Teachers and Bios

  • Thomas Berryman

    Music Director -

    A member of the St. Mark’s faculty since 1983, Mr. Berryman teaches AP Music Theory and Music Studio, directs the School’s choral groups, oversees the entire music program and serves as School Organist. An active professional musician and educator, Mr. Berryman has hosted music theory teaching conferences and music festivals, served as a reader of the AP Music Theory Exam and chaired convention planning boards for the American Choral Directors’ Association. He has also sung with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and currently serves as music director for the First Parish in Framingham, MA. Mr. Berryman holds the Evill-Glavin Teaching Chair at St. Mark’s School.

  • Janet Ainsworth

    Piano -

    Janet Ainsworth received her Bachelor of Music from the Hartt College of Music where she studied with Anne Koscielny. She has performed and collaborated with members of the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Pops, the Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, The Emerson String Quartet, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Phoenix Contemporary Ensemble. She is the pianist of the Ainsworth-Russell-Snyder Trio, actively performing chamber music in the Boston and Cleveland areas. She has performed in Paris, Brussels, Chaux de Fonds, Strasbourg, and Cologne. Ms. Ainsworth’s most recent recitals include collaborations with the South Coast Chamber Society, “Phebes Forum and Lecture Series” at the Danforth Museum, and the concert premiere of John McDonald's "Daumier Bozzetti." Her students have won substantial solo and concerto competitions and have achieved distinction in the London Royal School of Music. In addition to her teaching at St. Mark’s, Ms. Ainsworth also serves on the faculty of the Rivers Music School.

  • Ellina Blinder

    Piano

    Pianist Ellina Blinder received her education at Hartt School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music earning Bachelor and Master Degrees. Ms.Blinder was a top prizewinner of the Connecticut and Massachusetts Young Artists Competitions. She has performed solo and chamber music in Europe and the United States. As a collaborative pianist, Ms.Blinder frequently performs in various ensembles from sonata duo to piano quartet. Her recent performances included concerts at the Rostropovich memorial with the young Russian cellist Sergey Antonov in New York, and concerts at the Chamber Music Foundation of New England concert series in Boston. Together with the violinist, Lilia Muchnik, she performs frequently as a Boston Duo.Together the ensemble has recorded all J.S.Bach keyboard and violin sonatas as well as a disc titled Violin and Piano Duets under Classical Recording Company Label.
    Boston Duo has performed in such venues as Jordan Hall in Boston, St.Paul’s School in London among others. As dedicated teachers as well as performing musicians, the Boston Duo understood the need for more venues and opportunities for the young emerging musicians. In 2004 they co-founded the Chamber Music Foundation of New England. Ms.Blinder serves as an artistic director of the International Chamber Music Festival & Institute, Southborough, Massachusetts.
    Ms.Blinder teaches piano at St.Marks School in Southborough and maintains a private studio in Boston.

  • Susan Bonito

    Voice -

    Susan Bonito began her vocal training at the University of Southern California, studying with Nina Hinson, Madame Gwendolyn Koldofsky and Natalie Lamonick. Her professional credits include numerous performances with the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, the Newport Music Festival, the California Repertory Opera, San Francisco Chamber Singers, and the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. She has performed with such distinguished conductors as Robert Shaw, Edo De Waart, Herbert Blomstedt, Neemi Järvi, Michael Tilson Thomas, John Nelson, Charles Mackerras, Kurt Masur and Christopher Hogwood. Ms. Bonito was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions and the Music Teachers Association VOCE Auditions, a finalist in the California Young Artist’s Competition sponsored by the Carmel Music Society, and a semifinalist in the Belvedere International Opera Auditions in Vienna, Austria. Concert tours have taken her to Europe, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Alaska, and throughout the United States. Recording and film score collaborations include two Grammy-winning recordings with the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, and the film soundtrack for Godfather, Part III with Carmine Copola conducting. Ms. Bonito maintains a private voice studio and is on the voice faculty at Indian Hill Music Center, and St. Mark’s School. She is a licensed Kindermusik educator and serves as the Music Director at United Parish of Upton

  • Jeffrey Charland

    Guitar/Bass-

    Jeffrey Charland is a musician and private lesson instructor who resides in Brighton, MA, and performs and teaches in the surrounding area. Mr. Charland earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1992 from Berklee College of Music where he studied with renowned guitarist Jon Damian. After graduating from Berklee he took up independent study of the double bass and is now an in-demand bassist around the Boston area. Mr. Charland is the regular bassist in a variety of ensembles including Gypsy Schaeffer, Charlie Kohlhase's Explorers Club, Gill Aharon Trio, Annie Darcy Band, Clear Audience (with fellow St. Marks instructor Steve Fell), and The Blue Ribbons. Mr. Charland has performed in a variety of settings including the MDC Hatch Shell, Montreal Jazz Festival, Ryles Jazz Club, and on public radio station WGBH.

  • Joan Ellersick

    Violin & Viola-

    Joan Ellersick appears with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Cantata Singers, Handel & Haydn Society, Alea III, Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. An active chamber musician, she is a member of Music at Eden's Edge. She was a founding member of the Somerset Quartet and Mackinac Trio, and played in the Van Swieten Quartet, in residence at Longy School of Music. Ms. Ellersick coaches the viola sections of the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. Ms Ellersick was assistant principal viola of the Grand Rapids Symphony for 14 years before returning to her native Boston. She studied at Indiana University with Georges Janzer and at Boston University with Bernard Kadinoff.

  • Stephen Paul Fell

    Guitar

    Steve Fell has been teaching at St. Mark's since 2004 where he has taught guitar, bass, and the Rhythm Section ensemble. He is originally from New London, CT. where, as a teenager, he composed music and played guitar in the city and surrounding area with rock bands. After high school, he relocated to Boston, MA where he earned a B.M. in jazz performance from Berklee College of Music in 1998. He currently lives in Boston where he co-leads the modern jazz group, Clear Audience. In addition to composing for and performing with his own original musical projects and bands, he has and continues to collaborate live and in the recording studio within a range of musical expressions including free jazz/avante garde, funk, west African music, reggae, jazz, hip-hop, experimental electronic music, calypso/soca, afro-Brazilian, salsa, and projects combining visual art and sound. He has performed at clubs, theaters, universities, and festivals throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Canada.

  • Daniel Fox

    Jazz Band, brass-

    Boston based musician and educator Dan Fox has performed at concerts and functions, in radio and TV studios, and for musicals throughout the US, Europe and Japan. Dan recently performed for a week at the Kennedy Center in D.C. as part of a group backing the Washington Ballet's rendition of The Great Gatsby. Other venues include the Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, and the Beantown Jazz Festival. Dan is leader of the acclaimed jazz group Made in the Shade and also has his own jazz school, Morningside Music Studio, based in Arlington, MA.

  • Susanne Friedrich

    Cello -

    A native of Vienna, Austria, Susanne Friedrich pursued cello studies at the Vienna Conservatory (modern cello) and at the Tirol State Conservatory in Innsbruck (baroque cello). As a soloist, in chamber music and with both modern and baroque/classical orchestras, Ms. Friedrich has appeared in concerts throughout Austria and Europe as well as in Asia. After moving to the Boston area in 1997, she established herself as a freelance player and as a teacher at New England Conservatory, Rivers School Conservatory, Dana Hall School of Music, St. Mark’s School and in her own studio. In addition to teaching according to a traditional method, Ms. Friedrich is also a certified Suzuki teacher.

  • Emily Halpern Lewis

    Harp-

    Emily Halpern Lewis is Principal Harp with the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Civic Symphony, Salem Philharmonic, and the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra. She has held the position of Principal Harp with the Nashua Symphony, Bridgeport Symphony, and the New Haven Symphony.
    She has been a featured soloist with the Bridgeport Symphony, Salem Philharmonic, North Shore Philharmonic, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, the Portland Chamber Orchestra in Maine, and most recently with the Walden Chamber Players.
    She is the winner of several awards including a three time winner of the Elizabeth Herbert Hobin Harp Scholarship and a recipient of a fellowship at the Tanglewood Music Center.
    She began her harp studies with Lucile Lawrence, and continued studying with her at Tanglewood and Boston University. They remained close until her death in 2005. A much sought after teacher, Emily Halpern Lewis has served on the faculty at Gordon College, Boston University, and is currently teaching at MIT, the Phillips Academy at Andover, and Concord Academy.

  • Jane Harrison

    Oboe-

    Jane Harrison earned a Bachelor of Music degree at Ohio Wesleyan University. She attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with John Mack, and later received her Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Elaine Douvas. Before coming to the Boston area, Ms. Harrison played professionally with orchestras and chamber ensembles in Virginia and New York City. She is currently a member of Arcadian Winds, a wind quintet specializing in contemporary music, and Emmanuel Music, where she has performed frequently with late Music Director Craig Smith as well as guest conductors Seiji Ozawa and Christopher Hogwood. She has participated for many years in the New Hampshire Music Festival. An active free-lancer, she has appeared with the Boston Lyric Opera, The Cantata Singers, Portland Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra with Keith Lockhart, among many others. She has participated in several commercial recordings and radio broadcasts. Ms. Harrison is on the faculty of Boston College, Northeastern University, the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, and the All-Newton Music School.

  • Joanna Heim

    Flute -

    Joanna Heim is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her principal teachers have included Joanne Tanner and William Grass. She has been a member of the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra for many years where she plays piccolo. She also appears frequently as a chamber and orchestral musician in the greater Worcester area. In addition to teaching flute at St. Mark's School, Joanna also teaches privately at The Fay School in Southborough, MA and Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, MA. Her students have participated in many ensembles at the district and state level. Joanna currently directs a youth flute choir in the Westborough community.

  • Anna Korsunsky

    Violin -

    Anna Korsunsky studied at Gnesiney Institute of Music in Moscow, Russia. After immigrating to the United States she continued her studies under a Special Director Award at Boston University, where she received Master of Music degree. She has appeared as a soloist and as a chamber musician in the former USSR, Germany, Italy, Japan and USA and has participated in the Musicorda, Spoleto and Pacific Music Festivals. Ms. Korsunsky is a member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and plays with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. She teaches extensively at her home studio in Needham and at St. Mark’s School.

  • Steve Laven

    Cello & String chair-

    Steve Laven appears with the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Boston Baroque, Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. He is also an adjunct instructor at Rhode Island College, and performs in the faculty Proteus String Quartet. Previously, Mr. Laven has held titled positions in the Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera and Omaha Symphony Orchestras. He has earned cello performance degrees from the Eastman and Manhattan Schools of Music.

  • David Lubick

    Saxophone-

    Mr. Lubick, a native of Amherst, NY, came to St. Mark’s in 1997 with his wife, Lisa, and his two sons, Nathanael and Elias. In addition to his duties in the Admission Office as the Director of Financial Aid, he teaches Writing Seminar and Short Stories, VI Form English electives, and he is the head coach of Varsity Boys' Basketball. A professional musician, Mr. Lubick spends a great deal of time in the fitness room convincing wayward, Rap-happy students about the virtues of Jazz, R&B, and Classic Soul. Mr. Lubick teaches saxophone and plays saxophone and flute in several ensembles, including big bands and a saxophone quartet.

  • William Manley

    Percussion -

    Bill Manley performs and teaches throughout New England. He holds a Bachelors degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam and a Masters degree from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. In addition to his teaching studios at St. Mark’s School and in Needham, Mr. Manley is an active performer in a wide range of settings. He has performed and recorded with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Berkshire Opera Company, and the Catskill Klezmorim. He also has performed with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the National Lyric Opera Company, the New Hampshire Symphony, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the percussion trio, New England Percussion Ensemble.

  • Mark Miller

    Clarinet -

    Conductor, clarinetist, and composer Mark Miller is well-known as a performer and teacher in eastern Massachusetts. For many years he has been an assistant conductor of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, where he works with the BYS and its chamber orchestras. He also conducts the Boston University All-Campus Orchestra and the chamber orchestra at the Community Music Center of Boston. As a clarinetist, he serves as principal clarinet of the Cape Cod Symphony, the Plymouth Philharmonic, and the Simon Sinfonietta, and has performed with ALEA III, Hyperprisms, the New Bedford Symphony, the Boston Philharmonic, the Central Massachusetts Symphony, and the Scarborough Chamber Players. With the wind quintet Arcadian Winds, specializing in contemporary music, he has premiered countless new works and performed most of the classics of the chamber music repertoire. He has appeared as clarinet soloist with the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, Harvard’s Mozart Society Orchestra, and the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. As a conductor, he has led many concerts by the various BYSO orchestras, and has conducted the 2004 Rhode Island All-State Orchestra, the 2001 Massachusetts Southeast District Festival Orchestra, the orchestras at the Summer Youth Music School at the University of New Hampshire, the North Shore Philharmonic, and the South Shore Conservatory Summer Wind Ensemble. He has also coached orchestras and orchestra wind sections at Harvard, Brandeis, Wellesley, and the Longy School. During the summer season, he has been a frequent performer at the Warebrook (Vermont) Contemporary Music Festival and has coached for the Chamber Music Center at Wellesley College.Mr. Miller currently teaches clarinet privately and at Foxborough High School, where he also conducts the clarinet choir. He has been commissioned to write several substantial works for Foxborough’s nationally-acclaimed bands and wind ensembles. His original compositions and arrangements have been performed by Arcadian Winds and the Arcadian Chamber Orchestra; his wind quintet arrangements are quite popular and have been performed by quintets throughout North America and Europe.Mr. Miller was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, and attended the Florida State University, where he earned degrees in composition and clarinet performance. He holds a master's degree in composition from Boston University. He has studied clarinet with Eugene Gonzalez, Fred Ormand, and Michael Webster, and composition with Harold Schiffman, Theodore Antoniou, Joyce Mekeel, and Robert Sirota. Mr. Miller appears as clarinet soloist on several recordings by the Zamir Chorale of Boston, and his compositions, arrangements and transcriptions for wind quintet have been performed and recorded by Arcadian Winds. He makes his home in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

  • Debra Parker

    Voice-

    Canadian soprano Debra Parker has been a frequent artist on CBC Radio-Canada and CBC Television. She has performed with many Canadian orchestras including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Chamber Players, the Winnipeg Symphony and Symphony Nova Scotia. Ms. Parker received her Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of British Columbia and her Masters from The Juilliard School in New York City. She won the CBC Talent Competition and the Canadian National Music Festival in addition to being a prize winner in the Montreal International Voice Competition and the New York Oratorio Competition. She is an alumnus of the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh, England, the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen Music Festival and the Banff School of Fine Arts. Ms. Parker has been an adjudicator and presenter of Master Classes at numerous high schools, universities and festivals and is also on the voice faculty at Walnut Hill School in Natick. Ms. Parker resides in the Boston area with her husband and two teenagers.

  • Michael Peipman

    Trumpet-

    Born in Sydney, Australia, Michael studied at N.S.W. Conservatorium of Music and played the seasons for "The Wiz" and "Man of La Mancha" at Her Majesty's theatre before coming to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music.
    Through combining the careers of lead trumpet player and Jazz soloist, he has
    toured with numerous groups such as the Artie Shaw Orchestra and the Woody Herman Orchestra led by Frank Tiberi, recorded two Blue Note Albums- "So What" and "African Game" with George Russell's Living Time Orchestra and played on the soundtracks to numerous movies such as, "Young At Heart", "Prefontaine". "Silver City", and "Dick Tracy". Michael has performed at numerous Jazz Festivals including the Parnu Jazz Festival featured with Estonian Radio Big Band, Kool Jazz Festival with George Russell, Montreal Jazz Festival with Bob Moses and Toulon Jazz Festival with Toulon All-Stars.He has backed up numerous Artists such as Tony Bennett, Gladys Knight, The Four Tops, Jerry Vale, Al Martino, Ellis Hall, Cab Callaway, and Joel Grey.
    Michael is presently performing with "Made in the Shade", Swing Legacy, Kubota Power Jazz Unit, White Heat Swing Orchestra, Black Tie Band, Jazz Composer's Alliance Orchestra.

  • Dan Rodriguez

    Piano-

    A member of the St. Mark's faculty since 2008, Mr. Rodriguez teaches piano and serves as accompanist. An active performer in multiple genres, as well as accompanist, teacher, conductor and composer, Mr. Rodriguez is also on the faculty at Emerson College, and has worked at New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory, and many other area schools. When not teaching or performing, he can usually be found serving as the music director for theatrical productions, and has worked in this capacity with many theaters, including the American Repertory Theatre, Speakeasy Stage Company, and Reagle Music Theatre, where he recently won the 2009 IRNE (Independent Reviewers of New England) Award for Best Music Direction.

  • Charlotte Russell

    Voice -

    Charlotte Russell attended Cornell University; Westminster Choir College. Her principal teachers include Donna Hewitt-Didham and Jo Estill. Active as a soloist and recitalist throughout New England, Ms. Russell has appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of Indian Hill. She is music director at the Union Church of Stow and and is a Master Teacher of the Estill vocal training technique. At St. Mark’s, Ms. Russell directs our annual Broadway Night.

  • Thomas Schmidt

    Percussion-

    Praised for his “excellent focus and concentration” by the Classical Voice of North Carolina. Thomas Schmidt is one of the Boston area’s up and coming freelance percussionists. Thomas’ career has spanned many facets of the classical, and Broadway music industry.
    He has performed with orchestras such as the Boston Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Indian Hill Symphony, and The Brevard Music Centers Faculty Orchestra. A regular down in the pit orchestra, he has played for the National 75th Anniversary Tour of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, The Boston Lyric Opera, for various tours with the New England Opera, and New York’s DaCapo Opera’s touring company the National Lyric Opera. Equally at home playing in a jazz big band or drum-set for a musical, Thomas has performed with the Boston Brass All Stars Big Band, and has been the drum-set player for countless musicals in the New England area. In the contemporary classical music scene he has performed with new music ensembles ALEA III and Dinosaur Annex, and in the chorus scene with various local chorus’ such as Masterworks Chorale, Harvard-Radcliff Chorus, Boston Celia Society, Coro Allegro, Chorus ProMusica, The Brookline Chorus, and The Newburyport Chorale.

  • Steven Sussman

    Piano -

    Steven Sussman plays new music and jazz as well as the traditional repertoire. He appears frequently as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral member. In addition to his teaching at St.Mark’s School, Mr. Sussman is the affiliated with the Rivers Music School and maintains a private teaching studio. He is also the co-director of Opera Presto.

  • Janet Underhill

    Bassoon, Lessons Director-

    Hailing from British Columbia, Canada, Janet Underhill, has been a bassoonist, teacher, conductor and administrator in the Boston area for over 20 years. Currently she is the director of Preparatory Winds for Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and Director of Senior Wind Ensemble for Community Music Center of Boston. As an administrator, Ms. Underhill is the Director of Private Lessons and Instrumental Music for St. Mark’s School of Southborough. Ms. Underhill is also teaches bassoon at North Eastern University, Boston College and South Shore Conservatory. Janet is a founding member of Arcadian Winds, a woodwind quintet specializing in contemporary music that has commissioned and premiered more than 50 works. As a soloist she has performed at the International Double Reed Conference in Minneapolis, The Fromm Series at Harvard University, the Gaudeamus Competition in Rotterdam, Holland, The Women’s Avant Festival in Chicago, The Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival in Vermont, The Outoftowners series in New York City, CrossSounds in Alaska and Soundwaves in St. Petersburg, Russia. Also interested in archival projects, she has developed a cataloguing system for ethnic recordings with composer Martin Bartlett, and has organized Gunther Schuller’s personal collection.