AHA: A Night In Paris Program

PROGRAM
Acheivement Heights Academy
A Night In Paris
December 5, 2020 . 6 pm

A Welcome Message
On behalf of Achievement Heights Academy, I
would like to extend a warm welcome to you to
A NIGHT IN PARIS!
We are excited about this virtual showcase of
students, scholars and professionals. Given the
Covid-19 pandemic and in the best interests
of our stakeholders, we have had a virtual
program since Spring 2020. Maintaining high
quality standards in a virtual environment is
a unique challenge. Yet, our students as well
as our guest artists and musicians have done
outstandingly. We can only imagine our level of
performance when we are able to safely return
to a more traditional learning environment.
Tonight, we warmly welcome you from near
and far. Over 100 attendees join us who are
currently located in or from Florida, New
York, Boston area, Arizona, Iowa, Texas, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Philadelphia, Los
Angeles, Cuba, Bulgaria, Uzbekistan, Russia, the
Philippines, Japan and South Africa to name
a few! What a unique experience a virtual
platform provides.

(Welcome, continued)
In the coming year, AHA will continue
to provide students with a high quality
program. We will continue to collaborate
with organizations in their behalf. This year,
we were pleased to form a collaboration
with organizations that connect our students
with members of the New York Philharmonic
Orchestra. Moreover, I am honored to continue
to serve as a board member PBS | WXEL &
WPBT and the National Society of Arts &
Letters Southeast Chapter. These leadership
roles enable me to widen access to outstanding
education for more than 6 million families and
children.
So now, I invite you to relax and enjoy
A NIGHT IN PARIS!
Sincerely,
Dr. N ’Quavah R. Velazquez
Founder, CEO & President

Preconcert - AHA Night In Paris Art Gallery
6pm
Artwork shown by:
AHA Students/Faculty
Carol Calicchio, painter (acrylic)
Vanessa Hill, photographer
Ron Pierre, digital artist
Nostalgic America
Sharon Koskoff, art deco
Yuko Nagayama (Japanese watercolor painter)
Edouard Leon Cortes (Poet of Painting in Paris),
with music by Erik Satie
Door Prizes Announced
~Intermission~
Sites around Paris

Concert
7pm
AHA Voice Performances
Host: Dr. N’Quavah R. Velazquez
Co-host: Sharima Jackson
When You Believe
The Duo, Aliyah & Tamia
Whitney Houston &
Mariah Carey
Lost Boy
Keira
City of Stars
Kaylynn
Skatin and Sleighin
Aliyah, Kaylynn, Keira & Tamia
Ruth B
Emma Stone &
Ryan Gosling
Greg Gilpin

Interviews with Aliyah & Tamia
I Choose
Aliyah
Never Enough
Tamia
The House That Built Me
Aliyah
What The World Needs Now Is Love
Tamia
Alessia Cara
Allison Allred
Miranda Lambert
Missi Hale
Diana Skobina & Sergei Skobin, 1 piano, 4 hands
Hungarian Dances Nos. 2 & 6
Sabre Dance, from ‘Gayane’
Johannes Brahms
Arahm Khachaturian
Contrast Duo
Yasa Poletaeva, violin
Darren Matias, piano
Habanera, from ‘Carmen’
Nana,
from 7 Spanish Folksongs, No. 5
A Night in Paris
(world premiere)
Georges Bizet
Manuel de Falla
Contrast Duo Original

Anthony Tobin
Claire de Lune
Claude Debussy
First Arabesque
Prelude Broulliards (Mists)
“The Evenings Lit by Coals”
~Intermission~
Paul Posnak & Anita Castiglione
An American in Paris
Summertime,
from ‘Porgy & Bess’
It Ain’t Necessarily So,
from ‘Porgy & Bess’
George Gershwin
Gershwin,
arr. Paul Posnak
Gershwin,
arr. Paul Posnak

Jazz In Pink
Natural Women
Happy
Soulful Strut
Let’s Stay Together
Rainbow Connection
The Ride*
Carole King & Gerry Goffin,
arr. Gail Johnson
Pharrell Williams
Young-Holt Unlimited
Al Green
The Muppets
Jazz in Pink Original
Keystroke*
*from new CD, “Joy”
Natural Women, by Jazz In Pink

Artist Bios
Aliyah is 13 years old and
started singing when she was
three. Her favorite song is
Seventeen and her favorite
movie is The Sound of Music.
Aliyah also enjoys drawing.
She would like to be an
illustrator or animator. Her
dream vacation would be to visit the Taj
Mahal.
Kaylynn is 13 years old. She
has been singing since she
was three. Her favorite
hobbies are painting and
sports such as soccer and
basketball. Her dream
vacationis to go to Italy.

Keira is 11 years old and has
been singing since the age of
three. She enjoys ballet,
the guitar, gymnastics and
spending time with her
mother. Her dream vacation is
to visit Paris, France.
Tamia is 10 years old and has
been singing since she was
just a year old. Her very
first public performance was
when she was two and was in
Chinese. Her favorite
soundtrack is The Greatest
Showman. Tamia’s every hope
and dream is to be a singer when she grows
up.
Besides singing, Tamia enjoys fine art. She
draws day and night and many times,
even after she’s in bed for the night. Tamia’s
dream vacation is to visit Paris, enjoy
French cuisine and visit the Eiffel Tower.

Native of Bulgaria,
Benita Dzhurkova
(AHA Voice Instructor),
started playing the
violin at the age of
six and taking singing
lessons at the age
of thirteenth. In
Europe, Ms. Benita
has completed
an intense music
program for violin and opera singing training
at a high school for music and performing
arts and attended the Royal Schools of
Music, England as part of a college degree
program in vocal performance. While in
the United States, Ms. Dzhurkova received
her Bachelor’s degree in violin and classical
singing performance from NSU, in Louisiana.
In addition, she received a Master’s degree in
violin performance from Lynn Conservatory
in Florida and Master’s degree in vocal
performance from Florida Atlantic University.

(Dzhurkova, continued)
Benita Dzhurkova is a winner in a number of
national and international competitions. She
has also appeared as an opera performer,
solo violin recitalist, as well as performing in
a number of chamber ensembles, orchestras,
master classes, music festivals in the United
States, Europe, and South America. Finally,
Benita Dzhurkova took part in several tours
with an opera company performing operas in
a number of major American theaters in 30
states throughout the United States.

Jazz In Pink is the
world-renowned, allfemale,
all-star band
based in Los Angeles,
CA.
In just six years, Jazz
In Pink has emerged
as one of the world’s
most prominent and
popular all-female,
ensembles. They enjoy
a growing social media
presence on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and
other social networks.
Jazz In Pink delivers a mixed genre which is
primarily Jazz with soul, R&B, symphonic,
rock and hip hop undertones. The band’s
core members are Gail Jhonson, Althea René,
Maria Antoinette, and Karen Briggs.

(Jazz In Pink, continued)
Since 2008, Jazz In Pink has not only
performed throughout the country and
around the world, but has worked to fill
learning, social, and cultural gaps through
community outreaches and events. The
talented band consistently captivates
audiences.
Collectively and individually, members have
performed along with Alex Bugnon; Norman
Brown; Eric Bent; Bobby Womack; Sheila E;
Peabo Bryson; David Benoit; Kirk Franklin;
Donnie McClurkin; Yolanda Adams; The
Virginia Symphony; Jonathan Butler; George
Duke; Stanley Clarke; Wu Tang Clan; Everett
Harp; Brenda Russell; Patti Austin; The Time
and Yanni.

(Jazz in Pink, continued)
Their CD, 1st Collection, was released in
2014. It features Gail Jhonson, Karen Briggs,
Althea Rene, Robin Bramlett, Cindy Bradley
and many other talented, eclectic musicians.
Their latest CD, Joy!, released in October
2020.
See Jazz in Pink’s Joy! album here

Sample from “Keystroke,”
by Jazz In Pink

A child prodigy, Paul Posnak was just
eight years-old when he was granted a
full scholarship to The Julliard Preparatory
School of Music. He subsequently earned
a Bachelor, Masters and Doctoral degrees
from The Julliard School, and was awarded
the Loeb Price, the institutions highest
award. He won First Prize awards in both The
International J.S. Bach Competition and New
York City’s Concert Artists Guild Competition,
resulting in a performance at the White
House and national recognition. More
recently, his Kennedy Center performances
with the National Symphony Orchestras

(Posnak, continued)
were hailed by The Washington Post as
playing “with respect and passion, readings
that were as notable for their musicality and
their artistic integrity as they were for their
pianism.” Subsequently, he was invited to
give a special performance for the Supreme
Court of the United States.
Paul Posnak is a highly regarded
collaborative artist who has appeared with
internationally renowned vocalist Luciano
Pavarotti and Jennie Tourel, and performed
and recorded with many of the world’s
leading chamber ensembles, including the
Amernet, Bergonzi, Emerson, Fine Arts,
Portland, St. Petersburg and Vega string
quartets.
Paul Posnak is internationally renowned
for his improvisations and note-for-note
transcriptions of the great jazz pianistcomposers
of the 1920s and 1930s.
His reconstructions of the brilliant solo
improvisations of George Gershwin and
Thomas “Fats” Waller from old recordings

(Posnak, continued)
and radio broadcasts have established him
as a world authority. Of his “Gershwin’s Piano
Improvisations” CD, The Washington Post
wrote: “It is remarkably like having Gershwin
himself in digital stereo.”
Dr. Posnak’s arrangements of Gershwin
songs for two pianos were issued by
Alfred Music Publishing in 2007, and his
transcriptions of 16 of Fats Waller’s greatest
solos have been re-issued in a second
edition by Hal Leonard, which has also
published his original arrangements of 12
canciones by Ernesto Lecuona Clavier said
of “Ain’t Misbehavin,” his CD on the Naxos
label: “Posnak’s performances have the
spontaneous character so necessary for
Waller’s music and he breezes through the
hard-to-play passages with all the facility and
verve of Liszt.”
As a recording artist in both the classical and
jazz genres, Paul Posnak has released 18 solo
and collaborative CD albums for Arabesque,
Cambria, Centaur, EMI Classics, Naxos,

(Posnak, continued)
Stradivari Classics, Vox and Yamaha
Disklavier. He has performed on four
continents, and is a featured artist on
numerous National Public Radio and
European radio broadcasts. Fluent in French
and German, he is a much sought-after
teacher and clinician throughout the United
States and abroad. Dr. Posnak has served as
a national judge for the Grammy Awards,
was a co-chair of the National Endowment
for the Arts Chamber Music and New
Music Panel, and is the Founding Artistic
Director of Florida’s Martha/Mary Yamaha
Concert Series. He is also the recipient of the
prestigious University of Miami Excellence
in Teaching Award (2008). Paul Posnak is
Professor Emeritus of Keyboard Performance
and Director Emeritus of the Collaborative
Piano Program at the University of Miami
Frost School of Music. Dr. Posnak is the
President of the Miami Music Teachers
Association.

Anita Castiglione holds a Bachelor of
Music degree from the University of Miami
and a Master’s degree from The Juilliard
School, both in piano performance. She
subsequently was awarded a Teaching
Assistantship in the Doctoral Program at the
University of Miami, earning her Doctorate of
Musical Arts in Accompanying and Chamber
Music (Collaborative Piano).
Dr. Castiglione’s career as a soloist,
collaborative pianist, choral accompanist,
and music educator began with piano
studies at the age of six. She has performed
extensively as a soloist and collaborative
pianist throughout the United States,
including performances of the Schumann
Piano Concerto in a minor with the Miami
Philharmonic under the baton of Arthur
(Castiglione, continued)
Fiedler, the Beethoven Piano Concerto No.
3 with the Princeton University Orchestra,
and the Gershwin Piano Concerto in F with
the Palm Beach Atlantic Symphony. She has
appeared in duo piano performances with

(Castiglione, continued)
husband, Paul Posnak, at the National Gallery of
Art in Washington, D.C., the Mohonk Summer
Festival of the Arts in New York, the Yamaha
Artist Salon Recital Hall in New York City, and
with the Lynn Philharmonia Orchestra in Florida.
Dr. Castiglione was a faculty member at Palm
Beach Atlantic University for eleven years,
serving as a Collaborative Pianist and Vocal
Coach, pianist for the Women’s Chorale, and
professor of Tonal Harmony. She has served
as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach at
Florida International University. Dr. Castiglione
has been the keyboardist for various ensembles
including The Juilliard Chorus, the New Jersey
All-State and Opera Festival Choruses, and the
Choral Society of the Palm Beaches. She has
served as an adjudicator for the National AP
Music Theory Examinations and for the Florida
State Music Teachers’ Association district
competitions.
Dr. Castiglione is the currently pianist for
the Frost Chorale, the Symphonic Choir, and
Women’s Chorale at the University of Miami
Frost School of Music.

George Gershwin’s “But Not For Me”
Arranged by Paul Posnak

Order the following CDs via email:
pposnak@bellsouth.net
“Gershwin’s Piano Improvisations: Paul
Posnak”
“Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller: Ain’t Misbehavin’ - 16
Great Piano Solos, 1929-1941
“Ernesto Nazareth: Tangos”
“Charming Chopin: Paul Posnak”
“To Lecuona with Love: Danzas and
Canciones,” with Sandra Lopez, Soprano, and
Paul Posnak, Pianist & Arranger
“Paul Posnak: Classics and Classic Jazz”
(A compilation of the above CDs)
CD + Shipping: $20 each

Steinway Artist Anthony Tobin, born in Salt
Lake City, grew up in Ithaca New York where
he studied with Malcolm Bilson. He received
degrees in piano performance from the
Eastman School with Anton Nel, a MM from
the University of Southern California with
Daniel Pollack, and a DMA from UT Austin.
In addition to teaching students of all levels
and abilities, he has performed as a touring
collaborative and solo pianist for the past 20
years. After annual tours of the US and later
Europe as pianist and music director with a
dance company, he was able to transform
those connections and has a few solo tours a
year in Europe. 2019 dates included May and

(Tobin, continued)
November tours of Switzerland,
performances at TAMIU in Laredo, Steinway
Piano Gallery of Austin, and Adam’s Music
House, where Dr. Tobin is Artistic Director.
Dr. Tobin, a Debussy specialist, has
completed two films, the most recent, Le
piano du Reve, include footage from the
only piano Debussy purchased and on which
presumably composed his piano works.

Le piano du rêve
A 2018 film by Anthony Tobin

(Tobin, continued)
During the 2018 Debussy Centennial,
Tobin performed numerous programs in
Switzerland and the US of the Preludes Book
I and II. Tobin performs, teaches, oversees a
series of master classes and performances at
Adam’s Music House, a new venue dedicated
to spreading the love and study of the piano.
In 2019 Tobin performed at Laredo
Community College, at Steinway Piano
Gallery in Austin, Paris, and Zurich, and gave
repeat performances in Davos, Wetzikon,
and Ruti Switzerland. Though Covid-19
has forced the cancellation of many
performances, Tobin hoped to return in
November 2020 for a Swiss Tour and perform
in Austin. In addition, he is hosting a weekly
Zoom concert series through Adams’ Music
House.
Dr. Tobin is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda
and has received Steinway’s Top Teacher
award in 2016 and 2018.

(Tobin, continued)
www.adamsmusichouse.org
www.anthonytobin.net
Journeys: Tony Tobin plays Claude Debussy
See Anthony Tobin’s album here

Dr. Tobin performs Debussy’s
The Fairies are Exquisite Dancers
on Debussy’s piano

The Contrast Duo is a renowned and
critically-acclaimed ensemble based in the
United States with a growing international
concert career spanning four continents.
They recently won 1st prizes at Liszt-Garrison
International Music Competition, the Lyric
Chamber Music Competition, John Oliveira
String Competition, became the finalist
at the Carnegie Hall Fellowship, and have
received grants from private donors in South
Florida and the National Society of Arts and
Letters. Their growing artistic pursuits have
yielded to performance art collaborations
with various artists and musicians. They often
appear in Donald Trump’s South Florida
estate and have been patronized ever since.
Yasa Poletaeva
described by “Manhattan
International Artists”
as a violinist who’s
“performances reflect a
great musicality, depth
of interpretation, and
technical expertise
needed to distinguish oneself in the world of
professional performance.” She graduated

(Contrast Duo, continued)
from Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Russia,
and has performed extensively in the United
States, Europe, and the Philippines.
Among her accomplishments numerous
international music competitions. Ms.
Poletaeva is the winner of Liszt-Garrison
International Competition, John Oliveira
String Competition, Lynn University Concerto
Competition, Moscow Chamber Music
Competition, Saint Petersburg Chamber
Music Competition, and a scholarship
recipient of the National Society of Arts
and Letters and Boca West Country Club.
Ms. Poletaeva received the Academia Music
Award and the Global Music Award for her
recording of modern American music. She is
also a finalist of Coleman, Fischoff, Arriaga
chamber music competitions, Doublestop
Foundation string competition, Violin of
the North Music Competition, as well as
Carnegie Hall fellowship. Yasa was also a
special guest in an important Christmas
concert in the Philippines that was broadcast
nationally, has performed for Donald Trump,

(Contrast Duo, continued)
Countess De Hoernle, Maestro Gerard
Schwarz, Pinchas Zukerman, Ilya Kaler,
Andres Cardenes, Alexander Toradze, and
has appeared in the theater and television
circuits in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She is also
a published author and is one of the most
sought-after poets in Russia. Ms. Poletaeva
also happens to be the grand prize winner of
the Miss Saint Petersburg beauty pageant.
Darren Matias’ Charlotte
Symphony debut was
described to be the “most
thrilling and breathtaking
concert of the season.”
His artistic range has
yielded to orchestral
engagements and solo
recitals throughout the
world. He appeared in a
Mr. Liberace project at
the Kravis Center, and was the Grand Prize
Winner of the controversial Ultimate Pianist
Competition.

(Contrast Duo, continued)
The Contrast Duo is about exploring the
depth of humanity and spirituality through
music. Their ongoing projects have been
supported by individuals with the intent
to innovate recital experiences and music
education.
Order Contrast Duo CDs via PayPal
CD + Shipping: $25 each

Sergei Skobin was born
in Fargona, Uzbekistan
and began piano study
at age ten. He attended
the Viktor Uspensky
Republican Specialized
Academic Lyceum of
Music and subsequently
earned his Bachelor’s
and Master’s degrees at
the State Conservatory
of Uzbekistan. Upon
graduation he was
awarded a staff
position at the Viktor Uspensky Republican
Specialized Academic Lyceum of Music as
an accompanist and teacher. In addition
to piano performance, Skobin has a keen
interest in composition, conducting and
pedagogy. He has a special affinity for
contemporary music and enjoys presenting
works for prepared piano that reveal new
timbre expressions. His performance
experience includes solo, chamber, and
collaborative concerts. Sergei recently
graduated from Lynn University with a
Professional Performance Certificate for

(Skobins, continued)
piano, and is currently enrolled in the Master
of Music program at the Florida Atlantic
University in the studio of Irena Kofman.
Originally from
Uzbekistan, Diana
Skobina started
playing the piano at
the age of four and her
extraordinary musical
talent quickly became
evident. Moreover, at
the age of nine, while
studying in Uspensky
Academic Lyceum of
Music for Gifted Children
in Tashkent, she made
her debut performing
Haydn Keyboard Concerto No. 11 in D major
with the orchestra. Upon graduation she
was awarded a full scholarship to attend The
State Conservatory of Uzbekistan.

(Skobins, continued)
While completing her Bachelor of Music and
Master of Music degrees in Piano and Organ
Performances at the State Conservatory of
Uzbekistan in Tashkent, Diana studied under
the instruction of Elmira Mirkasymova, a
pupil of famous Russia-Georgian pianist Eliso
Virsaladze. In addition, she performed with
various chamber ensembles and orchestras
including the National Symphonic Orchestra
of Uzbekistan.
Soon after graduation, Ms. Skobina
was placed on The State Conservatory
of Uzbekistan staff as one of the new
Collaborative Staff Pianist. She is an awardwinning
collaborative artist and has won
multiple awards and accolades through
regional and national competitions including
the “Best Collaborative Artist Award” from
the “Istedod” International Competition 2017.
Diana Skobina, third generation musician, is
accomplished pianist and highly experienced
piano teacher. She has successful teaching
experience with children and adults and

(Skobins, continued)
performing experience in classical music.
Her performances include a series of solo,
concerto, and chamber music concerts. She
has also shared the stage with great artists
throughout her many years of performing
and teaching.
Teaching ranks among Diana’s greatest
joys. Her teaching career started when she
was a freshman at the State Conservatory
of Uzbekistan. Ms. Skobina’s success as
a teacher is noteworthy in that some of
her students have won local and regional
competitions. Hence, she became and is still
a highly sought after teacher.

A NIGHT IN PARIS
THE DUO
Aliyah and Tamia

A NIGHT IN PARIS
AHA VOICE PERFORMERS
Aliyah, Kaylynn,
Keira, and Tamia

Gina Flynn
(pen name Gigi) is
a wife, mother, and
grandmother who
resides in Alexandria,
VA. Gigi retired from
the Federal Government
in 2015, after 37 years
of dedicated service.
Gigi has been a life-long reader of both
fiction and non-fiction and understands how
important reading is to young children’s
development, growth, and maturity. She
believes that using their imaginations and
“pretend play” can serve in helping children
build self-esteem, overcome fears and
phobias, and provide an opportunity to
learn how to cope with issues in their lives
that they don’t understand. “The Imaginary
Castle” is the first book in a series of children
book she plans to write.

“The Imaginary Castle” (ISBN 978-1-09831-
450-7) can be purchased on Amazon, at
Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart and
BookBaby Publishing.

Sharon Koskoff
www.bysharon.com
Art Deco of Palm
Beaches (Images of
America) book,
by Sharon Koskoff

Carol Calicchio
www.carolcalicchioart.com

Vanessa Hill
www.strikingexposures.org

Ron Pierre
instagram @super_X_dope

Nostalgic Magazine
www.nostalgicamerica.com

Gift Baskets ‘R Us
(954) 529 - 1410
www.thegiftbasketsrus.com

Yaacov Heller, world-renowned painter,
sculptor & jewelry designer
www.yaacovheller.com
www.GardenofHumanity.org

Contrast Duo
Presenting World Premiere of
Original Composition:
A Night In Paris

The Chorus, by Aliyah
Sunset, by Keira

Bakery of France
www.bakery-of-france.com

Friends of AHA