Piano Faculty

Amber

Amber graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a B.M. in Composition and a M.M. of Vocal Performance from Temple University.  Since an early age, she has always been involved with music, from piano and cello lessons to singing as a member of the Chicago Children’s Choir. Amber is also an avid performer. She has performed the role of Madam Flora in The Medium, by Gian Carlo Menotti, at Illinois Wesleyan, and participated in chorus for Donizetti’s  L’elisir d’amore. She has also performed at Temple Opera in productions of Les mamelles de Tirésias, The Cunning Vixen, A Month in the Country as well as Opera scenes such as Hansel and Gretel, Die Zauberflöte and Albert Herring.  Her most recent role was that of Mrs. Ott in the Philadelphia Opera Collective’s 2011 production of Susannah.

Amber loves to teach Classical voice, Music Theater and Piano to her students. Her strength as a teacher comes from her passion for music and a desire for her students to gain a love and appreciation for music…all while having fun!

Andrew

Andrew graduated from Drexel University with a B.A. in the Music Industry. Andrew teaches both guitar and piano and includes the styles of Rock, Blues, Classical, Pop, Reggae and Jazz.  Andrew also really enjoys helping students write their own songs on both instruments.  He performs often at many of the local restaurants and clubs either solo or as a member of a five piece cover band and has been the sound engineer at Doc Watsons mixing many up and coming touring bands. Some notable gigs include 3 separate week-long stints in Liverpool, England playing at The Cavern Club and other venues.

Andrew’s biggest strengths as a teacher are his personal approach to each student.  “I try to let them decide where they want to go with their playing, be it writing songs, learning to play like a favorite guitarist or band, improvising solos, or just strumming by a campfire. Andrew has been teaching at Napoli since 2007.

Bill

Bill has been playing piano and guitar for over 20 years and has been teaching students of all ages for over 10 years. He studied classical guitar at Settlement Music School, Florida State University and William Paterson University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music. He is a semester away from earning his Music Teacher certification from Eastern University and is currently student-teaching in thePhiladelphia School District. His musical interests and expertise include genres ranging from rock to classical and everything in between. He possesses an acute knowledge of songwriting and music theory. At present, his favorite musical artists are Schubert, Schumann, Springsteen, and Pink Floyd.

His greatest strengths as a teacher include patience, positivity, honesty, and passion for music. His lessons are focused and organized, with the goal of gently pushing his students to reach their potential.

Courtney

Courtney earned a B.M. in music education from Berklee College of Music. At Berklee, Courtney graduated near the top of her class, earned a Berklee Achievement-Based Scholarship, and played in many student ensembles (including as an original member of Berklee’s Contemporary Wind Orchestra), film scores and a Led Zeppelin tribute band. Courtney also has a wide range of music teaching experience. In 2008, Courtney taught general music and choir at a middle school in Randolph, MA. Courtney created an innovative program where every student who took general music learned how to play the guitar, and many area newspapers wrote features on her creative teaching methods. Courtney helped the choir perform at many regional competitions successfully and directed the school’s musical..  She is a current member of the Lansdowne Symphony.

Courtney’s teaching strengths include her innovative approach to teaching and learning that she uses with each of her students.  Courtney’s versatility also comes through because she is capable of playing and teaching many different instruments. Courtney is certified to teach music in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Texas.

Dana

Dana holds a BA in Music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. Dana was a member of the Westminster Chapel Choir and Westminster Symphonic Choir. She also performed two solo recitals that featured the music of Rachmaninoff, Granados, Gilbert and Sullivan, and Handel.  Dana is also an avid performer and currently is a member of the Singing City Choir and gigging around the city with her folk rock duo, da(Y)ma, as well as singing opera chorus and comprimarios roles with The Amici Opera Company and Poor Richard’s Opera.

Whether a student wants to learn arts songs and arias in order to audition for college or just learn how to sing better in tune for their cover band Dana strives to give them tools to become life-long musicians.  Dana teaches classical, musical theatre and pop/rock voice and piano styles to students of all ages and experience levels.

Iryna

Iryna graduated with a music degree from the College of Music in Ternopol, Ukraine. She also has a degree from the Pedagogical University in Ternopol where she concentrated on piano, psychology and pedagogy (the art of teaching). Iryna previously taught at the School of Arts in Ternopol and has been the Musical Director at a church in Frederick, Maryland.

Iryna’s biggest strengths as a teacher include her vast knowledge and expertise in classical music.  Many of her students have had wonderful and impressive performances at our recitals. Iryna has been teaching at Napoli since 2004.

Jamie

Jamie has a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from West Chester University.  In addition to teaching, Jamie is also the music director at several area churches.  Through her professional teaching experiences, she has acquired many effective teaching techniques and implements a variety of educational approaches and teaching methods.

Jamie’s strengths as a teacher include her patience and very friendly demeanor.  Her teaching style helps each student to learn in a positive way.

Joe P

Joseph Primavera is a music educator, performer, composer and producer with over 15 years of experience. Since obtaining his Bachelor’s of Music in Performance from Temple University in 2007, he has been teaching private music lessons in the greater Philadelphia area to students of all ages.  He creates customized lesson plans for each student based on the music they love. Technique, theory, composition and improvisation are all taught within the context of the student’s musical interests.

Julie

Julie has a Bachelor’s of Music from Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Voice Performance. Julie had her first role at the age of 9 and her first professional paid performing job at 12. Julie teaches all styles of voice and piano including opera and classical, musical theatre and Pop. Julie was a local and national winner of the 2011 Lansdowne Young Artist Orchestra. Additionally she won the competition apprentice artist award with Bel Canto at Caramoor 2011 and performed at the Montserrat Caballe Masterclasses in Zaragoza Spain 2010. She has also performances in Austria and Italy. She is a part of the Institute of Musical Studies resident orchestra, Westminster Symphonic Choir, and Glimmerglass Opera.

Julie is not just a teacher, but also a performer. She takes what she learns from her own experiences in the auditioning world of what directors and musical casting agents look for and apply it to her students to give them their own package for performance. She loves giving her students the option to learn music they enjoy singing and playing on the piano as well as expanding their repertoire to something they may not have ever heard of or knew existed.

Richard

Richard graduated from the University of the Arts with a B.M. in music composition.  He has been involved with playing piano and singing since the age of 9 and teaches all styles of music including Jazz, Classical, Pop, Musical Theater and Gospel.  In addition to his busy teaching schedule, Richard has performed at the Merriam Theater, The Arts Bank, The Rotunda, Milkboy Coffee, The Five Spot, & World Café Live8.  He was also a Silver Medalist at the So Competition 1999 for classical voice and a bronze medalist at the So Competition 1998 in the voice category.

Richard’s strengths as a teacher include inspiring his students to be the best they can be at their instruments.  Richard has taught hundreds of students piano and voice at Napoli since 2006.

Todd

Todd has over 15 years of experience playing the piano. A graduate of
New York University’s College of Arts and Sciences, Todd has performed
original songs both solo and with a backing band in various venues in
both New York City and Philadelphia. His playing style includes
elements of classical, jazz, ragtime, rock, and indie music. He
released his first album in 2010, and is currently writing and
performing songs for an upcoming second album.

Todd’s strengths as a piano teacher include his experience with kids
of all ages through his work as a substitute public school teacher and
his belief that the piano can be an incredible creative outlet for
anyone. He yearns to inspire students the way his favorite recording
artists continue to inspire him.

Yvette

Yvette has a degree in music and pre-law from SUNY College at Buffalo, N.Y. She has been singing, dancing, acting and playing piano for over 20 years and has been teaching voice and piano for the past 10 years. She teaches classical, musical theatre, R&B, gospel and pop for both voice and piano. Yvette has studied with Jason Connery (actor- Sean Connery’s son), Gary Powell (voice-Walt Disney Records), Tommy Tune and has performed at both the Walnut Street Theatre and the Media Theatre. She has also performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Peter Nero & the Philly Pops, and the Alchemy Dance Company.

Yvette’s strengths as a voice and piano teacher are that she loves what she does and she brings that passion into the lesson! She tailors lessons around her students’ strengths and interests.  Yvette also performs with the EVUSA (the residence choir of the NY Pops).