Community Music Instructor Biographies

Nedra Bickham, instructor
Nedra E. Bickham holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of New Orleans and a Master’s Degree in Early Music Performance from Longy School of Music. She has performed in the USA and Europe. Nedra teaches flute, recorder, and beginning piano at her private studio in Medford.

Jerry Bussiere, instructor
Jerry Bussiere has performed as a guitarist and vocalist in the field of Jazz and Popular Music for over 40 years. His music training includes private studies in guitar with John Scofield and Ross Adams and voice training with Eddie Watson and Mary Healey. I addition he has studied Jazz improvisation and composition with Jerry Bergonzi and Charlie Banacos. Jerry has worked extensively in the field of Modern Dance as a composer/arranger and is currently employed by Green Street Studios in Cambridge, Cambridge School of Weston and Summerstages at Concord Academy as an accompanist. He has taught guitar at Tufts University since 1994.

Barry Drummund, instructor

Jill Gleim, instructor
Jill Gleim has been teaching children music and dance in the Boston area for 25 years. Jill, the founder of Jillsville School of Dance and the Arts All Day Summer Arts Camp in Cambridge has a M.Ed. from Lesley University. She studied the Dalcroze technique in NYC with Hilda Schuster and in Boston with Lisa Parker. Jill’s classes for the young combine Dalcroze Eurhythmics – a method of teaching music through movement - singing games, and folk and creative dance.

Thomas Gregg, instructor
Thomas Gregg holds degress in voice performance from Capitol University in Ohio, the University of Michigan, and Ohio State University, and has won numerous performance and academic awards, including fellowships to attend two Bach Aria Institutes and two Aston Magna Academies. In addition to his appointment at Tufts, he is Director of Vocal Studies for Harvard University's Choir and is on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory. He has sung with the Handel & Hayden Society and many more ensembles. In addition, he has appeared as soloist with many of the choral, opera, and early music groups throughout the southern and eastern United States.

Ian Gendreau, instructor
Ian Gendreau has been teaching music for 12 years. He has worked as a teaching artist for Young Audiences presenting assembly programs, workshops and residencies in Ghanaian drumming. He has also taught private lessons on drumset, Ga drums and other percussion instruments. Ian has also worked as a performing musician in jazz groups, steel bands, pit orchestras, drumming ensembles and other freelance percussion performances. He has traveled to Ghana multiple times to study drumming. Ian earned his B.A. in ethnomusicology from SUNY Geneseo and is currently a Masters student in ethnomusicology at Tufts University.

Michael McLaughlin, instructor
Michael McLaughlin, Klezmer Ensemble Director, pianist, accordionist, arranger, and composer for the Klezmer ensemble Shirim and the experimental Klezmer group Naftule's Dream. Performances on such stages as the Berlin Jazz Festival ('99), the Texaco Jazz Festival ('97, '98) as well as the Ashkenaz New Jewish Music Festival ('96, '98). Michael holds and M.M. in composition from Tufts University ('99) where he studied with John McDonald, and a B.M. in composition from Berklee College of Music in 1993. He is the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Grand Award in composition for 2001.

Nando Michelin, instructor

Jeffrey Rawitsch, instructor
Jeff Rawitsch is a graduate student in the Tufts Child Development Department, pursuing a Master's degree with a concentration in Children and the Arts. By day, he is the General Manager of the Cantata Singers, a chorus based in the Boston area, and this spring he will be finishing his final semester with the Tufts University Chorale, a group with whom he has sung for eight years. For four years, he served as Senior PR Assistant and Concert Crew Chief for Tufts Music. In 2004, he received the Music Department Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music from the department. Jeff has worked with children since he was a teenager, and he is particularly excited to share his joy of singing with your children this semester.

Rebecca Sacks, instructor
Rebecca Sacks holds a B.A. in Music, summa cum laude, from Tufts University, 2006. A composer and pianist, Sacks is completing a suite of choral songs for the Tufts Chorale and West African percussion ensemble that will be premiered at Tufts this fall. Her choral composition "The Mirror" was performed in Spain this past spring by the Tufts Chamber Singers. While at Tufts, she collaborated with David Locke on original West African ethnomusicology research under the Summer Scholars program in 2005. She is currently a member of the Boston-based Agbekor Society, a West African music group directed by David Locke. In 2005, Ms. Sacks received the Etta and Harry Winokur Award for Outstanding Achievement in Artistic or Scholarly Work from
the Tufts Music Department. In 2002, she attended the European American Musical Alliance Summer Composition Program in Paris, France. Sacks has worked with groups of children in many contexts, including tutoring programs, summer camp programs, and most recently teaching West African music at the Conservatory Lab Charter School.

Joel Larue Smith, instructor
Joel LaRue Smith, Lecturer of Music. M.M. Manhattan School of Music; B.A. City College; Ford Fellow. Composition studies: Hale Smith & David Del Tredici; Jazz Piano: Jaki Byard & Barry Harris; Afro-Cuban: Charlie Palmieri. He has played with Ron Carter, Mario Bauza and Kenny Burrell. The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation 1995 Jazz Competition in conjunction with Jazz Times; Artist in Residence, Orchestra of St. Lukes Education Program; 6 "Meet The Composer" Awards; ASCAP's George and Ira Gershwin Award; Queens Council on the Arts Composer Grant; 1993 Artist-in-Residence conductor for the Warner Music Group, Inc.; Commissions by: New York University Tisch School of the Arts and Brown University. Mr. Smith has performed in the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and The Whitney Museum; The White House; Symphony Hall in San Francisco & Boston; and The Royal Albert Hall in London.

Elliot Cless, instructor
Elliot Cless, violinist and composer, is currently a Masters candidate in music composition at Tufts University ('08), where he also graduated as a music major in 2006. As an undergraduate, he was co-concertmaster
of the Tufts Symphony Orchestra, and has since continued to perform regularly as a solo violinist and chamber musician. Private teachers include John McDonald (Tufts) in composition and Clayton Hoener (Longy
School of Music) in violin. In addition to his schoolwork, Elliot co-founded, co-directs, and performs in AXIS, a musical ensemble dedicated to combining and connecting different styles of music in a variety of venues. He has relished opportunities to work/volunteer with children in many musical and non-musical contexts.

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	> About the Music Center > Overview of the Music Center > The Tufts Music Department > Granoff Rental Information > Photos > Events > Spring Concert Calendar > Sundays at 3 Community Concert Series > Granoff Press Room > Tufts Faculty in the Press > Community Music Programs > Resources and Programs Overview > 2008 Community Music Program > Community Program Instructor Bios > Visit Us > Directions > Parking > Contact Us	Home » Community Resources » Resources and Programs: Instructor Bios. Community Music Instructor Biographies Nedra Bickham, instructor Nedra E. Bickham holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of New Orleans and a Master’s Degree in Early Music Performance from Longy School of Music. She has performed in the USA and Europe. Nedra teaches flute, recorder, and beginning piano at her private studio in Medford. Jerry Bussiere, instructor Jerry Bussiere has performed as a guitarist and vocalist in the field of Jazz and Popular Music for over 40 years. His music training includes private studies in guitar with John Scofield and Ross Adams and voice training with Eddie Watson and Mary Healey. I addition he has studied Jazz improvisation and composition with Jerry Bergonzi and Charlie Banacos. Jerry has worked extensively in the field of Modern Dance as a composer/arranger and is currently employed by Green Street Studios in Cambridge, Cambridge School of Weston and Summerstages at Concord Academy as an accompanist. He has taught guitar at Tufts University since 1994. Barry Drummund, instructor Jill Gleim, instructor Jill Gleim has been teaching children music and dance in the Boston area for 25 years. Jill, the founder of Jillsville School of Dance and the Arts All Day Summer Arts Camp in Cambridge has a M.Ed. from Lesley University. She studied the Dalcroze technique in NYC with Hilda Schuster and in Boston with Lisa Parker. Jill’s classes for the young combine Dalcroze Eurhythmics – a method of teaching music through movement - singing games, and folk and creative dance. Thomas Gregg, instructor Thomas Gregg holds degress in voice performance from Capitol University in Ohio, the University of Michigan, and Ohio State University, and has won numerous performance and academic awards, including fellowships to attend two Bach Aria Institutes and two Aston Magna Academies. In addition to his appointment at Tufts, he is Director of Vocal Studies for Harvard University's Choir and is on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory. He has sung with the Handel & Hayden Society and many more ensembles. In addition, he has appeared as soloist with many of the choral, opera, and early music groups throughout the southern and eastern United States. Ian Gendreau, instructor Ian Gendreau has been teaching music for 12 years. He has worked as a teaching artist for Young Audiences presenting assembly programs, workshops and residencies in Ghanaian drumming. He has also taught private lessons on drumset, Ga drums and other percussion instruments. Ian has also worked as a performing musician in jazz groups, steel bands, pit orchestras, drumming ensembles and other freelance percussion performances. He has traveled to Ghana multiple times to study drumming. Ian earned his B.A. in ethnomusicology from SUNY Geneseo and is currently a Masters student in ethnomusicology at Tufts University. Michael McLaughlin, instructor Michael McLaughlin, Klezmer Ensemble Director, pianist, accordionist, arranger, and composer for the Klezmer ensemble Shirim and the experimental Klezmer group Naftule's Dream. Performances on such stages as the Berlin Jazz Festival ('99), the Texaco Jazz Festival ('97, '98) as well as the Ashkenaz New Jewish Music Festival ('96, '98). Michael holds and M.M. in composition from Tufts University ('99) where he studied with John McDonald, and a B.M. in composition from Berklee College of Music in 1993. He is the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Grand Award in composition for 2001. Nando Michelin, instructor Jeffrey Rawitsch, instructor Jeff Rawitsch is a graduate student in the Tufts Child Development Department, pursuing a Master's degree with a concentration in Children and the Arts. By day, he is the General Manager of the Cantata Singers, a chorus based in the Boston area, and this spring he will be finishing his final semester with the Tufts University Chorale, a group with whom he has sung for eight years. For four years, he served as Senior PR Assistant and Concert Crew Chief for Tufts Music. In 2004, he received the Music Department Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music from the department. Jeff has worked with children since he was a teenager, and he is particularly excited to share his joy of singing with your children this semester. Rebecca Sacks, instructor Rebecca Sacks holds a B.A. in Music, summa cum laude, from Tufts University, 2006. A composer and pianist, Sacks is completing a suite of choral songs for the Tufts Chorale and West African percussion ensemble that will be premiered at Tufts this fall. Her choral composition "The Mirror" was performed in Spain this past spring by the Tufts Chamber Singers. While at Tufts, she collaborated with David Locke on original West African ethnomusicology research under the Summer Scholars program in 2005. She is currently a member of the Boston-based Agbekor Society, a West African music group directed by David Locke. In 2005, Ms. Sacks received the Etta and Harry Winokur Award for Outstanding Achievement in Artistic or Scholarly Work from the Tufts Music Department. In 2002, she attended the European American Musical Alliance Summer Composition Program in Paris, France. Sacks has worked with groups of children in many contexts, including tutoring programs, summer camp programs, and most recently teaching West African music at the Conservatory Lab Charter School. Joel Larue Smith, instructor Joel LaRue Smith, Lecturer of Music. M.M. Manhattan School of Music; B.A. City College; Ford Fellow. Composition studies: Hale Smith & David Del Tredici; Jazz Piano: Jaki Byard & Barry Harris; Afro-Cuban: Charlie Palmieri. He has played with Ron Carter, Mario Bauza and Kenny Burrell. The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation 1995 Jazz Competition in conjunction with Jazz Times; Artist in Residence, Orchestra of St. Lukes Education Program; 6 "Meet The Composer" Awards; ASCAP's George and Ira Gershwin Award; Queens Council on the Arts Composer Grant; 1993 Artist-in-Residence conductor for the Warner Music Group, Inc.; Commissions by: New York University Tisch School of the Arts and Brown University. Mr. Smith has performed in the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and The Whitney Museum; The White House; Symphony Hall in San Francisco & Boston; and The Royal Albert Hall in London. Elliot Cless, instructor Elliot Cless, violinist and composer, is currently a Masters candidate in music composition at Tufts University ('08), where he also graduated as a music major in 2006. As an undergraduate, he was co-concertmaster of the Tufts Symphony Orchestra, and has since continued to perform regularly as a solo violinist and chamber musician. Private teachers include John McDonald (Tufts) in composition and Clayton Hoener (Longy School of Music) in violin. In addition to his schoolwork, Elliot co-founded, co-directs, and performs in AXIS, a musical ensemble dedicated to combining and connecting different styles of music in a variety of venues. He has relished opportunities to work/volunteer with children in many musical and non-musical contexts.
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