Current projects include 19th Century violin and guitar duos with violinist Lisa Casal-Galietta as the Moka Pot Duo, newly composed works for piano and 8-string electric guitar with pianist Dr. Fang-Yi Chu, songs on lute with tenor Drew Ivarson as the Poore Astronomers, lute duets with lutenist Matthew Weinman, and solo programs on lute and vihuela. No stranger to theater, Daniel was the lutenist, guitarist, and arranger for New Place Player’s 2023 Off-Broadway production of William Shakespeare’s Othello which received critical praise.

Daniel is the guitarist for the Heart tribute band Dream of the Archer, The Red Door Chamber Players, and The Samadi-Keene Piano & Guitar Duo with pianist Kristin Samadi. He has performed with Long Island Baroque Ensemble, The Bacheler Consort, New York Continuo Collective, The Golden Williams Duo, the Billy Joel tribute band Captain Jack, Long Island Concert Pops, and many others. Musical theater productions include Into the Woods, Bat Boy, Urinetown, Big, and Rent.

A dedicated teacher, Daniel has been teaching students of all ages and levels in the New York metropolitan area for over twenty years. He has been on the music faculty at SUNY Nassau Community College since 2013; teaching applied guitar, beginning guitar, and music theory, as well as directing the NCC Guitar Ensemble. He has also served on the faculty at Adelphi University where he taught applied guitar, basic guitar, and directed the Adelphi Guitar Ensemble. Daniel’s students have been accepted to
Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music, Aaron Copland School of Music, Crane School of Music, Purchase Conservatory, The Hartt School, Ithaca College, and Brooklyn College Conservatory.

Daniel studied early music with Xavier Díaz-Latorre and Jerry Willard, guitar with William Zito and Stephen Leonard, and voice with Jonathan Goodman. Through workshops, master classes, and coachings he has worked on musical interpretation with lutenist Crawford Young, lutenist Grant Herreid, harpsichordist Arthur Haas, violinist Dr. Linda Sinanian, flutist Linda Wetherill, pianist Susan Sobolewski, and guitarists João Luiz, Paul Cesarczyk, and many others. Daniel attended SUNY Stony Brook University, Adelphi University, and SUNY Nassau Community College.

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“Watching my students become knowledgeable and fulfilled through learning the cello is extremely valuable to me as an educator, and growing their musical excellence and appreciation of the repertoire within and outside of classical music is vital to my practice.”

Tyla received her Doctorate of Musical Arts from Boston University in 2023, where she studied with Rhonda Ride, and her Bachelor and Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Dr. Melissa Kraut. Dr. Axelrod previously attended the Manhattan School of Music Precollege, working with Wolfram Koessel of the American String Quartet.

As a founding member of the Heilerin String Quartet (2016-2020), Dr. Axelrod was involved with CIM’s Intensive String Quartet Seminar, as well as the La Ruta De Mozart festival in Havana, Cuba, through the Cuban American Youth Orchestra’s US Cuba Artist Exchange. She has performed at festivals such as Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Fresh Inc., Madeline Island Chamber Music (Fellowship
Program), Encore Chamber Music (String Quartet Intensive), the American Institute of Music
Studies in Graz, Austria, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Meadowmount School of Music,
and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She has also worked with artists such as David
Ying, Peter Zazofsky, Daniel Doña, Lucia Lin, Pavel Nersesian, Peter Salaff, Todd Phillips, Clive
Greensmith, Sharon Robinson, and the Borromeo, Jupiter, and Cavani String Quartets.

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Besides his experience with the 19th and 20th century repertoire, Gustavo is a baroque cello
specialist and has performed with the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Les Arts Florescent, Juilliard Baroque and other mainstream historical ensembles.

Some critical review articles have appraised Antoniacomi’s playing as “superb” and “so engaging”
The Winston-Salem Journal.

He has shared the stage with conductors such as, Gustavo Dudamel, John Williams, Pablo Heras
Cassado, Richard Egarr, Masaaki Suzuki, William Christie, among other names. Gustavo has worked as a
mentor at the Juilliard Pre-College program and joined the faculty team at the Sphinx Performance
Academy summer programs in New York City.

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Her performing journey began at the age of 14, when she made her solo debut with the Young Talents of Uzbekistan orchestra. Since then, she has performed concertos and virtuosic works by Mendelssohn, Paganini, Sarasate, Vieuxtemps, Wieniawski, Massenet, and Vivaldi with leading orchestras in Uzbekistan, including the National Symphony Orchestra, the State Conservatory Orchestra, and the Turkiston Chamber Orchestra. These appearances helped establish her as a confident and expressive interpreter of Romantic repertoire. More recently, she was featured in performances of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and Chausson’s Poème with the Wilmington Community Orchestra, and performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante as part of an educational residency in White Plains, New York.

In parallel with her solo career, Sofiya is an active chamber musician. Her recent chamber music appearances include the Emerson Legacy Concert Series, the Starry Night Concert Series, and the Baroque Players at Stony Brook. Alongside that, she finds contemporary music just as essential as performing classical masterpieces. She has premiered works by American composers through her multi-season involvement with the Contemporary Chamber Players, and was a core member of OMNIBUS Ensemble, Central Asia’s first contemporary music group. Her work with OMNIBUS led to a close collaboration with composer Jakhongir Shukur, resulting in a series of solo violin pieces that combine traditional Uzbek elements with modern techniques. Their partnership was recently featured at the Hellerau Festival in Dresden as part of the Future Tradition Orchestra.

As an educator, Sofiya brings over a decade of experience teaching students of all levels—from beginners to conservatory musicians. She is currently on faculty at Kinhaven Music School and has held teaching assistantships at Stony Brook University and Michigan State University. Her teaching draws on the technical foundation of the Soviet school while adapting to the goals and strengths of each student.

She has led masterclasses in the U.S. and Central Asia, served as a competition juror, and participated in outreach programs for children with special needs, public schools, and underserved communities. Sofiya holds a Bachelor’s degree from the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan, a Performance Diploma and Master’s degree from Michigan State University, and is completing her Doctor of Musical Arts at Stony Brook University.

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As a member of the Emerson String Quartet Institute, he received intensive coaching from the renowned
Emerson String Quartet. Beyond his own training, he is deeply committed to sharing his passion for music. He has given educational recitals and community concerts at schools throughout Taiwan and Singapore and enjoys teaching and mentoring young musicians, striving to make the violin both approachable and inspiring.

After earning bachelor’s degrees from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and the Peabody Conservatory, Chieh-An completed his Master of Music degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He later served as a teaching assistant and chamber music coach at Stony Brook University, where he is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the mentorship of Jennifer Frautschi, Philip Setzer, Arnaud Sussmann, and Hagai Shaham.

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During his career Stepan has performed in concerts at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Merkin Hall, Lincoln Center, and many other venues in the US and Europe. He was a soloist with the Opera’s Philharmonic Society in Plovdiv, Bulgaria conducted by Plamen Parvanov and the Pan American Symphony Orchestra.

Stepan maintains a performing career in the state of New York, and is deeply involved with teaching the next generation. He is committed to working with students for their own personal goals, and has prepared numerous aspiring flutists for local competitions, NYSSMA, and Royal Conservatory exams. Stepan has been a member of the Great Neck Music Conservatory Flute Faculty for the past 16 years. In addition, he continues to repair musical instruments as GNMC’s lead repair technician.

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Our students have flourished in individual music projects, volunteered performances for the elderly and sick, passed ABRSM exams at the top level, scored highest marks on NYSSMA, been selected for All State Orchestra and Chorus, and performed on NYSSMA’s Piano Showcase.

Many of our students have been accepted into the Manhattan School of Music and Mannes Pre-College programs (although a high number of them decide to stay at GNMC) and a few are accepted into Juilliard Pre-College.

Most importantly, our students have experienced the great gift of studying an instrument and making music for life enrichment and pure fun!

A Few SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS to some of long time students for their special accomplishments this past year (more coming soon):

Karly – for her acceptance to Harvard University Class of ’26.

Natasha– for her acceptance to Yale University Class of ’26.

Alex – for his acceptance to Northeastern University Class of ’26.

Anna – for her acceptance to Juilliard Pre-College as a trumpet major.

Mizuki – for his acceptance into Tanglewood this summer as a piano major.

Vicki – for winning First Prize in the New York Young Performers Prize competition.

Daniil – for winning the Grand Prize in the Manilov Competition.

Darius – for winning numerous musical awards including AADGT, Golden Key, American Protege, and more.

Konatsu – for being selected to perform at her graduation, and for her recent outstanding performances at OBMF.

Dale – for being a finalist in the Manilov Competition.

Katherine – for being a finalist in the Manilov Competition.

Vincent – for being accepted into the American Choral Directors Association Eastern Region Honors Choir.

During the past two years, our graduating seniors were accepted into some of the most prestigious colleges including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Juilliard, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Northeastern, Colburn Conservatory, New York University, Rochester University, and Boston University.

Here are some MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS from a few of our recent graduates:

Karly (GNMC piano) is the founder and director of VOCO, an important resource for singers. VOCO, Vocology for Singers, is an amazing non-profit organization dedicated to helping singers prevent voice disorders and take advantage of the instrument inside them through learning in a medical/scientific perspective. A piano student at GNMC for the past 7 years, Karly also graduated this May from Juilliard Pre-College as a voice major. She joins the Class of ’26 at Harvard University.

Michelle (GNMC chamber music and piano) was featured as a violinist on NPR’s From the Top Episode 389. She also earned top prizes in the Camerata Artists International Competition 2021 and the Rudolf Barshai International Competition 2021. Michelle was an active and highly engaged student during her five years at GNMC. She performed in multiple chamber groups, community service events, and at GNMC Honors Concerts at Carnegie Hall. Michelle graduated from Townsend Harris High School at Queens College as Valedictorian of the Class ’21, and is now beginning her second year at Harvard University in the Class of ’25.

Eli (GNMC clarinet, chamber music, and piano) was a merit winner of the 2021 National YoungArts Foundation, the first place winner of the 2021 AdZel Duo Global Clarinet Competition (Junior Division), first place winner (Senior Division) of the 2020 Adelphi Orchestra Concerto Competition, and a finalist for NPR’s From the Top radio show. For the past six years Eli has participated in GNMC chamber ensembles, performed in honors concerts and community service events, and even traveled with GNMC to Music Fest Perugia in Italy. He joined the Vanderbilt University Class of ’25 as a recipient of the Blair School Dean’s Honor Scholarship.

Amy (GNMC piano and chamber music) won first place in the 2020 “Golden Classical Music Awards” International Competition, and this past year also performed for the reception of the King of Thailand’s Royal Coronation at the Metropolitan Club in NYC. Amy began studies at GNMC when she was 8 years old, continuing to flourish until graduation. She performed at Carnegie Hall almost every one of those years through GNMC’s High Honors Concerts, travelled twice with GNMC to Italy to attend Music Fest Perugia, and spent 10 summers performing at Oyster Bay Music Festival. Amy joined the University of Rochester Class of ’25 on a merit scholarship.

Evan (GNMC violin and chamber music) became a 2020 Long Island Arts Alliance Music Scholar, won First Place in both the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Competition and Rondo Young Artist Festival Competition, and Fourth Place in the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. He was a member of New York Youth Symphony and the Principal Concertmaster of MYO Nassau Orchestra. Evan contributed substantially to the chamber music and concert life at GNMC. He also spent the past year teaching free, virtual music lessons through Musical Relief, a program he founded two years ago! Evan joined the New York University Class of ’25 as a Neural Science Major.

Maxim (GNMC piano, violin, and chamber music) has performed with orchestras all over the world, and during these past two years he has performed for venues such as Live with Carnegie Hall, The Violin Channel, Gilmore Keyboard Festival, Morgan Library and Museum, Manchester Music Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Young Concert Artists, Johns Hopkins University, Cosmos Club, Candlelight Concerts, and Lang Lang International Music Foundation. He was featured recently in an article for The New Criterion, a podcast for The National Review, and in WQXR’s Guide to New York’s Classical Scene. As the son of GNMC’s directors, Maxim has been a fixture of GNMC for his entire youth – studying, playing chamber music, and collaborating with many of the school’s students and faculty. He is continuing his studies at The Juilliard School Class of ’25 on merit scholarship.

Jason (GNMC piano, and chamber music) performs frequently for fundraiser concerts, performed at the 2022 Oyster Bay Music Festival, and teaches music classes to young students. Jason has been selected for GNMC High Honors Concerts at Carnegie Hall 9 times, and has participated as a performer in the Oyster Bay Music Festival for the past 10 summers. Highly active in chamber music and community service events for the school, Jason also travelled with GNMC twice to Music Fest Perugia in Italy – where he performed as soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the University of Alicante. Jason is a member of the University of Rochester Class of ’25.

Keep posted for more updates on our current students and graduates coming soon…

The post GNMC News 2022 first appeared on Great Neck Music Conservatory.

Dan McCarthy’s playing has simply been described as “virtuosic” by Seen and Heard International. He was a part of the first class of baroque violists ever to be accepted into the historical performance program at The Juilliard School, where he was often featured in performances playing violin, viola, viola d’amore, and viola da gamba.

As a modern violist, Dan holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland, where he was an avid performer in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area. There, he gave concerts and lectures at George Washington University, American University, the Library of Congress, and the National Portrait Gallery. Dan also holds other degrees from the University of Michigan, and the Interlochen Arts Academy.

The post Dr. Dan McCarthy (Violin, Viola) first appeared on Great Neck Music Conservatory.

Chicago native Magnus Villanueva, began piano lessons at age 5. He studied at the Music Institute of Chicago with the late Emilio del Rosario and Ralph Neiweem. In 2010, he moved to Baltimore to further his studies with Marian Hahn at the Peabody Conservatory where he completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Magnus has performed all over North America, Europe, and Asia from notable concert halls and radio stations to hospitals and nursing homes. His many festival appearances include the Cortona Sessions, Atlantic Music Festival, Orford Music Festival, Art of the Piano, Gijón International Piano Festival in Spain, Pitten International Festival in Austria, and Festival Pablo Casals de Prades in France.

Passionate about chamber music and collaboration, Magnus has worked with with artists including Peter Frankl, Robert McDonald, Michael Kannen, Seth Knopp and members of the Guarneri, Spektral, JACK, and Brentano quartets, International Contemporary Ensemble, and Alarm Will Sound.

In addition to a solo piano career, Magnus has worked in audio production, recording, improvisation, and new music. An enthusiastic pedagogue, he has been on the faculty of both the Gasse School of Music and Chicago Music Lessons. In addition to teaching, he is a dedicated ballet pianist: he currently plays for New York City’s Ballet Arts and previously held the position of company accompanist at the Hyde Park School of Dance.

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