Author: nygms

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Amanda Gagnon – Voice & Piano


Amanda Gagnon – Voice & Piano

Amanda Gagnon (she/her) is completing her Bachelor of Music Education at Buffalo State University, with a focus in vocal studies. She has extensive experience performing and studying a variety of musical styles, including classical, jazz, and Broadway repertoire. In addition to her vocal training, Amanda has studied piano at Buffalo State, where she has developed strong technical skills and a foundation in piano pedagogy.

Through her coursework and field experiences, Amanda has engaged in a wide range of methods and techniques classes, equipping her with the tools to provide a thoughtful, student-centered approach to music instruction.

Amanda’s teaching philosophy emphasizes building positive relationships with students while fostering a supportive, inclusive, and engaging learning environment. She is passionate about helping developing musicians explore their interests, deepen their musical understanding, and grow with confidence through structured, individualized instruction

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Valerie Xu-Friedman – Violin

Valerie Xu-Friedman – Violin

Valerie Xu-Friedman holds a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan, where she studied under Danielle Belen, and is an alumna of Interlochen Arts Academy. She has performed with orchestras across Michigan, including the Flint, Adrian, Jackson, Lansing, Saginaw Bay, and Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestras.

Valerie has participated in renowned summer programs such as Interlochen Arts Camp, Center Stage Strings, Harpa International Music Academy, Chautauqua Institution, and the Aspen Music Festival. In addition to her performance experience, she has taught both private and chamber music lessons through the BRAVO Workshop.

A two-time participant on NPR’s From the Top, Valerie has also performed at Carnegie Hall as a pianist and was featured on NPR in collaboration with rapper Common. She brings this diverse musical background into her teaching, fostering both technical excellence and a genuine love for music in her students.

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Maddie Radwan – Voice

Maddie Radwan – Voice

Maddie has been singing for over 20 years. It all started with a hello kitty radio and burned CDs made by her dad. Her passion continued throughout the years being in school choirs and eventually going to Villa Maria College for Music Industry and Vocal Performance. During college, Maddie studied with some of the best musicians in WNY learning jazz, classical, rock, gospel and pop styles of singing.

She then moved to Nashville for 4 years working within music curriculum and moved back to Buffalo where she formed two bands: Pour La Nuit (acoustic alternative folk) and Thorns for Lovers (rock/metal.) On top of this, she is involved heavily in mental health nonprofit work, using music as a focal point for healing. Yearly, she puts on a fundraiser show raising money for various mental health nonprofit around WNY.

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Joanna Hake – Voice & Piano

Joanna Hake – Voice & Piano

Joanna has been an artist, musician, and songwriter for most of her life. She grew up idolizing her father, an extremely accomplished pianist, organist, and flautist, who began teaching her piano at a very young age. In High School, Joanna earned the opportunity to participate at the ARTS Festival in Orlando, Fl where she won 1st in Monologue, 2nd in Singing, and 3rd in the Cold Read. As a result of ARTS, Joanna attended a 4 week Music Theatre workshop at New York Film Academy where she studied with various Broadway and Off- Broadway Instructors in Dance, Acting, and Voice/Singing. After competing, composing, and performing throughout most of high school and college, Joanna earned a BFA degree with an emphasis in Music Theatre from the University of West Florida in Pensacola. While studying in college, Joanna began taking on vocal students at the suggestion of her own voice teacher.

Following her degree, Joanna was on cast at Sterling Renaissance Festival in Sterling, NY, where vocal coaching became a necessary skill in a time period where “microphones don’t exist”. After Sterling, Joanna took on an Administrative position at Luna Stage in West Orange, NJ where she met and worked with various artists of the stage and screen as well as Grammy Award Winning producers. In addition, Joanna began teaching piano and voice in that area with Alexa Teebo Voice Studio. After a total of 12 years, Joanna has been able to cultivate her own way of teaching, involving the body as a whole. Her results have yielded excellent self- confidence, progress in self- discipline and performance, and genuinely positive attitudes from her students, regardless of age. Joanna believes that a person’s voice is one of the greatest gifts we get in this life and she is very excited to continue sharing that message with Boulevard Music!

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Mat Missert – Guitar

Mat Missert – Guitar

Mat graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Industry from Villa Maria College in 2018. He plays several instruments which include guitar, bass, piano; and drums. He’s played in several different bands locally, and did some light touring up and down the East Coast in 2017. He’s been teaching guitar for a several years and is currently a Music Tutor at Villa Maria College.

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Alessia Paolini – Voice & Piano

Alessia Paolini – Voice & Piano

Italian Soprano Alessia Paolini (She, Her) received her second Master’s Degree in Voice Performance in May of 2018. In 2015 she earned a Master’s degree in Voice at the Conservatory of Music of L’Aquila, her hometown, where she also earned a BA in Piano Performance. She has performed in France, Sweden, Italy, Austria, and New York City. She’s versatile in different styles, from Opera, her main focus, to Jazz.
Alongside performing, Alessia loves teaching and has been doing so since 2010, privately and in conjunction with various institutions. Her goal is to offer her students the right tools to tackle the difficulties of singing and playing the piano with proficiency, and discover the joy of making music, with fun lessons tailored to students of all ages.

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Michael Lukasiewicz – Woodwinds & Brass

Michael Lukasiewicz – Woodwinds & Brass

Michael Lukasiewicz is a clarinet player and teacher from Buffalo, NY. In 2017, he graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education, which has given him the skills needed to teach many different instruments, with a specialty in woodwinds and brass. Michael’s main instrument is the clarinet, having studied and performed on many different members of the clarinet family, including bass and contra-bass clarinets. As a teacher, his style is fun, easy going and relaxed, while maintaining a structured curriculum that has clear goals and step-by-step progress based around a multi-level progression. Michael would be an excellent teacher for any student looking to advance their playing, and has worked with students and teachers in many school districts around Western New York.

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Mike Slomowicz- Guitar, Bass

Mike Slomowicz- Guitar, Bass

Mike Slomowicz holds both B.A. (Canisius College) and M.M. (University at Buffalo) degrees in classical guitar performance.  He has several years of experience in rock and jazz ensembles, as well as in theatre pit bands and classical groups.  Mike has been fortunate to open for a variety of national acts, including KC and the Sunshine Band, The Commodores, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Billy Sheehan, and SWV.  From 2012-2015, he served as guitarist and musical director for popular lounge performer Lance Diamond.  He is currently performing locally with the Cool Platinum Band (R&B/funk) and DMW Jazz, among other groups.  In addition to guitar, Mike has background in piano, ukulele, and banjo. Mike’s musical influences include The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Carlos Santana, KISS, Andres Segovia, Living Colour, Eric Clapton, just to name a few. Mike is the perfect teacher for advanced students looking to get into Music Theory, classical fingerpicking, or Jazz, however his teaching style can work for students of any age and skill level. 

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Josh English- Drums

Josh English- Drums

Josh is a highly sought after touring and session drummer based in Buffalo, New York. He currently plays with the award winning rock band Grosh, and has played and recorded with dozens of artists in and out of the U.S.

With over a decade of professional experience in the music industry, Josh is well known for his hard hitting, high energy drumming. He’s a great fit for beginners and intermediate players, and will help you discover your voice on the drum set.

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Scott Nestler- Guitar, Bass, Ukulele

Scott Nestler- Guitar, Bass, Ukulele

With well over 20 years of experience playing, Scott is well versed in all genres of music including, classical, jazz, blues, rock, and country. When asked what he loves about teaching the most, “I love the energy of students who are just discovering things on their instrument. Aside from teaching, Scott is also a Rock Band 101 director, providing structured, goal-driven rehearsals to prepare his bands for upcoming performances and also teaches the Ukulele. Scott’s musical influences include Jeff Beck, Tommy Bolin, Jimmy Page, Alex Lifeson, Al Dimeola, and Miles Davis. Scott is a great fit for students of any skill level and age, students looking to learn Music Theory, work on original compositions, or any adolescent learning looking to get into our Rock Band program.