About Us

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Piano

Jiri Nedoma is a Czech born jazz pianist, former member and soloist of the

Czech Radio Bigband. With degrees from the Berklee College Of Music and New

England Conservatory Jiri decided to pursue his music career in the Greater Boston

area, where he performs regularly and works as a session musician and a piano

instructor.

Jiri studied with such renowned jazz musicians as Joanne Brackeen, Hal

Crook, Fred Hersch and Jerry Bergonzi, to name a few and worked and recorded

with Terri Lyne Carrington, Albino Mbie, Nadia Washington, and trombonist Hal

Crook, among others.

Drums & Percussion

Adam Salameh, a graduate of Berklee College of Music is a professional drummer and educator from the Boston area. Adam is best known for his work as the drummer and co-songwriter of Air Traffic Controller, an indie-pop group who has toured the US and internationally with performances in clubs and at festivals including Sundance Film Festival, SXSW and more sharing the stage with well-known artists including Dave Matthews Band, The Wknd, Justin Bieber, and Trombone Shorty. The band's accolades include over 15 million Spotify plays, NPR Hot 100 List, Guardian UK Band of The Day, a Boston Music Award, and numerous Independent Music Awards. Aside from performing with Air Traffic Controller, Adam can be found performing with many other musical projects including The Shakespearean Jazz Show, a theatrical group with whom he's performed across the country and acted as producer of the debut album Speak The Speech.

Adam applies his real world music business experience towards being an energetic, knowledgeable, and fun teacher. With a decade of experience teaching both private lessons and groups including award-winning high school drumlines, indoor percussion ensembles and music camps. Adam's roster of students range from 5 to 60 in age and from beginner to highly elite. Built off the principle that every student is different, Adam's lessons are tailored to the unique needs, musical tastes, and learning style of each student. Whether you're picking up a pair of drumsticks for the first time ever, preparing for an audition, or just looking to improve as a musician, Adam has you covered.

Guitar & Bass & Voice 

Nate picked up the guitar at age twelve and hasn’t put it down since.  He has written hundreds of songs, has released dozens of albums, ep’s and singles.  Many of his projects have been nominated for awards including Best Live Act by the Boston Music Awards.  Nate has played many if not all of Boston’s most notable clubs, has opened for Coldplay, Snow Patrol and more.  He’s also toured outside of Boston from NYC to Austin, TX.  In addition to being a professional musician he’s also an established engineer and producer.

Nate Leavitt has been performing music in Boston for a little over twenty years. While most of that time was spent with the supercharged soul band The Blizzard of 78, he now spends his time pulling guitar duty with the bands Parlour Bells and Old Jack, as well as setting out on his own as a solo artist. 

Nate has been an instructor since 2007 and truly enjoys passing on his experience through positive encouragement.  He is well studied in Rock, Blues, Alternative, Folk and much more.

Voice & Piano

Kayleigh Bennett is a Boston based mezzo-soprano vocalist and voice/piano teacher. She received her Masters in Vocal Performance with a concentration in opera at New England Conservatory, where she studied with Jane Eaglen. She received her Vocal Music Education and Music Performance majors from Moravian University, where she studied with Megan Durham and Suzanne Kompass. She was selected for and performed with the Up North Vocal Institute in 2019. In the 2021/2022 season she performed the role of Lena in the Serbian opera Svadba and The Spirit in Dido and Aeneas at New England Conservatory of Music. She is currently the alto section leader and soloist with St. Cecilia's of Boston. 

Kayleigh has taught dozens of students over her five years of private lesson teaching in both Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. While she studied classical music, she also has a passion for musical theater and modern music. Her students have gone on to record albums, earn spots in select choirs, become leads of musicals, and get into college for music based careers. Kayleigh teaches to encourage an enduring passion in music, whether as a hobby or career. She uses academically proven techniques while engaging in what the students find interesting. Her goal is for every student to find success and improve in a welcoming, fun environment. 

Piano, voice, guitar, ukulele & songwriting

Zanna hails from southern California, where her parents (both of whom were also teachers) first enrolled her in piano lessons after they noticed her running back and forth to play the commercials she would hear on TV.  She had her first live vocal performance in a school talent show at age five, and not long after that she was recruited into the Pacific Chorale’s Children’s Chorus. She studied Music Business at San Francisco State University while concurrently studying Voice at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, but she then left the bay area for Boston on a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, where she graduated with a double degree in Vocal Performance and Songwriting.  

She is proficient in various styles, including jazz, country, pop, folk, blues, and rock, and is often requested for backup vocal support in both the studio and on stage; she has recorded and performed live with Gabrielle Louise, Mike Greenstein, Dwight & Nicole, Berklee Professors Dan Bowden and Gwen Leathers, as well as the rock band, Auditorium.  Touring with cover bands “Led to Zep,” and “Pink Voyd” offered her the chance to solo the very demanding “Great Gig in the Sky.” She has also performed with multiple general business bands including Jerry Bennett’s “The Sultans,” “Music School Dropouts,” “Alley Blues,” and the “World Gone Crazy Band,” while also seeking out more experimental soundscapes with “Four Piece Suit” and “Bangalore.” She additionally employed her speaking voice as the “Voice of God” for Reebok and similar voice over work. 

At Rear Window Studios in Brookline, Zanna worked as an Assistant Engineer and Production Manager, where recent notable album credits include working with Yo-yo Ma and Carlos Santana.  Zanna is often composing and performing her own music, which can be found on streaming services everywhere, in addition to terrestrial and online radio. She has been honored by the Billboard World Song Contest and was invited to perform at Berklee’s Songwriter Night. More recently her original song, “Orange Afternoon” was featured in the film, “American Pie : Girls Rules.”  Since 2009, Zanna has been teaching voice, guitar, piano, theory, songwriting, arranging, and recording, focusing on the technical, historical, and emotive aspects of music….but the single most important factor in Zanna’s lessons is FUN!

Drums

Chris Laskey is a dedicated and hard working professional drummer and educator from Boston, MA.  He is best known for being the drummer/co songwriter of his original band, “Kooked Out”. Chris attended Berklee College of Music from 2014 - 2015. During his time there, Chris studied with professors such as John Hazilla, Bob Tamagni and Enrique de Almieda working on his technique, timing and feel. He has also worked and studied with Neil Grover of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 4 years, building custom drum sets for Grover Pro Percussion and becoming proficient in the orchestral side of drumming. All of these experiences lead Chris to become a very versatile teacher. He has over 13 years of drumming experience, 6 years of teaching experience, 5 years of touring experience and 5 years of recording experience in studios all over the state. You may also find Chris and his band busking outside in Faneuil Hall during the day and then heading to play a show that same night. Chris displays his versatility when he plays the Cajon at these shows; and he is able to teach that percussion instrument as well. Chris can help you improve any area of your drumming from sight reading to improvising and everything in between.

Voice & Piano

Eros Canetti is a local multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter/arranger who graduated with a degree in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music. 

He grew up in the songwriting, musical theatre, a cappella, and choir spheres giving him versatility and expertise to maneuver effectively. Trained in voice since the age of 6, Eros took nearly two decades worth of musical knowledge into his own voice lessons. Leading several a cappella groups as musical director, he has experience teaching on an individual level as well as larger group settings. Being a live performer himself, he actively puts his techniques to practice. He also teaches music theory, songwriting, and music production. His favorite styles are Pop, Jazz, Musical Theatre, R&B, and Rock.

Violin & Piano & Voice & Guitar & Ukulele

Amanda Thonn has been studying music her whole life. Her passion showed at an early age

and it was clear that it would be the forefront of her life and career. Amanda is a multi-

instrumentalist focusing on violin/fiddle, voice, guitar, ukulele, piano and theory. She has been

teaching for over 13 years and has experience working with students of all ages and abilities.

She teaches all genres and styles of music from classical, rock, pop, jazz, old time and

anything in between.

Not only is Amanda an intuitive teacher, she is also a heartfelt performer. You can find her

performing throughout the area in various groups. Playing at music festivals to weddings, she

uses her live performance experience to help her students prepare for being in bands and

further their education.

Voice & Piano

Lily Craelius works as an educator, producer, and signed artist for the Innovative Artists Agency. She is from Chicago, Illinois originally. Since entering and graduating college in New York City, she has been an active member in the performance industry there for the past eight years. She graduated from Pace University with a Bachelor's in Fine Arts for Acting and Vocal. Proficient in musical theater singing, jazz, classical and more; She is so excited to bring what she's learned to the students here in the Boston, MA area. Specialities include audition training, vocal visualization (where to place the voice within the body), and diaphragmatic breathing (strengthening the core to expand vocal range). 

Voice, Piano, Ukulele, Trumpet

Moira is a pianist, singer, and multi-instrumentalist hailing from Houston, TX. She moved to the Boston area in 2012 to study music and liberal arts at Brandeis University. Locally, she has performed with groups at venues such as The Middle East, Les Zygomates, Wally’s, and several others and has played all throughout New England and NYC. 

Moira has experience in a wide range of genres such as pop, jazz, r&b, classical, and Brazilian-derived genres such as MPB and bossa nova. She also frequently works as a Music Director for musical improv comedy troupes. 

Moira has been teaching since 2014 for ages 4 to 65 and loves watching students grow and develop their unique passions.

Voice & Piano

Mara Sofia Bettencourt is an Educator & Singer-songwriter. She was born in Terceira island, in the Azores, Portugal. Her passion for music began at a very young age. She began to write her first songs at 15 years old.

Mara has over 12 years of experience as an educator. She has worked both in private and public schools teaching Music and Languages PreK - Adult. She enjoys teaching, mentoring, coaching, tutoring and helping each student succeed! Her life mission is to inspire others to be who they are, and to not be afraid to follow their dreams! She believes that the arts are the most original reflection of our essence, the most powerful tool to inspire self-expression and to make the World a better place!

Mara writes, composes, records and performs original songs in different languages and enjoys collaborating with other musicians and producers.

She holds a BPS in Interdisciplinary Music Studies from Berklee College of Music, a M.M in Educational Innovation and Improvement from the University of Michigan and is currently a PhD Student at the European Graduate School.

Guitar, Ukulele

Austin Parent is a musician from Haverhill, Massachusetts. For over a decade, Austin has been playing guitar and writing music, drawing from his education and experience in performing and teaching. His proficiency spans various genres, including Rock, Blues, Jazz, Pop, and Funk, showcasing his versatility as both a musician and instructor. He studied music at Northern Essex Community College and will be pursuing further education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the Music Business program. Austin has garnered recognition in the greater Boston area through his performances with multiple bands and his role as a music educator.

He offers comprehensive guitar and ukulele lessons tailored to students of all ages and skill levels. Austin's teaching approach encompasses not only practical skills but also a foundational understanding of music theory and performance techniques. Through his dedication, he has solidified his reputation as an influential presence in the local music scene, leaving a lasting impact as both a performer and a mentor.

Violin, Fiddle, Mandolin, Banjo

Peter Raymond Subramanian is a native of Havertown, PA and graduate of Berklee College of Music. His primary style is Irish traditional fiddle, but he is well-versed in Old Time, Scottish, and classical violin. Peter believes that participation in music is vital to the growth and development of children, as well as an important way for adults to stay connected to larger communities in a rapidly changing society. Peter often leads sessions in the Boston area, and he teaches classical violin, fiddle, clawhammer banjo, mandolin, and beginner guitar.

Guitar, Bass, Mandolin, Ukulele, Piano

Kevin Tran is a versatile musician and dedicated teacher with years of experience both performing and sharing his passion for music. He began playing upright bass, bass guitar, and guitar at the age of 12, later expanding his skills to include drums, piano, ukulele, and mandolin during his college years.

Kevin studied at UMass Lowell, where he started as a Computer Science major before deciding to pursue music. During his time there, he gained real-world experience performing with bands and teaching students, developing a well-rounded approach to music education.

Kevin’s goal as an instructor is to create an engaging and supportive environment that helps students grow their skills and confidence, no matter their level or musical interests.

Cello

Lazar Kaminsky is a cellist based in the Boston area. Throughout his life, Lazar has won competitions, and performed major solo, chamber, and orchestral works around the world. Some of Lazar’s successes include winning the AIMS Festival Concerto Competition (first prize 2015, 2019), the Concord Young Artist Competition (first prize), and the International New York Solo Competition (first prize and special prize). Lazar has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the AIMS Festival Orchestra and the Concord Orchestra. He was principal cellist of the New England Conservatory Youth Symphony during their 2019 season and has now been principal cellist of the New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra for the past two years. Lazar has performed in many parts of the world, including the US, Italy, Spain, Israel, France, Mexico, and Russia.

Voice

Isabel Molettieri is a graduate of Muhlenberg College, where she earned a degree in Theatre and Music with concentrations in acting and vocal performance. In addition to teaching private voice lessons, she is also a teaching artist at the Wheelock Family Theatre. Additionally, she has served as an intern at New York Vocal Coaching and a counselor at Five Star Theatre Company. Isabel is also a performer! She has had experience singing several styles of music, including musical theatre, opera, pop, and jazz. Teaching voice has been a dream of Isabel’s since she began voice lessons herself, and her goal is to provide all of her students with the tools to be the best musician they can be! 

Guitar

John has been playing guitar for over 20 years and teaching for the past decade at various local music schools in the area. With a versatile teaching style and a fun and passionate approach, he is able to work closely to meet the individual needs of each student. His vast knowledge of music theory and styles of guitar playing, including everything from Blues to Punk Rock, will help you reach your specific musical goals.

As the guitarist and singer of the New England Music Awards nominated band 'Kooked Out', John performs regularly and can be heard on Spotify, Apple Music and all other streaming services. Kooked Out's debut record 'Vis Viva' has landed on multiple Spotify playlists and radio stations including 92.5 The River, Little Stevie's Underground Garage, and Boston Emissions. At Onset School of Music Music School, we are passionate about music and dedicated to providing the best music education to our students. Our experienced instructors offer individual and group lessons for beginners to advanced students. We offer a wide range of music instruction, including piano, guitar, drums, vocals, and more. Our facilities are equipped with the latest technology to enhance the learning experience. We also offer performance opportunities so our students can showcase their skills to a live audience. Join us today and discover the joy of making music!

Voice

Anabel is a local vocalist and singer/songwriter with a degree in Theatre Performance from Wagner College. Anabel teaches various contemporary styles of American pop/rock music, such as 70s folk, disco, 80s rock, contemporary rock, and more. She specializes in teaching musical theatre performance and audition prep (classical and contemporary pop/rock) to prepare vocalists of all backgrounds for not only strength, support, agility, and style, but also live performance.