OrchKids Staff
Nick Skinner • Vice President
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Over the past several years, Nick Skinner has become a prominent music educator and arts administrator in Baltimore. Nick is currently working with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s major social initiative, OrchKids, where he serves as the Senior Director. Nick began teaching in the Howard County Public School System in Maryland as an elementary instrumental instructor. He then moved on to teach in the Baltimore County Public School System in Maryland at Catonsville High School where he was the music director. Nick also served as an arts administrator at the Waldorf School in Baltimore and for the Archipelago Project, a non-profit organization devoted to arts advocacy. Additionally, Nick has lead lectures, workshops, and seminars with El Sistema in Baltimore City; Traverse City, Michigan; Waterbury, Hartford, and Stamford, Connecticut; Boston, at the New England Conservatory; and Venezuela. Nick is a distinguished consultant and arts advocate within the El Sistema movement. He is also an adjunct professor at UMBC where he teaches “Management and Organizational Leadership in El Sistema” as a part of a one-year post-baccalaureate certification program. Nick graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance and music education.
DAN TRAHEY • ORCHKIDS ARTISTIC LIAISON
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Dan Trahey is a musician, educator, and innovator. He was instrumental in the creation of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s “OrchKids” where he served as the Artistic Director. Dan also founded the El Sistema inspired program “Tuned In” at the Peabody Conservatory where he teaches creative composition and community engagement. Dan plays tuba for the Archipelago Project and the Austria based RET Brass Band, and has performed world wide for hundreds of thousands of children, specifically targeting impoverished areas with little access to live performance. He has held orchestral positions in Mexico and the U.S. Dan’s work is documented by media outlets such as 60 Minutes, PBS, NPR, The N.Y. Times, and The Washington Post. He recently gave a TED talk at TEDX Baltimore and was named the Most Valuable Player in the Arts by Baltimore Magazine. Dan has taught at Baltimore School for the Arts, Idyllwild Arts, and UMBC where he teaches Music Entrepreneurship. Dan is a consultant for programs desiring to use music as a vehicle for social change. In addition to founding two El Sistema programs in Baltimore, Dan helped start El Sistema inspired programs in Charlotte, Chicago, Ft.Worth, Innsbruck, Allentown, Waterbury, Alexandria, Kalamazoo, and others. He received a M.M. from Yale and a B.M.E from Peabody.
Jane Coffey • Director of Development
Danielle Williams • Director of Education
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Danielle Williams is a composer, conductor, and passionate music educator who uses her international experiences to shape her role as a pedagogue and inspire collaborations. Her passion to use music as a tool for social change has led Danielle to explore creative global methods of music education focused around collaborative composition, student-led initiatives, and peace education methods. From 2016-2018 she lived in Palestine (The West Bank) teaching and conducting at the Al Kamandjati Music School. Previously, Danielle established and directed the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra’s education programs. Prior to Boston, she spent two years in Tanzania teaching piano, flute, and voice lessons at the Umoja Music School. Danielle received her Master’s Degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education “Arts in Education” program and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Composition from Vanderbilt University.
Devin Harrington • Manager of Programs
Judith Sarah ⋅ Early Childhood Education Manager
Lynette Fields • Program Manager
Mary Ann Winterling Elementary
Laura Heydt • Program Manager
Booker T. Washington Middle School for the Arts & Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle School
Jocelyn Abrahamzon
Administrative and Communications Manager
Christy Grace
Education Coordinator
Daniel Morrison
Media Administrative Coordinator
Milos Tosic
Artistic and Program Operations Manager
2018-2020 Fellow:
Christy Grace
Strings Fellow
2019-2021 Fellows:
Maddi Bohman
Strings Fellow
Autumn England
Strings Fellow
Daniel Morrison
Brass Fellow
2020-2022 Fellows:
Sheila Esquivel
Strings Fellow
Samantha Flores
Strings Fellow
2021-2023 Fellows:
Mallory Carnes
Strings Fellow
Alejandra Santillanes
Flute and Musicianship Fellow

Site-based Staff and Teaching Artists
BES Staff
Judith Sarah | Associate Director of Early Learning
Teaching Artists
Bailey Collins | Musicianship
Laura Heydt | Musicianship
Gloria Huskey | Musicianship
Meg Mizumoto | Musicianship/Violin Teaching Artist
Brian Whaley | Violin Teaching Artist
Staff
Tyasia Velines | Program Manager
Teaching Artists
Jared Perry | Ensemble Director (Wind Ensemble & Brass Band), Brass
Eric Kennedy | Percussion
Craig Alston | Woodwinds
Havalynn Robertson | Clarinet/Saxophone
Gary Thomas | Woodwinds
Samantha Hartsfield | Brass
Daniel Morrison | Brass Band
David Jacober | Brass Band Drum Set
Staff
Judith Sarah | Associate Director of Early Learning
Liam Cunningham | Program Coordinator
Teaching Artists
Liam Cunningham | Musicianship
Jay DeVaughn | Musicianship Assistant
Staff
Samantha Flores | Program Manager
Rodolfo Escalona | Lead Program Coordinator
Marcella Kolacki | Program Coordinator
Teaching Artists
Michael Apanius | Violin & String Ensemble Assistant Director
Erin Baker | Harp
Christy Grace | Cello
Evanghelina Ciobanu | Cello
Magy Hernandez | Violin/Viola
Mandy Wang | Violin/Viola
Mateen Milan | Bassoon
Andrea Morris | Oboe
Maddy Strong | Flute
Rachel Winder | Clarinet/Saxophone & Wind Ensemble Assistant Director
Daniel Morrison | Low Brass
Ryan Morrison | Trumpet
Kwaku Payton | African Drumming
Andrew Young | Percussion
Liam Cunningham | String Ensemble Director
Brian Prechtl | Wind Ensemble Director
Bailey Collins | Music Theory
Patti Gould | Music Theory
Dianne Graham | Academic Tutor
Kevin Villeda | Gym
Gino Hannah | InDiGO
Gabe Pickus | InDiGO
Lorena Horta | SWCOS Intern
Elizabeth Manning | SWCOS Intern
Staff
Lynette Fields | Program Manager
Beberlyn Medina | Lead Program Coordinator
Joanne Archie | Program Coordinator
Shirley Dessessow | Program Assistant
John Landon | Program Assistant
Teaching Artists
Anne Buckwalter | Musicianship & Music Theory
Margaret Jones | Musicianship Teaching Assistant
Will Church | Violin
Azure Kline | Cello
Mandy Wang | Violin/Viola
Elise Bond | Clarinet/Saxophone
Alejandra Santillanes | Woodwind Fellow
Austin Larson | French Horn
Daniel Morrison | Low Brass
Ryan Morrison | Trumpet
Andre Palmer | Percussion Support
Murray Piper | Percussion
Kwaku Payton | African Drumming
Michael Apanius | String Ensemble Assistant Director
Liam Cunningham | String Ensemble Director
Brian Prechtl | Wind Ensemble Director
Rachel Winder | Wind Ensemble Assistant Director
Kobi Davidson| Music Theory
Jevona Sabb | Art
Gino Hannah | InDiGO
Rebecca Gurwah | SWCOS Intern
Albert Ivory | SWCOS Intern
Staff
Tyasia Velines | Program Manager
Teaching Artists
Russell Kirk | Music Director
Blake Meister | Low Strings
Ko-En Shih | Strings
Gary Thomas | Flute
Staff
Judith Sarah | Associate Director of Early Learning
Teaching Artists
Liam Cunningham | Musicianship
Laura Heydt | Musicianship
Kwaku Payton | Musicianship
Alejandra Santillanes | Musicianship Fellow/Exploratory