About Kelly
Hi! I’m Kelly. Let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I am a cellist, private music teacher, and piano technician in training, based in Miller Place, Long Island, New York. Coming from a musical family, music-making has always been a huge part of my life: from singing nursery rhymes with my mom at the family piano to playing Carmina Burana on stage at Lincoln Center.
I take great joy in sharing that love of music with others, so becoming a music teacher was a very easy (and early) decision for me. I started teaching beginner lessons for my youth orchestra at age 16, and later earned degrees from both Ithaca College and Stony Brook University in music and education. Since then, I have taught hundreds of students, helping them prepare for NYSSMA solos and ensembles, recitals, regional festivals, and youth orchestras, as well as making sure they enjoy the journey as much as possible.
My personal teaching philosophy is that everyone has the ability to make music, and that this is best learned and refined through personal, 1-on-1 instruction. I also believe that well-rounded musicians don't just "play songs," but should work towards a deeper understanding of the inner workings of the music they play. To that end, I incorporate many aspects of music theory (eg., interval recognition, ear training, structural analysis) as well as music history into my lessons. And of course, I think that making music should be fun. The verb associated with music is "play," after all!
Piano work is something I came to later in life, starting my training in early 2022 and tuning pianos professionally since 2023. During my apprenticeship, I have helped to restore and rebuild many instruments, learned tuning and regulation techniques, and replaced felts, hammers, wippens, and key tops on more than a few actions. I find working on pianos very rewarding, especially when the instrument is particularly special to a customer. I plan on take the Piano Technicians Guild exam soon, which will enable me to become a Registered Piano Technician with the Guild.
As a performer, I have played on many stages (eg., Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Tilles Center) and under many conductors, including Leonard Bernstein's protege, Russell Stanger. I have also collaborated with composers Thomas Mangano and Michael Bussewitz-Quarm, participating in several performances with each of them. I currently sit assistant principal cello in Sound Symphony, and also play with the Long Island Festival Orchestra.
In my spare time (when I have it), I enjoy reading and writing, cooking and baking, traveling, doing needle crafts, playing video games, and of course attending concerts, both popular and classical.
