Clarinet Lessons

Nancy Ackerman

Nancy Helene Ackerman is a clarinetist, chamber coach, and music educator who lives and works in the Worcester area.  She has been a faculty member at the Joy of Music Program (JOMP) since 2008. She also teaches private music lessons at her home studio specializing in clarinet, flute, and saxophone.
 
Nancy received her B.S. in Music Education from Nazareth College of Rochester, and a M.M. in Woodwind Performance at Boston University.  She has studied with Michael Webster, Stanley Gaulke, and while in Rennes, France with Charles Rouault.
 
Recent performances have included several programs of women composers for the clarinet, and lectures and recitals of the clarinet compositions of Walter Byron Mourant.  Nancy also performs frequently as a soloist for worship services throughout Massachusetts.
 
She enjoys working with her fellow musicians in faculty recitals hosted by the Joy of Music.  Programs have included Music of the German Romantics for soprano, clarinet, and piano; music for clarinet, viola, and piano; music for clarinet, violin, and piano; and most recently a program of French composers for flute, clarinet, and piano. 
 
Students of Nancy have participated in both Eastern and Central District Junior and Senior Bands and Orchestras as well as at the Massachusetts All-State Conference, some earning principal positions.  After high school, some of her students go on to major or minor in music in college, and many, while pursuing other degree programs, participate in musical organizations offered at their colleges and universities.
 
As a music educator, Nancy enjoys working with students of all ages and levels, and believes that music and art should be a part of everyone’s educational experience.   Click here to see Nancy's website: www.westwyndmusic.com

Programs

Private Lessons: 
Clarinet, Flute, Beginning Recorder, Saxophone

Pam Choinski

Pam Choinski is currently the Band Director at Abby Kelley Foster High School in Worcester, MA, where she directs the high school bands and teaches keyboard and general music classes to students in grades 8­–12. Previously, she taught band and chorus at Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook, NH.

She earned her Master of Arts in Instrumental Conducting and Bachelor of Music in Music Education degrees from the University of New Hampshire, where she studied conducting with Andrew Boysen, Jr. and David Upham, and clarinet with Elizabeth Gunlogson. She also studied clarinet with Nancy Ackerman at Joy of Music during her high school years.   

In 2019, she was selected as a recipient of a CBDNA Mike Moss Conducting Study Grant, and has participated in numerous conducting workshops, including the 2019 Frederick Fennell Memorial Conducting Masterclass at the Eastman School of Music.   Pam joined the Joy of Music Faculty in the fall of 2022.

Related Sites: 
Private Lessons: 
Clarinet, Recorder

Vlad Vaskevich

Vlad Vaskevich, a clarinet and saxophone performer, music educator, and arranger received his Bachelor of Music in Clarinet from the internationally-known Stolyarsky School of Music for Talented Youth and his Master of Music degree in Clarinet from Odessa State Conservatory, where he studied clarinet performance with Professor Kalio Muhlberg. 

While studying classical music, Vlad developed a particular interest in jazz. In the Worcester area, he was one of the ArtsWorcester Jazz Ensemble founders, and his name is included in the Jazz Worcester Real Book and “Worcester Jazz History Tree.” Vlad has been professionally performing concerts of popular classical and jazz music throughout New England for many years.  At Joy of Music, Vlad has performed multi-genre faculty recitals, consisting of classical music for clarinet for the first half and jazz music for saxophone for the second. His recitals have featured collaborations with such great educators and performers as Wendy Ardizzone, Jerri Sabatini, Rich Ardizzone, Mike Connors, Kallin Johnson, Joe D’Angelo, Thaddeus Bell, and Gerry Wilfong.

An energetic and devoted teacher, Vlad takes great pride in his students’ achievements. Every year his students have performed in the Massachusetts Central District and All-State Festival Concerts, some of them as the principal players. His students also participated in the NEC Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble, the Boston, Worcester, and Joy of Music Youth Symphony Orchestras. Several of his students are winners of Young Artist Competitions and have performed their solo programs with symphony orchestras in concerts.

Vlad has been a faculty member at the Performing Arts School of Worcester, Clark University, and the John Hopkins University National Center for Talented Youth.  Currently, Vlad teaches clarinet and saxophone at the Artists in Residence program at Wachusett Regional School District and the Cape Conservatory (since 2014). He continues to teach at his private studio in Holden.  Vlad has been on the Joy of Music faculty since 2006.

Private Lessons: 
Clarinet, Saxophone
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