Our Instructors are George Vlesmas, Dean Cholakis, Heather Sommerlad, Hitoshi and Lucas Madrazo.  George Vlesmas teaches Bouzouki and Guitar, Dean Cholakis teaches Guitar and bass, Heather Sommerlad teaches Violin, Hitoshi teaches Piano and Lucas Madrazo teaches Voice and Guitar.

George Vlesmas has been a professional musician for more than 30 years, he plays Guitar, bouzouki (three and four strings) and Bass.

He is a second generation musician.  George started receiving lessons from his father, a professional musician, at the age of 7.    He turned professional at the age of 15, both by studying and playing with the old Greek bouzouki masters which belong to the era of "REBETIKO", such as Takis Binis and Kostas Kaplanis.  Later in his career he attended the JULLIARD SCHOOL OF MUSIC where he perfected his theoretical music background.   In his career he played with many famous Greek singers such as Harry Lemonopoulos, Manolis Aggelopoulos, Stratos Dionisiou, Poly Panou, George Margaritis, Stamatis Kokotas and many others.  His professional career has included extensive travel overseas in such locations as Greece, India, China, Australia and France.

For twelve years, he was a member of the famous Greek band Trio Belcanto. Currently he is playing with ALPHA Orchestra (www.alphaorchestra.com).

Dean Cholakis was born and raised in Albany, NY.  He started playing music at an early age.  He has studied guitar and bass extensively and has been performing professionally for 25 years on both instruments.  He has also been involved with many different styles of music including Jazz, Classical, Middle Eastern, Rock and Metal.  He has performed in many night clubs and shows in and around the NY area.  He enjoys teaching students of all ages who really want to learn to play music.  Dean is also presently performing with Alpha Music.

Heather Sommerlad is a recent college graduate of Bennington College in Vermont. She grew up in El Paso, TX where she performed with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra at the age of 16. From there, she went on to perform with various ensembles, including the Bennington College String Quartet. She has performed and taught in the Czech Republic and Kingston, Jamaica, as well as various places throughout the country. Heather is dedicated to nurturing the passion, dedication, and enthusiasm in all her students to maintain a healthy balance of technical proficiency and musical integrity.

Hitoshi has been performing in NY and New England area for about 5 years as a professional jazz and contemporary pianist and also recording / touring artist.
He has performed at numerous venues in NY and Boston such as 
Greenwich Village Bistro, Kavehaz, Fat Cat, CAM hall (Columbia artist management), ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art), Arlene's Grocery, etc and has also performed as a visiting artist at Boston University (Marsh Chapel) and New School of Music. 
He has released 3 CDs in America and Japan (jazz, rock and electronic music) and graduated "Summa Cum Laude" from Berklee College of Music in Performance Major in 2004.
Also, Hitoshi has experience in teaching piano from children to adult people about 5 years in U.S.A and music school in Japan. (jazz, funk, pop and classical)
 

Lucas Madrazo hailing from the modest city of Toledo, OH, got his start in the straight-ahead jazz scene.  Regularly frequenting clubs such as Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit and the former mid-western gem Rusty's Jazz Cafe, Lucas had the rare privilege of witnessing and partaking in the last few remnants of the "old school."

After making the decision to move to Boston and attend Berklee College of Music, Lucas honed his skills playing with musicians such as Mulgrew Miller, Bill Pierce, and George Duke, to name a few.  After four years of beautiful collaborations yielding countless influences, it was time to take the next logical step. 

Lucas now resides in New York City where he has just released his debut CD, Culmination, showcasing his original work in capacities never before explored. Culmination achieves a colorful organic blend of jazz, folk, and various world styles with keen pop sensibilities and tastefulness rare in such a young artist.  "I consider myself somewhat of a minimalist.  Space is extremely important to me.  I tend to gravitate towards trying to say the most using the least amount of notes possible."   

Despite his professed minimalism, he manages to conjure up plenty of life  during every performance in a way that is quite simply...honest.