on the staff at Millersville University, the University of Delaware, West Chester University and Settlement Music School as both teacher and collaborative artist. Although she is very comfortable as a soloist, she finds collaborating with other musicians most exciting. This includes a large variety of work such as vocal coaching, accompanying for the Media Chamber Chorale and the Reading Choral Society, playing for shows and church services, as well as networking with musical friends to perform recitals of great music as often as possible. Since 1991 Ms. Sumerfield has been pianist for the Pennsylvania Eurythmy Ensemble, a performing group of movement artists, which has toured various parts of the U.S. and British Isles. She is also staff pianist at Camphill Special School in Glenmoore, Pa. where she provides music for eurythmy classes. Ms. Sumerfield has been teaching piano, theory and music appreciation since 1975 and is a member of the Main Line Music Teachers Association. Ellen AlpernEllen Alpern holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from West Chester University, and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from The Catholic University of America. Some of her major teachers include Alexander Fiorillo, William Masselos, and Charles Abramovic. Ellens wide teaching experience has included all ages and levels and has led to an approach that is tailored to each persons learning style. In addition to piano recitals in the local area, Ellen has played for many theater productions, some which have included Renaissance ensembles featuring harpsichord. Also, she was on the faculty of The Camp Hill School for seven years and participated in many theater and opera performances during that time, including the play Parsifal and Mozarts opera The Magic Flute. Ellens latest endeavor is a series of music salons in her home. She hopes to make these a regular part of the music scene in the local area. Melody PierceMelody holds a Bachelor of Music Education from West Chester University, with a Piano concentration and voice minor. She graduated summa cum laude. She is currently the Choral Director at the Fugett Middle School in the West Chester Area District. Dr. Leonardo DuganLeo holds a Doctorate and Masters of Philosophy / Composition, and Bachelor of Music from the Univsity of Pennsylvania. He is an Adjunct Professor of Theory/Composition at West Chester University, where he has taught Theory I, II, and IV, Fundamentals of Music, Aural Skills I, II, III, IV, and Advanced Chromatic Harmony. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Applied Music (Saxophone/Jazz Ensemble) at Immaculata University Adaptive Piano / Music TherapyLynne Hockenbury, MT-BCLynne is a graduate of Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, where she received a Bachelors in Music Therapy with a minor in Psychology. She has worked with children with various abilities through work at the Kardon Institute / Settlement Music School (Philadelphia, PA), where she was responsible for creating and overseeing the Music Therapy Internship program, and the Academy of Community Music (Fort Washington, PA). She has been teaching private piano lessons for the past 10 years. Currently, she is employed by the Berwyn United Methodist Nursery School (Berwyn, PA). ViolinDiana VuoloDiana was awarded a full tuition scholarship to attend the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts, where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance. At PCPA she studied with the famed teacher, Dorothy DeLay. She was also a regular performer for the DeLay master classes at the Aspen Music School. She has had a variety of performing experiences, including a concert tour of Germany with the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, the Philly Pops Orchestra, and was Assistant Concertmaster for the International Lyric Festival Opera Orchestra in Italy. She also served as a substitute for the Saint Louis Symphony under Leonard Slatkin. Julienne IkegamiJulienne is a graduate of Temple University Boyer College of Music and Dance, with a degree in Violin performance. She is currently a graduate student at Boyer pursuing a Masters degree in String Pedagogy. She is a performing member of the Temple Symphony Orchestra. She recently performed with the orchestra as they accompanied our own Tatiana Abramova who performed the Rachmanivov Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Op.1 CelloSteve KramerSteve Kramer was born into a family of musicians and has been indulging in music since a very young age. He began playing the violin at age three with Grandfather Vladimir Yeshayavitch Novak, who was an eminent Soviet-Jewish violinist and teacher during his tenure in the Kiev Philharmonic, working under Maestro Nathan Rakhlin and teaching at the music school in Kiev. Novak has been Steve's most profound influence in music pedagogy. Steve is dedicated to putting forward his grandfather's legacy, which was greatly inspired by the music teaching philosophies of Leopold Auer, Pyotr Stolyarsky, Yuri Yankelevich, Abram Yampolsky and Emmanuel Fischmann. Drum SetJames DudasJames is a graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He obtained a degree in drum set performance, and studied under outstanding teachers including James Paxson, Joseph Nero SR., and Marc Dicciani. James has performanced in venues including the Merriam Theater, The Pennsylvania Convention center, The Paul McCartney Auditorium in Liverpool, England, The Japanese Womens College of Tokyo, Japan and Tamagawa University of Tamagawa, Japan. VocalPatty StoltzfusPatty achieved a Bachelors of Music from Combs College of Music in Philadelphia as a vocal performance major. She has a Masters in Divinity from Eastern Seminary in Philadelphia and is an ordained Minister in the Presbyterian Church. She studied voice under Dolores Ferraro, Vann Trapp, and Dorothy Symonds. Dr. Rebecca FieldDr. Field holds a Doctorate and Masters in Music from the Indiana University School of Music, majoring in Vocal Performance with a minor in Song Literature. She served as an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at West Chester University where she taught voice for theatre students. She has extensive performance experience throughout the area. GuitarDave StoltzfusDave has been playing guitar for 40 years. He is fluent in Blues, Rock, Folk and Bluegrass. He frequently serves as an accompanist to vocalists as various venues including church and weddings. He also plays in the Pit Orchestra for community theatre. Over the years he has played in various bands, mostly focused on blues and classic rock. Dave is well versed in music notation and theory, and infuses this knowledge into his teaching approach. Anthony (Tony) DAddonoTony has been performing professionally for 50 years. He is an outstanding classical and jazz guitarist, and can certainly rock out if the need arises :-) He has been a member of the Vincent James Band for the past 25 years. His studies include the Granoff School of Music where he studied with Bill Viola and Peter Segal from the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society. Hes taken master classes with Christopher Parkening, Oscar Ghiglia and John Duarte (all students of Segovia). Matt RosenMatt is a graduate of the College of Santa Fe, where he obtained a Bachelors in Music, Guitar Performance. He is an extremely versatile guitarist and is competent playing a variety of styles including Accoustic, Rock, Blues and Jazz. He enjoys composing and performing original tunes. BanjoRick LondonRick has played 5 string banjo for 35 years resulting in a fluent, modern style that blends tradition with a contemporary approach. He has played in many bands over the years with experience on local television, radio and off broadway pit-band (NYC). Rick is fluent in Scruggs and melodic style playing, and the ability to weave these methods seamlessly for students growth. Although self taught, Rick has taken extensive advanced lessons from banjo masters Tony Trischka, Pete Wernick, Bill Keith and Mark Johnson. Their decades of knowledge and innovation is infused in his teaching, benefitting all students. Instruction includes music theory, history, styles of playing, various tunings and more. Students for 3 finger style beginning to intermediate, and advanced-intermediate instruction.. FluteNicole AtkinsonNicole received a bachelors of music in music education from the Frost School of Music, University of Miami. Her primary instrument is flute and her ensemble experience includes the renowned Band of the Hour Marching Band, Symphonic Winds, Flute Choir, Woodwind Chamber Group and Flute Quartets. She is currently teaching general music at East Goshen Elementary School in West Chester, PA. Trombone / Bass TromboneLeonard (Jimmy) LeviJimmy is a junior at West Chester University where he is studying Bass Trombone. He graduated from Great Valley High School, in Malvern, PA in 2006 where is won the National Orchestra Award. SaxophoneJoseph FisherJoe is a 2008 graduate of School of Music at West Chester University, where he received honors earning a Bachelor of Music Education with a minor in Jazz Studies. An alumnus of WCUs top ensembles, including the Wind Ensemble, Mastersingers, and Criterions Jazz Ensemble, he also spent time performing with local jazz and rock groups at venues in cities such as Washington D.C., Atlantic City, Philadelphia, and New York City. An active musician in the Philadelphia area, Joe currently plays with various pop and jazz combos and is a musician for Apollo Artists Attractions. In addition to performing, Joe is an educator, teaching music at Springton Lake Middle School in the Rose Tree Media School District. He has also taught saxophone lessons, jazz improvisation, and jazz band at the WCU High School Music camp and technology courses during the WCU Jazz Week. TrumpetJennifer HardockJennifer is a graduate of West Chester University, where she received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with trumpet being her primary instrument of study. At WCU, she performned with the advanced Trumpet Ensemble, directed by Dr. JC Dobrzelewski and was given the opportunity to perform internationally. Classroom InstructionDebra TorokDebra has performed extensively on the piano and has released several CDs which are available internationally. Having been a faculty member at both New York University and Lehigh University, she is currently teaching at Moravian College. She studied in New York and Philadelphia with Jerome Lowenthal, Alexander Eydelman, Susan Starr, Antonio Barbosa, and Joseph Villa, and holds a Ph.D. in Piano Performance. Her CDs include "Through and Within This Century Past", and her highly acclaimed series of recordings for Albany Records of the complete piano works of Emmy and Pulitzer prize winning composer, Norman Dello Joio, who worked directly with her. |