Music
Music is the universal language everyone understands!
Music reaches across borders, bridges cultures and brings people together… and then, there’s more. Teamwork, improved memory and problem-solving are just a few of the many benefits of making music.
CSMA offers a wide range of courses for all ages, from learning a new instrument to being part of an ensemble.
Share in the joy of music…
Music at CSMA
Music Instruction Faculty
Steve Ryu
Hailing from Seoul, South Korea, and having traversed various cities in the United States, Steve Ryu embarked on his musical journey fifteen years ago, discovering the soulful sounds of folk and rock from the '60s and '70s. This discovery sparked his passion for the...
Ryan Peterson
Ryan Peterson is an award-winning jazz guitarist, band leader, educator, and recent transplant to Ithaca, NY. Since moving to New York, Ryan is quickly becoming an in-demand guitarist and had the pleasure of leading his quartet as the opening act on the main stage at...
Laik Uticone
Meet Laik Uticone, a dynamic and passionate young music instructor who brings a fresh and innovative approach to music education. Born with an innate love for melody and rhythm, Laik has cultivated a deep understanding of various musical genres from a young age. Laik...
Kaitlyn Beasley-Zeitler
Kaitlyn Beasley-Zeitler (she/her) is a Junior Performance student at Ithaca College with nearly 10 years of experience on the bassoon and a special interest in reed making. She has studied and performed a multitude of styles, ranging from early baroque to jazz and...
Gizelxanath Rodriguez
Gizelxanath Rodriguez is an internationally renowned vocalist, cellist, guitarist and educator. She is fluent in five languages (Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and Italian). Her musical work spans a range of styles and cultures. Recently relocated to Ithaca...
Dr. Josh Oxford
Visit Dr. Josh Oxford to get your cure for a variety of music maladies! At CSMA, Dr. Oxford teaches classes and private lessons in jazz, music technology, music theory, and beat making. Electronisist, Dr. Josh Oxford, born in 1985, is a composer, arranger, and...
Charlotte Sienkiewicz
Ms. Charlotte is from the greater Washington, D.C. area and is currently in her last semester at Ithaca College studying flute under Dr. Wendy Mehne. She has been playing flute for 14 years and has fallen in love with teaching it throughout her years at IC. Outside of...
Ashley Ickes
Ashley (she/her) graduated with a BM in Music Performance, Jazz Studies from Western Michigan University in 2013. She has been performing professionally and teaching private and group lessons for well over twenty years. With experience in many styles including rock,...
Jennifer Lawrence Birnbaum
Jennifer Lawrence Birnbaum is a music teacher, choral director, performer and event coordinator with music education degrees from Ithaca College and Columbia University. In addition to serving on the faculty of the Community School of Music and Arts, she also teaches at Namaste Montessori School and sings with the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble.
Amy Opperman Cash
B.A. Piano, Ithaca College. Attended High School of Music and Art, NYC. Studied with Kendall Taylor in London, England. Over twenty years teaching experience.
David Allen Coester
David Allen Coester has been teaching the guitar to people of all ages and abilities for more than 25 years — formerly at the Crestwood Music Education Center in Westchester County and in his private studio in downtown Ithaca.
Ed Cohn
Ed began his musical journey early, starting on clarinet at age 9. He soon moved on to saxophone, guitar, and piano and gained experience on trombone, French horn, and flute before falling in love with singing and opera.
Hayden Frank
Hayden Frank was born and raised in Ithaca, where he became active in music and theater at a young age. Drawn to the deep grooves of ‘60s and ‘70s R&B/Soul music, he picked up the bass as a teenager and studied under local legend Doug Robinson, until departing for...
William Hurley
William Hurley is an Ithaca-based violinist/violist, teacher, and luthier. Violin – M.M., Violin Performance, Ithaca College. B.A. in Violin Performance, University of South Carolina.
Nolan Miller
Pianist Nolan Miller grew up in Ithaca, and is active in the area as a teacher and performer. He holds a BM in piano performance from Houghton College; an MM from Syracuse University; and a DM from Florida State University, where his major professor was Read...
Christopher Morgan Loy
Composer-pianist Christopher Morgan Loy has a catalog of compositions which includes works for piano, voice, chamber ensembles, chamber orchestra, full orchestra, and chorus. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in composition from Cornell University where he studied composition with Pulitzer Prize-winning composers, Karel Husa (1969) and Steven Stucky (2005).
Jan Nigro
Jan Nigro is a co-founder, songwriter for, and performer with Vitamin L, a youth choral group which performs extensively year-round at schools, education conferences, festivals, and camps. He is also the founder and musical director of Mostly Motown and has been an Artist in Residence (Songwriter) for the Empire State Arts Partnership Program in conjunction with the Hangar Theater and the Ithaca City School District.
Karen Melamed Smith
Karen Melamed Smith studied piano and composition at the Music Institute of Chicago while growing up and has taught piano and various music and movement classes in similar community schools in NYC and at CSMA for many years.
Gerald Slevin
Specializing in teaching students how to play and sing simultaneously and employing an easy-going, creative, song-oriented pop/rock approach, Gerald has taught for over 12 years both one-on-one and in groups with students of all ages. To help each student uncover...