David Malek, El Sistema program director and clarinet teacher, made his solo clarinet debut with the San Antonio Symphony performing Debussy’s Premiere Rhapsody in 1987. Most recently he taught in the Harmony Project, where he worked with underserved students in South Central Los Angeles.
Rebecca Levi, El Sistema program director and K1, K2 and Abreu Orchestra teacher, graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Italian and English Literature in 2007. From 2007 to 2009, she lived in Urubamba, Peru, working in a home for abused children and teaching music and English classes. In 2009, she was chosen as a member of the inaugural group of Abreu Fellows at New England Conservatory and spent the year studying El Sistema in Boston, Los Angeles and Venezuela. Since 2010, she has been co-director of the El Sistema music program at Conservatory Lab. She plays piano, flute and guitar.
Erin Bollacker, choral director, earned her BA in Music (Oboe) from the University of Rochester and her MA in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music. In addition to teaching choir at Conservatory Lab, she teaches general music at the Beverly School for the Deaf/Children’s Center for Communication.
Levi Comstock, viola, received his BM in Music Education from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where he spent two years teaching strings in public schools. He performs in the Brookline Symphony, sings baritone in the Orpheus Singers, and can occasionally be seen moonlighting at bluegrass jams around boston. He is in his second year at Conservatory Lab, working in the El Sistema program as well as the Department of Development, Communications, and Marketing.
Adam Eccleston, flute, was raised in Bad Kreuznach, Germany and studied at Die Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt. Outside of CLCS, he enjoys teaching electronic private lessons to young musicians around the world through YouTube.
Joshua Garver, Strings Leader, earned his B.M. in music education from Indiana University. Joshua spent three years working with the Fairview Violin project, a program that offered beginning violin lessons to an underprivileged elementary school. Joshua enjoys cooking and learning his way around Boston.
Josue Gonzalez, cello/bass, completed his B.M. and M.M. in performance and Suzuki pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His main teachers include Richard Aaron and Melissa Kraut. An avid performer and advocate of new music and baroque performance practice, Josue enjoys performing many different genres music from classical to pop. He is very excited to be a part of the Conservatory Lab family.
Michael Moore, percussion, received his B.A. in Percussion Performance/African-American Music from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Michael is also currently the Director of Percussion at King Philip High School in Wrentham, MA and also enjoys performing throughout the greater New England area.
A musician of diverse interests, Christopher Schroeder (Brass) is a Boston-based, freelance trumpet player and vocalist. He has performed in a variety of groups including symphonies, jazz trios and pit orchestras. An active music educator, Chris works with the North End Music and Performing Arts Center and teaches adult education courses at Brookline Adult and Community Education and New School of Music, Cambridge. In addition to his work with the El Sistema music program at Conservatory Lab, Chris also works in the Department of Development, Communications, and Marketing and will be coordinating the upcoming Picturing America Conference.
Jaya Varma, violin, earned her MM in violin performance from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In addition to her teaching at Conservatory Lab, she also teaches lessons at several area community music schools including the All Newton Music School and serves as Concert Master of the Brookline Symphony.
Tatyana Zhukov