Lessons - Piano

Joe Elefante (Woodwinds/Piano) –

Joe grew up in New Providence, attended New Providence public schools, New York University, and New Jersey City University. He has traveled 4 continents as a jazz pianist, saxophonist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Joe has musically directed, conducted, or played countless musical theater productions, including several at the Paper Mill Playhouse and Jersey Boys on Broadway. For a year, Joe was the associate conductor for the Jersey Boys national tour and still sometimes conducts the show on Broadway.

Joe founded, led, and was the principal composer for the Joe Elefante Big Band for five years. This band was the house band at Cecil's Jazz Club for three years, and was featured on ABC's Nightline and in an article by Nat Hentoff for the Wall Street Journal. Currently, Joe works at Elefante Music, subs on Jersey Boys, is a freelance composer/arranger/ performer, and is very active as a clinician in the area schools.

Jeanne Holder (Brass/Piano) –

Jeanne received a B.M. from the Eastman School of Music where she majored in trombone and minored in piano and music education. She also has a Master's Degree from Temple in Theory and Composition. She studied trombone with Carsten Svanberg, Glenn Dodson, and Roy Stevens, and piano with Lynne Howard and Polly McKeever. She has taught band, chorus, brass, and piano at several schools and colleges in Florida and New Jersey.

Jeanne is also an active performer, playing with the Livingood Big Band, St. John's River City Brass Band, Jacksonville Symphony, Cathedral Brass, Goldman Band, and many others. She has many of free-lancing experience in Broadway shows, Dixieland, Big Band Jazz, cruise ships, recordings and tours.

Jeanne has been elected to the Board of Advisors for the International Trombone Association, has published several articles on teaching brass, conducted the North Jersey Area Band and Melbourne Municipal Band, and has been commissioned to write over 50 arrangements for various ensembles. In addition, she has run music festivals throughout the U.S. and Canada for the past three years.

Galina Izmaylov (Piano) –

Galina is a professional pianist who graduated with honors from the Moscow Academy of Music in Russia. She has been teaching children and adults for over 30 years, with the last 10 in New Jersey.

Galina developed her own accelerated teaching method, allowing her students to quickly learn to play full songs, personalizing it for each student. Her students impress their audiences with professional quality performances, drawing on the music theory and performance manners she teaches them. Her teaching repertoire includes classical and jazz music. She allocates the lesson time precisely, utilizing every moment for maximum learning for her students, each segment specifically designed to improve a particular skill.

Galina is in the process of obtaining certification for teaching vocal performance. She lives in Parsippany and has two grown-up children also living in NJ.

Chiaki Morimoto (Piano) –

Chiaki has been teaching at Elefante Music since 2002. She studied piano with Yuriko Iwamura and Sueko Matida, who graduated from Musashino Music School in Japan. She has studied Bach, Beethoven, Burgmuller, Chopin, Czerny, Hanon, Mozart, and much more. Chiaki has also performed as an accompanist for vocal, piccolo, and flute students.

Oliver Shapiro (Cello/Piano) –

Oliver studied cello with Mary Gili, Channing Robbins (Juilliard), Michael Haber (NY Philharmonic), and Karen Pinoci (New Philharmonic of NJ). He studied piano with Boris Bazala and William Dawson (Amherst Summer Music Center).

He has performed with numerous orchestras, including the Metropolitan Orchestra, Ridgewood Symphony's Project Symphony, Bloomfield Symphony, Society of Musical Arts, South Orange Symphony, Columbia-Barnard Symphony, West Orange Collegiate Music Association, and many other chamber groups and societies. He has been teaching privately since 1974.

Oliver has extensive vocal and choral experience. In addition, he has had compositions and arrangements commissioned by various performing groups. Oscar believes in educating each student as a musician, not only as a cellist/pianist, and including aspects of theory and history as the situation - and student's interests and capabilities - warrant.

Marina Stefanovsky (Violin/Viola/Piano) –

Marina received her Bachelor's and Master's Degree from Gnessins Academy of Music in Moscow. She taught at Moscow City Music School from 1985-1990. Since 1990, Marina has been teaching privately in Russia, New York, and New Jersey. She was an instructor at the Village Music Guild in New York City and Arts on the Hudson in Jersey City.

Marina has extensive experience teaching violin, viola, and music theory. She has instructed individuals and groups, conducted string orchestras, and transcribed music for string instruments. Maria prides herself on being a responsible and reliable person, as well as a motivated, creative, and patient teacher.

Harriette Steinberg (Piano) –

Harriette received her B.S. in Music Education from New York University. At a young age she began piano lessons with Clara Husserl, whose other students included no less than Liberace! Clara Husserl studied with Leschetitzky, who studied with Czerny, who studied with Liszt, who studied with Beethoven. So any of Harriette's students can be said to be direct musical "descendants" of Beethoven!

Harriette has taught K-9 and vocal music in NJ public schools. She spent many years performing as a vocalist and pianist, often performing as her own accompanist. She received a Heart Grant from the Union County Division of Cultural Affairs, funding a series of performances at community centers, libraries, and senior centers. Harriette prefers a traditional approach to music education, with sight reading, technique, music theory, and selections suitable to the student's ability.

Raising her two sons and participating in her granddaughters' lives has been the great joy of Harriette's life. A former docent at the Bronx Zoo, Harriette is an animal lover, and is presently accompanied by Captain Mortimer, a loving cat of significant girth.

Steve Ujfalussy (Woodwinds/Piano) –

Steve is from a musically talented family in Ridgefield Park, NJ. While attending high school there he began his musical studies with saxophonist Frank Elmo (Joe Cocker, Julian Lennon) and was one of 55 NJ students selected for the NJPAC Jazz for Teens program, run by jazz legend Rufus Reid. Steve then attended New Jersey City University, double majoring in Jazz & Classical Saxophone. During this time he studied with many renowned saxophonists: Tim Ries (Rolling Stones, Maria Schneider Orch) Walt Weiskopf (Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan), Jim Snidero, Jane Ira Bloom, Dan Willis, Roger Rosenberg, and Allen Won. Steve has been teaching and performing throughtout the metro area since 2000. He taught woodwinds & piano at Ackerman's School of Music in Midland Park, NJ for 5 years. Steve joined Elefante Music in January of 2007.

Currently he is a member of New Arts NYC (www.newartsnyc.com) a group of artists & musicians hosting concerts in Central Park. Steve is also a member of NOLA Preservation Society, a non-profit charity organization dedicated to the cultural preservation and revitalization of the Gulf Coast region. Steve contributes time to their local programs as well as in New Orleans through musical performance, music therapy, and instruction.

Steve is a versatile musician who can perform and instruct a variety of instruments, including: all saxophones, Bb & Bass clarinets, flute, and piano. Steve has performed with: The Village Vanguard Orch, Paquito D'Rivera, Benny Golson, the New York Voices, Charles McPhearson, Byron Stripling, and Conrad Herwig.

Carolyn Warren (Piano) –

Carolyn Warren studied piano with Muriel Kilby, the Detroit Symphony's pianist. During this time, she attended the Chautauqua Institute in New York for intensive studies and master classes. More recently, she attended Westminster Choir College for work in piano pedagogy.

Carolyn has experience as an accompanist for instrumentalists and vocalists, and has performed many times with the Summit Symphony, and for churches in the area. She has volunteered to accompany students at many areas school and for local musical events.

Ms Warren is a member of a piano teachers' group whose mission is to achieve more success in teaching through shared experience, and to provide performance opportunities for their students. She is a board member for Sunday Afternoon Music, a concert series held at the Unitarian Church in Summit.

The former owner of the "World of Music" in Summit, NJ, Carolyn is also a retired member of the New Jersey Bar.

Brooke Winakur (Voice/Piano) –

Brooke studied Music Education at Vanguard University, and later received her Master's of Music in Vocal Performance from Colorado State University. She has been teaching privately and at performing arts centers, camps, and Colorado State University since 2004. She studied voice with Melody Rossi, Cynthia Vaughn, and Patrice Burgstahler, and was a member of the Young Artist Program at Hot Springs Music Festival and Operafestival di Roma.

Brooke has performed Suor Angelica, Brundibar, Albert herring, Carmen, The Mikado, The Sound of Music, Cosi Fan Tutte, Die Fledermaus, and Mozart's Vespers. She won Outstanding Recital/Vocal Performance of the year at Vanguard University, Solo Compeition Finalist at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and 1st Place in the Graduate Division of the National Association of Teachers and Students Competition.

Andrzej Winnicki (Piano) –

As a classical and jazz pianist Andrezej has toured all over Eastern Europe, including Poland, the former Soviet Union, Germany, and the Czech and Slovak Republics. His quintet won a Polish National Jazz Competition, and recorded and performed on nationally broadcasted radio and television.

Since coming to the US, Andrzej has continued his professional musical activities, performing in places like Lincoln Center, the Polish Consulate General, St. Peter's Church in New York City, and many top jazz clubs in the Tri-State area. He has played with Jeremy Pelt, Mark Egan, Ralph Alessi, Scott Colley, Rodney Holmes, Nasheet Waits and many other top players on the NYC jazz scene. He has also performed with top stars of Broadway, including Joel Grey and Bernadette Peters.

As a part of the Hank Lane Music organization, Andrzej has played at countless major corporate functions throughout the United States, including Kurt Masur's 70th birthday celebration for the New York Philharmonic, many New York City Ballet fundraisers, and events for many major corporations. He has also performed at many top celebrity functions, including the Kennedy's and Donald Trump and Carla Maples's wedding.

Andrzej has been an active member of ASCAP since 1997 and local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians in New York City since 1989. He is also a recording artist for J-Bird Records and WM Records and has released three CDs ("In the Bush," "Crazy Girl," and "Requiem") of his own compositions on these labels.