Private Lessons Faculty
Lisa Anderson - Dance
Lisa Anderson is currently the Dance Director at North Broward Preparatory School, overseeing all things dance from Prek3-12th grade. She has been dancing since the age of three and holds a BA in Dance from Keene State College, as well as an MFA in Dance from the University of California Irvine. Her specialties include contemporary, modern, jazz, and choreography/composition. Aside from teaching and choreographing, she also has a great passion for dance photography.
Bela Apuzzio - Piano
Bela Apuzzio serves as a private piano instructor and accompanist at NBPS Arts Academy for over 7 years based out of Boca Raton, FL. Bela has over 35 years of experience training all levels, from beginners to advanced, and college prep. Bela obtained her bachelor of music degree in piano performance and pedagogy from the premier music conservatory in former Czechoslovakia. Right from the start, her talent was recognized and Bela studied with college Prof. Vera Vlkova and completed her degree with internationally distinguished pianist Ivan Klansky.
Bela participated in several competitions expanding her recognition while performing with the North Czech Philharmonic. She then went on to teach master classes shortly afterward at Prague School of Arts, The Military Conservatory of Vita Nejedleho, and The Kadan School of the Arts. In 1989 she had the opportunity to come to the United States where she studied intensive English at FIU and shortly became hired as a main accompanist for the entire music department.
After attending a seminar on “The Dorothy Taubman Approach”, Bela expanded her love and passion for teaching and while gaining a curiosity for western teaching ideology. She relocated to New York City and was awarded the opportunity to study with Dorothy Taubman’s colleague Edna Golandsky. The Dorothy Taubman Approach is a groundbreaking analysis of the mostly invisible motion that function underneath a virtuoso technique. It prevents and heals injuries of professional musicians. Bela was able to gain further techniques to apply to her students and increase their learnings.
One of her favorite music advisers was a famous American pianist, Seymour Bernstein, and Mariel Bossert where Bela expanded her knowledge and passes this along to her students.
In addition to having the privilege of teaching at NBPS Arts Academy, Bela Apuzzio has an expansive private studio where she has been teaching for the past 31 years cultivating talent that can be seen playing on stages and attending prestigious universities all throughout the United States and the Czech Republic.
Kelly Dow - Guitar
After high school, Kelly studied guitar at the Southwest Guitar Conservatory and went on to earn his bachelor of music degree at the University of North Texas. He began his performing career on the high seas playing the cruise ship circuit, both as a bandleader and showband performer.
In 1995 he met vocalist Julie Davis and founded the jazz group, Davis and Dow. Julie and Kelly created and produced three touring shows, all of which were awarded touring grants from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. Together they toured colleges, performing art centers, and festivals, taking them all across the U.S. plus London and Tokyo. Davis and Dow have produced multiple recordings that have garnered rave reviews and national radio airplay. Kelly’s career highlights with Davis and Dow include performing original music for the television show Food Nation With Bobby Flay, performing for Disney, opening for Cindi Lauper at Sun Fest, opening for Chick Corea at The Wellington Jazz Festival, and sharing the stage with jazz luminaries such as Dr. Lonnie Smith, Bucky Pizzarelli, Monty Alexander, and others. Davis and Dow continue to actively perform in the south Florida community and beyond.
Kelly is also an expert at playing the extended range 7 string guitar popularized by John and Bucky Pizzarelli. In addition to traditional lessons, Kelly is a certified Suzuki Guitar Teacher. He is excited to be starting a new Suzuki Guitar program at North Broward.
Elena Galván - Voice
Daniel Gerdes - Voice
Daniel Gerdes, tenor, a native of Islip, New York, received his degrees in Vocal Performance from Florida State University and from New England Conservatory.
He made his international debut as Paride in Gluck’s Paride ed Elena with Opera Piccola Bremen in Germany. He was a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre Saint Louis where he covered the role of Pedrillo in The Abduction from the Seraglio and returned to the Opera Theatre Saint Louis to sing the role of Spirit of the Masque in Britten’s’ Gloriana, Borsa in Rigoletto. Mr. Gerdes was a young artist with The Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, where he covered the role of Ernesto in Don Pasquale. He covered the role of Count Libenskof in Il Viaggio a Reims with New York City Opera. He sang the tenor soloist for Carmina Burana with the Tupelo Symphony, and the Evangelist in Bach’s Johannes Passion with the Florida State University Symphony. He sang A Man with a Paint Box in Postcard from Morocco, Dr.S in Michael Nyman’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, Tamino in The Magic Flute, and Il Conte d’Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the Boston University Opera Institute. He returned to Santa Fe Opera as an apprentice and sang the role of Benedict in Béatrice et Bénédict in the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice scene program. He was the Tenor Soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Shostakovich’s From Jewish Folk Poetry both with Florida Atlantic University, the Tenor Soloist in Mozart’s Requiem the Evangelist in Bach’s Johannes Passion both with University of Wisconsin La Crosse and Alfred in Die Fledermaus at Mississippi College. He was Ferrando in Così fan tutte with Winter Opera Saint Louis and Frederic in Pirates of Penzance with Opera Louisiane. He was the tenor soloist for both the Messiah and L’enfance du Christ with the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus & Orchestra and debuted with Florida Grand Opera as Third Jew in Salome.
He lives in South Florida with his wife and three children, where he continues to sing and teach voice, as well as martial arts as a second degree black belt in Tang Soo Do.
Nicole Granroth - Flute
Nicole Granroth is a Fort Lauderdale-based flutist who has over a decade of international performing and teaching experience. Originally from Milford, Michigan, she received a Bachelor degree in music from Grand Valley State University and a Masters degree in flute performance from the Hartt School of Music (University of Hartford). During her last year of school, she won a job playing second flute/piccolo with the Orquesta Sinfonica Sinaloa de las Artes in Culiacan, Mexico and moved abroad for the adventure of a lifetime. While there, she toured the country with the orchestra, playing in venues such as the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, and in festivals like the International Cervantino Festival in Guanjuato and the International Ricardo Castro Music Festival in Durango. Additionally, she had the opportunity to share the stage with guest artists such as Il Divo, and to perform with other orchestras such as the Orquesta Filarmonica de Jalisco. She was a member of a variety of chamber music ensembles and a teacher of flute and chamber music at the Superior Music School of Sinaloa, where she assisted her students in winning competitions, scholarships, and degrees in music. After leaving Mexico, Nicole moved to Connecticut for a short time and then just recently to Fort Lauderdale. She is currently a flutist with the South Florida Symphony and plays substitute flute/piccolo with the Punta Gorda Symphony, the Symphony of the Americas, and the Space Coast Symphony. She is also currently a flute judge for the International Music and Stars Awards and is the Adjunct Flute Teacher at the North Broward Preparatory School.
Perry Lofgren received his BFA in guitar, graduating with honors, Phi Kappa Phi. He plays and performs in many situations from solo guitar settings to symphony orchestras.
Perry has taught all styles of guitar for students of all ages, in private and group classes. He owned and operated his own music school while completing his music degree at FAU. He continues to teach as a clinician for Broward County Schools, Florida and has been teaching at North Broward Prep school since 2016.
Lynne Camenga - Violin
Lynne MacDonald received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Violin Performance, summa cum laude from Purchase Conservatory, SUNY Purchase, and a Master of Music Degree with an emphasis in Suzuki pedagogy from Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford. In 2000 Ms. MacDonald was one of two violinists selected to study and perform new works composed while in residence at Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, New Music Workshop Yale School of Music. Teachers included Betty-Jean Hagen, Monica Bauchwitz, and Katie Lansdale.
As an orchestral musician, Ms. MacDonald performed with Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, and Vermont Symphony. Notable chamber music Piano Trio and String Quartet performances in the northeast as well as abroad in Switzerland. As a soloist, Ms. MacDonald performed Zigureweisen and Barber Violin Concerto with orchestras in New York and Connecticut.
In addition to studying and performing classical music, Ms. MacDonald performed 8 seasons in the pit of Rhinebeck Theater Company, in Hudson Valley NY, and in 2001 was a contest winner in the New England Fiddle Concert “Trick and Fancy” category.
Ms. MacDonald began violin lessons at age 2 and a half from her mother who after meeting Dr. Suzuki at Project Super in 1966 was inspired to teach modeling the philosophy and style of the acclaimed Japanese pedagog. Ms. MacDonald is “first generation” Suzuki, however, extended her experience to include professional certification books 1-8 in addition to completing a teacher practicum at Ithaca College in 2001.
Ms. MacDonald is currently Lower School Music Teacher and Suzuki Director for the North Broward Preparatory School.
Classically trained violinist and passionate educator, Sol Ochoa is a current graduate student at the Lynn Conservatory of Music and an active member of large and small music ensembles in South Florida.
She started music lessons at a young age and began her formal studies at the National Conservatory of Music of Peru with Laszlo Benedeck in 2012, in her hometown Lima. She has attended international music festivals that include the Interlochen Arts Camp, where she received a Fine Arts Award; the Internationale Junge Orchesterakademie’s Easter Festival in Bayern, Germany; the Winter Festival of Campos do Jordão, in São Paulo, Brazil; the Orchestra of the Americas and the Endless Mountain Music Festival, in Pennsylvania.
She received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance, summa cum laude, from the Lynn Conservatory of Music, where she studied with violinist and conductor Guillermo Figueroa and was a recipient of the Shirlee’s Violin and the Boca West Scholarships.
Ochoa has certifications in Suzuki philosophy, early childhood music education, and violin pedagogy. She worked at the Lynn Conservatory Preparatory School of Music from 2018 to 2020, served as a mentor for the Samuel Vargas International Music Foundation, the Volta Music Foundation, and the Nat King Cole Generation Hope Music Foundation, and currently works as Adjunct Violin Instructor at the North Broward Preparatory School.
Colleen Pagano - Voice
Valeria Polunina - Piano
Russian pianist Valeria Polunina, born into an artistic family in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, began concertizing internationally before she was a teenager. Since making her orchestral debut at the age of 15 with Russia’s renowned BACH Chamber Orchestra, Ms. Polunina has gracefully transitioned into a mature artist of technical prowess and elegant artistry. Active as a vocal accompanist, Ms. Polunina collaborated with some of the world’s leading organizations, including the Mariinsky Foundation of America, The Metropolitan Opera, and The Bolshoi Theatre. Raised in Moscow, Ms. Polunina won numerous competitions, both national and international. Her performances have taken her to the most prestigious festivals and halls in the USA and Europe. She has on numerous occasions made appearances in Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and The Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. She has recently appeared in recital at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition First Prize Winners’ Recital at Carnegie Hall hosted by Valeriy Gergiev, and on well-known TV show Good Morning America accompanying the Metropolitan Opera star Pretty Yende. Ms. Polunina currently performs as an accompanist with various artists throughout the United States and Europe.
In 2018, Ms. Polunina accepted position as a Head of Music staff at the Luzerner Theatre, Switzerland. Her contract with the opera ensemble starts in August 2018-2019 season. In 2017-2018, as an operatic pianist and répétiteur, Ms. Polunina was invited to the Metropolitan Opera as a rehearsal pianist in the production of Puccini’s La Bohème conducted by Alexander Soddy and as an assistant conductor for The Metropolitan Opera + The Juilliard School's an "Evening of Verdi" conducted by Evan Rogister. Ms. Polunina is a guest vocal coach at the Bolshoi Theatre where she works closely with Dmitri Vdovin as well as current and recent graduates of the Bolshoi Theatre Young Artist Opera Program. Her recital engagements this season include concerts with tenor Kang Wang at The Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory; at Teatro del Lago's Gala Concert “Voices of the World” in Frutillar, Chile; in New York at the Park Avenue Armory and Bruno Walter Auditorium of The New York Public Library Recital Series; and Musical Tributes by Mariinsky Artists in Miami, Florida, USA. In recent years Ms. Polunina has served as class pianist in the orchestral conducting classes of Alan Gilbert and Jim Ross, and as a vocal coach and rehearsal pianist in Colorado’s Crested Butte Music Festival, Marcello Giordani Young Artist Program, and for several Juilliard Opera productions, including Die Zauberflöte conducted by David Stern.
Ms. Polunina has collaborated with many of the world’s leading solo and collaborative artists including Gerald Finley, Pretty Yende, Angel Blue, and Sofia Fomina. Invited in 2015 as a member of the distinguished Solti Peretti répétiteur residency in Venice Italy, Ms. Polunina had the privilege of playing under the baton of Richard Bonynge.
Ms. Polunina received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Gnessin’s Academy of Music in Moscow under Marina Drozdova (who is one of few students of Professor Mariya Yudina) and her Master of Music in collaborative piano at The Juilliard School studying with Margo Garrett, Diane Richardson, and Jonathan Feldman.
Ms. Polunina is a graduate Metropolitan Opera's Young Artists Development Program.
Francesca Puro - Violin
A South Florida native, Francesca Puro began her violin studies at the age of five at the Palm Beach Suzuki School of Music. Her primary teachers include Joanna Sirlin, Suzanne Walter-Geissler, Bonnie Brown, and Tina Raimondi. Her performance experiences include Southwest Florida Symphony and Five String Quartet for Lynn Conservatory’s New Music Festival in 2020 in collaboration with composer in residence Christopher Theofanidis. Francesca has played alongside and for renowned artists, including: Johannes Moser, Stella Fey Chen, Alec Holcomb, Julian Rhee, Andrea Bocelli, Caroline Campbell, Itzhak Pearlman, Jon Nakamatsu, Elmar Oliviera, and Andrés Cárdenes.
Passionate about quality music education, Francesca is a registered Suzuki teacher, has a private studio, and has worked as a chamber and orchestra coach at Youth All Star! and at Weston Christian Academy. She has notably attended festivals at Brevard Music Center, North Carolina, Harvard, Massachusetts, Kuhmo, Finland, and Iiti, Finland, and has worked as a coach at Weston Music Festival, Florida. During her undergraduate studies, she added viola to her skill set and quickly fell in love with the instrument. Francesca holds a Bachelor of Music degree Summa Cum Laude in violin performance from Lynn Conservatory of Music, where she studied with the esteemed Carol Cole. In her free time, she enjoys baking, cooking, and painting, as well as spending time with her family, her friends, and her rescue dogs Puppy, Pluto, and Roxy.
Maria Antonieta Salas - Cello
Maria Antonieta Salas is a sought-after performer, coach and teacher in South Florida. She serves as Music Director of the International School of Music (ISM) in Doral, and she is also a found of the Miami Youth Orchestra and Choir (MYO). She began her training under the acclaimed "El Sistema" organization in Caracas, where she studied with Marek Gazhler and worked closely with Jose Antonio Abreu. Ms Salas continued her education at the Simon Bolivar Conservatory under and the tutelate of William Molina Cestari. She also received guidance from the Russian-Canadian cellist Yuli Turovsky in Montreal.Her current students are members of local ensembles and attend schools such as New World School of the Arts and Doral Academy Preparatory School. Her fomer students currently participate in professional ensembles, attend prestigious conservatories and universities such as the San Francisco Conservatory, Longy School of Music, Miami Dade College, Florida International University, Syracuse University, Juilliard School, University of Miami and the Manhattan School of Music. Most recently, her cello student Edward Luengo became a prize winner at the Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition and earned first prize at the Buchet International Cello Competition in Belgium.Ms. Salas has appeared regularly in televised performances and has worked alongside Placido Domingo, Ricardo Montaner, Tania de Venezuela, Jennifer Lopez, Il Divo, Il Volo, Oscar D'Leon, Andrea Bocelli and many other distinguished artists. She is currently a member of the cello section of the Miami Symphony Orchestra (MISO) where she plays under the baton of Maestro Eduardo Marturet.
Paul Tine - Voice, Piano
Paul Tine is a Carbonell and Silver Palm Award-winning music director from Connecticut. He studied piano, voice, and politics at Ithaca College and sang with Ithacappella. A passionate teaching artist, Paul has music directed at Stagedoor Manor and has been on faculty for the Bushnell's Ensign-Darling Vocal Fellowship, the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, and Florida Atlantic University. His private voice students have gone on to top collegiate musical theatre programs. As a baritone with the professional choir CONCORA, he was a featured soloist in symphonic concerts under the baton of Dr. Chris Shepard. As a keyboardist, he has performed with veteran Broadway musicians at Westchester Broadway Theatre and has accompanied numerous professional auditions, including in NYC for national and international touring productions. In 2019-2020 Paul music directed the world premiere of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover at Faena Hotel Miami Beach, and he spent this past summer in Colorado performing with Thin Air Theatre Company.
I’m grateful to have another opportunity to work with the amazing students at North Broward! It is immediately evident how many families here prioritize arts education, and it is truly a joy to share my passion for music with a community that loves it too. Learning to appreciate, understand, and perform music is one of the best ways I know to connect with oneself and others, expand the mind, develop discipline, and transcend the ordinary.
The human voice is a uniquely powerful expressive instrument. Vocal health is at the core of my own training and my technical approach with students, as strong fundamentals give us the freedom to explore infinite styles and sounds without risk of injury. As for the piano, it is an unparalleled tool for understanding harmony and for pursuing a variety of musical endeavors. Keyboard instruments allow a single person to create a symphony of sound in real-time.
Though I come primarily from the classical world, over time I've come to specialize in musical theatre and the varied styles it encompasses. No matter what genres students care to pursue, I am excited to help them along their journey as artists. If you'd like to browse some recordings of my students' and my past work, you can find a playlist here.
Erika Venable - Violin
For more than 20 years, Erika Venable has been performing with most of the orchestral ensembles in the Tri-County area. She is currently Co-assistant Concertmaster of the Miami City Ballet Orchestra as well as a Principal Second Violin of the Symphonia of Boca Raton. She was also a core member of the Palm Beach Opera orchestra. She has appeared on stage and in recordings/ videos with a wide variety of artists including Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, Michael Jackson, Bernadette Peters, Jon Secada, and in an MTV Unplugged video featuring Mana.
Mrs. Venable started Suzuki violin at age 6 in a small town in California. Upon moving to Montana at age 11, she flourished in the local music scene, winning first prize in the Alberta Bair concerto competition and performing as a member of the Bozeman Symphony, the MSU Chamber Orchestra, and the Intermountain Opera company, all before graduating from high school. She moved to Oberlin, Ohio, to pursue a double degree in Violin Performance and Math. Upon graduation, her teacher, Greg Fulkerson, encouraged her to apply to the Juilliard School. She was accepted into the Master’s program where she studied with Joseph Fuchs. While in New York, she performed in Carnegie Hall three times - once with her string quartet in Weill Hall, once with the String Seminar Orchestra, (with Alexander Schneider conducting), and once as a member of the New Haven Symphony.
Mrs. Venable participated in the Rocky Ridge, Meadowmount, National Orchestra Institute, Rutgers, and Spoleto, Italy summer music festivals. She moved to Florida to play with the New World Symphony. She has worked with many renowned conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Gerard Schwarz, Christoph Eschenbach, Philip Entremont, Zdeněk Mácal, and Robert Spano.
Mrs. Venable has been teaching privately since before moving to Florida. This is her 11th year at NBPS where her youngest daughter is currently in 11th grade.
Julia Wadsworth - Violin
Hi, my name is Julia Wadsworth and this will be my sixth year as a strings teacher at North Broward Preparatory School! After graduating from the Hartt School of Music with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education, I spent 4 years teaching elementary strings and general music in Phoenix, AZ.
As a violinist, I have had the pleasure of traveling and performing as concertmistress for the Delaware Valley Opera, the New York Summer Music Festival in Oneonta, NY, and the Festival Eleazar de Carvalho in Fortaleza, Brazil. While living in Phoenix I played with the Pro Arte Ensemble, West Valley Symphony, Musica Nova Orchestra, and La Forza Symphony Orchestra.
I have a strong belief in comprehensive musicianship: teaching students of all ages not just how to play music, but also how to understand and create it. This allows music to play many roles. It can challenge the mind, ignite the imagination, and touch one’s soul all at once.
Lauren Washburn - Clarinet
Lauren Washburn is a clarinetist with over 20 years of classical and contemporary performance experience, currently based in the South Florida area. She is a former member of Toccare Winds, the North Texas Wind Symphony, the Four Corners Clarinet Quartet, and the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra (UCBSO). She is now studying with Jon Manasse at the Lynn Conservatory of Music, and is a recent graduate of the master’s program for performance at the University of North Texas (UNT) College of Music, where she studied with Dr. Phillip Paglialonga and Dallas Symphony principal clarinetist Gregory Raden.
Originally from the San Francisco-Bay Area, Lauren received her Bachelor of Arts in Music at the University of California, Berkeley. During the years between her studies at Berkeley and UNT, she worked full-time as a medical school administrator by day and orchestra musician by night with the UCBSO, and she pursued study with clarinetists of the San Francisco and Oakland East Bay Symphonies including Steve Sánchez, Jerome Simas, and Bill Kalinkos. She was promoted to principal clarinetist of the UCBSO in 2016, and afterwards went on to begin her master’s degree at North Texas during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the fall of 2020.
Despite the impact of the pandemic on performance opportunities in the music world, Lauren persevered and gained numerous accolades while pursuing her master’s, winning a regular position with the Toccare Winds, performing solo with the North Texas Wind Symphony as well as her first full-length recital, featuring with the Four Corners Quartet during the guest residency of the Barcelona Clarinet Players and Paquito D’Rivera, and winning first place in the UNT George Papich Chamber Music Competition in spring 2022. She also served as clarinet instructor for both middle and high school levels at Krum Independent School District during this time.
Throughout her career Lauren has competed and placed in numerous soloist competitions and was the 2017 winner of the UC Berkeley Concerto Competition with Debussy’s Premiere Rhapsodie, as well as being a featured soloist during the 2019 Fundación Princesa de Asturias Summer Music Courses in Oviedo, Spain. Her most recent engagement was for the 2022 UCBSO tour of Central Europe, in which she reprised her role as principal clarinetist for performances of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony in major concert halls such as Smetana Hall, the Slovak Radio Symphony Hall, and the Musikverein.