Our Teachers - Creative Keys

Joe Luca - Piano

JOE LUCA, Owner and Artistic Director of Creative Keys, began his music career at the age of eight as a Wurlitzer Organ Company Concert Artist. After receiving his BM Ed from Temple University, Joe began teaching privately while establishing himself as a solid performing artist (organ, piano and keyboards) in nightclubs, casinos and private parties. As president of Main Line Entertainment, Inc., Joe conducted the Joe Luca Orchestra and performed at countless events, including weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, charitable fundraisers and corporate functions, while mentoring other bandleaders in the peculiarities of the music business. He has served as Musical Director for the Crossroads Assembly of God worship ministry and for Temple Beth Shalom under Hazzan Alisa Pomerantz-Boro. After enjoying great success with his orchestra for many years, Joe returned full-time to his first love, private teaching of all musical genres, and developed a unique system of encouraging young classically-trained musicians to explore their creativity in the areas of jazz improvisation. Joe’s heart is blessed as he sees his students, both children and adults, experience the joy of using their God-given musical gifts.

Kyle Lezotte - Piano

Kyle Lezotte is a versatile piano/keyboard artist and music educator with deep roots in South Jersey and the Greater Philly area. He has performed in solo piano settings and in a variety of combos under the direction of Rowan University bandleaders such as Douglas Mapp and Denis DiBlasio. Kyle's gigs are wide-ranging, from fun rock bands to jazz ensembles including M-Town Jazz Band, Kimmel Center Creative Music Program for Jazz, and South Jersey Jazz Ensemble under Dr. Robert Brosh of The University of the Arts. His private teaching enables him to reach students of all ages and ability levels and provides Kyle with opportunities to share his love of piano and his creativity on the instrument with those he teaches. Kyle has studied under quite a few highly-regarded music educators, including Chris Simonini, Polly Rovins, Dean Schneider and Joe Luca. Fueled by a strong passion to play and teach, Kyle earned his Dual Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Studies/Music Education from Rowan and serves as a K-4 elementary teacher at the Betty McElmon School. We are thrilled to have Kyle on our team at Creative Keys! He brings a unique skillset that motivates and invigorates our students as they work with him.

Justin Cabrera - Piano/Woodwinds

JUSTIN CABRERA is an adaptive saxophonist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and music educator from the Philadelphia region. While earning his Bachelor of Music (Instrumental Performance) and Master of Music (Music Ed) at the University of the Arts, Justin began performing in a variety of ensembles including wedding bands, jazz quintets and big bands. His favorite musicians include Michael Brecker, Troy Roberts, Robert Glasper, Kurt Elling, Ben Wendel, Avishai Cohen, Shai Maestro and Vincent Herring. Justin believes in providing a holistic approach to music education, tailoring his instruction to the needs of the individual student. He provides his students with strong technical foundations in piano, saxophone, flute and clarinet, as well as in ear training and music theory. He enjoys a variety of musical genres, including jazz, R&B, bluegrass, rock, pop, rap, funk and classical, and brings his enthusiasm for these and all types of creative musical exploration to our Creative Keys students.

Mario Venneri- Piano/Woodwinds

Mario Venneri is a multi-instrumentalist and music educator from Philadelphia. He began studying piano at the age of eleven, adding saxophone to his skill set as his passion for playing grew. He continued his artistic journey at The University of the Arts, where he recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in instrumental performance and a minor in Music Education. While training with highly-regarded educators (John Swana, Chris Farr, Miles Okazaki, and Mark Allen, to name a few), Mario immersed himself in the study of ear training, advanced theory and musicianship, continuing to hone his proficiency in his various instruments. Mario has played behind renowned artists such as Wayne Newton, The Stylistics, and John Swana and currently works with the No Name Pops in both their big band and orchestra, and has a blast playing in various wedding bands, cover bands, and jazz trios. Mario's teaching style focuses on developing solid foundations, and he looks forward to showing his students at Creative Keys that challenging concepts can be fun and exciting to learn!

Ian Macaulay - Guitar

Ian began playing guitar at the age of ten after receiving a hand-me-down instrument from his older brother. At first, he taught himself to play - mostly by ear - as he listened to favorite recordings, and he soon devoted himself to focused study with seasoned instructors. After studying privately in Rhode Island with Peter Baro and David Spadazzi, who introduced Ian to playing jazz, he enrolled at William Patterson University in Wayne, NJ, where he studied with renowned jazz musicians/educators such as Gene Bertoncini, James Williams, Harold Mabern, Don Braden Gary Smulyan, Rich DeRosa and Kevin Norton. During his time at the University, Ian relished opportunities to play with musicians such as Joe Lovano, Clark Terry, Rufus Reid and Slide Hampton. Since earning his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance in 2005, Ian has amassed extensive experience touring with artists like Eric Roberson and Estelle, performing at venues such as Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center, The Apollo Theatre, Tokyo's Cotton Club and London's Jazz Cafe. He also toured for two years with Grammy winner John Legend's band in concerts in Asia, Australia, Europe and the US. In addition to being a gifted performer, Ian is a devoted music educator whose passion is to encourage musicians of all ages and ability levels, and to direct their musical interests in all genres, whether jazz, pop, blues, classical, folk or rock. His teaching philosophy includes training students in music fundamentals, such as note reading, playing scales and understanding chords. As a result of his personal experience as a young musician who desired to learn to play by ear while perfecting his reading skills, Ian has developed a method that enables his students to use their creativity while strengthening ear training. His combining traditional ear training materials with songs his students find relatable enables Ian to keep his lessons upbeat, challenging and engaging. Ian understands that students who enjoy their lessons and at-home practice times will more fully commit to their study of guitar, and that commitment will be rewarded whether their goals are to play professionally or for personal growth and satisfaction.

Arnez Hayes - Guitar/Bass

As soon as he picked up his first guitar at the age of 11, Arnez Hayes knew that he was hooked! His love of the instrument and appreciation of music led him to begin to study bass guitar, also, and he developed proficiency in both instruments through years of lessons, practice and performance. Delving into music history and music theory enabled Arnez to deepen his commitment to his profession, and opened doors for him to perform with some of Philly's most iconic artists, such as McFadded & Whitehead, the Delphonics and Sharon Page (of Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes). While playing professionally, Arnez continued to hone his gift by studying privately with Dennis Sandole. During his association with the US Air Force Department of Defense, Arnez toured the world, playing in Japan, South Korea, Haiti, Iceland, Greenland and the Philippines. He also toured with and led Fat Larry's Band. Other amazing opportunities to play brought Arnez to Ireland, Great Britain, New Zealand, Venezuela, France and the UK. Additionally, he played bass for Sinbad's Showtime comedy special in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Arnez produced and performed with Andre Roxx of the Wu-tang Clan - Killa Beez and accompanied the Chi-Lites, Russell Thompkins, Jr and the New Stylistics. He is skilled in playing a wide range of musical genres, including gospel, R&B, jazz, fusion, funk, reggae, calypso, Caribbean, Soca, rock, blues and hip-hop. Although playing on stage and in the studio brings Arnez great joy, he also has a passion for teaching guitar, bass and ukulele, bringing his artistry into the private studio so that young and beginner musicians can develop their talents under his careful guidance. We are honored to have Arnez with us at Creative Keys!

Fiona Male - Voice & Piano

Fiona Male is a professional vocalist and music educator (voice and piano) from the greater Philadelphia region. She began performing at the age of 5 and immediately fell in love with sharing her gifts on stage! Over the years, that enthusiasm has inspired her to unite her desire to perform with her devotion to teaching as her training and live performance experience have focused on Jazz, Musical Theater, Pop, Classic Rock, and songwriting. Fiona's BA in Vocal Jazz Performance from the Boyer College of Music at Temple University helped her structure her passion, giving her the necessary tools to apply music theory and strong vocal technique to create her best self artistically so that she has an abundance of resources to share with her audience and with those she teaches. Believing that each of her students has a unique form of self-expression, Fiona acts as a guide, tailoring each lesson to the individual and finding unique ways to grow each student's abilities. She believes that music can be extremely healing no matter the age or level of experience and we are honored to have Fiona as one of our beloved Creative Keys educators!

Mariah Ritchie - Voice & Piano

Mariah Ritchie is a true triple threat as a seasoned singer/actress and music educator! A vocalist since childhood, Mariah quickly found herself immersed in the music industry, from performing in choirs or solo on stage, to teaching privately. An alumna of the University of the Arts, Mariah earned both a BA in Voice Performance (with a minor in Music Education) and an MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching). After earning her credentials at UArts, she set sail to London, where she received an MA (Music Theatre) from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Mariah’s extensive training and experience in the Musical Theater realm give her a tremendous amount of insight into the challenges of creating a space for one's talents in the professional world. She eagerly shares with her students solid strategies on self-marketing, broadening musical horizons and finding confidence on stage (whether singing solo, in bands or in shows), in addition to working with them on specific skills they need as they prepare for school, community theatre and professional productions. A few of the shows Mariah has been featured in are Spelling Bee, American Idiot, Godspell, Songs for a New World and Aida. Ms. Ritchie cannot wait to help our Creative Keys students' talents soar!

Zach Fischer - Guitar & Bass

Zach Fischer is a guitarist, composer and educator from Philadelphia. Music has always been a part of his life, starting Suzuki classical guitar lessons at the age of 3 and playing along to John Mayer’s Any Given Thursday live DVD as often as humanly possible in his spare time. In middle school, he began studying jazz, pop and R&B with Dave Manley and became a part of the Kimmel Center Creative Music Program. Zach holds a Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Performance from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, where he studied with Greg Clayton, Kevin Bibace and Greg Amirault, and received both the Seymour Schulich and David Moyse scholarships for excellence in music. In addition, Zach has studied privately with Ben Monder, Gary Thomas and Frederico Heliodoro. Zach’s personal musical aesthetic stretches far and wide, drawing from the past 100 years of American music (jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass, hip hop, funk, soul, R&B) and beyond to the folk and pop music traditions of South America, West Africa and East Asia. He’s performed with jazz luminaries like Ambrose Akinmusire and Kevin Dean, Montreal’s legendary improvised hip-hop collective Kalmunity and Los Angeles-based indie folk duo Jack Rabbit. He’s performed in venues such as The Kimmel Center, Nublu (NYC), Amsterdam Blue Note, Upstairs Jazz Bar (Montréal), and even at the Great Wall of China! You can find Zach performing with his genre-bending group Postergirl in Philadelphia and New York City, as well as in wedding bands throughout the Delaware Valley. As an educator, Zach is passionate about developing guitar and bass students’ musicianship through ear training, improvisation, technical fundamentals, music theory and much more, always tailoring his approach to each student’s individual goals and needs.

YOUR PRIME SOURCE for PIANO, GUITAR & VOICE LESSONS Call or Email for details - 609-923-8806

1258 Haddonfield-Berlin Rd, Unit A-2, Voorhees, NJ 08043

CONTACT DETAILS

STUDIO ADDRESS

1258 Haddonfield-Berlin Rd
Unit A-2
Voorhees, NJ 08043

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609-923-8806

SEND US AN EMAIL

Joe@CreativeKeysOnline.com

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For more information about our music studio which offer private piano, guitar & voice lessons, or to inquire about our policies, prices and schedule availability, please feel free to contact us.