Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!
Today, May 7th, is Teacher Appreciation Day and we here at Center Stage Music Center would like to take the time today to spotlight our amazing teachers! Center Stage takes pride in our team of university-trained instructors, who use their professional experience as both educators and performers to foster each student’s music education and mentor them through their musical journey. For the past 12 years, we have been honored to work with some of the most talented and inspirational musicians and educators ever...we love our team!
For the month of May, we want to show our teachers some extra love! We encourage all students and parents to leave a Google, Yelp, or Facebook review that mentions your teacher specifically by name. The teacher with the most mentions will win a special prize! Be sure to show the front desk your review and they will print it out to showcase on our studio walls all month long.
Be sure to also buy TICKETS for our ‘Play for Hope’ Benefit Gala on May 19th, to see some of our incredible staff perform. In order to highlight our faculty’s diverse skill set, music director and CS teacher, Chris Quintana, chose pieces that feature a wide variety of genres such as classical, pop, jazz, latin, R&B, and more (including an original song by our band director Ryan Keyes!) All proceeds will go to the Juvenile Arthritis foundation - each ticket bought sends one kid to JA summer camp!
Additionally, here are a few exciting things that some of our teachers have going on soon:
Alex Martinez: Alex will be performing as Alf in Peter and the Starcatchers from May 31st - June 2nd at Manes Studio Theatre (141 S. Wellwood Ave., Lindenhurst, NY 11757).
He will also be performing as the Beast in Beauty and the Beast from July 12th - July 28th at Merrick Theatre and Center for the Arts (2222 Hewlett Ave, Merrick, NY 11566).
Ben Berkowitz: Ben will lead the Grand Avenue Middle School jazz band in Bellmore on May 16th.
As he is a talented multi-instrumentalist, Ben will accompany the John F. Kennedy High School’s choir/chorus as a pianist on May 15th, as well as accompany the orchestra on May 22nd as a percussionist.
Additionally, he is marching snare in the Long Island Seaside Marching Band at the May 27th Memorial Day Parade (beginning at the corner of Forest Ave and Dosoris Ave in Glen Cove), with fellow Center Stage Instructor, Brandon Allen!
Brandon Allen: Brandon will be performing with fellow Center Stage Instructor, Ben Berkowitz, in the Long Island Seaside Marching Band at the May 27th Memorial Day Parade (beginning at the corner of Forest Ave and Dosoris Ave in Glen Cove).
He will also perform with the same marching band on June 1st at the Fire Department Parade in Lindenhurst.
Furthermore, Brandon will perform with the Huntington Choral Society on May 11th at Huntington High School. Tickets for the Huntington Choral Society can be purchased HERE.
Debbie Yanez: We are super excited to announce that Debbie will be the director for our upcoming Center Stage Summer Camp: “Lights, Camera, Audition!” This musical theatre based camp will allow students to dive into the world of auditions. Debbie will coach them through a new core audition component each day such as acting, dancing, singing, make-up and much more. Students will leave camp with a professional headshot as well as a professional audition reel that they can use in real-world auditions. (Make sure to ask us about registration at the front desk!)
Kevin Lubin: Alongside teaching, Kevin also composes for a variety of instrumentation and has premiered multiple operas, both silly and serious. Stay tuned for his next production…
He also recently finished his first book “Just Keep Playing,” that reflects his teaching principles and contains repertoire for beginner to intermediate piano students. Pick up your copy HERE!
Veronica Barker: Vera plays the organ every Sunday at 10 AM at St. Matthew’s Church of Islip.
Along with teaching and performing, Vera is also a talented songwriter and is currently working on writing and recording an original prog rock ballad, ”How I Love You,” that will be released by the end of summer; stay tuned!
Veronica St. John: You can hear Veronica sing and play weekly at St. Pius X in Plainview every Sunday at 8:30 AM, and at Good Shepherd Lutheran in Plainview every Sunday at 10:15 AM and 6 PM.
You can also catch instructors Al DiBisceglie, Chris Savarino, John Potocnik, Marc Lambert and Scott Ferreira rocking out in their respective bands all year long at various venues across NY and beyond! Make sure to ask them about their next show when you see them!
This is only a small snippet of what our amazing teachers do. We appreciate each and every one of you! Be sure to wish your instructors a “Happy Teacher Appreciation Day” today!
Comments are closed.
4 Comments
I want to say that Mrs. Veronica St.John is an amazing music teacher and person. The improvement I’ve seen and heard in my daughters is tremendous. Thank you to her and all the teachers at Center Stage who always go above and beyond for all their students. All their hard work and efforts never go unnoticed!
Thank you for the comment! We are so glad to hear that you are happy with your lessons. <3
Our teacher Chris Quintana has been nothing but amazing to our kids. He’s very patient and brings out the best in them. We are so lucky and proud to have him as our teacher.
Chris is great! Thank you for commenting <3