Teaching Artists

The Phoenix Conservatory of Music teaching artists are professional musicians, educators, mentors, have access to ongoing professional development, and undergo background checks to provide a safe environment for your students.

Liliana de León-Torsiello

Josh Finnson

Voice, Piano

Megan Frederick

Violin

Diego Gonzalez

Piano and Composition

Michael Gutierrez

Percussion, Vocal and Sectionals

Nicholas Hildebrandt

Bass Guitar, Guitar, Piano, Singer/Songwriter

Sophia Humbert

Voice and Songwriting

Elizabeth Jones

Violin

Jeff Jones

Learning Through Music (Early Childhood), Piano, Saxophone, Flute

Michael Judge

Piano, Voice, Songwriting, Arranging

Amy K

Songwriting, Voice, Piano/Keyboard, Ukulele, Voice-Over Acting, Music Business, Guitar, Bass

Jakob Leyba

Bass, Guitar

Andrew Lineweaver

Drums, Guitar, Piano

Alyssa Marksz

Piano and Voice

Kiernan Marriott

Piano, Music Theory

Nick Martinez

Drums, Percussion, and Ukulele

Ann McGregor

Drums & Percussion, Piano, Guitar, Bass Theory, Ensemble

Diego Miranda

Guitar, Songwriting, Violin, Music Theory, and Ensemble Director

Danny Morrissett

WeBop

Arsen Nalbandian

Jazz Piano, Jazz Composition

AJ Odneal

Guitar, Ukulele, and Afterschool Programming

Regina Nixon

PCM Executive Director / Curriculum Designer and Instructor

Kyler Paden

Drums, Audio Production, Ensemble

Ty Parker

Guitar

Kyle Perez

Guitar, Piano, Ukulele

Alisa Phoenix

Early Childhood Music Education, Guitar, Musical Theater, Piano, Theory, Ukulele and Voice

JP Rabusa

Audio Production, Piano and Voice

Lane Rogers

Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute, Songwriting, Jazz Theory, Ensemble

Toni Rogers

Enrichment

Meghan Ruel

Violin

Jules Schubert

Piano, Voice, Saxophone

Jake Silverman

Multi-instrumentalist, Composer

Chino Soberano

Viola and Violin

Peter Torsiello

Guitar

Jack Uppling

Guitar, Bass, Ukulele and Piano

Teresa Valenzuela-Mertz

Voice, Piano, Ensemble

Donna Larson-Wilde

Voice, Saxophone, Piano

Neray Bailey

Piano and Voice

Neray Bailey joined the Phoenix Conservatory of Music in 2009 with nearly thirty years of experience in piano and vocal performance and instruction. After obtaining her high school diploma from the Bul Bul Music School, a special school for gifted children under the Azerbaijan State Conservatory of Music, Neray attended the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, obtaining Masters degrees in vocal and piano performance with high honors.

Throughout her professional career, she has held numerous positions in both academia and the musical performance sector, including: Soloist at the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (1985-1997), Vocal Performance Instructor (1985-1991) and Professor of Vocal Performance (1991-1997) at the Azerbaijan State Conservatory of Music, Pianist (1998-2008) at the School of Ballet Arizona, Music Teacher (2003-2008) at Irene’s Happy Day Child Care, and Voice Teacher, Choir Instructor and Accompanist (2004-2009) at Rosie’s House: A Music Academy for Children.

As a classically trained opera singer (singing voice of mezzo soprano), Mrs. Bailey has performed in numerous classical opera productions, frequently holding lead roles. In the course of her artistic career as both a pianist and a vocalist, Mrs. Bailey has also been the recipient of a number of awards, including the M.I. Glinka Competition Certificate of Achievement Award (1981), the Transcaucasus Performing Artists Competition 1st Place Winner Award (1985), the Academy of Arts of Azerbaijan Honorary Membership Award (1990), and the Toulouse International Singing Competition Award (1991). In addition to her work at PCM, Neray is a piano accompanist and piano and voice teacher at the Scottsdale School of Ballet, where she has worked since 2007. Mrs. Bailey holds Masters and Bachelors degrees from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music. She has sung in numerous opera companies and has toured extensively throughout Europe and the former Soviet Union. She holds many awards and honors, and for more than twelve years, was a principal performer for the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater and served as an instructor and then professor of solo performance at the Azerbaijan State Conservatory of Music.

Liliana de León-Torsiello

Liliana de León is a master dancer, choreographer, composer, vocalist, performer, educator, and professor of World Dance Studies who embraces dance as a powerful form of expression. Liliana brings her expertise, spirituality, and charismatic personality to the stage as choreographer, soloist, and co-composer of “FLORYPIEDRA”, for which she performs works that while focusing on Flamenco, use a diverse mixture of Mexican Folklorico, Latin Popular dance, Latin Jazz, Post-Modern American dance, film, light and spoken word, that showcase her interdisciplinary expression through her original creations. She was recently invited to assist Gabriela Martinez as cultural attaché and she will be featured in “Azucar” at The Getty Museum in February 2022.

Liliana, who started dancing at the age of three, began her professional career in her teens. She has performed extensively throughout Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, and the United States where she has worked for theatre, television, film, and stage. Liliana has also produced concerts and created dances in community settings for dance festivals, dance fairs, magnet school programs, high school performance groups, college dance companies, university outreach groups, praise and worship concerts, Religious Education Congress, site specific performances and professional dance companies. She has a B.A. in Modern Dance from A.S.U.; an M.F.A. in Choreography and Performance from U.C.L.A; Adjunct Professor in the World Arts and Cultures department at U.C.L.A; is currently at South Mountain Community College in AZ. Liliana de León is a professional choreographer, performer and dancer of many talents who welcomes commissions and looks forward to new challenges.

This December 2021 Liliana is premiering three original dance works: “Tristezas del Desierto”, “Danza de Mezcla”, “Leyenda y Costumbre del Caracol”, inspired by the Mixtec, Zapotec, Chichimec, Mayan and Aztec indigenous Mexican cultures at Cesar Chavez Theatre in the Round. FLORYPIEDRA premiered their one hour original bilingual text, music, dance and spoken word “Calaveras Cantantes Y Calacas Bailantes” on Novemeber 3^rd, 2021 at Inpira in Arrowhead. In 2006-8 Peter and Liliana premiered three music, dance and spoken word pieces by the author Stella Pope Duarte, ‘If I die in Juarez”, “The day I was born,” and “La LLorona” performed by Stella and the FLORYPIEDRA duo. Her work was also featured at the Arizona Dance festival 06′ and 21’ where FLORYPIEDRA filled the proscenium stage of Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and featured again at ADF at Tempe Art Center Friday October 22^nd, 2021. Liliana was choreographer and soloist while Peter was Music Director, singer and guitarist for the 2005-06 tour of the Grammy Award nominee Maria del Rey’s “Bridge El Puente”. With performances by the FLORYPIEDRA duo with Maria at Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in CA, Alden Theatre in Virginia, Leeds at University of Nebraska, Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center CA, and Mesa Center for the Performing Arts in AZ amongst others. Also in 2005, Liliana with husband Peter Torsiello, created, directed, and starred in “Amor”- the original two-person intercultural show by FLORYPIEDRA that had a great eight month run in the small stage in Scottsdale AZ. In 2011 and they along with their son Vincenzo Torsiello continue to perform and share their faith, music, song, poetry, and dance with Performances like the Café Flamenco in Phx. AZ and the Singer Songwriters showcase in Venice CA. Their original composition “Mujer como Tu” was featured in Rincon Cultural in 2021 for Telemundo Az.

Furthermore, Liliana directed three evenings that featured 9 new works that premiered in “Punto de Vista Point of View” at the Electric Lodge, CA. In the past few years, she has been a performer for the Dance Kaleidoscope at the legendary Anson Ford theatre, CA; an opening lecturer for Maria Benitez at the Wadsworth, CA; a featured dance soloist in a dazzling commercial for Eastman Kodak Film, US; a Flamenco and Folklorico dance soloist and choreographer for PBS in “A Malibu Christmas”, CA; a Soloist for Television Española, Madrid, Spain; a featured interdisciplinary artist for ABC “Vista L.A.’s Power Couples”, CA; and a featured soloist at the Joyce Theatre in New York City in 2002 where she received great reviews for her exciting work. She was also the Choreographer and Principal dancer for the Phoenix Opera Company’s presentation of “Carmen”.

A love story like no other, Liliana and Peter met as teenagers, are now married for 28 years, and have a wonderful son, Vincenzo Torsiello who loves to sing, harmonize, play the drums, piano, bass, cajon, ukulele, write songs, write skits, and is a Psychology and Classics double major at the University of Notre Dame. Vincenzo is light and joy in their lives. JITTERSPIT, ESTESQUELETO/THISKELETON are his two albums you can listen to on iTunes. The love, pride and admiration Liliana has for her husband Peter Torsiello and son Vincenzo Torsiello is as vast as the soul can be.

Megan Frederick

Violin

Megan Frederick is a performer, educator, and active community musician, having played violin for over 14 years.

Her previous instructors include Drostan Hall, the conductor of Camerata Chicago, and most recently, Meichen Liao Barnes of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. Megan has attended three consecutive seasons of the Philadelphia International Music Festival, where she has had private lessons with Kim Fisher, Daniel Han, Barbara Govatos, Bob Depasquale, Julia Li, and Dara Morales of the Philadelphia Orchestra. During her time at the 2019 PIMF festival, she was named Concertmistress of the most advanced symphony orchestra, working closely with maestro Thomas Hong of the University of Pennsylvania.

Megan was a member of the Delaware County Youth Orchestra for over five
consecutive seasons under the baton of Swarthmore College’s Senior Lecturer of Music, Andrew Hauze. After relocating to Scottsdale, Arizona, she began studying privately with Karen Sinclair of the Phoenix Symphony, working biweekly to refine technique and take on challenging solo repertoire. After branching out into the Phoenix area, Megan also gained experience performing with differing worship teams (contemporary or traditional) and performing actively as a soloist and ensemble member.

Megan is now pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis in Instrumental Performance and a minor in Worship Arts at Grand Canyon University. During her time in GCU’s Music Department thus far, apart from still maintaining her private lessons with Ms. Sinclair, she has also gained opportunities to perform with the Canyon Symphony Orchestra, as well as use her violin to accompany the GCU Critical Mass Choir on multiple occasions, both ensembles conducted by Dr. Juan Hernandez. Megan was a part of the Ethington Theater’s 2023 production of Big Fish, performing as a member of the musical’s Live Orchestra, conducted and led by Mr. Mark Fearey. Megan also spends much time tracking string parts for various artists at the GCU Recording Studio.

The challenging year of 2020 introduced Megan to a new passion. She was given the opportunity to teach underprivileged musicians (via Zoom) through the student-led organization Mission Orpheus. Since then, Megan has taught continuously, privately, and in music schools around the Valley.

Diego Miranda

Guitar, Songwriting, Violin, Music Theory, and Ensemble Director

Recording artist and classical guitarist Diego Miranda is an active teaching artist in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. Serving in an administrative and functional capacity with videography, photography, music technology, sound production and stage design; his experiences and expertise go beyond masterfully playing the guitar. He is an active teaching artist; teaching guitar, music ensembles, music technology, music theory and improvisation in youth development for The Leading Tone and Harmony Project Phoenix in addition to Phoenix Conservatory of Music. An emergent artist, he is composing and innovating ways music can be a driving force in people’s lives. His music can be found on a variety of streaming services.

Diego began his hybrid collaborations at a young age with bands of all genres, including folk, indie, funk, rock, psychedelic and electronic music, all of which inspired his summer 2017 EP, Ancient Fortress. That summer, he also placed as a semi-finalist in the Wilson Center Guitar Competition. His collaborative spirit has continued to extend as a chamber musician, including orchestral and choral performances such as Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Romancero Gitano, Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day and Xerxes, and Paul Fowler’s Behold the Man. From 2017-2019, Diego led the content creation as the Audio/Video Coordinator at Madeline Island Chamber Music, a distinguished chamber music training program in Lake Superior.

Diego holds a Bachelor of Music from University of Denver and a Master of Music at Arizona State University. His teachers have included Frank Koonce, Ricardo Iznaola, Jonathan Leathwood, Gilbert Biberian and Laura Husbands. As a teaching artist, Diego’s passion is to lead students to become autodidacts and helping them achieve a superior sense of self-efficacy.

Regina Nixon

PCM Executive Director / Curriculum Designer and Instructor

Regina Nixon joined Phoenix Conservatory of Music (PCM) in January of 1999 with a wealth of administrative and musical skills to draw from. She has a strong background in administration, including customer service skills, scheduling, salary cost planning, accounts payables and receivables, inventory control, contract negotiations, and organizational management. Regina has been involved in every aspect of PCM’s business, and is instrumental in continued program growth and curriculum development. Under her leadership, the organization has grown considerably, developed many community partnerships and been awarded honors such as the 2015 Arizona Governor’s Arts Organization Award Winner and placement as the 2017 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award Finalist from the Presidents Commission on Arts and Humanities through the National Endowment of the Arts.

She attended Arizona State University’s School of Music, Honors Program, and the Music Theatre Program as a recipient of The Barbara Long Opera Award. She also attended Glendale Community College-Music Studies with an emphasis in guitar performance. Proficient in piano, guitar, voice and acting.

Regina has presented numerous professional development workshops in Music Technology, Teaching and Learning Online, Early Childhood Music, Composing in the Classroom, Culturally Responsive Music, Assessment in the Music Classroom, Building Alignment around your music program, and Grant Writing for the Music Educator. As a teaching artist, she has facilitated arts and academic integrated residencies for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten for multiple districts. Nationally, she has completed training from the Center for Music and Young Children in Princeton, NJ to teach early childhood developmental music programs. She has been a presenter at the Berklee City Music National Conference on resource development and creative youth development.

In 2012, she received her PULSE Instructor Certification from the Berklee College of Music’s Berklee City Music Network and, in 2014, received her PULSE 2 Train the Trainer Certification and joined an elite group of PULSE trainers chosen to as regional and national training presenters. In 2016, Executive Director, Regina Nixon received 2016 BCMN Distinguished Service Award for Sustained Leadership. In 2017, Regina joined other Berklee City Music Network and Berklee College of Music Teachers with a professional development session for teachers and students in Cape Town, South Africa and presented at the Berklee Global Conference in Valencia, Spain.

Regina has served as an Arts and Culture Commissioner for the City of Phoenix, Arts Learning and Advocacy Committees from 2013-2018. In 2018 she took on the role of Vice Chair for the Phoenix Arts Commission and Chaired the commission in 2019-2020.

Chino Soberano

Viola and Violin

Filipino violinist and music educator Ramon “Chino” Soberano is known for his thoughtful and emotional interpretation and engagement with his audience. Born in Manila, Philippines, Chino fell in love at first sight with classical music when he saw his grandaunts play the piano. At age seven, he started his journey with the violin with a simple and tiny rental violin and never looked back.

As a passionate performer, Chino is no stranger to the concert stage. As a soloist, he performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Manila Symphony Orchestra and the Western Illinois University Symphony Orchestra, where he was one of the concerto competition winners. He is also an enthusiastic chamber musician, a member of the Julstrom String Quartet and the Herberger String Quartet. He coached and performed alongside renowned quartets such as the Shanghai String Quartet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Brooklyn Rider, Arianna String Quartet, Enso String Quartet, and Brentano String Quartet. Chino was also a participant in solo and chamber masterclasses and lessons with renowned musicians, such as David Halen, Gerardo Ribeiro, Andres Cardenes, Jorja Fleezanis, Shmuel Ashkenasi, David Ehrlich, and Sergiu Schwartz, among others.

Chino is also a dedicated teacher. Aside from teaching private lessons, he was a teaching assistant to extraordinary violinists: Dr. Julieta Mihai at WIU and Prof. Danwen Jiang at Arizona State University. While being a pedagogue-in-training, he enthusiastically taught undergraduate violinists, violin technique classes, and orchestra sectionals. In 2021, he conducted pro-bono virtual masterclasses and lectures to his past alma maters in the Philippines – the St. Scholastica’s College’s School of Music and the University of the Philippines’ College of Music – as a way of honoring and giving back to his musical roots.

Aside from performing and teaching, Chino is also invested in finding ways to combine his advocacy for social justice and his love of music. In 2018-2020, he served as a member and co-president of the school’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accountability Student Committee, which both faculty and students highly regarded. He spearheaded impactful projects for the community that included “Mosaic,” a virtual performance showcase featuring members of the community performing works created by BIPOC artists, and the LGBTQIA+ Faculty Panel Discussion, where students get to see and listen to faculty and staff share their experiences in the performing arts while being members of the
LGBTQIA+ community.

Chino received his doctoral degree in violin performance at ASU in December 2021. In addition, his community engagement efforts during his studies granted him the Outstanding Graduate Award from the School of Music, Dance, and Theater. In addition, in January 2022, he will be receiving the KDR Icon of Music and Philanthropy from one of the leading media institutions in the Philippines, Wish FM 107.5, as recognition for his spirit of generosity through the Free Masterclass and Lecture project in 2021. He hopes to delve deeper into community building and engaging performances after graduation. Currently, he enjoys searching for new and underplayed violin pieces, trying new roasts of coffee, and making occasional trips to local independent bookstores.

Peter Torsiello

Guitar

Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Peter Torsiello began his music career at the age of 7 when he begged his mother for guitar lessons so that he could play just like “that guy at church.” Since then, Peter has been on a journey that has taken him to such diverse venues as the legendary Troubadour in Los Angeles and The Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.

From the age of 8 into his 20s, Peter played and sung throughout the country in a performing group known as “The Amigos.” It was there that he developed his love for rock, classical and Latin music. After earning a leadership scholarship, Peter received a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance from The Arizona State University. All of this led him to relocate to Los Angeles in pursuit of a career as a composer and performer.

Peter’s songwriting unites Latin, Classical, Folk, Flamenco, Light Jazz, and Rock: all revolving around his acoustic/electric guitar stylings. His debut album, “Paper Cathedrals” resided on play lists in over 72 major national markets, as well as Cox Music Network and U.S. Airways. While promoting his CD, Peter played at such noteworthy Los Angeles venues as Genghis Cantina and The Troubadour. He later released a Christian Compact Disc, “Glory to God.” Two of his compositions “We Will Turn” and “Say the Word” have been published through Oregon Catholic Press.

Peter also co-composed and co-produced the album “Amor” as a member of the flamenco-pop trio “FLORYPIEDRA”. This CD contained 2 songs that became winners of the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. In collaboration with the Phoenix Conservatory of Music, Florypiedra utilized these songs and other original compositions for a concert at the Herberger Theatre with students from Papago Elementary School in Phoenix. Peter’s theatre experience also includes being Musical Director for Man of La Mancha at the Smothers theatre in Malibu, California with acting legend Martin Sheen starring.

In addition to his own compositions, Peter has played lead guitar for Hollywood Records recording artist Serralde, Paul Cotton of Poco, Latin Grammy nominee Maria del Rey and film composer Matthias Weber. His guitar playing and original compositions can be heard on ABC and NBC networks; MGM and BMG/Sony Productions. He has also played for such notable Catholic composers as Chris De Silva and Tony Alonso on numerous recordings. His greatest love is his family, and currently feels extremely blessed to be composing and performing with his wife Liliana de León and son Vincenzo Torsiello on numerous projects.

Teaching Artists

Sadie Azersky

Stephen Avalos

Neray Bailey

Jordan Blanton

Stephanie Crawford

Daniel Davis

Liliana de León-Torsiello

Josh Finnson

Megan Frederick

Diego Gonzalez

Michael Gutierrez

Nicholas Hildebrandt

Sophia Humbert

Elizabeth Jones

Jeff Jones

Michael Judge

Amy K

Jakob Leyba

Andrew Lineweaver

Alyssa Marksz

Kiernan Marriott

Nick Martinez

Ann McGregor

Diego Miranda

Danny Morrissett

Arsen Nalbandian

AJ Odneal

Regina Nixon

Kyler Paden

Ty Parker

Kyle Perez

Alisa Phoenix

JP Rabusa

Lane Rogers

Toni Rogers

Meghan Ruel

Jules Schubert

Jake Silverman

Chino Soberano

Peter Torsiello

Jack Uppling

Teresa Valenzuela-Mertz

Donna Larson-Wilde

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Sadie Azersky

Stephen Avalos

Neray Bailey

Jordan Blanton

Stephanie Crawford

Daniel Davis

Liliana de León-Torsiello

Josh Finnson

Megan Frederick

Diego Gonzalez

Sophia Humbert

Elizabeth Jones

Jeff Jones

Amy K

Kiernan Marriott

Ann McGregor

Diego Miranda

Arsen Nalbandian

Regina Nixon

Kyler Paden

Ty Parker

Kyle Perez

JP Rabusa

Lane Rogers

Meghan Ruel

Jules Schubert

Jake Silverman

Chino Soberano

Peter Torsiello

Jack Uppling

Donna Larson-Wilde

Teresa Valenzuela-Mertz

Michael Judge

Jakob Leyba

Andrew Lineweaver