Appel Farm is offering virtual Private & Small Group Lessons this summer!
Appel Farm Teaching Artists and Appel Farm Arts Camp Instructors are teaching lessons online to help our community stay creative over the summer! Sign your creative kid up for one-on-one instruction in music, theatre, visual arts, photography, and more! We are adding Teaching Artists and lessons all the time, and you can always reach out with your ideal lesson. We will most likely be able to match you with a Teaching Artist and get you started!
Missing your friends? Get together with 2-5 friends for a Small Group Lesson! You can all join the same class from your own houses, and learn together. Rehearse scenes, write songs, collaborate on an art project, write poetry and have group critiques!
Lesson Details:
Private and Small Group Lessons run July 6-August 14, 2020.
Choose 3 or 6 weeks of weekly lessons.
Lessons are designed for young artists ages 7 to 17; lessons may be available to other aged-students on request.
Private Lessons cost $30 per 1/2-hour lesson, and $60 per 1-hour lesson. $90 for 3 weeks of 1/2-hour lessons $180 for 6 weeks of 1/2-hour lessons $180 for 3 weeks of 1-hour lessons $360 for 6 weeks of 1-hour lessons
Small Group Lessons cost $30 per 1-hour lesson, per student, up to 5 students. $90 for 3 weeks of 1-hour lessons $180 for 6 weeks of 1-hour lessons
Lessons will meet on Zoom, an online platform that is accessible from any smartphone, tablet, or computer. We will provide information on how to download the Zoom app, and help you throughout the summer with any support you need.
Lessons are taught by Appel Farm Teaching Artists.
How to Register:
Browse through our roster of Teaching Artists and Lessons below.
Click the Schedule Lesson button.
Choose a Lesson. Lessons are 30 or 60 minutes, for 3 or 6 weeks.
Choose a Teaching Artist.
Scroll to the week of July 6th, and click on each day to see when the Teaching Artist is available.
Choose a Day and Time for your first lesson. We will set you up for recurring lessons on the same day and time for the number of weeks you selected. Lessons booked within 36 hours of the start of the lesson will be scheduled to start the following week.
Enter your information, and click on the Book Appointment Button.
Click on the Submit Payment button to compete your registration and pay the fee.
Award-winning fiddler Melody Allegra Berger has been raising a ruckus in NYC for the past decade and has toured nationally and abroad. You can see her on SNL (S44E19), and hear her on House of Cards (S2E05), Trixie Mattel’s Two Birds, and Gangstagrass: American Music. She was a counselor at Appel Farm for three summers in the early aughts and is stoked to be virtually teaching there again! Learn more on Melody’s website.
Actor/Musician Class: This class is aimed at students who are excited to combine their love of theatre, playing instruments and singing together. Actor/musicianship has been a big part of the Broadway landscape for some time now, with actors seamlessly playing instruments onstage in support of the action. (some recent examples being: Band’s Visit, Hadestown, Once, Oklahoma, etc.) All instruments and levels of experience are welcome! (violin/fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, ukulele, bass, cello, accordion, piano, woodwinds, brass, percussion, etc.)
Bluegrass/Folk Ensemble: Grab a couple of your friends and start a band! We’ll focus on sweet harmony singing and learning how to play with other people in an ensemble. Folk instruments include: guitar, ukulele, fiddle/violin, mandolin, banjo, bass, etc. Open to all sorts of instrumentation!
Bailey Cunningham | Music Composition, Piano, Harmony, Music Theory
Bailey Cunningham
Bailey Cunningham is a pianist, theatre director, composer, and EDM producer from Flagstaff, AZ. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2016, and has worked at Appel Farm for three years. Check out some of Bailey’s music here.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Music Composition: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Piano: intermediate, advanced
Harmony: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Music Theory: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Antonello Di Matteo | Clarinet, Accordion, Chamber Ensemble
Antonello Di Matteo
Philadelphia-based musician, Antonello is an eclectic classical and world-music freelancer. He has performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Princeton Symphony, among other groups in the East Coast area. Besides his substantial accomplishments as a multi-instrumentalist around the globe, Antonello has also lectured across Europe and the US, and currently holds a number of teaching positions in the area, including his role as Clarinet Instructor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. A true musical innovator, Antonello also holds a patent in Electronic Italian Bagpipes from the Italian Department of Economic Development.
Dawn is a performing musician, songwriter & teacher with an M.M. in Music Composition from Rowan University. She has released three full-length albums that have received regular airplay locally on WXPN and WSTW. She is co-leader of ‘Midwestern Hymnal’ and has been a featured session vocalist/musician/arranger on many recordings. As an educator, Hiatt has spent decades refining her craft as a teacher. She spent seven years as a public secondary education teacher and another seven years as Faculty Manager and Training Director of a music program where she led teacher trainings in methods incorporating creativity and play in the acquisition of musical skills. Dawn currently balances performing, writing and recording, with teaching at Rowan University and as a private music instructor.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Piano: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Voice: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Songwriting: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Alyssa Joseph | Songwriting, Guitar, Intro to Music Business
Alyssa Joseph
Alyssa Joseph is a singer/songwriter currently living in Nashville, TN. She is an Appel Farm alum, a camper in 2008 and 2009 and a counselor in 2018. She’s very excited to be a part of virtual camp 2020 teaching all levels of Songwriting and Beginner Guitar! Check out her website at alyssajoseph.com.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Songwriting: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Guitar: beginner
Intro to Music Business: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Tom Levy | Trumpet, French Horn, Baritone Horn, Trombone, Composition, Songwriting, Music Theory
Tom Levy
Tom would have been the brass instructor at Appel Farm, however, since we are unable to have camp this summer, he will be able to offer brass lessons online! He has been a camper at Appel Farm from 2009 to 2011, worked as an intern in 2016 and as a counselor in 2017. His primary instrument is trumpet, however he is also able to play/teach most of the brass family (both classical and jazz). He has also written music not only in classical and jazz settings, but also for dance, musical theatre, and films! After getting his bachelor’s degree in jazz trumpet at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, he is currently obtaining his master’s degree at Queens College for jazz composition.
David Lookwhy has been teaching at Appel Farm for the last two years as a string instructor and North Bunk Counselor. He is now a full-time elementary music teacher in Springfield MA, and regularly teaches violin, cello, and viola lessons at the New England Music Academy.
Rita Mitsel | Oboe, Piano, Wind Chamber Small Group
Rita Mitsel
Oboist Rita Mitsel has performed extensively in Europe and throughout the United States. She is a member of the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players (NY) and Symphony in C (NJ). Ms. Mitsel has appeared as a substitute in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the American Ballet Theater, the American Symphony Orchestra, and in The Phantom of the Opera. As a soloist she performed with Symphony in C, Orion String Quartet, Mannes Orchestra, and on Bargemusic, among others. She has recorded for Naxos and Centaur Records. Ms. Mitsel teaches oboe and chamber music at Queens College (CUNY), and ear training and dictation at Mannes College of Music.
A native of Kiev, Ukraine, she holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Mannes College of Music, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School. Her teachers include Elaine Douvas, Richard Dallessio, Eugene Izotov, Pedro Diaz, and Vadim Boyko.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Oboe: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Piano: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Wind Chamber Small Group: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Igor Petricevic | Classical Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Electric Bass, Voice, Rock Band
Igor Petricevic
Igor is a guitarist and singer based in Manchester, UK. Besides performing internationally, he currently teaches guitar and singing in several schools and colleges around the North – West of England. In addition to this, he has just completed his studies at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music! This is going to be Igor’s fourth summer teaching at Appel Farm and he is extremely excited to see new faces and welcome back familiar ones to make music virtually!
Josh is a pianist and composer based in Manchester, UK. He has just finished his studies at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music in contemporary composition and enjoys teaching in schools, music services, and sixth forms colleges across the Greater Manchester county. As a pianist, he has performed in some of Europe’s most prestigious venues as a chamber and soloist musician, alongside winning national awards in composition, appearing on national radio and having his pieces performed by the UKs top ensembles such as the BBC Singers. At the heart of his teaching, he aspires to spark students’ interest in any genre of music and to open up a magical world of music through the piano and writing music! This will be Josh’s second year as an international visiting artist and he can’t wait to carry on making music as a community!
Private & Small Group Lessons
Piano: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Music Writing and Composition: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Olivia Siegel | Voice, Songwriting, Electric Bass, Guitar, Piano
Olivia Siegel
Olivia first joined Appel Farm as a camper in 2013, and continued as a Counselor in Training, Intern, and Camp Staff. Olivia is studying Music Therapy at Temple University. She is flexible in teaching any genre of music!
Private & Small Group Lessons
Voice: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Songwriting: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Electric Bass: beginner, intermediate
Guitar: beginner, intermediate
Piano: beginner, intermediate
Anastasia Seifetdinova | Piano, Music Theory, Music History
Anastasia Seifetdinova
Originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, pianist Anastasia Seifetdinova is a graduate of Musikhochschule in Würzburg, Germany, and The Hartt School. She has won first and special prizes in competitions in Rome, Italy; Puigcerda, Spain; and Monterrey, Mexico. During her studies at Hartt, she recorded Balakirev Concertos with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra for NAXOS, and in years 2008-2011 performed two solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, as well as two live-broadcast recitals in Chicago, and in other recital halls in the USA and Germany. Centaur Records released two of her solo albums in 2016 and 2018, both recorded at The Hartt School. Besides teaching at Hartt, Anastasia is an accompanist at the New England Conservatory, a mom to two young children, and a piano instructor of her own studio near Boston.
Hunter Swanson plays euphonium and is currently based in Fairfax, Virginia. He served with the 2d Marine Division Band as their principal euphonium and section leader, and during his tour he performed across the country as well as internationally.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Euphonium: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Trombone: beginner, intermediate
Tuba: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Trumpet: beginner, intermediate
Breathing for Wind Instruments: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Miss Kristy has been teaching piano for the past 10 years with her personal business Trebled Heart Piano Academy. Her biggest accomplishment was to have 5 of her students be invited to play on one of the most prestigious stages in NYC, Carnegie Hall. Through that competition one of her students won 4th place out of 250 participants. Kristy personally has been playing piano for 30 years. Kristy looks forward to teaching the children or adults of the Appel farm community!
Aaron Blandino is a 2020 Graduate from Wagner College in New York. He is a Theatre and Speech Major with a concentration on Musical Theatre Performance and Acting. This Is Aaron Blandino’s second summer with Appel Farm as an instructor.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Acting: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Vocal Coaching for Acting: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Kamila Jarosińska | Acting, Acting for the Camera, Theater & Film, Improv
Kamila Jarosińska
Kamila Jarosińska is a professional actress with diplomas from the National Film School in Łódź, Poland (M.A.) and the Israeli Drama School “HaDerech”. She is also a theatre and film instructor with 15 years of teaching experience, scriptwriter and theatre director. Bringing together these combined skill sets, she is proud to pass on her passion through teaching and mentoring young actors and actresses. For more information please visit Kamila’s website.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Acting: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Acting for the Camera: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Theater & Film: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Improv: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Alexis Scott | Acting, Theater Creation
Alexis Scott
Alexis Scott is a lifelong performer, teacher, and collaborator who primarily works on new plays and indie films in cities across the country. She has her MFA in Acting from University of Texas at Austin and though she has taught at many schools and universities, her favorite place in the world is any camp. Check out her website at alexisleahscott.com
Private Acting Lesson: Are you an aspiring performer that wants to work on memorizing and performing monologues? I will help you choose or write, excavate, and hone your solo performance skills.
Theater Creation a Small Group Lesson: Do you want to turn your own home and backyard into a theater? We will use the styles of Mad Libs and Choose Your Own Adventure stories to write and create a play that you will be able to do with your family and friends in your own home!
Rachel Vogel | Monologue Creation & Coaching, Musical Theater Performance, Playwriting, Directing, Public Speaking, Improv, Scene Work
Rachel Vogel
Rachel Rae (Miller) Vogel is an English and Drama teacher with a BA in Film/TV from the University of Michigan and an MA in Educational Theatre from NYU. She has directed over 60 plays and has worked at Appel Farm as a teaching artist, acting instructor, bunk counselor, theatre department head, program director, and assistant camp director.
Sarah Zimmer | Songwriting, Audition Prep, Documentary Theatre Making
Sarah Zimmer
Sarah Zimmer received her Masters in Theatre Education for Community Engagement from Emerson in December 2019. She has taught in public and private schools, as well as a teaching artist for several theater companies. She was most recently employed at Boston Lyric Opera as an Education Programs Associate. She is passionate about theater, songwriting, and using our stories and the arts to make change in this world.
Sarah is a former camper and staff member at Appel Farm Arts Camp, and is a certified yogi!
Private & Small Group Lessons
Yoga: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Regan White | Musical Theater Dance, Jazz Dance
Regan White
Regan White is a dance teacher who specializes in Musical Theatre dance and Jazz. She studied at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and was recently employed by Royal Caribbean to be in Hairspray on the Symphony of the Seas. She can’t wait to see you in her classes!
Anthony Alfonso | Pixel Art & Animation, Illustration
Anthony Alfonso
Anthony is an illustration graduate from Philly’s University of the Arts. After working as a freelance illustrator, he now teaches art and works in the independent game dev industry.
Pixel Art & Animation: Private lessons in Pixel Art & Animations are tailored to each individual student. Do you want to create a spritesheet for your original character? Are you interested in making portraits with pixel art or learning how to animate a walk cycle? These one-on-one lessons are perfect for learning not only how to get started in the field of pixel art but also build upon techniques you already have. Download Pyxel Edit for $9, or bring a drawing tablet!
Illustration: Private and Small Group Lessons will focus on learning techniques that elevate drawing to ILLUSTRATION!!! In this course we will take on several projects that challenge your ability to conceptualize, plan, and execute intricate drawings.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Pixel Art & Animation: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Illustration: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Brea Furman | Fiber Arts, Cooking, Little Appels
Brea Furman
Brea has been teaching board game design, fiber arts, STIR culinary club, and Trendsetters sewing club for Appel Farm over the last year. She was a camper from 2001-2005 and returned to camp in 2019 as a guest artist for two weeks. Brea has a masters degree in education and primarily works in the behavioral health field.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Fiber Arts: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Cooking: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Little Appels: Creative movement, story telling, process oriented art, and more for ages 3-6
Kristin Ivey has instructed at Appel Farm for a total of 6 summers in Ceramics, Green Corps, Fiber Arts, Printmaking, and Multimedia art, with one summer as the Head of Visual Arts. She has a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from Brevard College. As a studio artist, her main focus is in painting both murals and smaller acrylic pieces. The emphasis on birds and nature themes in these pieces are reflective of Kristin’s school year work as an interpretive science educator. In pandemic times, she can frequently be found taking care of owls and alligators or enjoying quiet evenings watching the sunset over the beach.
Kristin is offering Painting Lessons in watercolor, acrylic, oil, and mural painting; Fiber Arts Lessons featuring crochet, cross-stitch, quilting, and designing your own pattern; Printmaking; and Handbuilding Ceramics for students with access to a kiln.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Painting: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Fiber Arts: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Printmaking: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Ceramics: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Zoungy Kligge | Watercolor, Gouache Painting, All about Color, Drawing & Shading, Portfolio Review
Zoungy Kligge
Zoungy Kligge is a visual arts instructor with twenty years of teaching experience. He teaches color theory, painting, illustration, and sculpture for adults and children at Appel Farm Arts and Music Campus in Elmer, NJ; and associated community programs like Robin’s Nest, Bridgeton Pathways, and Families To College; and as a visiting artist for the C3 Charter School. He is one of the Goggleworks Center For the Arts instructors in Reading, PA as well.
His work has appeared in Goggleworks annual juried show, Arts In Bloom NJ, on Google Earth, HBO, and in Disney products. He earned his BFA from Rhode Island School of Design.
Patricia Parks | Drawing, Printmaking, Mixed Media, Ceramics
Patricia Parks
Patti has lived in Southern New Jersey all of her life. She has a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and knowledge in printmaking, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, and a basic knowledge of sculpture. While she embraces traditional techniques, she loves to experiment with new and innovative techniques that can push the creative process out of the boundaries. What children create in art is always interesting and amazing to her.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Drawing: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Printmaking: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Mixed Media: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Ceramics: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Hannah Urben | Digital Photography
Hannah Urben
Hannah is a Marine and Natural History Photography graduate from the prestigious Falmouth University in the Southwest of England. After studying photography for six years, Hannah has travelled to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, and The Galápagos Islands undertaking important photographic projects that can move the needle for public awareness of major humanitarian and environmental issues. Specializing in photojournalism, her main focus is in exploring digital techniques that allow photographers to capture the world around us in creative ways.
Private & Small Group Lessons
Digital Photography: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Cheyanne Yelle | Photography Club
Cheyanne Yelle
Cheyanne has spent her whole life being part of the Appel Farm community. However, it wasn’t until 2014 that she was finally able to attend camp, where she was first introduced to photography. Thanks to her experiences at Appel Farm, Cheyanne has gone on to Moore College of Art & Design, where she will graduate with a BFA in Photography & Digital Arts.
Photography Club: The only requirement for this small group lesson is a device (i.e. smart phone, tablet, digital camera, etc.) that has the ability to take digital photos. Each week, I will give the group a photo adventure, and when we reconvene the following week, we can collectively share our photos! This is a space for creative freedom and positive feedback, allowing campers to expand their conceptual understanding of the artistic possibilities that can be done outside of the darkroom. Once everyone has had an opportunity to share their work, I will be conducting a mini lesson about various aspects of photography, from photographers that made history to a range of techniques that have been used. This will allow campers the opportunity to have some further inspiration for their next photoshoot. This is a 60 minute class that will meet 1 time per week.
Madison Donnelly | Speculative Fiction, Workshop Writing, Creative Writing
Madison Donnelly
Madison Donnelly is a prose writer from Centerville, OH who specializes in flash fiction, speculative fiction, and creative short stories. Speculative fiction can be defined as an umbrella term for any genre of fiction that includes speculative elements, or elements which do not exist in the real world; for example, the genres of sci-fi and fantasy fall under speculative fiction. At the same time, speculative fiction is not bound to follow any specific pre-established genres, and is equally associated with more experimental writing. They graduated from Oberlin College in the spring of 2020. Madison will be teaching speculative fiction workshops for both private and group sessions.
Lisa Franklin | Comic Strip Writing, Stand-Up Comedy, Screenwriting, Sketch Comedy Writers Room
Lisa Franklin
Lisa is a comedian and teacher who, when not writing, is probably shouting about television or cuddling her very sleepy cat. You can check out her webcomic, My Two Lesbian Ants, on Instagram and Twitter.
Chey has been doing spoken word since 2014. She has performed and taught writing and performing in several different settings. Outside of that she writes or helps build other’s fictional pieces on her own time that covers a variety of genres from fantasy to realistic historical fiction. She is excited to help students work with their own ideas and bring their writings to life no matter the format.