Meet Our Teachers
Leonardo Lucini
Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, E. Bass
A gifted educator as well as a virtuoso performer, Leonardo Lucini has brought the sounds of Brazilian jazz to American audiences for over a decade.performed and offered clinics at Berklee College of Music, George Washington University, Goucher College, American University, George Mason University, Frederick Community College, University of Maryland, and the Library of Congress.
Leonardo is the former director of the award-winning String Orchestra of the Hyattsville Middle School for the Performing Arts and is currently an artist in residence at Montgomery College. He has won numerous distinctions and awards as an educator.
Nina Smetana
Magic of Music, Piano
Lorem IPSUM
Alexander Hakobyan
Guitar, E. Bass, Mandolin, Banjo
A multi-instrumentalist who explores the intersection of jazz, fusion, rock, and folk, Alexander brings decades of teaching and performance experience to Dreamsong. He has shared the stage with singer-songwriters, rock bands, jazz masters, Eurovision contestants, classical ensembles, and major orchestras.
Alexander has taken part in music festivals and platforms like Starmus and TEDx and contributed to dozens of recordings as a session musician, and tours and gigs regularly in Manhattan.
Rita Ferreira
Alto, Soprano, Tenor Saxophone
Rita Ferreira is a Brazilian saxophonist based in New York City. She teaches alto, tenor, and soprano saxophone, as well as music theory. Her musical background includes jazz, gospel, and Brazilian music. She has performed in New York, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Paris, and Brazil. Rita enjoys helping students build strong musical foundations and find their own voice on the saxophone.
Timothy Johnson
Piano, Music Production, Synths & Sequencers
Timothy Johnson is a California-born, Brooklyn-based jazz pianist, composer and educator. He is the author of Dreamsong Books, and founder of Dreamsong Music Lab. He has recorded and released 5 albums of original music, has worked as a session musician on several film scores and commercials, and plays solo gigs around Manhattan.
Timothy holds a Master of Fine Arts in Performance & Composition from California Institute of the Arts, and a Bachelor of Music in Jazz/Commercial Music from California State University, Fullerton.