All of our faculty members will be alumni of
The Juilliard School or other top-tier jazz programs,
with special expertise and experience in jazz instruction.
Riley Mulherkar, Trumpet, Artistic Director
Riley Mulherkar has been recognized as a “smart young trumpet player” by The New York Times, praised by The Wall Street Journal as a “youngster to keep an eye on,” and is a 2020 recipient of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist Award for his work as “an original bandleader, composer, arranger, educator, community activist and advocate for jazz and the arts.”
Riley works with a number of leading artists of our time, including Wynton Marsalis, Anna Deavere Smith, and Alan Cumming, and is a founding member of The Westerlies, a new music brass quartet that creates the rarest of hybrids: music that is both “folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” (NPR Music). Riley also serves as Artistic Director at Joye in Aiken, bringing leading young talent to the historic city of Aiken, South Carolina.
Born and raised in Seattle, Riley moved to New York in 2010 to study at The Juilliard School, where he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in 2014 and his Master’s in 2015. Riley is actively engaged in educational initiatives, founding the Joye in Aiken Jazz Camp in 2021, directing the Summer Advanced Institute at Seattle JazzEd from 2017-2019, and serving as an ambassador for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Jazz for Young People” program in New York and St. Louis from 2016 – 2018. Riley is also a faculty member of The College of Performing Arts at The New School in New York, NY. Riley is an Edwards Artist and performs on Edwards trumpets.
Jade Elliott, Saxophone
Born and raised in Southern California, alto saxophonist Jade Elliott moved to New York in 2020 to pursue her Master’s degree in Music Therapy at New York University, Steinhardt while immersing herself in the jazz scene of New York City. Since living in New York she has played with multiple groups around Manhattan and Brooklyn, including the Diva Jazz Orchestra, Sammy Miller and The Congregation, Bobby Sanabria's Multiverse Big Band, and The Grace Fox Big Band.
Before moving to New York, Jade got her Bachelor’s degree in Ethnomusicology from UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, primarily playing and teaching around the greater Los Angeles area. In California, she has performed with artists including David Garfield, Kenny Burrell, Tito Puente, Jr., and Johnny Polanco’s Latin Jazz Orchestra, Emil Richards, and Matt Harris. She even traveled with Quincy Jones and his production team to Montreux, Switzerland in 2018 to perform for his 85th birthday celebration, which featured artists such as Monty Alexander, Jorja Smith, Robert Glasper, and Jacob Collier.
Jade is dedicated to jazz education, offering private lessons to students and adults of all ages, and is committed to utilizing her music therapy training to serve disenfranchised communities and minority groups. Currently, she sees clients at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy, an internationally known private clinic at NYU, where she works with children and adults with special needs.
Bryan Carter, Percussion
With a confidence reflecting an instrumental and compositional maturity that both belie his age and announce the arrival of a remarkable talent, Bryan Carter exemplifies what promises to be a highly successful career. Shortly after completing his training at The Juilliard School in New York City and still at the very outset of his career, Carter has already played and/or recorded with many notable artists including Clark Terry, McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, Michael Feinstein and Kurt Elling.
Carter attended The Juilliard School as a Jazz Studies major and studied with Carl Allen and Kenny Washington. He was the recipient of the Irene Diamond Scholarship as well as the Samuel L Jackson Scholarship. While at Juilliard, Carter took a strong interest in composition, orchestration and interdivisional cross-collaborative performance.
Bryan is currently touring the world with his band, “Bryan Carter & The Young Swangers.” He also served as the house drummer for NBC’S “Maya & Marty” starring Maya Rudolph, Keenan Thompson and Martin Short. The show has featured guests including Miley Cyrus, Tom Hanks, Drake, Steve Martin and Tina Fey. Aside from performing, Carter conducts clinics, master-classes and workshops at schools, colleges and universities around the world. Currently Carter serves as a teaching artist for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Jazz for Young People” program in New York City. He endorses Ludwig Drums, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Remo Drumheads, Zildjian Cymbals and 1964-Ears Monitors.
Dan Chmielinski, String Bass
Dan “Chimy” (shim'-ee) Chmielinski is a New York Times critically acclaimed, award-winning bassist, composer, synthesist, sound designer and bandleader who consistently creates original projects under his own brand, Chimy Music. Currently based in Los Angeles, Dan maintains a bi-coastal schedule comprised of live performances, film scoring, and music production. His recent film scoring accolades include music composed for “The Exiles,” a documentary produced by Steven Soderbergh and Chris Columbus, which garnered a Grand Jury win at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Dan founded and leads several groups of his own, including “Four by Four,” an octet innovatively showcasing jazz quartet alongside string quartet, and “Circuit Kisser,” an electronic ensemble consisting of five synthesizers, electric bass and drums, combining jazz harmonies and electronic music. Both showcase Dan’s original compositions.
Dan teamed up with vocalist Martina DaSilva to form the viral sensation “ChimyTina,” a bass and vocal duo featuring tight-knit arrangements of classic jazz standards, folk tunes and popular music. In December 2019, ChimyTina released the winter holiday-inspired album A Very ChimyTina Christmas. The album received critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, NPR, The New York Times and other media outlets. Their upcoming album, Constellations, is set for release in June of 2022.
Dan began playing bass at age three, initially utilizing a toddler-sized acoustic bass his parents created, using a half-size cello with bass guitar strings. Dan received his master's degree in jazz studies from The Juilliard School in 2017. He also earned his bachelor's degree from Juilliard, studying under the great Ron Carter. Wynton Marsalis once publicly referred to Dan as "a young star of jazz," and considers him to be one of the most serious musicians of his generation. Proficient in many genres, Dan’s diverse background has allowed him to record and perform with country music sensation Kelsea Ballerini on national television, accompany the stars of Broadway’s “Hamilton,” record on the soundtrack of Woody Allen’s “Cafe Society” and perform for members of the royal family. Dan has traveled the world performing, collaborating and recording with world class musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Joey Alexander, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Marc Cary, Billy Childs, Dianne Reeves, Veronica Swift, Brad Mehldau, Chase Baird, Jon Batiste, Beka Gochiashvili, Ulysses Owens Jr., Etienne Charles, Bryan Carter, and Eric Harland, to name a few.
He has performed around the globe and has graced prestigious venues and festivals including The Hollywood Bowl, Chicago Symphony Center, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Monterrey Jazz Festival, the Umbria Jazz Festival and the Ravinia Festival. He has been continuously inspired and mentored by some of the world’s greatest musicians, including Richard Davis, Ben Wolfe, Jason Heath, Carlos Henriquez, and Jay Anderson. He was one of 15 musicians selected to participate in Ravinia’s prestigious Steans Institute, where he collaborated with jazz masters David Baker, Nathan Davis, Curtis Fuller, and Rufus Reid. Dan plays and endorses Pirastro Eudoxa strings.
As a composer, prolific in scoring for film as well as concert music, he was one of eight composers selected to participate in BMI’s “Composing for the Screen” film scoring mentorship, under the guidance of acclaimed media composer Rick Baitz. He has also studied with composers Philip Lasser, Kendall Briggs and Edward Bilous. Dan has gone on to score short films, features, and documentaries. In 2021, Dan’s arrangement of Laurin Talese’s “This Love” was performed by members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. His experiences in scoring and composition introduced him to the world of sound design and synthesizers. Dan currently owns over 30 analog synthesizers, new and old, and is a member of sampling company 8Dio’s sound design team. He regularly serves as an on-screen personality in their demos and tutorials for their revolutionary program, Soundpaint.
Mathis Picard, Piano
Mathis Picard is a pianist, composer and producer on the international music scene. He is currently making his debut US solo concert tour, including a stop in Aiken, SC.
Originally from France and Madagascar, and now based in New York City, Mathis was named a “rising star” by The Scotsmen at age 10. He is an ASCAP Next Generation of Songwriters Recipient, a member of the Montreux Jazz Foundation, and a Juilliard alumnus under the mentorship of Kenny Barron. London reviewers describe Mathis as a “knockout, as dynamic a personality as he is virtuosic on the keys” (whatsonstage.com).
Deemed as “one to watch” by Jazzwize magazine, Mathis tours as a solo pianist and has played solo sets for NY Fashion Week, Little Island, and the Umbria Jazz Festival. He is featured on several records. His latest solo album, “Live At The Museum,” was released to critical acclaim in January 2022. The album honors the works of the great classical and jazz composers who were influential in Picard’s personal musical journey, through daring and evocative interpretations of classical pieces, and an impressive array of original compositions.
As a bandleader, Mathis heads up his own large ensemble, The Sound Orchestra, which has performed on both coasts of America. Their debut genre-bending EP World Unity came out in 2020 on Outside In Music Records, which put him on the map as “a fascinating name to follow in any context” (All About Jazz). Mathis has worked with Mwenso & The Shakes, Braxton Cook, Ron Carter, Lillias White, Lee Ritenour, Kindness, Wynton Marsalis, Veronica Swift, Etienne Charles and others.