Music Teachers
Mr.Zion
Zion Fritzinger is a guitarist and educator based out of the Philadelphia area. At 25 years old, he has been professionally playing and studying music for over 17 years of his life. After attending the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Zion has been teaching music professionally since 2017. Having studied under some of the most skilled and talented musicians on the East Coast, he offers an extremely wide array of music skills and knowledge for students any age. While mostly focusing on Jazz and improvised based music, Zion’s music background includes roots of blues, rock, hip hop, pop, funk, reggae, etc.
An extremely important aspect to his teaching process is inspiration. He feels as if students own curiosity and passion for the music is what really fuels their fire for learning. While Making sure to keep the students inspired, he also makes sure to focus on topics such as: music theory; how to develop ones individual process, how to develop healthy practice habits, sight reading, learning music by ear, ear training, improvising, how to develop good technique, and composing.
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Ms. Chrissie
With her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education (vocal emphasis) from Temple University, Chrissie is a certified music teacher. She has been teaching music in classrooms and in private lessons since 2005. Her performance repertoire includes multiple languages, dialects, and many diverse styles. She is an experienced composer, recording artist, and live performer. Chrissie regularly performs vocal jazz, popular music with her wedding band, and original music with her quartet iNFiNiEN. Chrissie's combination of training, talent, and musical passion encourages her students to relax and enjoy being musicians.
Mr. Ajibola
Ajibola Jeremy Rivers, is a Nigerian-Cherokee performing artist of many talents. He has received classical training as a cellist and is a self-taught bass guitarist and composer. He teaches viola, cello, bass, and bass guitar. He has a number of works in development, and between works he performs professionally in collaboration with various artists all along the East Coast of the United States.
Music Teachers
Mr. Eric
Eric McGarry is a guitarist, composer and educator based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
McGarry is a graduate of the University of the Arts with a Master of Music in Jazz Studies. Prior to completing his Master of Music, McGarry earned a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance with Honors, and a Minor in Music Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology from the University of the Arts. McGarry tailors his lessons to fit the students’ musical interests, along with introducing necessary concepts in order to ensure that they grow fully as a musician.
Mr. Francois
Composer, arranger and percussionist. Born in Cuba, Zayas graduated from the Instituto Superior de Artes (ISA) in 1998. He taught there, while still a student and after graduation and was a member of the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba. During this time he collaborated on different projects with bands of diverse backgrounds, including Jazz, Hip Hop, and Rock. From 1994 to his establishment in the USA in 2006, he made several international tours with different groups. In the last ten years he has collaborated with many musicians, choreographers, and educators, sometimes with his own arrangements or original compositions, at other times as an instrumentalist.
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Ms. Rosalie
Jazz musician/singer song writer Rosalie Swana has been teaching a wide range of students for five years, ages ranging from 3 to over 65. The daughter of a jazz musician, Rosalie came up fully immersed in Philadelphia’s rich Jazz culture. She started singing at the age of 3 and then pursued trumpet. Shortly after, Swana began studying piano at the Curtis Institute of Music and continued until she was 18. Throughout high school, Rosalie sang as well as played trumpet in various Jazz programs throughout the greater Philadelphia area. At the age of 18, Rosalie released her first album, which then followed a short tour, all while taking classes at The University of The Arts. Swana continues to perform at various Jazz venues in Philadelphia. She currently teaches piano, ukulele, and vocal lessons. Rosalie’s most important goal when teaching is to make sure that each of her students develop their own musical identity. She believes that the most important aspect of music is not the performance, but the ability to listen.
Music Teachers
Mr. Luigi
Luigi Mazzocchi studied in the Venezuelan El Sistema and the Latin American Violin Academy with José F. del Castillo. He was a first violinist of the “Simón Bolívar” Symphony Orchestra and performed as soloist with the leading Venezuelan symphony orchestras. He attended international music festivals in Latin America, the US, Spain, France, and Australia and is a prizewinner of such competitions as the Venezuelan “Del Castillo” Latin American Competition and the 1999 FOSJA, performing as soloist in the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. Mr. Mazzocchi studied with Liliana Ciulei at Rowan University and with Helen Kwalwasser at Temple University, and has coached with D. Arben, M. Pardee, Y. Zivoni, Z. Bron, O. Charlier, T. Tanaka, W. de Pasquale, L. Biava, and C. Parker.
Currently, he is the Concertmaster of the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, Concertmaster of the Ocean City Pops, Acting Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and Lancaster Symphony, Associate Concertmaster of the Delaware Symphony, and a member of Opera Philadelphia, Philly Pops, the AVA Orchestra, West Jersey Chamber Society, Pyxis Piano Quartet, and Camerata Philadelphia. Mr. Mazzocchi plays on a Riccardo Antoniazzi violin (Milan, 1887) kindly loaned by Dr. William Stegeman. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife Maria and two children Luigi P. and Andrea.
Mr. Alex
Born in Versailles, France, Alexandre started playing bass when he was 14 years old. In order to expand his musical skills and get closer to the origins of American music, he moved to Philadelphia at the end of 2013. He studied with Mike Boone, Steve Beskrone, Anthony Tidd, Steve Coleman, John Swana, among many others. He released two albums "The French Quarter“ and "To My Brothers” featuring John Swana. “Alex was completely all in, no bullshit. Everybody kind of rallied around him. He’s got an edge. And he’s become a fine composer”. Steve Beskrone, Jazz Times “His well crafted tunes, Parisian influence, finely articulated bass, and commitment to his own way of playing have all the earmarks of a serious contributor to the evolving jazz scene.” Vic Schermer, All About Jazz
Mr. Gabriel
Gabriel Furtado is a Philadelphia-based guitarist, singer and composer. Beginning as a Brazilian-style guitarist, first learning from his professional-musician uncle in Natal, BR, Gabriel later expanded into classical and steel-string styles, honing his craft in performances across South America, Europe and the States. From Bach suites to bar stages, Gabriel feels at home anywhere that's acoustic. As a teacher, Gabriel strives to expand his students' horizons, dialing in the fundamentals while digging in to find the "playful" in learning how to play. His teaching philosophy is rooted in the idea that becoming a musician starts with stretching how one hears, and in doing so, how one thinks.