Our Team

Brandon H. Allen has been with ZUMIX since 2012, teaching private voice and the Voces Ensemble. He is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, arranger and music educator living and working in the Greater Boston area. With a starting foundation in gospel music growing up in church, Brandon went on to study classical and Negro spirituals, touring with The Boys Choir Of Harlem while still in middle school. There, he got to perform alongside greats like Kathleen Battle and Aretha Franklin. In high school, he performed alongside Whitney Houston on Good Morning America with the Talent Unlimited Chorus before moving to Texas and earning the 1st Chair Bass 2 position in the TMEA competition, earning him several scholarships to study classical music and opera. While studying opera, he realized his passion was contemporary music (songwriting, production and business) and transferred to Berklee College of Music. There, he performed with Bootsy Collins, Patrice Rushen, Michael McDonald, the late John Blackwell Jr., Bobby McFerrin and many others while earning his degree in music business. Along with teaching at ZUMIX, Brandon is a lead singer with Honey Train Music Services (Weddings & Corporate) and is currently working on his first solo EP. Look for his cover rendition of “Wind Beneath My Wings” to be used by Miss Massachusetts Elizabeth Pierre this December 2021 for the talent portion of the Miss America 2022 competition.

Esther joined the ZUMIX community in April 2022. Music was at the center of her childhood, and she taught herself multiple instruments. Esther received her MA in International Relations and International Communications from Boston University in 2016. She was a teacher in Ethiopia with the Peace Corps and an ESL teacher in Boston's Chinatown.  Since moving back to the U.S., she has been working in fundraising in the nonprofit and higher education sector. She is thrilled at the chance to merge her love for music, education and fundraising.

Named one of WBUR's ARTery 25 2021 changemakers of color, an Elliott Norton award winning actor and Hamilton College Posse alum, Kadahj Bennett is thrilled to have been a part of the ZUMIX family since 2003. A Luminary Artist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and an Artist in Residence with the Freshman Arts Program at Harvard University, Kadahj is stoked to share his skills and insight as the Songwriting and Performance Manager. Thanks to classes like Street Program and Beatmakers, Kadahj gained the tools to empower his own music career. As frontman and writer for the Downbeat Keys, a brooklyn-based neon soul collective, Kadahj has toured California, the east coast college circuit and shared a bill with Bon Jovi at the Best Buy Center in Times Square and Future at the Uproxx House at SXSW. Kadahj continues to tell stories of empowerment through his art and hopes to provide the proper pathways for future generations to do so as well.

Brian Burke is a Boston-born singer/songwriter, artist, carpenter, and longtime friend and admirer of ZUMIX.  Brian joined the ZUMIX team in Spring 2022 as events coordinator in charge of our annual Summer Concert Series.

Edwin "Steadi Eddy" Cabrera is a Lynn-based filmmaker and co-founder of Grind House Recordings, a media company focused on promoting local hip-hop music. Edwin's passion lies in promoting independent music and uplifting the hip-hop culture in Lynn. He primarily does this through The Grind House Podcast, which highlights talented hip-hop artists, along with his work with the Lynn Hip Hop Wall of Fame, a mural that commemorates and helps preserve Lynn hip-hop culture. His work in the community can also be felt at Raw Art Works, where Edwin served as the Production Coordinator and Instructor at the Real to Reel Film School, a program he also graduated from in 2009. Edwin received his B.A. in Communications with a certificate in Film Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2013.

An avid explorer of sound and rhythm, different world cultures and innovative approaches to music, Manila-born vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jireh Calo is an ever-evolving composer, arranger, and producer.  Growing up mostly self-taught, her music embraces the spirit of freedom, improvisation and exploration. She draws much inspiration from jazz traditions, indigenous oral traditions, African and Latin Afro/Cuban rhythms, American folk, hip hop culture, soul music, and a variety of world music. Jireh remains active today as an artist-educator, performing and creating music while working closely with the youth, teaching and being deeply involved with her local and global community. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Writing & Production from the Berklee College of Music and a master’s in Contemporary Performance (Global Jazz Concentration) from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. She has performed extensively around the Philippines and in Boston, where she is currently based, and has performed international festivals in Malaysia, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Los Angeles.

A guitarist, pianist, bass player, composer, arranger, instructor and administrator, Leo holds a B.A. in music (summa cum laude) from the University of Massachusetts. He is a Berklee College alumnus and an instructor and performer in New England since 1995. Leo has shared the stage with some of the finest musicians in the area, including Patrice Williamson, Rusty Scott, Nick Grondin, Dan Fox, Fernando Huergo, and jazz-fusion superstars T-Lavitz and Steve Hunt. He has opened concerts for Sting, Kool and the Gang, and Eddie Vedder as musical director for ZUMIX’s DiverCity Band and also co-produced their self-titled debut album. Leo holds a professional teacher license in the state of Massachusetts and is currently a teaching artist for ODA, CCISJ and Brooke High School. He speaks three languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Marlene del Rosario is a composer, vocalist and pianist. She has performed for international and national audiences, in private functions for former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Menino and MA senators, and for Philippine ex-presidents Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos and Thailand's Princess Chulabhorn. Her bands include The Marlene Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Breeze, and The Brazilian Project. Marlene is a regular in the local jazz circuit and has performed for New England special events such as Boston Harbor Hotel’s Boston Sail and summer concerts and holiday jazz brunches, Fairmont Copley’s Bacchanale dinner and wine series and New Year’s Eve galas at Chatham Bars Inn.  Concert performances abroad include France, Peru and the 2008 Philippine International Jazz festival.  Local concerts include the 2017 Arlington Jazz Festival, Boston Arts Festivals and summer series in Chestnut Hill, Dedham and Framingham.  Her albums, “LIVE with a Little Help From Her Friends,” and “Crying Days,” are available on all major streaming services. Marlene is also a culinary educator and founder of The Refined Cook, and writer/podcaster for Cooking Subversive on Substack. www.marlenemusic.net

Corey DePina is an accomplished rapper, a skilled workshop and program facilitator, and a longtime participant in ZUMIX programs. He has done workshops on the history of hip-hop, creative writing and Performance at numerous city-wide agencies. Corey’s professional career outside of academia includes serving on the committee and hosting Critical Breakdown, Boston’s largest and longest-running all-ages open mic event. He also has considerable experience as a freelance facilitator for local and national nonprofits, schools and community centers. Corey was influential in helping ZUMIX develop its award-winning curriculum, which was nationally recognized by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 2011. In 2015, Corey completed The Institute for Nonprofit Management certificate program at Boston University. In 2019, he was a recipient of the 2019 Institute for Nonprofit Management Change Maker Award. In 2020, Corey Founded the FOGO Project and was a recipient of the 2020 State House Black Excellence on the Hill award.

Rene Dongo, Radio Station Manager, joined ZUMIX in 2017. As a filmmaker, media maker and teaching artist, he has found the intersection of community and youth arts education to be a pivotal step to helping young people grow and find their voice in the communities where they live and learn. At ZUMIX, he works to support community and youth-produced radio programming. Outside of ZUMIX, Rene has worked as a teaching artist for the Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston and The Urbano Project. His first teaching artist project focused on crafting radio pieces centered on spoken word poetry inspired by the community of Egleston Square. He is a graduate of Emerson College and continues creating work inspired by community perspectives and personal storytelling.

Ava Dudani is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, educator, and community organizer. Originally from the Allston-Brighton neighborhood of Boston, Ava is dedicated to the growth of art spaces in the city of Boston as opportunities for community building. She is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and she is continuing to share her music locally in and around Boston. In addition to her own creative projects, Ava is a passionate music educator. She has mentored youth across Boston at locations including the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, and Berklee City Music. She continues to strive for students to foster their most authentic selves through music education.

W.J. Edward Emerson, Creative Tech Manager, is a Boston-based drummer and audio engineer. Not originally from here, he moved to Boston in 2008 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in performance and music production and engineering at Berklee College of Music. After graduating, he went on to work as an engineer at several of Boston’s historic venues, including the Regatta Bar and Paradise Rock Club. Ed has worked with a diverse array of performers, from mixing monitors for singer James Bay and rap duo Run the Jewels to mixing front of house for jazz legends like Ron Carter, Wayne Krantz, and Kenny Garret. He has also played drums for seminal artists like Simon Shaheen, Mulatu Astatke, and Masary Studios. Since joining ZUMIX in 2019, he has continued to play drums for Kina Zoré, a Mozambican band that performs throughout New England.

Katie joined the ZUMIX team in June 2021, two years after moving to East Boston. She previously worked in higher education for 15 years, doing communications work at Berklee College of Music, Emerson College and Harvard University. She is a singer and believes in the power of music to shape individuals and communities. Outside of work, Katie is an avid runner and cyclist, a flower fiend, a bookworm (and book reviewer), and a proud Texas transplant to Boston.

Reynaliz Herrera is a Mexican-born percussionist, composer and educator. She began pursuing music at the Escuela Superior de Musica y Danza (Mexico), and graduated from The University of Ottawa (BMUS) and The Boston Conservatory (Master of Music). Reynaliz has performed in the U.S., Mexico, Cuba, Canada, Spain, Italy and Germany. In 2012, Reynaliz created and founded “Ideas, Not Theories,” a theatrical percussion company featuring her own musical works and programs. She has performed “Ideas, Not Theories” at festivals and venues in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, including The International Festival of Arts & Ideas (CT), The Institute of Contemporary Arts Boston, The Currents New Media Festival (Santa Fe), Please Touch Museum (PA), The Flea Theater (NY), The National Arts Center of Canada, The Boston Children's Museum, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Maker Faires, NY International Fringe Festival 2015,  NYU/KoSA/HLAG Day of Percussion 2016, ILLUMINUS, Cambridge Arts River Festival, and many local festivals and venues. Reynaliz has also collaborated as a percussionist with The National Arts Center Orchestra (as a percussion soloist), Danza Contemporanea En Concierto in Mexico, and Double Edge Theater Company, Flamenco Boston, Grooversity, the band Muy Cansado, Boston Percussion Group, and Boston Opera Collaborative, among others in the U.S. She has also performed at other renowned venues like SXSW, The Palau Hall (Spain), Teatro Amadeo Roldan (Cuba), the Peabody Essex Museum, Wang Center Theatre, and the Revolutions International Theater Festival (New Mexico). Reynaliz has won competitions and awards, including Mexico’s National and State’s Youth Awards, PERCUBA International Percussion Competition in Cuba, the NACO Bursary Competition, and the MTV Latinamerica Agent of Change Award. Her recent projects have been funded by The Boston Foundation and The Somerville Arts Council.  She has also been an active percussion and music instructor in the Boston area. Reynaliz enjoys making her lessons fun, creative and productive, and is super excited to teach at ZUMIX!

Chrissy brings more than 15 years’ experience assisting in multiple Boston nonprofits—many of them youth-serving—with their operations, human resources, finance, and administration needs. She holds a BA in human resources and an MBA in nonprofit management. Chrissy is a singer and pianist who has lived in East Boston since 2006 and been involved with ZUMIX for much of that time as a volunteer, board member, and parent. She has seen firsthand how organizations like ZUMIX provide a third space for youth to grow and develop and is thankful to be part of the team making that happen here at ZUMIX. Outside work, Chrissy makes time to sing in her church choir, go on weekend hikes, tend a small garden, and spend time with her husband and two children.

Chris Lee-Rodriguez is a musician, songwriter, and educator. He graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music with a B.M. degree in music education and is currently working on his M.M. in music education at Boston University. While at Berklee, Chris studied under world-class jazz musicians, including David Gilmore, Freddy Bryant, and Marcello Pellitteri. During his time at BU so far, he has studied with renowned music education scholars, including Andre deQuadros and Kelly Byllica. Chris has spent the past eight years teaching music in the nonprofit and public sectors in Massachusetts and New York. Some of these organizations include Highbridge Voices in the Bronx, and Midori & Friends in Harlem. He currently is a teaching artist both at ZUMIX, where he teaches ukulele, private guitar and bass lessons and two ensembles, as well as in the Brookline School District, where he teaches guitar/ukulele, music production, and fourth-grade instrumental classes. He has also received grants to study Brazilian music under musicians such as Pedro Martins, Michael Pipoquinho, and Kapital, as well as flamenco music in Spain with Jorge el Pisao. In addition to teaching, Chris also tours nationally and internationally performing with his band, Really From, which released its third critically acclaimed album in March 2021. Really From’s music has been featured in Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and WBUR. His philosophy as a musician and an educator is that teaching music is the ultimate tool for social change and development because it gives students the opportunity to build community, express themselves, and change the world around them.

Laura Macias, Sprouts Coordinator & Piano Instructor, received her Bachelors in Music Composition and Theory from the Petrie School of Music at Converse College and her Masters in Music Composition from the Longy School of Music, where she was awarded the Nadia Boulanger scholarship.  In 2005 she was selected to be part of the European American Music Alliance, where she was awarded a scholarship to study composition at L'Ecole Normale in Paris, France.  In 2008, she completed the Kodaly Music Training at the New England Conservatory.  Laura is an active composer in the Boston area.  Her musical catalog includes compositions for chamber orchestra, art songs, chamber music and incidental music for the theatre.  Laura was recently selected as a composer to participate in the 2011 Vancouver International Art Song Institute.  Her music was also recently featured in concerts given by the Boston New Music Initiative ensemble.  Besides writing art music, Laura enjoys working with children.  Laura has been working to map a path for our youngest members to actively participate in group programs and to increase and deepen their involvement as they grow.  She has a strong belief in developing music fundamentals and her youthful personality makes learning fun.

Wilce Mascary was born and raised in Massachusetts. He started his youth work journey in early 2018 working with youth in Brockton. Around the same time he found a passion for poetry and has been performing since. Wilce served two years of service through Americorps, one at ZUMIX and one at the Burke High School in Dorchester, Mass., as a City Year representative. In 2019, Wilce was hired as a full-time member of the ZUMIX team. Since the pandemic, WIlce has worked with youth and community in spaces such as Hip-Hop Therapy run by Roxbury Community Centre and is one of the organizers of the Black Men Collective of Boston. Over the years, his passion for service has grown and he is available to help youth find their next steps in life after high school.

Local singer-songwriter and vocal instructor Ali McGuirk works with students to find their most authentic and confident voices. Ali has made a career for herself doing just that. When she is not at ZUMIX, she is on tour as a solo artist, leading her 4-piece electric band, or participating in a range of exciting collaborations, from folk to hip hop. As a 10-time Boston Music Award Nominee and 2-time winner, for Blues Act of the Year (2018) and Live Residency of the Year (2018), she brings real-life experience to her AIM lessons every week. Students learn about breath support, vocal health, musicianship and life skills in lessons that are based around their interests. You can find Ali's album, Slow Burn, online wherever you stream. More info at www.alimcguirk.com.

Ed Meradith has been a Boston-area musician for more than 20 years, and has been with ZUMIX for over 18 of them as a teacher for youth and adults, collaborator, and co-director of the Divercity Band and Voces.  Currently he is co-facilitating Sprouts Musical Comedy and Music Theatre classes, as well as continuing as a Play it Forward instructor.  Ed was a META Fellowship recipient in 2018 and is active as a composer, songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, composing and recording music for many projects and events. As a pianist, Ed played at the Ritz for many years, as well as the Boston Harbor Hotel and the Park Plaza, and he is currently the wedding pianist for the Lenox Hotel. In addition, he is in his 10th year as music director and organist at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Winthrop.

Over the past decade, Joe has worked in the fields of music, education and nonprofit development. After graduating from UMass Amherst with a degree in music performance and arts administration, he spent six years teaching private music lessons and touring New England as the drummer for the indie duo Kid Coyote. In 2019, he earned a certificate in grant writing from Bridgewater State University and began his career as a grant writer. As a freelancer, he has written proposals in a variety of funding areas, including animal welfare, historical preservation, and transitional housing. He is excited to be able to support youth involvement in the arts.

Ben Paulding is an American percussionist who extensively lived in Kumasi, Ghana, where he had over 200 performances with the Centre for National Culture and the Nsuase Kete Group. An active performing musician, he currently plays drums/percussion in Kotoko Brass, Air Congo, the Agbekor Drum and Dance Society, and the Ahenema Cultural Group (NYC). Ben teaches music at Brandeis University, Inspire Arts and Music, and Zumix, and is a member of the Vic Firth Education Team. His recent publications include the article “Meter, Feel, and Phrasing in West African Bell Patterns” in African Music (2017), the book chapter “Kete for the International Percussion Community” in Discourses in African Musicology: J.H. Kwabena Nketia Festschrift (U. of Michigan & U. of Ghana, 2015), and the article “Kete for Drumset: Left-Foot Bell Approach” in Rhythm! Scene (2014). Recent conference presentations include Percussive Arts Society International Convention (2015), Analytical Approaches to World Music (2016), and Northeastern Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology (2017). Ben holds his MA in Ethnomusicology from Tufts University, where he studied with David Locke and Attah Poku, and his BA in World Music from UMASS Dartmouth, where he trained with Royal Hartigan and Kwabena Boateng.

Brian Paulding is a trombone player, music educator, and composer living in Malden, Mass. He is an internationally touring musician and a cofounder and trombone player of Kotoko Brass, a West African dance band described by The Boston Globe as “propulsive, infectious party music.” Brian is the brass instructor and Latin Ensemble director at ZUMIX, and is pursuing a M.A. in music education at Longy School of Music. As a multi-instrumentalist and composer, Brian has composed, performed, and recorded more than 10 albums. His soundscapes and compositions have been featured in NPR’s Invisibilia podcast and Boston’s Illuminus Festival.

Omar Sosa started coming to ZUMIX as a participant in 1999 at the age of 6. He started off taking guitar lessons and continued to participate in more programs through the years. Through his involvement with ZUMIX and the Berklee City Music Programs, Omar was awarded a full-tuition scholarship in 2011 to attend Berklee College of Music and graduated in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in professional music. He now works at ZUMIX as the Instrumental Music Manager and continues to gig throughout the Boston area with various bands, including his own project, Pangea, which fuses elements of jazz, rock, and many other genres to produce their own sound. Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp @pangeaband93 to stay up to date on upcoming shows and releases.

Madeleine Steczynski, Co-Founder and Executive Director, is an East Boston resident. She founded ZUMIX in 1991 in response to the worst year of violence in the City of Boston's history. Together with ZUMIX's Board of Directors and Youth Advisory Board, she has grown ZUMIX from a kitchen table project into a vital East Boston community institution. As an advocate for the arts, Madeleine has served on the Executive Committee for East Boston Healthy Boston Coalition; was one of the founding members of Cultural Connections, a three-year effort to integrate arts as part of a Sustainable Community initiative funded by The PEW Charitable Trust; and served as an Artistic Fellow for The Boston Foundation’s Arts and Audiences Initiative. She also served for three years as a Cultural Fellow for the New England Foundation for the Arts Building Communities through Culture Initiative, and as a Community Fellow for Eureka Communities Boston. In 2006 ZUMIX was chosen as a Social Innovator for the Social Innovation Forum at MIT, the same year Madeleine was chosen by the East Boston Times Free Press as East Boston’s Woman of the Year. In 2007 Madeleine was nominated and participated in the Salzburg Global Seminar's Cultural Institutions Without Borders seminar in Austria; received the Canyon Ranch Be the Change Award at the Massachusetts Conference for Women; and was an advisor for the Music National Service Initiative in Washington D.C. In 2008 Madeleine spearheaded a development team in the acquisition and full renovation of an historic firehouse as a new home for ZUMIX. In 2009 she successfully completed a $4.6 million dollar capital campaign and moved ZUMIX into its new home. In 2011 Madeleine started a 3-year learning journey as a prestigious Barr Fellow. In 2012, she was honored with a Berklee Urban Service Award.  Madeleine attended Boston College, the School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts – Boston, and the Executive Leadership Program at Harvard University.

Brittany joined ZUMIX in 2014 and led ZUMIX Radio to its launch on the airwaves at 94.9FM.  She loves working alongside the film, audio and radio creators at ZUMIX, and witnessing the freedom young people find in their art. As a LocaloreLIVE and NEFA Creative City grantee, Brittany designed the collaborative narrative project Constelación de Historias –– a live storytelling event series and letter writing project documenting neighbors' work for housing stability in East Boston. The project won an impact award from the New England Foundation for the Arts in 2018.  Brittany serves on the advisory board for The Center for Cooperative Development and Solidarity, an Eastie-based collective building economic power through cooperatives. Her spirit instrument is a saxophone, and in real life, she plays piano.

Carolina joined ZUMIX at the age of 11 in 2003, when she only knew three words in English and had just settled in East Boston as her new home. By singing with ZUMIX’s first chorus, she eventually became more involved with guitar, piano, and voice lessons. Through a partnership ZUMIX had with the Umana Barnes Middle School (now Umana Academy), Carolina helped form the band The UB’s, which continued throughout her high school years. From attending Boston Arts Academy as a visual arts major student and then ZUMIX as a band member and singer-musician, Carolina has always been a busy artist of all sorts! She obtained her B.A. from Wheaton College (in Mass.) in psychology, and is pursuing her master’s degree in mental health counseling with a specialization in expressive arts therapy from Lesley University. Her hope is to spread the healing qualities that art and music have given her to as many people as possible, and use the expressive arts as guides and helpers in figuring out the challenges in life and empowering people.