Our Faculty & Staff

Dave Schecher returns to Usdan this summer for his 31st season. He is a trombonist, private music instructor and retired public school teacher who has also been the Director of The Long Island Brass Guild for many years.

Paula Berardinelli, Ph.D,  teaches Class Piano at both Hofstra University and Molloy College, and is the organist of St. Mary's Church in Roslyn Harbor. As a freelance pianist and organist, she has performed extensively in the classical, jazz and commercial genres, often serving as accompanist for pop artists such as Al Martino, Buddy Greco, Connie Francis, and Jerry Vale. Paula was featured at the Chelsea Center Concert Series, and appeared with the Minnewaska Chamber Music Society performing works for two pianos by Debussy, Gershwin, Faure and Bolling. She holds degrees from Hunter College, C.W. Post, and New York University. 

Born in Ohrid, in the Republic of Macedonia, Vasko Dukovski began playing with sound at age five and started his musical education at the age of eight. His dedication to music and the clarinet earned him a Fine Arts Award from the Interlochen Arts Academy, which he attended before receiving a Bachelors and a Masters Degree from The Juilliard Schools of Music.  Today, he is a New York-based multidisciplinary performing artist ,composer and advocate of  contemporary classical and experimental music.  Vasko has collaborated with some of New York’s most respected ensembles including Argento New Music Ensemble, S.E.M Ensemble, Bang on A Can All Stars, and others. In addition to being a front man of his world music quartet, Tavche Gravche, Vasko, is a member of Either/OR Ensemble, Mise-En Ensemble, Lost Dog Ensemble and Ensemble. He regularly appears in Europe, The Middle East, North Africa, China, and extensively in the U.S. in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, BAM, Roulette, LPR, and Miller Theater at Columbia University, The Met Museum and MOMA.  

Zac Selissen is a guitarist, composer, arranger and teacher whose performance of the guitar has earned him mastery of a wide range of music – from rock and avant-garde to classical and tango. Since his 2015 arrival in NYC, he has composed and performed the music film, theater and modern dance pieces. Zac has also performed in off-Broadway productions of Death for Five Voices (Prospect Theater Company) Hair: A Tribal Love Rock Musical, Gilgamesh, and Kill Sister, Kill! (FringeNYC). Also a member of Duo Symphonious, Mayor Gavin Newsom awarded the group a Certificate of Honor for their performance of their original adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet.

What’s your most vivid/favorite memory of Usdan? 
It was amazing to see how everyone’s different personalities and backgrounds melded together to create a really positive and supportive atmosphere in my guitar studio last year

Aaron Korn is a highly sought-after freelance horn player in the Tri-State area.  Returning to Usdan for the ninth year, he has previously held the positions of 2nd horn with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in Israel and the Princeton Symphony in NJ as well as 4th horn with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, PA. In addition to his role at Usdan, Aaron currently teaches at Hunter College and The Juilliard School - Music Advancement Program.  His performance career includes Broadway shows such as Cinderella and Rocktopia as well as the beloved Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Music, where he received his Master of Music degree, and the Manhattan School of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree. 
        
Why did you choose to work at Usdan? 
I have taught at Usdan for the past nine years, and I always love my summers there. The students remind me of what I was like when I was their age, and I hope to be as inspiring to my students as my former teachers were to me.

Andrew R. Steinberg is a Boston-based saxophonist performing throughout North America, Asia, and Europe. Praised for his “beautiful tone” and “lyric playing,” Andrew has sought to perform neglected works as well as present premiere performances. An advocate of music that is equally gratifying and challenging, his repertoire focuses on works that highlight the “sound-of-sax” in ways never heard before, particularly in terms of tone color, range, and aesthetic approach. In addition to performing, Andrew lectures at venues including Boston University, New England Conservatory, Brookline Adult & Community Education, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Andrew  is currently completing his doctorate at New England Conservatory and is the Founder and Music Director of the Megalopolis Saxophone Orchestra.

What will be your focus for the upcoming camp season? 
This summer, Saxophone class will focus on team activities, including saxophone quartets and ensembles, as well as discussions of the saxophone repertoire and its rich history.    
 

Cyndi Feinman has been teaching music in the Roslyn Public Schools for over 12 years. In addition to leading chorus in the district’s Middle School, she directs the Spotlight musical. Currently, Cyndi is the chairperson for Division V All-County Mixed Chorus, and a co-chair for the NY/ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) Middle School Division. She also adjudicates NYSSMA Levels One through Six during NYSSMA season. Her greatest goal is to bring the joy of music— particularly vocal skills and choral music— to a new generation. She has received Orff levels from Trevor Day School and Hofstra University and Kodaly levels through the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut. Her studies also include “Music and the Brain training” and World Drumming Level I.
 

Why did you choose to work at Usdan? 
I believe in the mission and I believe that students should have a place they feel safe to experiment with things they love. 

Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Laura Lannes is an award-winning illustrator and cartoonist living in New York City.  She graduated in 2015 from the School of Visual Arts, where she studied Illustration. Laura balances commercial work and passion projects including two comic books coming out in 2018: in the fall; one in the U.S., by publisher Retrofit Comics; one in Brazil, by Companhia das Letras.    

What are you most excited about for this coming summer season? 
I can’t wait to meet all the campers and learn about each of their particular interests and artistic leanings! 

Lauren Ruiz is a research-based multimedia artist addressing ecological contamination and the corrosive effects of human activity. Her research currently focuses on the amount of artificial plastics that exist within the human body at a cellular level, and on water scarcity and its relation to the civil unrest.  She received a Bachelor of Science in Fine Art and Film Production at Hofstra University in 2012 and is currently pursuing her Masters of Fine Arts at Stony Brook University. As well, she currently teaches beginning drawing at Stony Brook University.

What other departments are you most excited to collaborate with? 
I would be excited to work with the Nature team and possibly bring in some projects that look at the environment or recycling, as part of a more social practice project with the students.

A practicing artist and educator, Krista Biedenback’s passion has always been drawing and painting. She currently teaches drawing, sculpture and studio art courses at Hicksville High School and produces large-scale mixed media drawings and paintings out of her studio in Port Jefferson, NY. Krista’s past experience includes coordinating exhibitions for galleries in Manhattan and on Long Island, as well as serving as the Assistant to the Director of the Pollock-Krasner house in East Hampton. She is thrilled to be returning to Usdan this season for another summer of art exploration and growth with her students.    

Why did you choose to work at Usdan? 
Usdan is a magical place. From the beautiful surroundings to the enthusiastic students, it is a place for all to grow and learn from each other in the arts.

Tom Brydelsky in an artist living and working in New York. His mixed-media encaustic pieces have appeared in numerous publications and televised features on art and home décor, as well as in group and solo exhibitions and many prominent public and private collections. Tom is also a seasoned museum educator and has served at many notable New York intuitions including The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; The Queens Museum of Art; The Hecksher Museum of Art; and the Parrish Art Museum. 

Have you won any accolades/awards in your creative profession?  
I’m recently received the Pollock-Krasner Award grant  -- a great honor.

Chris Vivas returns to Usdan for the ninth year this summer. He was selected for artist residencies throughout the world, including The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Japan; the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, AIR Vallauris in France, and Babayan Culture House in Turkey. And, his ceramic sculptures have been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. In addition to Usdan, Chris teaches at St. Joseph’s College and Suffolk County Community College.

What will be your focus for the upcoming camp season? 
Working with students to develop their own creations; spark their creativity; and offer challenging projects and puzzles tengage their minds as well as bolster their skill sets.    

Annie Ewaskio is a Teaching Artist at Studio in a School and Abrons Arts Center.  She has participated in solo and group shows at galleries across the United States, including Elijah Wheat, GP Presents, A.I.R., and Underdonk (New York); Zolla/Lieberman (Chicago); Texas Christian University (Fort Worth); and Current (Baltimore). Her work has appeared in publications including The Brooklyn Rail, The New Yorker, and New American Paintings. Annie is the recipient of two Kossak Painting grants; the Jerome Foundation Travel & Study grant,; and the William and Dorothy Yeck award from Miami University. Her residencies include The Arctic Circle Program and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, NE. She has an MFA in Painting from Hunter College, and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

What are you proudest of in your career? 
Getting funding to go to the Arctic for research, and going to Bemis as a resident artist.
 

A multidisciplinary artist and organizer, Courtney Surmanek creates installation artworks,performance-poetry, and community-based initiatives exploring law, trauma, public space, gender, and sexuality. They are currently a Fellow of the Hemispheric Institute for Performance and Politics’ EMERGENYC program and The Performance Project at University Settlement. They received a BFA in Studio Art and Arts Politics from New York University, focusing on the arts as a tool for social change, and have participated in art residencies with The Art & Law Program at Cornell University, the Center for Artistic Activism, and Gibney Dance’s Institute for Community Action. In addition to having a robust teaching background they have exhibited work, performed, and organized events in venues across New York, including the Bowery Poetry Club, Islip Art Museum, Judson Memorial Church, The Knockdown Arts Center, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, the Living Gallery BK, the Lowline Lab, and Theaterlab. 

Why did you choose to work at Usdan? 
I am excited to work with youth at Usdan to continue my work closing the opportunity gap, instilling creative exploration and risk-taking in the youth I work with. 

Brian Karen is ranked within the top three percent of tournament chess players by the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and Federation Internationale Des Échecs (FIDE). Brian has had to demonstrate exceptional instincts at motivating, relating to, and teaching children chess. He has been the co-director of the acclaimed USDAN Chess program since 1997 and is coach at the three time Long Island Chess Champion Friends Academy as well as director of chess programs for the Roslyn School District, The Long Island School for the Gifted, and The St. Patrick chess program.

What other departments are you most excited to collaborate with? 
I have a bond with the archery department as many of the chess children take archery and the instructor Joe was one of my students when I started at Usdan.

Brian Brooks is a talented dancer, teacher and choreographer who founded and leads an eponymous dance troupe in New York City. He has created dances for Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech, The Juilliard School, Boston Conservatory, The School at Jacob’s Pillow, Harvard University, and many others. Beyond his company, he has choreographed off-Broadway Shakespeare productions for Theatre for a New Audience including A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2013), directed by Julie Taymor, and Pericles (2016), directed by Trevor Nunn.  As well, Brian dedicated 12 years as a Teaching Artist at Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education and has been on part-time faculty at Rutgers University and Princeton University. 

What other departments are you most excited to collaborate with? 
Any! All! My next research project will explore the intersection of dance and virtual reality – I love expanding my knowledge base and integrating my work with other disciplines.

Michael Janover is a Long Island-based Musical Director/Actor/Composer/Arranger who regularly works in the theater as a music director and pit orchestra musician. He is a motivated and outgoing individual with a passion for and a belief that music can heal and connect all people.

Jim Invorvaia is a high school AP English and Theater teacher returning to Usdan for his 27th year.  A Long Island native, Jim lives in Westbury and leads the charge for Usdan’s Theater Department, planning, scheduling, and producing the Camp’s annual 35-day, 11-show season for 300-plus theater students.

What are you most excited about for this coming summer season?  
The whole season.

Carol Prisamt has been directing regional theater on Long Island for over 25 years.  She has worked with local theaters such as Broadhollow Theatre, Studio Theatre and Bayway Arts Center, directing shows including Other People's Money, Steel Magnolias, Breaking Legs, Sylvia, Veronica's Room and The Odd Couple, among many others. In addition, she spent several summers supervising a performing arts program for children and teenagers in the Hudson Valley where she produced and directed multiple musical productions and taught various acting classes. Carol earned her M.A. In English literature and teaches English languages arts.

What’s your most vivid memory of Usdan? 
My most vivid memory of working at Usdan was during the curtain call my Theatre Adventure students took after their performance of Junie B. Jones. The look of pride on their faces brought me to tears and is a moment I will always hold dear.

Actor/instructor Rob hails from St. Louis, MO, and first studied music and theater at the renowned Indiana University School of Music. After moving to New York in 1995, he starred as Javert in the Broadway production of Les Miserables, and also appeared in the role of Emile Debeque in the Broadway revival of South Pacific. He is currently adjunct professor of voice at Long Island University and Five Towns College.

What will be your focus for the upcoming camp season? 
Creating a fun and rewarding performance experience for the students.