AHA Spring Recital 2022: Out of Africa

presents:
Summer
Recital
2022
Out
of
Africa
Saturday, August 27

A Welcome Message
On behalf of Achievement Heights Academy, I
would like to extend to you a warm welcome to
our Summer Recital!
We warmly welcome students from New York,
Boston, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas,
Florida, Haiti, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and South
Africa. We proudly serve our multi-national
student body.
We are excited to showcase our students and
to see them continue to develop their talents.
Maintaining high quality standards in a virtual
environment is a unique challenge. Yet, our
students, their families, and faculty have done
outstanding. As we continue, we can only
imagine our level of performance when we are
in a more traditional learning environment. Our
hearts are full with gratitude. Thank you!
In the coming year, AHA will continue to provide
students with high quality programs. Moreover,
we will offer our excellent programs to students
in other countries. Further, we will continue to
collaborate with organizations on their behalf of
our students and the community. For example,
this year, in alignment with our STREAM model,

(Welcome, continued)
we are pleased to collaborate with college
students from Florida International University
A Welcome Message
for our video and audio production team. Then
too, On behalf we of Achievement are very Heights excited Academy, I to would welcome like to extend a Dr. warm Juan
welcome to you to our Spring Garden Recital: A Tribute to BROADWAY!
Antonio Pena, a highly acclaimed guitarist as the
Tonight, we warmly welcome you from near and far. With over 150
instructor attendees, we welcome of our guests from guitar Florida, program.
New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut, Boston, Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota,
Missouri, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, North Carolina,
South Carolina, California, Canada, England, Scotland, Japan and South
Moreover, I am honored to continue to serve as
Africa and more.
a board member with PBS | WXEL & WPBT and
We are excited about this virtual showcase of AHA voice students and
as special the guests newly from The appointed Juilliard School. Given President the Covid-19 pandemic of the and National
in the best interests of our stakeholders, we have had a virtual program for
Society over a year. Maintaining of Arts high & quality Letters standards Florida in a virtual environment Chapter. is Further,
a unique challenge. Yet, our students, their families, faculty as well as
recently, our guest musicians I was have done nominated outstandingly. We as can Woman only imagine our Volunteer
level of performance when we are able to safely return to a more
of traditional the learning Year environment. with the Junior League of Boca Raton.
These leadership roles enable me to widen access
In the coming year, AHA will continue to provide students with a high
to quality outstanding program. We will continue education to collaborate for with organizations more than in 6 million
their behalf. For example, this year, in alignment with our STREAM model,
families we are pleased and to collaborate children. with Carnegie Mellon University for our
video and audio production team. Moreover, I am honored to continue
to serve as a board member PBS | WXEL & WPBT and a board director
with the National Society of Arts & Letters Southeast Chapter.
So These now leadership please, roles enable I me invite to widen you access to to outstanding enjoy our Summer
education for more than 6 million families and children.
Recital!
So now please, I invite you to relax and enjoy our Spring Garden Recital: A
Tribute to BROADWAY!
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
Dr. N'Quavah R. Velazquez
Founder, CEO & President

PROGRAM
Host, Dr. N’Quavah R. Velazquez
Welcome
Visiting Students
Keira, Independent student photographer
Zapateo
Alicia, Dr. Juan Antonio Pena Guitar Studio
Leo Brouwer
AHA Youth Performances
Sonatina No. 1, Op. 36
Malayna
Instructor, Bailey-Michelle Collins, MM
Bile 'em Cabbage Down
Jabali, Shantell, Shiko and Sisian,
Kenya Violin Quartet
Instructor, Yasa Polataeva, MM
Muzio Clementi
Hal Leonard

Voice & Performing Arts
Instructor, Rebecca Luttio, MM
Cougar & Friends African Dance
Choreography: Dr. N’Quavah R. Velázquez
with “Get Up & Go” The Lion King Dance
Tutorial
Music:
Luxury
”Get Up & Go”
Ke’Ravia, Aiden, Jabali & Sisian
Skit -- Jr. Varsity
The Grass is Greener on the Other Side
Aiden, Jabali, Janiah, Kyzel, Sisian
Circle of Life
Catalina and Shantell
Hey Brother
Felicity & Sophia
Man in the Mirror
Ke'Ravia, Shiko and Aliyah
Can You Feel the Love Tonight
Aliyah
RCG Music Argentina
The Lion King Dance
Tutorial
Rebecca Luttio & Dr.
N.R. Velazquez;
adapted from Ambition
by Tony Best
Elton John
Avicii
Michael Jackson;
Words & music by
Glen Ballard & Siedah
Garrett
Joseph Williams, Sally
Dworsky, Nathan
Lane and Ernie
Sabella

Violin Quartet
AHA Kenya
Jabalí, Shantell, Shiko and Sisian
Yasa Polataeva, MM
Instructor

Shantell & Catalina Duo
“Circle of Life”
Voice & Performing Arts
Rebecca Luttio, MM, Instructor

Aiden
Voice & Performing Arts
Rebecca Luttio, MM, Instructor
Now accepting applications for Fall workshops.
Inquiries should be emailed to:
info@achievementheights.org

Cougar & Friends African Dance
Ke’Ravia, Cougar
Aiden, Jabali & Sisian

Cougar & Friends African Dance
Ke’Ravia, Cougar

“The Grass is Always Greener
on the Other Side”
Aiden, Jabali, Janiah, Kyzel & Sisian
Voice & Performing Arts Rebecca Luttio,
MM Instructor

Former Special Guests
Kayla Williams, viola
Chris McCarthy, piano
Fantasia No. 12 in A Minor,
TWV 40:25
Cello Suite No.4 in E-Flat Major,
BWV 1010
Georg Philipp Telemann
Johann Sebastian Bach
A set of blue grass tunes introduced from the stage!

Miriam Ruf, harp
The Music of the Night, from
“Phantom of the Opera”
Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’, from
“Oklahoma!”
Home, from “The Wiz”
The Earth and Other Minor Things,
from “Gigi”
So In Love, from “Kiss Me, Kate”
Wouldn’t It Be Lovely, from “My
Fair Lady”
Andrew Lloyd Weber
Richard Rodgers & Oscar
Hammerstein II
Charlie Smalls
Frederick Loewe
Cole Porter
Frederick Loewe

A prize-winner
from an early age,
German harpist
Miriam Ruf is
quickly establishing
herself as a
noteworthy soloist
at concert-halls
and competitions
worldwide. As a
laureate of the
prestigious USA
International Harp
Competition, and a
winner of numerous German and European
awards, Miriam was recently unanimously
awarded the “Musikförderpreis Schwaben”,
recognizing her as a leading musician of her
home region in Bavaria.
As a devoted soloist Miriam regularly
performs with various orchestras
across Europe, such as the Nederlands
Philharmonisch Orkestacademie and the

(Ruf, continued)
Collegium Musicum Ulm. Equally enthusiastic
about solo and orchestral playing, she was an
academist of the Nederlands Philharmonisch
Orkest in the 2018/19 season. Appearances
in recent years have taken Miriam to halls
across the world, such as Carnegie Hall
in New York and the Concertgebouw
Amsterdam.
Hailing from Günzburg, Germany, Miriam
holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the
Conservatorium van Amsterdam’s Excellence
Programme, where she studied with Erika
Waardenburg and Sandrine Chatron.
Currently, Miriam is pursuing her Master’s
Degree at the Juilliard School under
the tutelage of Nancy Allen. Miriam is
generously supported by the Deutsche
Stiftung Musikleben and the PE-Förderungen
Mannheim.

Violist Kayla
Williams is an
advocate for
music, who hopes
to diversify music
through her own
experiences as a
Black woman.
Originally from
Florida, Kayla’s
music endeavors
began on the
violin at age four,
joining the Tallahassee Youth Orchestra
soon after. It wasn’t until age ten that she
discovered her true passion, the viola.
As a winner of the 2018 Lynn Concerto
Competition, she made her concerto debut
performing Bartok’s Viola Concerto.
Williams has been the guest of music
festivals across a range of music genres
including the Aspen Music Festival and
School, Eastern Music Festival, and the
Florida Folk Festival.

(Williams, continued)
Williams received her Bachelor of Music
degree in Viola Performance from the Lynn
Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida
and is now pursuing her Master of Music
degree in Viola Performance at The Juilliard
School in New York City.
Kayla believes music should be accessible
to students of all backgrounds. She aspires
to create a foundation of her own that
will provide access and funding needed to
support music programs in underrepresented
communities.

Kayla Williams

Miriam Ruf

Alicia
Private Guitar Student
Dr. Antonio Juan Peña
Guitar Studio

Aliyah
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”
Voice & Performing Arts
Rebecca Luttio, MM, Instructor

A NIGHT IN PARIS
THE DUO
Aliyah and Tamia

Keira
“When Will My Life Begin”
by Wendy Moore, from
Tangled (based on Rapunzel)

Kaylynn
Photo credit Nostalgic Magazine
“Moon River”
by Audrey Hepburn, from
Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Tamia
“A Million Dreams”
by Hugh Jackman, Michelle
Williams & Ziv Zaifman,
from The Greatest Showman

Malayna
15 years old
AHA private piano student,
Instructor: Bailey-Michelle Collins
2021 Winner National Society of Arts
& Letters Scholarship

From AHA
Faculty

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

Known for her thoughtful interpretations
and rich sound at the keyboard,
Bailey-Michelle Collins is a pianist defined
by her lyrical touch and keen sense of
rhythm. Her repertoire spanning across
all genres of piano literature, Bailey’s
greatest passion is communicating with her
audience both on and off the stage. A fluent
music instructor and collaborative pianist,
she proudly serves her community as a
leadership figure and for young musicians.
Bailey began her
piano studies
at age five in
Gainesville,
Florida, and she
has since had
the privilege
to work with
renowned
instructors
such as Natalya
Antonova,
Robert Roux,
Fabio Bidini, and
Julian Martin.

(Collins, continued)
As a developing soloist, Bailey received
scholarship awards from organizations
including the Boston University Tanglewood
Institute, the National Society of Arts
and Letters, and the Florida Federation
of Music Clubs. She made her orchestral
debut at age sixteen under Robert Gary
Langford as winner of the David Hubbell
Concerto Competition, and has appeared
with orchestras throughout the United
Statesincluding the Santa Fe Symphony
and the Tampa Bay Symphony. Her summer
festival appearances include the University of
Florida International Piano Festival, the Texas
State International Piano Festival, and the
Miami Music Festival.
Bailey served as a piano instructor for the
Lynn Preparatory School of Music in Boca
Raton, Florida, where she also taught music
to children ages 3-12 at the Emerging
Minds Montessori Academy. She has had
the pleasure to work at the internationallyacclaimed
Interlochen Center for the Arts as
a counselor for young artists.

(Collins, continued)
Bailey graduated summa cum laude from
the Lynn Conservatory of Music, where
she studied with Dr. Roberta Rust and
received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in
Undergraduate Education. Bailey currently
serves as a tutor and teaching assistant in ear
training at the Peabody Institute, where she
is completing her second year of graduate
studies in Piano Performance under Benjamin
Pasternack.

Born in Havana,
Cuba, Dr. Juan
Antonio Peña
earned a Cum
Laude Bachelor
of Music and
a Master of
Music Degree at
Florida Atlantic
University, both
in classical guitar
performance,
under the
direction of
Dr. Kenneth Keaton. In addition, he earned a
Doctoral degree in Classical Guitar Performance
with Professor Rafael Padron and a Doctoral
Cognate in Musicology from the University of
Miami.
Unique among guitar teachers, he went back
to school after 25 years of a professional career
and redid it entirely, updating all subjects within
the music field. This update includes new music
technology and pedagogical research. Being a
performer and teacher for many years, he has
developed a vast knowledge of the repertoire
and an approach to teaching music that

(Peña, continued)
considers the students’ physical, psychological,
and cultural backgrounds, making methods and
programs suitable to their needs. His teaching
makes learning enjoyable and successful,
fulfilling and exceeding expectations. Some of
his students have received first prize in classical
guitar competitions, such as the FCSAA Student
Artist Competition and awards from the NSAL
of Florida.
Along with his performance career, which
includes performances with FAU Symphony
Orchestra, he has performed several concerts
in collaboration with the soprano Suzanne
Galer and guitar and harpsichord duets with
Irena Kofman. Presently, he is the director of
the Classical guitar studies at Florida Atlantic
University and Palm Beach State College,
teaching undergraduate and graduate courses.
In addition, for the last six years, he has been
actively involved with the Treasure Coast
Classical Guitar Society in Stuart, Florida. He
has been conducting performances, technique
workshops, and coaching some of the members
and their classical guitar ensemble.

From her
convincing Patsy
Cline impression
to precise Mozart
coloratura,
Rebecca Luttio’s
three-octave range
compels audiences
with remarkable
versatility. Rebecca
Luttio earned her
Master’s of Music
degree from the
New England Conservatory of Music and a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from
St. Olaf College.
Previous favorite performances include
the title role in La Tragédie de Carmen
with the Chicago Opera Theater and
“Simonetta” in the play Cardenio with the
American Repertory Theater in Cambridge,
Massachusetts.

(Luttio, continued)
Ms. Luttio has also performed with the
Minnesota Opera, Florida Grand Opera,
Boston Lyric Opera, Opera North and the
Castleton Festival under the famous baton of
the late Maestro Lorin Maazel.
​Ms. Luttio is also an avid music educator
and enjoys inspiring students of all ages in
helping them achieve their artistic goals.
She is currently the voice instructor for the
Achievement Heights Academy Youth and
Adult Voice Programs.

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

Some Friends
in the
Community

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.

A BEETHOVEN CELEBRATION:
250 YEARS
A Concert Live streamed
from Miami, Florida
December 4, 2021

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

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

Vanessa Hill
www.strikingexposures.org

Nostalgic Magazine
www.nostalgicamerica.com

www.haitianlawyersassociation.org

Offering plant based nutrition counseling, meal
plans, and virtual cooking classes.
Plant Vogue
Jacqueline Soard, Proprietor
(954) 818-5506

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