| The Lighthouse teaching staff is comprised of highly accomplished professionals whose academic credits include degrees from America's most respected conservatories and university schools of music, including The Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music and the Boston Conservatory of Music, among others.
Performing and enjoying music are life-enhancing activities with profound connections to intellectual development and spiritual well-being for people of all ages. Through high-quality instruction, varied performance opportunities and state-of-the-art technological support, our Music School can help you develop your musical talents to the fullest.
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 • Leslie Jones, Executive Director of the Music School,
holds a DMA from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and an MM from the University of North Texas. She has served on the faculties of Ithaca College and Montana State University. A frequent clinician, she is acclaimed nationally for her workshops, "Jazz and the Classical Pianist" and "Musical Mainstream: Fostering Independence through Accessibility." At the Lighthouse, she has been instrumental in developing an assistive music technology center, and expanding community outreach and the visibility of the Music School.
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• Svetlana Avezbakiyeva (Comprehensive Music Program for Young People, Braille music, piano)
received her Bachelor's degree in music education from The City University of New York, Queens College. She is also a graduate of our Music School. |
• Duy Bui (Piano, Comprehensive Music Program for Young People)
graduated in 2008 from The Manhattan School of Music with a degree in piano performance. He has also studied at the Boston Conservatory and Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, and won numerous awards and competitions. In 2007, he was named Music Director of Camp Inter-Actions, a New Hampshire summer camp for young people who are visually impaired. |
• Anthony Falaro, Assistant Director (guitar, music technology)
received his BM and MM degrees in composition from the Boston Conservatory of Music. He studied guitar privately with Vincent Berdice of The Hartt School of the University of Hartford and composition at Berklee College of Music. |
• Gerald Gewiss (wind instruments)
holds a BS from The Juilliard School, has pursued graduate studies at the City University of New York and professional studies at The Embouchure Clinic. His teachers have included William Vacchiano, Murray Karpilovsky and Carmine Caruso. |
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 • Yo Kano (piano, jazz improvisation, assistive music technology, Comprehensive Music Program for Young People)
is an internationally known jazz pianist, composer-arranger. His concerts have taken him to the far reaches of Asia, and he has released four CDs. For more information, visit www.yokano.com
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• Alejandra Lagos (Comprehensive Music Program for Young People, piano)
holds a BM in piano performance from The Boston Conservatory and an MA in Music Education from New York University. She has studied with pianists Jonathan Bass and Seymour Bernstein. She has performed as soloist and chamber musician in Boston, New York and Mexico City. |
 • Katharine Flanders Mukherji (flute, recorder, piano, Comprehensive Music Program for Young People)
holds a BA from Harvard University. Among her teachers are Samuel Baron, James Pappoutsakis and Franz Bruggen. As a fellowship recipient, she studied flute in Paris with Michel Debost and theory with Nadia Boulanger. She has recorded on the Mode and CRI labels.
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 • Dalia Sakas (piano, chorus, Coordinator of the Comprehensive Music Program for Young People)
received her BM from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, MM from the Manhattan School of Music and DMA from the University of South Carolina. She is also an adjunct professor at William Paterson University in New Jersey.
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 • John Sanfilippo (assistive music technology)
holds a BA in music
education from Adelphi University. He has performed with the Lighthouse Singers, The Lance Hayward Singers, and in several solo and joint Kramer concerts.
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 • Charlotte Surkin
is a professional Voice Teacher and Vocologist. She has successfully completed Vocology Internships at the Grabscheid Voice Center at Mt. Sinai Hospital and the Vox Humana Laboratory at St. Lukes Roosevelt Hospital, both in New York where she continues to collaborate with otolaryngologists and speech pathologists in the remediation of voice disorders (such as nodules, polyps and muscle tension dysphonia). In addition to chairing the voice department at the Lighthouse Music School, she is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Marymount College in New York City and a voice instructor at New York University's CAP21 musical theater department. She is also the 2nd alto soloist at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. Ms. Surkin has a Bachelor of Music Education from Temple University, an MA in Music from New York University; a Certificate in Opera from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and an apprenticeship from the Santa Fe Opera Company. For more information, visit www.charlottesurkin.com
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• Marc Wagnon (percussion, jazz, music technology, Comprehensive Music Program for Young People)
has toured the United States, Europe, and Japan as a percussionist and vibraphonist. He can be heard on over 20 recordings, which reflect his interest in varied contemporary forms. For more information, visit www.buckyballmusic.com |
Program Assistant: Aoife Stack
Administrative Assistant: Maria Rios |
