Nancy Hayes Assad - Founder/Artistic Director

Nancy studied violin with Louise Behrend at Juilliard School of Music, as well as with Leo Panasevich of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Trained in both the traditional approach and the Suzuki method, she draws from both sources in tailoring her instruction to the levels and needs of her private students. For eighteen years prior to founding her own school, she taught at the North Shore Community College Music School, Gordon College, Governor Dummer Academy and privately in her home. Nancy has been a first violinist with the Boston Civic Symphony since 1979 and has also played with the Newton Symphony Orchestra and the Cape Ann Ensemble. She has studied jazz violin with Mimi Rabson and Matt Glaser at Berklee College of Music. For the last eight years, Nancy has been an active member of the Board of Directors of the Firehouse Center for the Arts, Newburyport.

Judy Mouradian - Administrative Director

Judy has over 25 years of experience in the business world. She spent over 20 years at Woodbury and Company Engravers as Director of Customer Service and Quality Control and most recently worked for Oakwood Corporate Housing as a National Account Manager. Judy graduated with a B.S. in Liberal Sciences with a Human Resources Certificate from Assumption College. She enjoys outdoor activities and loves listening to music and working with children.

Gail McArthur-Browne - Brass, Woodwind

Gail is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and is currently on the faculty at Berklee in the Contemporary Writing and Production Department. She has taught private music lessons, at all level and ages, in both the U.S. and Great Britain. Gail is a freelance musician and has performed with Benny Carter, Gerry Mulligan, Grover Washington, Jr., Jackie McLean, Ed Jackson, Ian Froman, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Christian McBride, Antonio Sanchez, Miguel Zenon, Danny Gottileb, Mark Soskin, Maria Schneider and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. She currently performs with the Perry Rossi Orchestra. Gail will be teaching saxophone, clarinet and flute lessons, as well as recorder and beginner trumpet and trombone lessons.

Randy Browning - Guitar, Songwriting

Randy earned a Bachelor of Music Degree (Magna Cum Laude) from Berklee College of Music. He's been an active music educator for over a decade, teaching small classes, workshops, and private lessons. Using the student's favorite music wherever possible, he tailors his lessons to fit each student's individual taste in music on either acoustic or electric guitar. Randy has recorded three CDs and was recently honored with the nationally respected "New Folk" songwriting award. He performs throughout the Northeast, both as a soloist and with his partner, Brett Kinney, in the duo "Late Bloomers."

Andy Dow - Guitar

Andy Dow is a busy, in demand bass player in the Boston music scene. Whether it's playing with songwriters Jennifer Greer, Chris O'Brien, Kate Klim and Antje Duvekot, or playing with modern jazz groups like Choose to Find and Infinite Out, or Brazilian music with Maluka, or manning the bass chair for local theater productions, he continues to bring his sound and spirit to each project. Andy has also had the pleasure to play on stage with some great jazz musicians such as Nat Mugavero, Jeff Galindo, Phil Grenadier, Jerry Sabatini, Chris Veilleux and Shawn Berry. He's recorded with Choose to Find, Sarah Fimm, Eric Colville, Burt Lafontaine, Lindsay Smith and on two of Evren Ozan's album's, including Alluvia, which won "Best Instrumental Album" of 2007 at the Native American Music Awards. Andy teaches bass guitar and beginning guitar at The Musical Suite and is the bass guitar instructor at Day Jams Summer Music Camp in Malden, MA.

Joe Holaday - Guitar

Joe has been performing professionally for the past 30 years in such notable bands as The Fools and Beatle-juice, playing hundreds of shows to devoted fans each year. Having shared the stage with everyone from the Eagles, Rush and the Ramones, Joe brings a diverse and pragmatic wealth of experience to his teaching style. With seven albums to his credit, and studio side work with a number of Boston area musicians, he is adept in all styles of music. Joe has been teaching private lessons for many years and is excited to share his talents here at the Musical Suite.

John Tavano - Guitar

John has attended the Boston Conservatory of Music and Northern University. He is currently a staff musician at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and a member of The North Shore Musicians Association. For twenty-five years, John has been teaching and concertizing throughout New England. He teaches all levels of classical guitar including, Flamenco, Latin American, Blues and some Jazz. John is also an abstract expressionist and traditional portrait artist. His work is now being exhibited in galleries in Newburyport. John has also studied the ancient Tibetan healing method, "Reiki," and is now a Reiki practitioner.

Greg Tower - Guitar

Greg is a Boston area guitarist with Atomic Cocktail and Madhouse. He has worked throughout the Northeast with an extensive list of talented singers, songwriters, and musicians playing blues, country, jazz, funk, swing and rock. Greg has played with The Big Blues Meanies, Mighty Sam McClain, Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom, Ben E. King, Bo Diddley and The Wrecking Crew, among others. Greg brings more than 20 years of musical experience and teaching to his students.

Carol McIntyre - Harp

Carol McIntyre plays classical, folk, and Celtic harp, frequently performing at the Wenham Teahouse and many other venues around the North Shore. She has studied the harp since childhood, receiving a BA in Classical Music from Stanford University. Carol is a past New England Scottish Games harp champion and has teamed up with Tony Walsh and Larry Plitt to form the Celtic band, Snowdonia. We welcome her back to our faculty, knowing that her high energy and superb talent will inspire all those who are fortunate enough to study with her.

Vardan Ovsepian - Piano, Music Composition

Vardan's extraordinary talent and extensive education at the conservatories in Armenia, Estonia, Finland, and most recently, Berklee College of Music in Boston, has helped him create a very distinct style. He blends his classical influence with jazz and the traditional tones from his home country of Armenia, creating his own innovative approach that will, as one critic said, "help define the future course of jazz." He has been teaching at the Musical Suite for the last seven years as well as performing solo all over New England and in groups with artists such as George Gaizone, Mick Goodrick and Tim Miller, among others. He also teaches master classes at the Maine Jazz Camp and Fairbanks Alaska Summer Arts Festival. Vardan has released three CDs, Abandoned Wheel, Sketch Book and Akunc on the Barcelona based label, Fresh Sound- New Talent. The Vardan Ovsepian Chamber Ensemble (VOCE) is his newly formed group whose goal is to interweave jazz improvisation with the traditions of European art music.

Reiko Yamada - Piano, Music Composition

Reiko received her Masters degree in Music Composition from Boston University and her B.A. in Jazz Composition from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Along with teaching private piano lessons at the Musical Suite and in the Boston area, she is a music theory instructor for the Greater Youth Boston Symphony Orchestra and the artistic director of the JYUGOYA Ensemble, a contemporary music ensemble. Reiko has composed numerous chamber and orchestral pieces, including a full ballet and a film score, Doreena. She spent part of the summer of 2007 as Artist in Residence at Wild Acres in North Carolina and has been invited to be Artist in Residence in March 2008 by the Helen Wurlitzer Foundation in New Mexico. Reiko was the recent recipient of the "Distinguished Musicians Award from IBLA International Composition Competition.

Panayota Chaloulakou - Piano, Voice

Panayota has taught jazz and classical vocals, as well as piano, in Greece, Boston and at the Musical Suite. She received her B.A. in Music from Ionian University in Greece and completed a program in jazz voice performance and composition at Berklee College of Music. On a Fulbright grant, she received her M.M. in Jazz Voice Performance at New England Conservatory of Music. Panayota has performed in classical and Greek concerts as well as in jazz clubs throughout Greece and the Boston area.

Marguerite Sanentz - Piano

"Maggie" was born of Armenian parents and raised in Beirut, where she began playing piano at age six. As a teenager, the family moved to Paris, where she continued her private music training and attended the Ecole du Louvre. She moved to the U.S. in 1994, and in 1995, she studied with Betty Roberts at the Longy School of Music. She also studied Early Childhood Education at Northern Essex Community College and for many years taught preschoolers and toddlers at the Amesbury Country Day School. With her nurturing style of teaching young beginners, Maggie has quickly become one of our most popular teachers.

Malgosia Smolarek - Piano

Malgosia graduated from Bydoszcz Academy of Music in Poland with a master's degree in music theory, composition and piano. She also holds a bachelor's degree in Eurhythmics. Her teaching experience includes ear training, harmony, counterpoint, basic orchestration and solfege. She has been a featured accompanist in competitions in Poland and Germany, and at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School.

Megumi Sasaki - Violin (Traditional & Suzuki)

Megumi earned her degree in Violin Performance at Berklee College of Music, Boston. She also holds a degree in Classical Violin and Instrumental Education and wrote her thesis on the Suzuki Method. She studied classical violin in Germany from 1981-2000 and jazz violin at Berklee College from 2003-2005. Megumi taught private lessons from 1998-2003 at the Music School in Neu-Isenburg, Germany, and has many years experience performing with orchestras and ensembles both in the United States and abroad. She brings to our staff her vast range of experience in various styles and techniques, from classical to jazz.

Johanna Hoyt-Kimball - Voice

Johanna graduated with a Masters in Music Performance from New England Conservatory and her Bachelor's degree from University of New Hampshire. She has many years of experience performing as a soloist in classical, operatic, and musical theatre in Boston, San Francisco, and locally. Johanna has worked with both children and adults, beginners to advanced levels, as a private instructor and Children's Choir Director. She has been recently accepted as a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Because of her excellent experience performing on the local music scene and her ability to teach a variety of vocal styles, she brings an invaluable contribution to our staff at the Musical Suite.

Albert Lamar - Woodwind

Albert has many years of experience teaching and performing both jazz and classical music. He received his B.M. in Performance from Berklee College of Music and did his graduate studies at Mannes College in N.Y. He performed with the Mississippi Symphony for 15 years and has played with the MS Opera, MS Pops, and the International Ballet Competition Orchestra. He has also played at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, as well as with orchestras for Ray Charles, The Chieftains, Pete Fountain, Doc Severinson, Makoto Ozone and more. Albert currently plays in various jazz venues throughout the North Shore.

Neal Ferreira - Voice

Praised by the Boston media for his "fine voice” and "stylish delivery," Neal Ferreira is a frequent performer of opera, oratorio and musical theater in Boston and the Greater New England area. He has appeared regionally with Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, American Repertory Theatre, Boston Midsummer Opera, Guerilla Opera, Boston Opera Project, Longwood Opera, Vox Consort, and New England Light Opera. In 2005 Mr. Ferreira received his Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory, where he studied with acclaimed soprano Patricia Craig as well as coaches Michael Strauss, Terry Decima, and John Moriarty. He completed his undergraduate studies at Providence College with a B.A. in Music and a concentration in Vocal Performance. In addition to teaching private voice lessons, Mr. Ferreira works locally as the tenor soloist and section leader at the First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist in Newburyport, MA. There he has performed solos in Haydn's The Creation, Bach's Magnificat, Dvořak's Stabat Mater, Mozart's Requiem, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, and several presentations of Handel's Messiah.

Don Weng - Piano

A native of Ohio, Donald Weng did his undergraduate studies in music at Bowling Green State University and Indiana University. He also studied privately with conductor Seymour Benstock and clarinetists Robert McGinnis and Robert Marcellus. He joined the Toledo, OH Symphony and served as clarinetist with the Toledo Opera, Toledo Symphony and Toledo Concert band for thirty-six seasons. Throughout his career, Don has taught private piano and clarinet students, along with teaching at St. John's Jesuit High School and Heidelberg College, both in Ohio. His conducting credits include four seasons as Music Director at Croswell Opera House in Adrian, Michigan and seven seasons as conductor of the Jewish Center Community Orchestra in Sylvania, Ohio. He moved to Massachusetts in 2007, where he continues to grow his list of private piano and clarinet students.