Beaver offers optional Private Music Lessons on a wide variety of instruments to students in both the Middle and Upper Schools. This is an opportunity for all students—from beginners to our most experienced musicians—to further their skills in a one-on-one environment for an additional fee. To learn more about Beaver’s private lesson program, please see the Private Lesson Policy. For FAQs and information on pricing for Middle and Upper School students, click here.
Below, you can meet our Private Music Lesson teachers who are all professional musicians in the Boston area with many years of experience.
PRIVATE MUSIC LESSON TEACHERS
Debbie Apple, Private Lesson Coordinator
Deborah Apple is an active and diverse performer and teacher in the Boston area. She currently has a studio of over thirty students in Brookline, Newton, and West Roxbury, where she provides Suzuki and traditional instruction to all ages. The students learn musicianship, theory, and technical facility as well as leadership, perseverance, and commitment through semi-annual studio recitals. Deborah spends her mornings conducting at the Boston Music Project supporting teachers in their classroom management, social-emotional curriculum implementation, and music literacy resources. At Beaver Country Day School she directs one of the middle school string ensembles and coordinates the private lesson program. In addition to her teaching, Deborah also performs with the Brookline Symphony.
Samuel Batista, woodwinds
Panamanian saxophonist, composer, and educator Samuel Batista mixes Panamanian folkloric and urban music with jazz. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2018 with a dual degree in Jazz Composition and Performance, Batista taught private lessons at The New England Conservatory for The Preparatory Jazz School and the Continuing Education Program. His debut album, Panama United, was produced by pianist Alain Mallet and premiered during the 19th edition of the Panama Jazz Festival along with his “Panamanian Sextet”. In 2018, Batista returned to Panama and toured with Panamanian singer Ruben Blades while working as a professor at the Danilo Perez Foundation. As a recent graduate student from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Batista lives in Boston while working on his upcoming album Rising to Love.
Christie Beaulieu, voice
I grew up in central CT where I began singing at a young age in choirs and community theater, and also at home with my sisters where I provided the piano accompaniment for our sing-alongs! I continued my musical journey in my own private study, in regional musical theater, and singing or playing in every musical ensemble my middle and high schools offered, from orchestra to jazz band to show choir. I studied voice performance at Boston University, where I focused academically on classical repertoire, while also singing and arranging pop/rock as a member and director of an all-female a cappella group—BU’s Terpsichore. Since then, I’ve spent my time teaching private piano and voice lessons in my home studio, while exploring many other music-related interests both personally and professionally, including writing and performing operas with elementary students, singing for the occasional wedding band, teaching dance fitness, and performing with a giant classic rock cover act all over the country. I’m thrilled to be returning to teach at Beaver for my second year; it has been a pleasure and an honor to be a part of this community!
Cara Bergantino, violin, viola, cello
Cara Bergantino is a strings teacher specializing in violin, viola, and early cello lessons. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with a concentration in viola performance from New York University, and a Master’s Degree in Arts Administration from Boston University. Cara has taught strings in the Belmont Public Schools and Newton Public Schools and conducts the Newton All-City Orchestra. Cara has taught private violin, viola, and cello lessons since 2015, and currently teaches at the Conservatory at Highlands. Cara performs with the Brookline Symphony Orchestra as a violist, and spends the summers at Camp Encore/Coda in Sweden, Maine, as Camp Director & Owner, where she also teaches viola lessons.
Denver Nuckolls, percussion
With over eight years of instructional experience across all levels of education, Denver’s teaching philosophy centers around the idea of music as a supplementary area of a student’s life. While a student’s technique and overall knowledge of music will always improve as they hone their crafts, authentic enjoyment is the primary catalyst in bridging the gap between aspiring amateur and professional musicians. Denver allows his students’ interests to create, guide, and grow within their lesson curriculum, ensuring a cooperative space in which all artistic styles are highly valued.
Michael Tybursky, brass
Michael Tybursky is an educator and active freelance trombonist throughout New England. He is the principal trombonist of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and frequently performs with orchestras in Boston and beyond, including the Lexington, Portland, and Cape Symphonies and the Plymouth Philharmonic. Michael teaches brass students at Beaver Country Day School in addition to teaching private lessons throughout the Boston area. He and his wife, soprano Jessica Jacobs, own and manage Somerville Music Spaces, a venue of rehearsal, teaching, and performance spaces available for hourly rentals.
Jef Charland, guitar, bass
Bobbie Hoffmann, piano