David Auldon Brown Piano | David Auldon Brown holds two degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, pupil of Rudolf Serkin, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, and composer Myron Fink. As a first-prize winner at the 1960 Merriweather-Post national competition for young musicians, he was soloist with the National Symphony in Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1. His subsequent appearance with the Utah Symphony inaugurated that orchestra’s prestigious “Salute to Youth” concerts. Commissioned in 1976 by the Delaware Symphony to compose a piano concerto for the American Bicentennial, he was soloist in the premiere performance broadcast worldwide on Voice of America.
Mr. Brown has taught piano at Darlington for over 20 years. A longtime member of the Artist Faculty of the Music School of Delaware, he has also served on the faculties of the University of Delaware, West Chester State University, and the Snowbird Summer Arts Institute in Utah.His students have included winners of international competitions, but his primary aim is not competition. Rather, it is to help each student grow to understand how music is an art of "the three H's"--head, hands, heart--that can nurture a lifetime.
David accepts students by audition only; he is available during the academic year on Thursdays and Fridays.
Natalie Chang Piano | M.M. Piano Pedagogy, West Chester University; B.M. Keyboard Performance (Magna Cum Laude), West Chester University. Studied with: Dr. Richard Veleta, Ellen Mack (Peabody Conservatory of Music), Keiko Sato (Curtis Institute of Music), Madeline Bruser (Manhattan School of Music Extension), Judith Barnett (Alexander Technique of Relaxation at West Chester University). Accompanist for Korean United Church of Philadelphia. Natalie strives to instill musicianship in her students and inspire them to develop an understanding of music and the imagination to reach higher goals. (Accepts students by audition only)
Natalie is available during the academic year on Mondays.
Kevin Cope Guitar, Suzuki | M.M. Guitar Performance, University of Delaware; M.M. Composition, University of Delaware; B.A. Music, Bloomsburg University. Holds Suzuki Guitar Book 1-5 and 8-9 training. Studied classical guitar with: Matthew Slotkin and Christiaan Taggart. Studied composition with: Patrick Long, Andrew Bleckner and Jennifer Margaret Barker. Original compositions published through www.KevinJCope.com and www.StringsByMail.com. Recipient of the 2011 Emerging and 2015 Established Professional Awards in Music Composition as well as the 2019 Emerging Professional Award for Music Solo Recital from Delaware Division of the Arts. Has been featured in Soundboard Magazine as well as Classical Guitar Magazine where his debut solo guitar and composition CD, Destination Unknown, was described as "a fascinating and stimulating debut that gets better and better the more you listen to it."
Kevin is available during the academic year on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Sophia DiLeo Voice | Sophia is a native of Princeton, New Jersey, and holds a B.M. in Music Education and M.M. in Voice Performance from the University of Delaware. Her professional endeavors and aspirations specialize in arts advocacy, trauma-informed voice instruction, empowering young women in the performing arts, and creating space for all genres/ styles in the voice studio. She has served as a private voice instructor, production assistant for the University of Delaware Opera Theatre, an administrative assistant for the National Opera Association, and has performed in a wide range of styles and venues throughout her performance career. She has performed both domestically and internationally in genres spanning choral music, jazz, opera, and musical theatre. Her most notable roles include, Diana in Next to Normal, Paige in the world premiere of From Our Roots, Marmee in Little Women, and will soon begin her journey as a professional actress for Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre, for the 2022-2023 Mainstage Season. She particularly enjoys exploring new literature, attending baseball games, cooking, dog-walking, learning ridiculous new vocalises, and film editing in her spare time.
Sophia is available during the academic year on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Scotty Horey Percussion | (B.A., M.M.A., D.M.A.) (USA) is a widely internationally respected solo percussionist, drummer, teacher, health and wellness advocate, and coordinator of cultural exchange. Formerly based in Minneapolis, MN, USA, he currently serves as Instructor of Percussion at the Music School of Delaware while maintaining his work as a solo artist, clinician, and freelance drummer/percussionist. from 2020-2022, he lived in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico where he held the position of full professor of percussion at the famous Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, the top percussion school of Mexico. From 2012-2020, he served as both principal percussionist of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra, and Lecturer of Percussion at the University of Minnesota, Morris while a top-call Minneapolis free-lance percussionis. His strongest passions include classical music, contemporary-classical music, progressive rock and jazz fusion, mind/body "holistic" awareness, and cultural exchange, typically performing on solo marimba or as a drummer. His passionate performing and teaching work has brought him through universities, concert series, and festivals in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Greece, Mexico, and Colombia and has earned him a finalist position in the prestigious McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians in 2017. Scotty was called “the Twin Cities’ hungriest young percussionist” by New Music Box, and “a performer of intelligence, raw artistry, and the utmost concentration and energy” by international icon composer James Dillon. In reference to his teaching, Dr. Israel Moreno, Mexico’s leading marimbist, teacher, and scholar said, “… he seeks to connect with students in soul, spirit, and energy, awakening in them a positive attitude ….“. While completing his master’s and doctorate degrees at the University of Minnesota, his teachers included some of the most widely respected names in the field: Fernando Meza, Stuart Marrs, Katarzyna Mycka, and James Dillon. In recent years, Scotty has become regularly in demand as a solo artist with his exciting solo percussion concerts (to date, over 100 events as featured solo artist performed worldwide), and guest teacher with his inspiring “holistic awareness” teaching philosophy of “body-mind-heart-spirit-
Scotty is available during the academic year on Tuesdays.
Jan Jurchak Piano | Jan Jurchak is a jazz composer, hip hop producer, and piano teacher based in Philadelphia. Beginning with classical piano training in her home area of upstate New York, Jan worked as a theatrical sound designer before earning her BA in Music and Modern Studies from Bard College and beginning a teaching career that now spans seven years. Jan’s recent work as a composer has been heard in The Queen of Fenway Court at Gloucester Stage Company and the animated film The Final Exit of the Disciples of Ascencia by Jonni Phillips. Her current work includes collaborations with visionary New Jersey rapper Fatboi Sharif as well as new music for the Winton Street Group jazz ensemble, for whom she is cofounder, principal composer and pianist.
Jan is available during the academic year on Thursdays.
Lingchin Liao Violin, Suzuki, Early Childhood Music | M.M. and Professional Studies in Violin Performance, Temple University; B.M. Music Education and Violin Performance, National Taiwan Normal University. Studied violin with Helen Kwalwasser and Cindy
Campetti. Additional training: Suzuki violin book 1-5, 7-8 and Gordon Institute for Music Learning Theory. Orchestral experience: Haddonfield Symphony Orchestra, Taipei City Symphony Orchestra. At Darlington Arts Center, teaches violin private lessons onsite and runs the Outreach Suzuki Violin Program in Chester PA. Also, holds positions as part time strings faculty at The Independence School in Newark DE and The Music School of Delaware.
Lingchin is available during the academic year on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.
John McElderry Guitar | John is a graduate of Penn State University and Berklee College of Music and currently lives in Wilmington, DE. He has received the Globalmuse.com Elite Artist Award and was honored at the New England Songwriters Series as a performer. John has experience instructing guitar, mandolin, and pop/rock vocal building.
John is available during the academic year on Wednesdays.
Constance Moore Piano | B.M. and M.M. in Piano Performance, University of Louisville. Constance was a student of Lee Luvisi, and she pursued further studies with Jacob Lateiner and Samuel Sanders while serving on the collaborative piano staff at the Juilliard School. Since 1994, Constance has served as Chairperson and Coach, Chamber Music Department, Juilliard Pre-College Division. She has performed extensively as chamber musician and collaborative pianist in major venues in the U.S. (Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall, National Gallery of Art) and in Austria, Germany, France, and the U.K. Her teaching experience includes piano faculty member at the Music School of Delaware, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Hunter College, and Turtle Bay Music School.
Constance is available during the academic year on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Ethel Olsen Piano, Theory, Suzuki | B.A., Edison State College; graduate studies, Westminster Choir College and Rowan College; Suzuki Piano Training, School for Strings, NY; Music Mind Games, trained with Michiko Yurko. Teachers: Béla Nagy, Steven Romanio, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Jacques Voois. Teaching experience: The Music School of Delaware, Westminster College Piano Preparatory Department, St. Andrew's School. Ethel enjoys teaching students of all ages, abilities, and challenges.
Ethel is available during the academic year on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Michnari Robinson Brass | Michnari is an active brass instrumentalist based in Philadelphia. A versatile performer, he is a member of akadotdotdot, You Do You, and the West Philadelphia Orchestra. He also teaches at the performing arts school Kuumba Academy. Michnari’s pedagogy centers the transformational power of music to uplift students as individuals and members of their communities. Driven by his conviction that music is for everyone, he served in the ArtistYear Americorps teaching artist program to nurture young musicians in Title I schools. During that time he was also the audio engineer for the Rising Stars Podcast, hosted by Carol Jantsch and co-hosted by Bernard Flythe. The mission of the podcast was to conduct interviews with young brass musicians from underrepresented demographics. Throughout his time in Philadelphia, Michnari has been fortunate to perform with local acts such as Johnny Showcase, Simcha Band, and the Weez The Peeples Collective. He has a Bachelor’s degree in euphonium performance from Samford University, where he was awarded the Northrup Scholarship for outstanding performance. He continued his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned his Master’s degree and was honored to attend on a fellowship (AOF) and teaching assistantship. His primary teachers were Charles Morgan, Demondrae Thurman, and Tom Curry.
Carol Stinson Clarinet/Saxophone | BM Ohio University clarinet performance; MM University of Houston clarinet performance. Carol Stinson served as Principal Clarinet of The Houston Grand Opera Orchestra for twenty three years, in addition to extensive performances with The Houston Symphony, The Houston Ballet Orchestra, Texas Opera Theater, Opera in the Heights, Theater Under The Stars, and The Utah Festival Opera Company. She was an adjunct professor of clarinet at Houston Baptist University, and taught clarinet and saxophone in public and private schools before relocating to the DE/PA area. Many of her students have become All-State players, soloists, and competitors in top-rated music programs.
Carol welcomes students of all ages and abilities, and loves the journey of helping everyone to be the best player they can be. She really enjoys teaching adult students, too, even after walking away from the instrument for years.
Carol is available during the academic year on Tuesdays.