String Instrument Instructors
Kelly Gembara began playing violin at the age of 9. She has performed with Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestras, the Westerville Symphony, New Britain Symphony, and Opera Project Columbus. Throughout the last two years of high school, Kelly was a member of a competitive ensemble named the Geneva String Quartet that won awards in the Coltman Chamber Music Competition, Saint Paul String Quartet Competition, and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.
She has played and performed in masterclasses hosted by the Calidore, Cavani, Dover, Brentano, St. Lawrence, Haussman, and Quartet ES string quartets. Kelly traveled to Switzerland in 2017 with her high school quartet and members of the Chamber Music Connection. She regularly performs in the New England area for musical theatre productions, orchestras, and other various gigs. Kelly currently studies with Anton Miller at The Hartt School of Music.
Stephanie is a recent graduate of SUNY Purchase. She finished her college education with a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance and a Bachelor of Music with an Outside Field. The outside field consisted of business, psychology and education classes. Although piano became her main focus in college, she was also an active violinist from the ages of 9 through 18.
At the age of 7, Stephanie was inspired by a close family member and decided to start taking piano lessons. Music has always been a big part of her life, through private lessons, ensembles, music classes, and recitals. Since 2012, Stephanie has helped many young students with performances in school ensembles. It was through these experiences that she decided to become a teacher. Stephanie has had experience teaching students of all ages the music they feel passionate about.
After pursuing teaching as a full-time job, Stephanie has had the pleasure of meeting a wide variety of students who come from different backgrounds. Every student has their own goal when stepping into the music world, and she believes it is important to help each student discover and reach that goal. She has prepared students for music festivals, judging, competitions, and recitals. She believes that ensuring the students’ joy and love for music is the most important aspect of teaching. If the student is happy then their musicality and dedication to their instruments will fall into place by themselves.