About Us
Harmonies 4 the Heart is a volunteer service program run by a group of piano students who have been learning piano for many years and want to put their accomplishments to good use by serving the community. Our group has been performing live at nursing homes in NYC. This year, during the pandemic, we are trying to expand our reach to share the joy of music with as many people as possible by holding virtual recitals.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Lio Thomas
Co-Founder
Lio is responsible for organizing the recital series and web design. He is a two-time second-place winner in the Crescendo International Piano Competition and has been a piano student at Belle Arti Center for the Arts under the maestro Massimiliano Facchini for 8 years. A senior at Bronx High School of Science and interested in studying engineering in college, he is also a member of the Science Olympiad Team and participated in the State Competition. In his free time, he is a train enthusiast.
Isabella Quatela
Co-Founder
Isabella is responsible for marketing and communication management of our program. She is a Senior enrolled at the Dominican Academy High School in Manhattan, New York and hopes to pursue a career in STEM in the future. She started to attend music lessons at Belle Arti Center for the Arts at the age of 3 and when she turned 4, she started to study piano under the guidance of Claudette Munné and later with Massimiliano Facchini. Isabella is also very involved in church activities, enjoys traveling, and plays on her school's varsity softball and volleyball teams.
Giuseppe Quatela
Co-Founder
Giuseppe is responsible for editing the recital videos as well as designing the logo. He is a second place winner in the Crescendo International Piano Competition and has been a student of Massimiliano Facchini at Belle Arti Center for the Arts where he has been studying music and piano since he was 2 years old. He is currently a Junior at Xavier High School and is involved in the JROTC and Scholars Program. Although undecided in his future career, his favorite subjects are math and science. Besides love for music, Giuseppe plays travel baseball and is on the track & field team for his school.
FELLOW PERFORMERS
Kristen
Kristen is a junior at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts where she plays the clarinet in the Wind Ensemble Band and Symphonic Orchestra. She has a passion for math and science and hopes to pursue a career in the STEM field once she graduates. She has been a student at the Belle Arti Center for the Arts since the age of 3 and took piano lessons under the guidance of Claudette Munné at the age of 5. Today, she continues her studies at Belle Arti, where she takes clarinet instruction and continues her piano lessons under the direction of Massimiliano Facchini. Kristen is a member of the book club and is actively involved in the Anti-Racism Committee at her high school. During her spare time, she enjoys reading, composing music and martial arts.
Michelle
Michelle Fridman is a 16 year old high school student at Brooklyn Tech with multiple extracurricular activities, such as sports that include figure skating, tennis, swimming, and dance. One of her greatest hobbies is music, whether that be piano, singing, or guitar. Michelle has been playing piano since a young age of 4 years old. She first joined the Belle Arti Center for the Arts when she was 9 and has performed many times in front of audiences, such as school shows and recitals. Michelle will likely continue studying music for the rest of her life.
Samson
Sam Fridman has been a student at Belle Arti Center for the Arts under the tutelage of the maestro Massimiliano Facchini since the age of four. Sam comes from a family of physicians who love music, and he quickly fell in love with the art. Sam’s grandmother is the former piano teacher in Republic of Georgia, who also helped him with technique and self motivation. Over the past several years Sam has performed in many concerts, from talent shows at his school, NEST+M, to Carnegie Hall. The greatest achievement for him as a musician was winning the first place at the Crescendo International Competition and performing with some of the best young musicians in the world at Carnegie Hall. That was truly an honor. When Sam is not playing piano, he’s trying to be a normal kid. He loves football, basketball, tennis, and swimming. Sam is also highly addicted to his phone, as most kids are.
Lauren
Lauren is a current high school junior at Dominican Academy in Manhattan, New York. She has been playing the piano at Belle Arti Center for the Arts since she was six years old and she is currently studying under the tutelage of Massimiliano Facchini. Besides performing classical music, Lauren loves to sing and dance. She also enjoys acting in productions by her theater group, being involved in Dominican Academy’s Student Council, and writing for her school newspaper.
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TESTIMONIALS
Harmonies 4 the Music performers "volunteered their time and talents to perform classical music pieces for our residents".
They were "able to bring the experience of attending a professional musical performance to our residents". They were "professional, proficient, and kind throughout their time at our home".
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Stephanie Spry, Music Therapist
The New Jewish Home