Meet the Music By Tritone Team
Sarah Chari Grasso is a piano and percussion educator with over 15 years experience. She owns Music By Tritone in Roswell, Ga. and teaches piano and drums there full time. She studied classical piano performance under the guidance of Harriet Goler (Cleveland Institute of Music) and Dr. Robert Henry (Kennesaw State University) and is as comfortable with improvisational keyboard and percussion as she is with the piano's expansive repertoire encompassing many genres.
Her drum studies included extensive work with Steven O'Reilley and Tom Knight at the Atlanta Institute of Music. She is versatile in advanced classical, rock, world, funk and jazz performance and instruction and has taught hundreds of students of all levels.
In 2006, Sarah created her own curriculum rooted in fundamental music technique and the musical repertoire students enjoy playing. She also developed an extensive music library of favorite songs arranged for students of various levels and a successful group class format for beginners and intermediate students. She continues to coordinate group music events and performs solo piano and ensemble repertoire in the greater Atlanta area.
Joshua K. Chari is a full time musician and teacher in Roswell/Alpharetta, GA. He owns Music By Tritone, teaches, performs and records cello and guitar, and produces studio strings in the Atlanta area. He also provides orchestral, sectional workshops and coaching in over a dozen area high schools and middle schools.
Joshua began his musical studies on the cello with the Suzuki Method at the age of 4. He went on to study with internationally known cello teacher Richard Aaron (presently a professor of cello at the Juilliard School formerly at the Cleveland Institute of Music) and Stephen Kates at the Peabody Conservatory-Johns Hopkins University. Joshua’s advanced guitar studies included work with Peter Vogl and Bill Hart (Atlanta Institute of Music and Media.)
Joshua has taught cello and guitar for over 16 years and has had many students participate in Georgia All State Orchestra, Georgia Honors Orchestra, Atlanta Youth Symphony Orchestra, Emory Youth Symphony, Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra, Ludwig Symphony Orchestra and Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra. He teaches students of all levels -beginner to advanced and enjoys helping students develop their musical interests and achieve their goals.
Zac Lavender, an Alpharetta native, is a versatile teacher composer, producer, performer and session musician. He teaches cello, guitar, bass, drums, piano, ensembles, and recording. Zac is classically trained cellist and vocalist holding a Masters Degree in film scoring from New York University and a BA in music composition from University of Michigan.
He is an experienced producer and recording engineer and an ASCAP composer published through Abundant Silence Publishing and Bird Castle Music Group. His compositions have won national awards including the ASTA Merle J. Isaac prize and his film music has been heard at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, Traverse City Film Festival, New York News Doc Festival, Cannes, and Tribeca Film Festivals. His concert music has been played internationally by ensembles including the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Latitude 49, the New York Composers Ensemble, and members of the Yale School of Music. He has been a featured composer at the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and Fresh Inc. Festival in Chicago and has completed commercial music projects for major companies and PBS. As a producer, Zac has recently completed works for clients in New York and Los Angeles including Alethea.
He is a versatile guitarist and bassist in a wide range of styles and has been playing guitar since the age of five. Zac was a long-time cello student of Joshua K. Chari through middle school and high school.
Ally Bellhaven is an experienced pianist, composer and lyricist. She is a multi-faceted teacher with a passion for teaching students ranging from young children to teens and serious older classical and jazz pianists. She also loves directing ensembles, arranging music and teaching composition.
Ally holds a degree from Berklee College of Music where she received the highest honors. She is currently a graduate student at New York University studying Musical Theater Writing and teaches with Music By Tritone in a hybrid format including remote lessons and in-person workshops and lessons.
Ally loves to giving back to the community by teaching the next generation of music lovers. When not teaching or writing, you can find her curled up with a good fantasy novel or making dinner for friends.
Dr. Uni Choi is an active pianist and teacher who has experience teaching musicians of all ages and levels. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan (BM), Northwestern University (MM), and the University of Georgia (DMA). Uni began her training began at the age of 4 and has studied in South Korea, Uzbekistan, and the United States.
As a classical pianist, she has appeared with the Tashkent Conservatory Symphony, University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Georgia ARCO.
Creative expression, multifaceted as the human experience, motivates Uni to “go beyond the music” and drives her to incorporate interdisciplinary ideas in her teaching and performing. Her interest in interdisciplinary art has led to educational and artistic research and projects including a multimedia performance in Los Angeles showcasing synesthesia -merging auditory musical experiences with colorful visuals. Uni is committed to delivering a nurturing environment where students feel free to find their creative voice.
Dr. Vera Ilyushina has twenty-five years of teaching experience preparing students for conservatory college auditions, competitions, performances, GYSO, ASYO, and All State Orchestra to name a few. Born to a musical family, she began music lessons at the age of two and at seven she attended the Special Music School of the St.-Petersburg Conservatory. After graduating from the St. Petersburg Conservatory with a Master's Degree in Violin Performance and Pedagogy, she completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Violin Performance at SUNY at Stony Brook under Lazar Gosman. Vera plays regularly with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Lark Chamber Music, an Atlanta area chamber music group she founded in 2009. She has also played with Atlanta Opera and Atlanta Ballet, is on the board of the Atlanta Music Club and judges for the International Youth Music Competitions and the Pro-Mozart Society Annual Competition.
Jingyi Han is an accomplished pianist and teacher. She holds two masters degrees: the first in performance from Cleveland Institute of Music under Ms. Haesun Paik and the second in piano pedagogy in Michigan State University under Dr. Derek Polischuk. She is currently completing her doctorate (ABD) at Michigan State University under the chair of the piano department, Deborah Moriarty. She also holds an undergraduate degree from New England Conservatory of Music where she studied with Gabriel Chodos and was chosen as a winner of the Chopin Mazurka Competition. She began piano at age of 6, and excelled very early on and won first prize in the Mozart Variation Competition while studying in Shenyang Conservatory of Music.
Jingyi enjoys innovation and loves to tailor a variety of teaching methods for her students’ specific needs. She is inspiring, patient, cheerful and loves to introduce students of all ages to thought-provoking concepts. Jingyi is bilingual and has classroom and private teaching experience including adults of all ages and children from kindergarten on up. Jingyi believes music should bring joy to individuals and fulfill people’s daily life.
Alina “Ali” Nelson holds a Master's degree in music performance and is an active performing and teaching violinist. Ali, originally from Saint-Petersburg, Russia, is a Mussorgsky University Concerto Competition winner and has had the privilege of working alongside renowned conductor Valery Gergiev.
At the age of 19, Alina relocated to the United States, where she completed a violin performance degree from SFA in Nacogdoches, Texas under Dr. Jennifer Dalmas. During this time she performed solo with the SFA Symphony Orchestra. Upon completion of her degree, she moved to Athens, Georgia to study music at University of Georgia and received her Masters in Violin Performance at UGA studying under the guidance of Levon Ambartsumian.
Currently, Alina performs as a violinist in the Augusta and Asheville orchestras, while also dedicating her time to teaching at Music by Tritone, where she shares her passion and joy for music with her students.
Macie Connor is a voice and piano teacher with over 14 years of experience. She began her musical journey with piano lessons at the age of 4 and quickly found that her love of music extended to the stage. This led her to pursue musical theatre throughout her childhood and she began working in the professional realm at the age of 17. Her love for teaching others about music and performing led her to continue her studies at Lee University with a degree in Vocal Music Education. Macie is a former member of the Charlotte Symphony's Oratorio Singers and has also performed and lived in the United Kingdom. She has run successful high school music and theater programs and has years of experience teaching in elementary schools. Many of her students have gone on to professional careers including performers on Broadway, composers and fellow music teachers.
Macie is a Meisner trained actress and has a passion to teach students how to find their unique voice through music and performance. She works with a very wide range of students from very young children and beginners to competitive vocalists, musical theater and drama students desiring to make their career in the arts. She is also experienced with teaching music to special needs students and adapts her lessons to suit each individual student. Macie has a desire to help her students learn to love their musical journey, finding their own voice and expression through music. She strives to bring the best out of each student, no matter what their age or ability. When she is not teaching, you can find Macie performing on the stage in theatres around Atlanta or on the big screen, working in the tv/film industry.
Dr. Grant Gilman is a violinist and orchestral conductor. Grant earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees at the Peabody Institute of Music in Baltimore. His undergraduate studies
in violin performance were with Pamela Frank, Martin Beaver, and Misha Rosenker. His graduate studies in orchestral conducting were with Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar. Grant holds a Doctorate of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he studied with Mark Gibson.
Currently Dr. Gilman is the Conductor and Artistic Director of the Alpharetta Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the East Cobb Chamber Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he held positions of Associate Music Director of the Round Rock Symphony, Music Director with the Harbor Opera Company, Resident Conductor with the Astoria Symphony, Assistant Conductor with
the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and Guest Conductor with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
With a lifelong commitment to developing young talent, Grant has been Director of Orchestral Studies at the College of William and Mary and Christopher Newport University, Music Director with the University of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra Director for the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio Summer String Camp. Dr. Gilman has conducted orchestral and opera performances in
Cincinnati, Ohio; Newport News and Norfolk, Virginia; Round Rock and San Antonio, Texas; New York, New York; Baltimore, Maryland; Toms
River and Newark, New Jersey; and Greensboro, North Carolina. Most notably, he led a performance of The Nutcracker with the Moscow Ballet
in Baltimore’s famed Lyric Opera House.
Grant enjoys teaching and inspiring violinists to reach their full potential while fostering a love of music.
Music By Tritone also works closely with other experienced, highly-qualified teachers who share our vision for inspiration and motivation of students rooted in sound fundamentals and an individual approach to each student’s education. If you are looking for instruction on another instrument or have other specific needs, please reach out. If we don’t have an ideal fit for you on staff, we will refer you to a colleague and do our best to make sure you find the perfect teacher for you.
Tony Monticello teaches guitar, bass, and ukulele. He attended Valdosta State University as a classical guitar performance major and has performed on guitar and bass for over three decades with a wide variety of bands and ensembles in genres, including rock, funk, punk, pop, classical and musical theater.
Music has been a passion for Tony his entire life. From an early age, he would listen nonstop to his parents' record collection, feeling and absorbing every note. When he received his first electric guitar and banged out his first power chord, the deal was sealed. Music was his calling and there was no looking back.
As time went on, Tony's desire grew to "pay it forward" to the next generation of talented musicians. He believes that each person is unique and every musical voice should be nurtured and valued. For Tony, the beauty of being a musician and teacher is it’s never ending journey: always new things to learn, different avenues to explore, and fresh adventures to be had. Helping students discover their musical voice is as important to Tony as teaching the fundamentals. Tony knows that fostering students’ self-expression stokes their desire to grow.
Mary Kalin holds a bachelors in Instrumental Music from Butler University Indianapolis, Indiana. She is a career teacher, and a lifelong pianist and an accomplished brass performer. Mary began studying piano at the age of four and picked up trombone in fifth grade. She studied trombone under the direction of John Bart, bass trombonist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and after receiving her music degree she has built a career performing and teaching piano, saxophone, trumpet and trombone. Mary loves working with students of all ages starting young pianists as early as four years old. She also enjoys working with recreational and competitive middle and high school students and adults. Mary is well versed in a wide variety of music including classical, jazz, pop and rock. Her style of teaching is
based on traditional methods, but is very flexible in order to meet the students' needs and goals for music study.
Mary is currently enrolled in a master's degree program in Educational Psychology. She is passionate about music education and changing the face of public education from a platform of music and arts education.
Jeremy Wilms is a versatile and highly experienced guitarist, pianist, bass player, performing singer and songwriter. Jeremy has a Bachelors in Music from Georgia State University and a Masters in Music from CUNY Queens College in NYC. He studied classical guitar with John Sutherland and Todd Seelye, and jazz with Kenny Werner, David Berkman, Michael Mossman and Chico Hamilton. During his long career as a recording and touring musician in NYC, Jeremy worked with artists as diverse as NEA, Jazz legend Chico Hamilton, Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto, Beyonce and Patti Labelle.
In 2020 Mr. Wilms stepped away from the grind of the city and moved back to his hometown of Atlanta with his family where he has returned his focus to teaching, songwriting and performing. He released his newest album “The Fighter” in November 2023.
Jeremy loves inspiring and teaching beginners and advanced musicians of all genres and ages to attain their goals. He also currently does music scoring for film and other media.