Music Mentors

Our music mentors bring with them an understanding of music not only as a craft and an art form, but as a potential therapy as well. With diverse backgrounds—in professional orchestras, in theory, and in education—these mentors can help musically-minded students to improve their craft and to expand their ideas of the potential of music itself.

Benji

Benji is a board-certified (MT-BC) music therapist located in New York. After earning a Master’s degree in music therapy, he began a private practice while also working for several organizations in the area, including KidsPeace. When teaching music, he cares more about the therapeutic qualities of the practice, rather than how well a student can master a specific skill. Benji specializes in helping students to use music as a pathway for personal growth, self-expression, and emotional development.

Chris

Chris is a pianist and has been a concerto soloist with orchestras around the world. He has collaborated with a multitude of musicians and has also studied with famous scholars in the US, Germany, Austria, and Portugal. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, San Diego, a Master of Arts from the University of Arkansas, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara.