Instructors
We are pleased to offer lessons on an extensive selection of instruments, with instructors from Lincoln School faculty and the surrounding community. A list of instructors is below.
To help you find a particular instrument, you may click on its name to jump: flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, violin (Chelsae or Joel), viola (Chelsae or Joel), cello, harp, drums/percussion, guitar, bass guitar, piano, and voice.
Michael Agostinelli, clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium and tuba
Michael Agostinelli loves teaching music. Since the fourth grade, Michael has been performing every year, whether with school bands in his home town of Billerica MA or in the UMass Dartmouth Wind Ensemble. He recently graduated from UMass Dartmouth with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Music with a specialization in Music Education. After graduating, he went on to student teach in Dartmouth MA, focusing on instrumental music. He also substituted in Fall River MA for a Middle School band director. When not performing or teaching, he enjoys reading and practicing karate.
Joel Beauchemin, violin and viola
Joel Beauchemin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition from The College of Wooster in 2001. For the past ten years, he has been teaching general/instrumental music in numerous
private schools and music studios throughout the state of Rhode Island. Currently, Joel teaches general/instrumental music, grades K-8, at The Compass School. He is also a professional violinist/trumpeter and has performed with local artists/groups such as Occidental Gypsy, Miss Wensday and The Cotillions, Caloroso String Quartet, Kelly Walsh, and Spogga, just to name a few. Joel resides in North Kingstown with his wife and twin daughters.
Chelsae Biggs, violin and viola
Chelsae Biggs loves teaching violin! Before recently moving to Rhode Island, she ran a studio of 40 weekly students. She has been playing violin for 14 years and teaching it for 7 years. Growing up in the Twin Cities, MN, she participated in school groups and private lessons. She was also a member of The Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony for 8 years. After graduating, she played for various community orchestras as well as professionally. Chelsea would like all prospective students to know that violin lessons are really fun, and she encourages you to try it! Whether you are a beginner or want to take your playing to the next level, lessons with her will make it easy and exciting to learn.
Cheryl Faria, piano
Cheryl Faria loves to play and teach piano and is excited about helping Lincoln School students learn the joys of piano playing. She grew up in a musical family and began taking classical piano lessons at the age of six. Ms. Faria has dual undergraduate degrees in Music and Art Education and has a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA). She is also certified by the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Her repertoire includes classical piano works, popular standards and original compositions. Recent performance venues include the Rhode Island College Recital Series, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School, Studio 34 Dance Shows and the Hallworth House. When not playing or teaching piano, she works part-time for the RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School researching and writing grant applications. Her other passions include gardening, jazz dance, local 1600’s history and travel.
Rachel Gahan, voice
Rachel Gahan is the accompanist of all of Lincoln School's Performing Arts Department choruses and has extensive experience as a music educator on voice and piano, at Lincoln School and in the surrounding community. Rachel has just recently joined the After-School Music Lessons Program as the vocal instructor, and a more complete biography will appear here, soon.
Pamela Harley, flute
Pamela Harley began studying the flute in fifth grade and has loved playing and teaching flute ever since. After graduating from high school in Connecticut, Pam pursued her passion for music at the University of Rhode Island. She has a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education, as well as Master of Music degrees in Music Education and Music Performance. She is a certified music teacher, working in the public schools and teaching privately. Pam is currently the piccolo player for the American Band of Providence, RI. She also plays flute and piccolo in the South County Chamber Orchestra of Narragansett, RI.
Eric Hastings, drums/percussion
Eric Hastings is a musician whose career has included a wide variety of touring, recording, and teaching experiences. He composes and produces music for TV and film. He has performed and recorded with jazz combos, rock groups, singer-songwriters, world music ensembles, hip hop collectives, pop bands, electronic acts, blues bands, and experimental artists. Eric co-founded NCM East Records, a label dedicated to nurturing artists and releasing music that pushes creative boundaries. He has overseen the licensing of the releases internationally and to over 250 different TV shows, films and other new media outlets. As an educator, Eric teaches private drum lessons, conducts rhythm section workshops, and music business and technology seminars. He co-founded, Creative Music Adventures, a Seattle-based music education group dedicated to providing students with hands-on education focused on improvisation and ensemble interplay. He can currently be found on stage or in the studio with the likes of Anna Coogan, Tania Alexandra, Collective Acoustics, Kim Lamothe Tree-oh, Leah Carlson, Paul Williams, Gin Mill Jane, Justice on a Budget, Cuchata, Don McCloskey, Drums & Circuits, the Michael Stegner Trio, and The Jongleurs.
Matt Knippel, cello
Matthew Knippel is best known for bringing a smile and energy to the stage. Originally trained in classical music at Lawrence Conservatory and the University of Minnesota in Education and Cello Performance, Matt found himself jumping up and down playing Brazilian, Jazz, and Latin music on both Cello and Bass. Playing on TV and live over the radio regularly in Minnesota, he recently moved to Rhode Island to find a bigger stage. He started teaching computer programming at a summer program for gifted children in 2001, and moved his enthusiasm for teaching to music with his degrees. This year, Matt joins the Lincoln School faculty full-time, teaching vocal and instrumental ensembles, general music and drama in the Middle and Upper Schools.
After directing a youth symphony, beginner violin program, and starting a jazz program in Eagan, MN, Matt found a career buying and selling string instruments and accessories until he relocated to RI. At the same time, he continued to teach inner city kids in St. Paul to play violin through Walker West Music Academy, and maintained a private music studio. He performed on weekends and evenings 2-4 times every week with the South Dakota Symphony, his swing group ‘The Working Stiffs’, and many other groups. In his free time, Matt likes recording string quartet music, playing music, and cooking.
Judith Mitchell, harp and piano
Judith G. Mitchell is delighted to be joining the Lincoln School music program. She graduated from the University of Rhode Island where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She later studied harp with Hunjung Choi, Assistant Professor at Brown University, and piano with Dr. Eleanor Carlson, former chair of the music department at the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth. She is the President of the Southeastern Chapter MMTA, Massachusetts Music Teachers Association, and a member of MTNA, Music Teachers National Association. She is a member of the American Harp Society and Vice President of the Shoreline Chapter for Harpists which includes southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. In addition to teaching harp at Lincoln she teaches harp and piano privately, and performs at various venues with her levered and pedal harps.
Marcia Taylor, guitar and voice
Marcia Taylor has taught performing arts at Lincoln for the past twelve years. She graduated from the Hartt College of Music with a Bachelor of Music in classical guitar performance. She has toured the U.S. and Canada as a solo singer/songwriter, and also as a member of the topical/folk/cabaret group Bright Morning Star. Marcia has released three albums of original songs. When not teaching at Lincoln, she teaches guitar, voice and songwriting, and enjoys honing her storytelling and Spanish-speaking skills. She likes to think of herself as, among many other things, a ‘musical midwife’.
Sarah Young, oboe, saxophone and bassoon [Program Coordinator]
In addition to teaching in Lincoln School's Math Department and STEM Resource Center, Sarah Young is a freelance oboist and oboe teacher in the greater Providence area. She is also the oboe teacher at the RI Philharmonic Orchestra's Music School in East Providence. Her private oboe students are members of Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, the Music School's Youth Orchestras and Wind Ensembles, and have ranked as high as first place in the RIMEA All-State Festival. A veteran of the Leland Stanford Junior <pause> University Marching Band, Sarah lead the Lynx Pep Band at Lincoln Varsity Basketball games during the winter athletic seasons 2010-2012, playing her alto saxophone. She has also been on the faculty of the Music Institute of Rhode Island College and taught oboe and bassoon at Woonsocket High School.
Before returning to her native New England in 2003, Sarah spent three years performing full-time with the professional orchestras of Monterrey and Guanajuato, Mexico. She has performed at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, toured China, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, and performed for the UN Heads of State conference in Monterrey, 2002. Domestically, she has taken the stage in numerous concert halls including Boston's Symphony Hall and Chicago's Orchestra Hall. Sarah holds a Master's Degree with Distinction in Music Performance from DePaul University as well as dual bachelor's degrees in Music and Civil Engineering from Stanford University. Sarah is the principal oboist in the RI Philharmonic Community Orchestra, and will be a featured soloist in two of the orchestra's 2012-2013 season concerts.
In her copious free time, Sarah sings in the choir at Trinity Episcopal Church in Pawtuxet Village, and occasionally gets around to baking a mean flourless chocolate torte.
