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Team: Team
Catherine Cocco
Voice, Flute, Piano
Co-owner & Director of Education
Ms Cocco has been teaching and performing music professionally for over 25 years. A graduate of the University of South Carolina in music education, she has toured with the South Carolina Opera Theater and studied at Studio Lirico in Cortona, IT.
A former elementary music teacher with the School District of Philadelphia and others, she created the "Music For Homeschoolers" curriculum to meet the needs of that special community.
Ronnie Ziccardi
Piano
Mr. Ziccardi, a Quarterfinalist for the 2021 and 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator Awards, is excited to be working in the Avonworth School District where he teaches 4th-6th Grade Band, 3rd Grade General Music, is the Co-Director and Percussion Instructor of the High School Marching Band, Director of the High School Musical Pit Orchestra, and Director of the Jazz Band.
He is a graduate of West Virginia University (WVU) where he earned his Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree. He also earned a Master of Music in Music Education degree from Boston University and a K-12 Principal Certification from the University of Pittsburgh.
While at WVU Mr. Ziccardi performed in a variety of music ensembles including the Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, Percussion Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Big Band, Basketball Pep Band, Steel Drum Ensemble, Fife and Drums, Concert Band, Mountaineer Chorale, African Drum Ensemble, and in the pit orchestra for musicals. He was also the recipient of the Theodore Presser Foundation award, Don Wilcox Concert Band award, and a winner of the Young Artist Concerto Competition.
Charles Wentz
Voice
Director of Marketing
Mr Wentz has been performing professionally for over ten years. He served as Associate Artistic Director of the Keystone State Boychoir, where he honed his conducting skills and choral expertise. He can also be seen with the Philadelphia Symphonic Chorus, VoxAmaDeus, The Atlanta Opera Chorus, Kinnara, and The Quintave Singers, which he co-founded in 2018.
His notable solo performances include Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Mass, Schumann's Liederkreis, and Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel.
Jenna Ziccardi
Voice
Soprano Jenna Ziccardi is a versatile vocalist with a Master’s in Voice Performance from West Virginia University and a magna cum laude Bachelor’s from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. She has trained with the CoOPERAtive Program and AIMS in Graz, Austria.
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Ms. Ziccardi’s experience includes teaching voice, directing vocals, and performing as a staff singer and graduate assistant. She has appeared in operas, musicals, oratorios, and world premieres, with roles such as Jennie in The Doctor and the Devil, Countess Ciprano in Rigoletto, and Rose Maybud in Ruddigore. She regularly performs with Aria 412, The Pittsburgh Savoyards, Marble City Opera, Resonance Works, and Pittsburgh Festival Opera.
Rick Murrell
Trumpet
Mr Murrell graduated from Ball State University in Music Performance and Education. After one semester of graduate studies at the University of Iowa, he accepted the position of principal trumpet in the Veracruz Symphony Orchestra. Since returning to the US, he's won positions in many orchestras, including Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids, Binghamton, Tucson, and others. Rick has played with the Pittsburgh Symphony many times.
Richard Cocco
Guitar
Co-owner & Business Manager
Mr. Cocco has been playing guitar for over two decades. He is a graduate of University of Pittsburgh Johnstown, and a Certified Public Accountant.
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