Bobby Spellman
trumpet, brass performance, music theory, improvisation, composition
Bobby Spellman has been teaching lessons in brass performance, music theory, improvisation, and composition since 2005. Bobby studied philosophy at Ithaca College and trumpet performance at Berklee College of Music before earning a Master's degree in jazz trumpet performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. While at NEC, Bobby had the opportunity to study improvisation with John McNeil and Jerry Bergonzi, ensemble performance with Dave Holland, Bob Moses, and Joe Morris, and George Russell's Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization with composer and theorist Ben Schwendener. Bobby is a member of the musical honor society Pi Kappa Lambda.
While living in Boston, Bobby taught lessons and classes in trumpet, trombone and euphonium privately and through several after-school and community music school programs including the River's Edge Arts Alliance in Hudson, MA, the Kittredge Elementary School in North Andover, MA, and the GS Music Center in Medford, MA. Bobby also served as director and arranger for the middle school band ensemble at the Performing Arts Center of Metro West in Framingham, MA.
Bobby currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, and he maintains an active performance schedule covering a wide range of musical styles from jazz and free improvisation to funk, reggae, and Afrobeat. Bobby has performed with Motown legends the Temptations and the Four Tops, reggae groups including John Brown's Body and Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, and with the grammy-nominated jazz ensemble the Either/Orchestra. Bobby currently leads his "Revenge of the Cool" Nonet and the Dingonek Street Band. Bobby has performed or recorded on trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, French horn, trombone, valve trombone, baritone horn, and tuba, and he regularly performs on the rare and quizzical soprano trombone.
Emily Pecoraro
saxophones, clarinets, flutes, woodwind performance, introductory music
Brooklyn-based saxophonist and woodwind doubler Emily Pecoraro is known for her work in divergent ventures across the musical spectrum. In addition to her creative pursuits, Emily has played in a dozen Broadway pit orchestras and touring Broadway productions, and has twice been a chair holder in the orchestra for The Christmas Spectacular featuring the Radio City Rockettes. She has also been a regular tenor and alto saxophone soloist with The Temptations Revue featuring the late Motown legend Dennis Edwards, as well as the tenor saxophonist and lead alto saxophonist with both The Temptations and The Four Tops “New York” horn section, backing up the living Motown legends Otis Williams and Duke Fakir.
As an administrator, Emily worked as the Project Director for WIJO Mentors, the Women in Jazz Organization’s collegiate mentorship program. She is currently the Artistic Director of and curator for The Variousound Sessions, an experimental concert series with a monthly residency at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
With a creative output embracing both groove-based and classical music, Emily has performed and recorded with other such groups as: The Ed Palermo Big Band (New York, NY); The Big Apple Circus (New York, NY); Dingonek Street Band (New York, NY); Big Mean Sound Machine (Ithaca, NY); Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad (Rochester, NY); Manthattan Symphonie (New York, NY), Brooklyn Wind Symphony (Brooklyn, NY), among many others. Emily is the leader and composer for EMPECTET, a Chamber Jazz group based in Brooklyn.
Emily holds her M.M. in Multiple Woodwind Performance from The Boston Conservatory, with concentrations in saxophone, clarinet, and flute. She also holds a B.M. in Music Education from Ithaca College, with an emphasis on jazz performance and pedagogy in addition to traditional studies in music education.
Julia Chen
Piano, improvisation, Songwriting
As a shy bespectacled child, Julia Chen learned to rely on music to express her personality and connect with others in ways she couldn’t with words. Raised in Brooklyn by parents from Poland and China, she grew up learning music by ear before getting her Bachelors in Jazz Piano Performance and a Bachelors in Psychology from the Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio. She plays piano and keyboards with bands of all genres and leads her own quartet, which performs her original compositions in New York City Venues such as the Kitano, Rockwood, the Bitter End, and Nublu. Her music has been self-described as “if Jazz ate a full plate of Baroque Classical music sprinkled with Brazilian Choros and a bit of R&B and then washed it down with some Pop.” Her first EP, “Silver Spoons,” was released in October of 2018 and is named after one of the many beautiful houseplants that fills Julia’s apartment. In April 2020, her trio “Unspooling” released a self-titled album of their original compositions and collaborative works.
Julia has twelve years of experience teaching piano and music lessons to both children and adults. She teaches privately as well as through Soyulla Artists, the Williamsburg Music Studio, and Ridgewood School of Music. She encourages her students to learn music in multiple genres, and to bring in songs or pieces of their own choosing when possible. During lessons she emphasizes improvisation, basic theory knowledge, and ear training. Above all, she attempts to give students music that challenges and excites them, and to help students find a connection to music both within and outside of their lessons.
Tyler Burchfield
Saxophone, Clarinet, Piano, Arranging
Tyler Burchfield is a Brooklyn-based saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director, and educator. Well versed in traditional and modern jazz, funk, R&B, chamber music, Brazilian music, Afrobeat, and more, Tyler offers the unique ability to sound at home in a host of styles, all while maintaining a personal sound rooted in bold rhythms and melodic sensibility.
Originally from Gainesville, Florida, Tyler was exposed to many musical influences growing up, beginning Suzuki piano lessons at age 4 and listening to classic oldies on the car radio. Throughout middle and high school, he added many instruments to his skill set, including guitar, bass, drums, flute, and clarinet, with saxophone becoming his primary instrument in his teen years.
Tyler holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami Frost School of Music and a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. He currently lives in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York with his cat, Franklin, and works as a freelancer on tenor, baritone, alto, and soprano saxophones, as well as clarinet, bass clarinet, keyboards, and flute. He serves on the faculty at the Great Neck Music Conservatory and the Ridgewood School of Music teaching saxophone, clarinet, piano, improvisation, and composition.
Aidan Boardman
Guitar, Ukulele, Songwriting, Introductory Music
Aidan Boardman is a musician, songwriter, and educator residing in Brooklyn, NY. Since earning his Bachelor's of Music Education from Ithaca College, Aidan has been teaching students age 2 to 4 at Butler Street Co-op Preschool in Boerum Hill. Aidan also works as a music specialist/educator for Kids Orbit, an after-school program that services several public elementary schools throughout Brooklyn. His experience as a songwriter and instrumentalist stretches back to age 13 when he began playing contradances in his home state of Maine. Soon afterwards, Aidan began writing his own songs and forming musical groups. Today, Aidan regularly performs and records as Dreamt (www.dreamt.xyz).
Steve Burke
Guitar, Bass Guitar
Steve Burke is a multifaceted electric bassist and composer based in Brooklyn, NY. Originally from the Greater Boston Area, Steve is an alumnus of Berklee College of Music and a former student of bass luminaries Fernando Huergo, John Hebert, Matt Clohesy, Teymur Phell, and jazz saxophonist Bill McHenry. Steve has been teaching private lessons since 2009, and he has worked as a councilor at the prestigious Maine Jazz Camp in Farmington, ME. Steve has built a reputation as a sideman on the Boston and New York music scenes playing over 200 shows each year across genres ranging from jazz, funk, and reggae to folk, country, and blues. He has played bass for a diverse roster of musicians including guitarist Binky Griptite (Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings) and saxophonist Dana Colley (Morphine).