“Amelia has grown so much as a piano student in the almost three years she has been with CHMA”  – Theresa D.

The staff at Chestnut Hill Music Academy have either university music degrees or professional performance experience.  Each teacher is carefully chosen and screened for their ability to teach, inspire and connect with children and adult students. They have all  undergone both a PA Criminal Background Check and a Child Abuse Clearance. Since each student is totally unique, at CHMA teachers are empowered to use their intuition and experience to create a unique learning environment to suit each child’s interests, temperament and learning style.  Our goal is to choose just the right match for each student from our diverse staff.  Each teacher is encouraged and supervised to be flexible and creative in their approach. In collaboration with parents we design a unique personal teaching plan to keep each child growing, inspired and engaged.

Mickey Leone – Director and Guitar Teacher – CHMA Director Mickey Leone has been working with children and music for over 3 decades. He founded and co- directed Soundstage School of Music for 9 years before moving on to CHMA.  A professional musician since the age of 14 when he began playing drums in rock bands. Over the years he has studied guitar, piano, voice and fiddle with various private teachers. His musical influences run from blues to country to jazz standards to southern rock.  A native of the area, Mickey first started teaching music privately in the mid 1980’s.  In 1995 he founded The Chestnut Hill Guitar School where he taught hundreds of students over the years.  In addition, he was the Montgomery County director of Makin’ Music the interactive parent-tot program from 1998 to 2010.  Mickey also holds a Master’s Degree from Chestnut Hill College in Counseling Psychology with special training in play and music therapy for children.   Mickey personally chooses and supervises all teachers.

Mark Kuczynski – Drums, Guitar         

Mark has been playing drums in rock bands at popular music venues up and down the East Coast the past several years.  He grew up nearby in Delaware County being professionally trained in complex rock, jazz and Latin patterns as well as the rudiments of drumming.  Mark’s drumming influences are some of the most renowned and skilled drummers in rock and roll history including John Bonham, Neil Peart and Matt Cameron.  He has a passion for music education, and applies all his lessons to real world examples from popular music as a means for keeping the lessons fun and educational for his students.  Mark is a graduate of Saint Joseph’s University where he also played hockey, and is a fan of all Philadelphia sports teams. He looks forward to meeting anyone with a desire to learn music and encourages everyone to explore their musical interests to the fullest.

                           Jack Carroll – Guitar, Bass, Rock School  

Elle Gyandoh – Voice, Flute, Piano

Elle has been deeply involved with music since the age of 8, when she began her study of the flute. Within the next few years she found her voice and started acting in her school theater, especially in the Musicals.  In middle school she began writing songs and performing at local clubs and coffeehouses. By high school she had worked her way to First Chair Flute all the while continuing her singing and songwriting. At Temple University she played in the Marching and Concert Bands. Today she leads her own band, as singer and flutist, performing Soul, Jazz, Funk, Pop, & R&B.  She also is vocalist for a successful wedding/corporate band performing at many large venues throughout the area. Elle has a passion for working with children and she brings that to her teaching, With an M.A. in School Counseling, she is on staff at an Elementary School, where she facilitates a music club. Elle is also a volunteer with WXPN’s Musicians On-Call Program, singing at the bedsides of sick patients, many of them children. As a teacher Elle works to help each student get the most from the experience whatever their goals might be.  According to Elle  “confidence is the key ingredient in successful performance. When working with a teacher first you need to build trust, Once trust is established, anything is possible”

Ajibola Rivers – Cello – Bass

Natalie Rose Havens –  Voice, Piano

Henry Farcus  – Piano, Electric Keyboard

Henry is a long time friend and musical collaborator of Mickey Leone, the school director. He has performed with Mickey since they were both teenagers playing in various bands and music ensembles. Henry began studying piano at age 7 with private classical lessons so he has a deep background and excellent skills. His interests transitioned to rock, blues, folk & pop music and he started playing with bands at age 13 ultimately going through the evolution of dance club bands, original music groups, touring cover bands, full-on R&B bands, solo piano performance, duos and trios. Throughout his experiences he took a special interest in electronic keyboards  becoming familiar with their sound textures and programming capability.

Henry earned his BA and majored in Communications at Temple University  ultimately working on staff for the college, supervising the Film Sound & Editing facilities. He’s spent many years as the director and chief instructor for American Music Institute of Pa. The workshops he presented taught students to play songs by ear, using a shorthand method and a few simple ideas and techniques. A skilled improvisor, arranger and ensemble player he is able to show his students how to use their playing in a variety of situations.

Henry believes that when in a group, listening to what others are playing is a crucial skill for all musicians. He is pleased to share his love of music with the youngest students as well as adults at all levels.

Raymond Mallari – Violin , Viola