Leadership
Music Director & Executive Director
Nicole Becker
As a pianist, soprano, and conductor, Nicole Becker has performed in concerts and recitals throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan. Dr. Becker received an undergraduate degree in Biology from Yale University, a Masters of Music in Piano from Indiana University and a Doctorate of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She also studied piano and solfege at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. Dr. Becker is the Music Director of the Teachers College Choir and teaches applied piano and conducting in the Program in Music and Music Education at Teachers College. Dr. Becker has spoken internationally about student-centered approaches in ensemble settings, calling for a reconceptualization of children’s choirs so that they might become sites dedicated to promoting growth and flourishing for young people. Her current research examines approaches to developing racial literacy in music education.
Associate Directors / Graduate Interns
Collin Edouard
Collin Edouard is a classical vocalist who is currently pursuing a Masters in Music and Music Education at Columbia University Teachers College. He recently returned from a year spent singing and conducting in Galicia, Spain. Born in Brownsville, New York, Mr. Edouard holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (with honors) from The City College of New York, where he founded the a capella group Celestial Sound. In recognition of his academic achievements, Mr. Edouard was inducted into the Gamma Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society. Active as a choral musician in New York City, Mr. Edouard currently performs with Canticum Novum Singers. His goals as a music educator are to help students sing in the genres they enjoy while learning vocal technique to protect their voices. He strives to demonstrate to children that music is for everyone and that they can all succeed.
Lebab Fallin
Lebab Fallin is a Masters student in the Music & Music Education Program at Teachers College and earned a Bachelors Degree in Liberal Arts from The City College of New York. Ms. Lebab started singing professionally at the age of 15 and learned music by singing in vocal ensembles and choirs and by providing background vocals for local artists. Ms. Lebab is excited to work with The Every Voice Kids Choir; she hopes its young singers are able to learn from her and she can learn from them.
Isabella Leão Gaviglia
Isabella Leão Gaviglia received her Master of Arts with Professional Certification in Music and Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She also holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, where she studied with Dr. Carlos Abril and Dr. Susan Williams. While in Miami, Isabella worked with Seraphic Fire’s Miami Choral Academy, Miami Children’s Chorus, Guitars Over Guns, and taught middle school band, orchestra, chorus, and guitar in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system.
Alison Levosky
Alison Levosky is a Masters student in the Music and Music Education program at Teachers College, and she received a Bachelors Degree in Music and Psychology from Yale University in May 2017. She is a soprano and a choral conductor, and is particularly passionate about working with young people in a choral setting. She was a choral teaching artist through the Yale Music in Schools Initiative in public schools in New Haven, CT, and also started a weekly after school choral program at the Boys and Girls Club of New Haven. Alison currently directs the Riverdale Youth Chorus in the Bronx, is the Director of Choirs at The Calhoun School, and co-directs the afterschool choir at KIPP STAR charter school.
Nesli Kohen
Nesli Kohen is a singer-songwriter from Istanbul, Turkey who enjoys singing Pop, Pop-Rock, Jazz, World Folk music, and R&B. In Turkey she competed in international competitions with the pop rock band, B Yuzu and with a professional Sephardic Jewish ensemble. Her Musical Theatre credits in Turkey include Fame, Across the Universe, Chicago, and Lukus Hayat (Turkish). Nesli is currently a graduate student in Music and Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She completed her undergraduate studies at Wheaton College, with a double major in Music and Psychology, where she sang in vocal ensembles including the Balkan & Middle Eastern Ensemble and the Musical Theater Ensemble. She has taught as a Music Instructor and Voice Instructor in several children's programs in Massachusetts.
Hairuo Mo
Hairuo Mo is a Masters student in the Music and Music Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned a Master of Engineering degree in Biology Engineering from South China Agricultural University in 2015. As a classical-trained violinist, she also holds a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music in violin performance. Hairuo has been singing in choirs since she was 5 years old. In university, she attended several international choir competitions in Europe and Asia. Hairuo is passionate about looking for choral repertoire in diverse styles and languages. She enjoys working with children, guiding them as they explore their world through music.
Siwen Xi
Siwen is currently in the Ed.M program in Music and Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and received her Bachelor's degree from Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She is a classically-trained vocalist and piano player and a specialist in eastern Asian traditional music. She is passionate about singing and would like to help people discover their own voices.
Voice Specialist
Jeanne Goffi-Fynn
Soprano Jeanne Goffi-Fynn is active both as a performer and teacher in the New York City area. Dr. Goffi-Fynn received her Doctorate from Columbia University, Teachers College where she is a Lecturer and Director of the Doctoral Cohort Program in the Program of Music and Music Education. She continues working in the area of Vocology, specifically in the retraining of singers, after completing internships at the Grabscheid Voice Center and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital with Dr. Anat Keidar, Ph.D. She has presented workshops and pedagogical presentations with NATS, The Voice Foundation, the New York Singing Teachers Association, CMS (College Music Society), NYSSMA (New York State Schools of Music) and ISME (International Society for Music Education). She is a member of the American Academy of Teachers of Singing and serves as a participant at roundtables of the National Opera Association.
Accompanist
Drew X Coles
Multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator Drew X Coles is an Applied Lessons Instructor at Teacher's College, Columbia University, and directs the Columbia University Marching Band. His scholarly interests include; the construct of success as it applies to post-secondary music students, culturally responsive pedagogy in the music classroom, and quantitative research methods in education. Drew is completing his Doctorate in Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and will defend his dissertation on performing musicians' perceptions of career success in March of 2019. Drew is also one of the co-founders of Pro Arts Management and Consulting LLC, and serves as the Musical Director to the Metropolitan Players, a New York City based event entertainment collective.
Administration |
Nita Baxani, Director of Programs
As a professional singer, Nita Baxani has performed throughout the United States and Europe as a soloist in operas, oratorios, and world premiere works. An avid supporter of arts education, Dr. Baxani has held leadership roles in several arts programs and schools in the United States and Germany. Dr. Baxani earned her Doctorate of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where her dissertation research focused on the musicality of infants in a childcare community. She also holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. Dr. Baxani is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the College of Staten Island and at the City College of New York.
Michelle Mantia, Business Manager
Michelle Mantia, EVC Business Manager, earned her B.A. in Actuarial Science from Baruch College and has over 5 years experience working with both corporate and arts non-profit organizations. Having studied saxophone for many years and coming from a music background, Michelle enjoys sharing her time spent working with both growing arts organizations and innovative biotechnologies. She is currently the Operations Manager of two specialty biopharmaceutical companies located in New York and also serves on the MICHIYAYA Dance Company’s Board of Directors. Ms. Mantia also teaches yoga classes with a focus on increasing the accessibility of yoga to everyone.