Teachers

Helen Malyszka, Graduated from Stevenson College in Edinburgh, Scotland, with a degree in Early Childhood Education in 1975. Helen became involved in the Suzuki Music School in 1983 with her son Paul, who was three years old at the time. In 1985 she received her Suzuki training from Jeanne Luedke and began teaching Pre-Suzuki and music theory classes at the school. Helen has been the music teacher at St. Rose Pre-School in Newtown since 2000, Newtown Congregational Nursery Co-op since 1987, and the Wesley Learning Center in Sandy Hook since 1994. Helen has been directing the St. Rose Children’s choir Newtown, since 2002. She has been performing with her Brother and twin sister in the group Eclipse since the early 70's.

Andrew Lafreniere, with a Masters degree in guitar performance from the Hartt School of Music, teaches both guitar and piano at the Suzuki Music School. His Suzuki studies have been with Jeanne Luedke, Frank Longay, and Bill Kossler. Mr. Lafreniere has been a Suzuki teacher since 1982. He is on the Suzuki Association of the Americas Guitar Development Committee and, as a member of the committee, he has been involved with the publication of the Suzuki guitar method books. He is a popular clinician, teaching at many Suzuki institutes throughout the country. Several of his students have gone on to study at some of the finest music schools in the country and have won several performance awards. Andrew has performed throughout the area, most recently with Eclipse and the Wykeham Consort.

Ms. MorganEve began learning the violin at age three at this very school. A native of Newtown, she grew up with the Suzuki Method, performing in the community, participating in school orchestras and the Norwalk Youth Symphony.  Around age ten, MorganEve discovered the fiddle music of Maritime Canada and by sixteen she was performing in Irish and Americana bands around Fairfield and New London Counties. As an undergrad at Hampshire College, she studied Literary Journalism and Ethnomusicology, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts. Since 2008 she has toured extensively playing violin, guitar, and upright bass as half of the duo Brown Bird, and a member of The Devil Makes Three, among others. She continues to write and perform as The Huntress and Holder of Hands. After fifteen years of being based in Providence RI, MorganEve has returned home, where she now runs a small violin repair shop out of her barn in Bethel, performs and tours as much as possible and is passionate about teaching violin to the next generation of Suzuki kids.

Jazmin Giles is a classically trained solo pianist and accompanist based in Connecticut. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Music Education at Western Connecticut State University.
She began studying piano at The Hartt School’s Community Division and studied classical piano under pianist Malgosia Lis. While studying at the Hartt School Community Division, Jazmin performed in many recitals, and small ensembles, and has won awards and competitions such as the HMTA Rising Pianists Competition. She also attended The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts where she studied with performer Alex Nakhimovsky and performed with many of the academy’s musical ensembles.
She continued her studies by taking private instruction in classical piano from Russell Hirshfield and piano pedagogy from Laurel Larsen at Western Connecticut State University. As a collegiate music tutor, Jazmin provides her peers with additional training in Keyboard Competency, Music Theory, and Sight-singing. She is an active member of the state's National Association of Music Education chapter, and the Connecticut Music Educators Association, and presided over the Music Department’s Keyboard Club. She was awarded the Ruth P. DeVillafranca Music Education Award for music teaching potential, and contributions to the school and the music department.
Through studying and teaching music, Jazmin hopes to pass on the many joys and skills music has provided her to future generations.