It's Miami. It's Music. It's Community. It's a Center.

Melissa Lesniak

Wendy Gunther

Ruth Wiesen, Artistic Director Armour Dance Theatre

Rhonda Smith, Executive Director Fit Kids of America

Tinder Burris, Retired MDCPS Music Teacher, Cello Instructor

Lakeisha Frith, Director of Education Arsht Center 

Vivian Gonzalez, Orchestra Director Miami Arts Studio

Carissa Sweet, Digital Associate University of Miami

Bernarda Reyes, Senior Manager Audience Development at Sony Music Latin 

Suzanne Suris, Preschool & Elementary Music Teacher at Westminster Christian School

Mrs. Suzanne Suris has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Florida International University and a Florida Professional Teacher’s Certificate in Elementary Education.  She has taught ages birth through grade 8, both in the general education classroom as well as in dedicated music classrooms for 28 years. She has directed numerous children’s and youth choirs and bands, and has also presented at conferences for organizations such as the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. Suzanne served as the Southeast Regional Representative for the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association for 3 years, and has her certification in the Musikgarten curriculum, utilized in a variety of music education settings.

Suzanne currently is the Preschool and Elementary Music Teacher at Westminster Christian School. She has been a member of the Fine Arts Department faculty at Westminster for 12 years, and is also the Director of Worship at Redland Church of the Nazarene.

Suzanne believes that exposure to music and musical activities is critical to every child’s intellectual, physical, and social development. As the mother of a special needs child, she has seen first-hand the effect of music in the lives of challenged children and adults. 

Isabella Herrera, Music Teacher at St. Philips Episcopal School

Isabella Herrera is an experienced pianist, violinist, guitarist, and educator.  She is currently the violin and music teacher at St. Philips Episcopal School in Coral Gables, and taught both piano and violin at the Frost School of Music for 7 years prior where she got her Bachelors in Music Education.  Her primary instrument of study in college was piano, but she also played violin in the Chameleon String Ensemble.  As a college student, she fell in love with the art of teaching music, and is driven by the social and emotional connections of music-making.  

Amy Miller, Cellist & DMA Candidate- Frost School of Music

Ben Bird, Music Teacher Mater Academy Cutler Bay

Besnik Hashani, Orchestra Director Gulliver Middle

Vivian Ventura, Orchestra Director Southwood Middle