Meet Our Faculty
Learn from Exceptional Musicians and Educators
Kadima Conservatory students learn from an extraordinary community of conductors, performers, composers, recording artists, scholars, and educators who are actively shaping the musical life of Los Angeles and beyond.
Our faculty includes university professors, symphony musicians, film and television recording artists, chamber musicians, arts leaders, and internationally recognized educators from institutions including USC, UCLA, CalArts, Juilliard, Northwestern University, Oberlin Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Vanderbilt University, Boston University, New England Conservatory, and NYU Steinhardt.
Together, they bring decades of professional experience and a shared commitment to helping young musicians develop confidence, artistry, discipline, creativity, and a lifelong love of music.
Read more to learn about each of our exceptional faculty members.
Faculty + Artistic Leadership
Conservatory Leadership
Directors, Ensemble Conductors, and the Kadima String Quartet
Beth Elliott
Conservatory Director
Kadima String Quartet
Strings Director
Founder of Kadima and committed to excellence in Music Education
Mishkar Nuñez-Fredell
Senior Philharmonic Conductor
Kadima String Quartet
Strings Director
Internationally recognized violinist, conductor, director, and artistic leader
Marc Lowenstein
Music Director
Faculty at the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts, founding music director of The Industry, and collaborator with the LA Phil
Henry Shin
Kadima Conservatory Philharmonic Conductor
Conductor of the Glendale Youth Orchestra and Director of Orchestras at Pasadena City College
Brian Benning
Kadima String Quartet
Strings Director
Orchestral musician, recording artist, studio musician, and live performer
Strings Faculty
Desiree Deasy
Violin
Tess Scott-Suhrstedt
Violin & Viola
Winds Faculty
Sarah Wass
Flute
Brass Faculty
Nev Wendell
Trumpet
Percussion Faculty
Artashes Sinanyan
Percussion Director
Christopher Phillips
Chief Financial Officer
Jonathan Rubin
Violin
Kathy Pisaro
Oboe
Melissa Hendrickson
French Horn
Wylan Burton
Social Media and Outreach
Leah Kohn
Bassoon
Yvonne Suzette Moriarty
French Horn
Emily Kubitskey
Junior Philharmonic Conductor
Collaborator with the LA Phil, Founding teacher and conductor of YOLA and founder of Global Arts
Dawn Bertani
Kadima String Quartet
Strings Director
Orchestral cellist with the Burbank Philharmonic, Redlands Symphony, and Orchestra Santa Monica
Nic Leonard
Double Bass
John Tegmeyer
Clarinet
Tom Keel
Trombone