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Our staff are multiple award-winning and nationally acclaimed professionals, teachers, mentors and practitioners.
The owners and principals are:
• Marianne Ryan of Creative Adventures
• Teja Arboleda, M.Ed. of Entertaining Diversity, Inc.
• Barbara Arboleda, MS CCC-SLP of VoiceWize
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Marianne Ryan
Director, Founder, Owner - Creative Adventures
Marianne Ryan founded Music Together®
of Dedham in September 2003. Shortly after moving into her new studio
she expanded her business and Creative Adventures was born.
Marianne
is a Registered Music Together teacher and received her training from
the Princeton Center for Music and Young Children. For the past 7 years
she has taught Music Together with Urban Music Together in Jamaica
Plain, Cambridge School of Music, Metro Music Together and currently
teaches for Hill House Community Center. 
Marianne
attended the Performing Arts School in Philadelphia and is a
graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. A
professional actor, singer and proud member of the actor's unions;
Screen Actors Guild, Aftra and Actor's Equity Association since 1990.
Her work has included musical theatre, regional theatre, film/TV, and
voice overs.
Music, dance and theatre have
been a part of Marianne's life as far back as she can remember. She is
thrilled to be combining her love of music with her love and respect
for children.
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Teja Arboleda, M.Ed.
 Program Director & Video/Photography, College Mentoring & Portfolio Management
Teja
has produced broadcast and commercial television since the 1986, has a
Emmy Award and Telly Award. He was Assistant Director/Editor for Frontline and other PBS shows, produced for ABC's Chronicle,and his educational videos are distributed by Discovery Learning.
Arboleda founded Entertaining Diversity, Inc™®. in 1992 to teach race
and culture issues through entertainment. As an actor, comedian and
lecturer, his nationally acclaimed  one-man shows such as Ethnic Man!™ and Healing Racism have been received with wild success in over 500 cities and towns in 48 states. His video RaceOff™ is the opening installation video for the national touring exhibit Race: Are We So Different.
Teja has been Associate Professor at The New England Institute of Art since 1999 and  is the author of In The Shadow of Race.
He is a recognized leader in multiracial and multiethnic identity and
has been featured in many media outlets including NPR, PBS, The New York Times and The Detroit Free Press. His last PBS documentary, Crossing The Line: Multiracial Comedians received a Telly Award for best documentary.
What Teja enjoys most is helping young to old people reach their
artistic and intellectual potential. His philosophy of combining
entertainment with multiple and holistic learning styles is an integral
part of his mission and work. He has a B.A. from Clark University and
an M.Ed. from Lesley University, and he is a member of Screen Actor's
Guild.
...and he loooooves good coffee - good thing his studio is located one door away from a café!
More information on Teja and Entertaining Diversity here: |
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Barbara Wilson Arboleda
MS CCC-SLP
VoiceWize founder & owner
Voice Therapist, Speech Pathologist, Vocal Trainer (Singing Teacher)
Barbara
is a licensed speech-language pathologist (Mass.), a singing &
voice teacher, and is a member of the Boston-Area Board of Directors
for NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing).
Barbara
graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions at Massachusetts
General Hospital and completed a specialty rotation in voice disorders
at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Currently, she provides
voice therapy at Voicewize and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
in Boston. Previously, she was employed at the  Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Voice Lab.
In
addition to her clinical work, Barbara has been a singer and actor for
over 15 years. She studied voice at the New England Conservatory,
through consortium with Simmons College and completed
an acting program with Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Massachusetts.
She is a certified master teacher of the Estill Voice Training System.
Until recently, she sang with the blues/rock band King Street Band.
 Prior
to entering the field of speech-language pathology, Barbara studied
management at Simmons College and worked in various management
positions, including as a project manager in a corporate Inc. 500 reengineering team and as the co-founder and treasurer of Entertaining Diversity, Inc.
"Barbara
has wonderful attributes as a singing teacher. She is extremely warm,
sweet, patient, non-judgmental, and understanding. She is focused and
organized and is therefore able to maximize what we can accomplish at a
single visit."
-
Leon Gunther, Professor of Physics at Tufts University; Director of the Mak'haylah Chorus
"It
is no understatement to say that the things I learned from [my
therapist at Voicwize] literally saved my public school teaching
career. She not only has a thorough understanding of the voice and its
underlying mechanisms, as well as the knowledge of what techniques will
work in a given situation, but she also brought to our therapy sessions
an energetic and vibrant personality that, quite honestly, made me want
to work for her and practice the techniques I was being shown."
- Keith Symons
"Barbara's
sessions added significant value to my ability to be understood during
social and professional communications. She has the incredible
listening skill to meet my personalized goals. Currently, life is great
without the infuriating question 'I do not understand you, can you
repeat what you just said?'"
- J. A. Accent modification client
VoiceWize currently has three locations in Massachusetts, serving clinical and voice clients.
More information on Barbara and VoiceWize here |
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Jacqueline Dribbon
Jackie caught the music bug at the age of 9 while attending Camp Interlocken (now Windsor Mt. International) where singing started each morning, ended each night and filled much of the time in between. Years later, this time as a counselor, Interlocken taught her the joys of teaching through experiential education. She has a bachelors degree in theatre, spent several years acting and stage managing, but always gravitated back to working with kids. Through preschools, camps, after-school programs and private families, Jackie discovered Music Together. She is so happy to be bringing families and communities together through music!
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Lisa Keefe
Lisa Keefe, Piano ages 4 - adult Lisa has been teaching piano and music theory to students of all ages for over ten years. From an early age, she has had a love of music that was instilled in her from her mother and grandmother who also play the piano and enjoy singing. Music is a part of her everyday life and she enjoys sharing this gift with others so they can reach their full creative potential. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Lisa graduated with honors from U. Mass Amherst with a degree in Psychology and Communications, while studying piano application and theory under Russian pianist Lucy Portnov. Throughout her life, she has enjoyed touring the world and submersing herself in a variety of cultures and languages. Lisa also spends her time volunteering in the community, traveling to Europe and South America, continuing to gain inspiration from plays on Broadway and opera, and cooking new and exciting dishes. |
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Ofelia Martinez
Introduction to the Violin and Private lessons
Ofelia was born in Mexico City. From an early age, she showed a deep interest in music, particularly the violin. In 1983, she attended the National Conservatory of Mexico and received her B.A. in music in 1995. From there, she travelled to Vienna, Austria to study at the Hochschule, where she received her Masters degree. As a performer, Ofelia has performed with many orchestras in Austria, Israel, Mexico and the U.S. She is currently principal second violin in the Waltham Orchestra. She has always been a teacher, and has used the Suzuki method for much of her teaching. She currently lives in Lexington with her husband and 7 year-old daughter.
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Jennie Mayer
Musical Theatre
Jennie has had the pleasure of working with children in some form or another for the past 10 years, and recently celebrated her one year anniversary teaching for Pocket Full of Tales Theatre Company. With Pocket Full of Tales, Jennie teaches art, drama, and music themed creativity classes for preschoolers, musical theatre and advanced acting classes for kids ages 4-12, and runs theatre-themed birthday parties on the weekends.
Through her classes, Jennie is excited to continually help create and encourage an environment of creativity,imagination, learning, and most of all, fun! Jennie graduated suma cum laude from the University of Massachusetts with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Film Studies. She has extensive theatre and film experience and is thrilled to be teaching musical theatre and advanced acting classes with Creative Adventures. |
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Jen Jackson
MA CCC-SLP
Voice Therapist, Speech Pathologist
Jen
is a licensed speech language pathologist in Massachusetts and Oregon.
She received her Masters degree in communication sciences and disorders
at the University of Maine. Jen also holds bachelors and associates
degrees in communication arts and sciences from Lyndon State College in
Vermont where she studied broadcast journalism.Jen's
training for her specialty in voice disorders began with internships at
the Voice and Swallowing Center of Maine and the Massachusetts Eye and
Ear Infirmary Voice Lab. This was followed by a fellowship at the
Vanderbilt Voice Center in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds
certification in Lee Silverman Voice Treatment and has training in the
Estill Voice Training System and the Lessac-Madsen Resonant Voice
Therapy treatment protocol. Special interests include professional
speaking voice, chronic cough and Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion, and
the management of tracheal-esophageal prostheses for total
laryngectomees.Jen recently returned to New
England from Oregon where she practiced swallowing, speech and voice
rehabilitation in the geriatric population.Prior
to her career as a speech pathologist Jen worked in her home state of
Maine as a television news reporter and radio news anchor. She credits
her work as a professional voice user and the years of formal training
with establishing her love and respect for the human voice. |
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Jordan Piel
MS CCC-SLP
Voice Therapist, Speech Pathologist
Jordan
is a licensed speech-language pathologist in Massachusetts, and holds
the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American
Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA). He received his master's
degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Northeastern University, and
also holds a bachelor's degree in Linguistics.
 He
began his specialized voice pathology training at Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical Center, where he remains on staff part-time, collaborating with
Harvard Medical School-affiliated physicians. His continuing education
in voice therapy and training has included Lessac-Madsen Resonant Voice
Therapy, Estill Voice Training, and Lee Silverman Voice Treatment
(LSVT). He attended the National Parkinson Foundation's Allied Team
Training in 2008, and has presented on voice and speech changes
associated with Parkinson's disease.
In
addition to voice, his clinical interests include evaluation and
treatment of fluency disorders (stuttering) and motor speech disorders
(dysarthria). He enjoys singing rock, jazz, and other contemporary
music, as well as playing guitar.
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Sarah Blacker, MT-BC
 Music Therapist
 Voicewize hosts Rumble Bee Music Therapy,
through which Sarah provides music therapy services. She is a
Board-Certified Music Therapist for children with special needs, and
prior to moving her practice to VoiceWize, provided years of music
therapy at some of Boston's top hospitals. Music Therapy is the use of
music and musical themes to develop social skills, cognition, motor
skills and self-expression. Her therapeutic groups have specific group
and individual goals based on the needs of each group member,
incorporating goals they are working on at home and/or in school.
 Sarah is a classically-trained vocalist and has written over 400 songs, and
toured nationally, playing to sold-out audiences in Cambridge, MA,
Lawrence, KS, and New York City to name a few. She's been named a
'RiverRising Star' by WXRV, Boston's Independent Radio, 92.5 the River.
Southcoast247.com has coined her, "A shining light in the local music
scene," and she's regularly called, "the perfect blend of Joni Mitchell
and Ella Fitzgerald." Currently, Ms. Blacker, is touring both solo and
with her band, in support of her debut full-length album, 'The Only Way
Out is Through.' This collection of finely crafted, unique
jazzy/folk-rock songs.
She has her Music Therapy degree from Berklee College of Music in
Boston, and you can book appointments with her through VoiceWize.
 "Sarah's
thoughtful approach to designing music therapy activities was evident
in her flexibility to meeting the needs of individual children and of
groups of children. Sarah formed relationships with the children in her
music therapy groups that at once allowed for great humor and shared
fun, and also for challenging opportunities to develop and practice
reciprocity, teamwork, and attention skills, just to name a few."
- Jennifer Harber, former program director YouthCare, current program director HandiKids
More information on Sarah here.
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Beth Canterbury, MM
Singing Teacher; Board Member, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Boston Area.
Beth graduated from Kenyon College where she designed an
interdisciplinary major studying Education Policy, Reform, and the Role
of the Arts in Education. She then enrolled at the Longy School of
Music where she earned her Master of Music degree in Opera Performance.
Her operatic roles have included Gretal (Hansel and Gretel), Adele (Die
Fledermaus), Despine (Cosi fan tutte), and Josephine (HMS Pinafore) and
recent oratoria engagements include Handel's Messiah, Haydn's
Nelsonmesse, and Faure's Requiem. Recently, she concluded a regional
tour of the dynamic children's opera, The Bug Opera.
Most
recently, Beth was both Chair of the Voice Department and Director of
Education at South Shore Conservatory where she taught voice students
aged 7 - 70. A longtime advocate for accessible opera performance, she
has directed and associate directed for SSC's community opera company,
Opera by the Bay. Her production credits include Amahl and the Night
Visitors, The Marriage of Figaro, and Die Fledermaus and two operas for
children, Davies' The Three Little Pigs and Barab's Little Red Riding
Hood.
She is currently the instructor for
Harvard University's Choir in Progress voice class and the Soprano
Soloist at First Congregational Church in Milton. Beth lives in
Stoughton with her husband Tap, a high school chemistry teacher, and
their baby Sam. |
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Daniel J. Pope
Guitar Teacher
Dan received his bachelors degree from Berklee College of Music in
Boston, and is state certified in teaching music (MTEL). He has
successfully taught hundreds of students ranging in ages from 5 to
adult. His method of teaching involves creating a positive atmosphere
that allows students to progress without feeling pressured. He
emphasizes that regardless of music style, students should be taught a
strong foundation in reading music in order to fully understand their
instrument.
Dan continues studying the guitar and methods of music styles with his
college mentors, and is developing new methods of teaching music. |
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Sarah Whitten
Lyric Soprano, brings a unique set of skills and abilities to the voice world. In addition to being a seasoned performer, she is a singing teacher and a certified yoga instructor. Currently she Director of the Holden Voice Program at Harvard University. She teaches weekly lessons to undergraduate and graduate singers as well as offering a weekly Yoga for Singers class. Ms. Whitten holds graduate degrees in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy. She writes the vocal health pages for Boston Singers Resource, an online singing community.
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Hadas Golan, B.Ed.Mus. MS/CCC-SLP
Hadas Golan is Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in the evaluation and treatment of voice disorders and a Buteyko Method practitioner. She practices in the Department of Otolaryngology, Center for Voice and Swallowing at Boston Medical Center.
In addition to her clinical work, Hadas is a singer and flautist with a B.Ed.Mus degree from the Rubin music academy in Jerusalem, Israel. She has twelve years of experience in working with children. Eight years as a music teacher and later, four years as a pediatric speech and language pathologist.
Hadas is a lifelong severe asthma sufferer who took the Buteyko course four years a go and is now free of all drugs and all symptoms.
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Derek Aylward
Painter & Illustrator
Derek is a multiple award winning graphic artist, painter and wood &  cardboard
sculptor, with credits in major publications such as The New York
Times, Print Magazine, Bonus (Germany/Japan), The Improper Bostonian
and The New Republic. He is as comfortable working with paints and inks
as he is with computer aided software such as Adobe Illustrator.
Derek's good sense of humor, open mind and quick wit is very evident in
his work, as it is in person. In addition to being an artist, he is a
bicycle hack and skateboarder. He lives and works in Dedham.
More information on Derek here: |
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Ilene Fischer
Improv
Ilene
Fischer has been writing and performing comedy since she was a
teenager. She graduated from Chicago's Player's Workshop of the Second
City and high school the same year. After receiving her degree from BU,
she began a career in television production, and founded the improv
troupe Renegade Duck. In their 7-year run, "The Duck" performed
hundreds of shows throughout New England, and traveled to several
national improv festivals.
While living in LA, Ms. Fischer regularly performed stand up. Her short script, Passionate  Liaison, won the audience award for Best Script at the 2004 Instant Films Open. The next year, her 48 hour Film Fest submission Temporary Spy was included on the festival's best DVD.
Since returning to Boston, Ms. Fischer's creativity can be seen in seasons three and four of FETCH!
with Ruff Ruffman - the Emmy nominated PBS kids show that mixes
live-action and animation. She has just completed writing a 24-part
video series that will accompany a college level introduction to
Italian textbook. Ms. Fischer was recently invited to perform as part
of ImprovBoston's anti-Valentine celebration - Thorns, and her stand up and improv comedy were featured at the 2009 Queer Qomedy Festival. Ms Fischer was proud to be included in 'You Said Whaaat?'
presented by the New Center Arts & Culture, where she performed as
part of their comedy and culture program. |
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Brendan Joyce
Cartooning
Brendan Joyce is a graphic artist and cartoonist. His Dedham Times comic strip, The Box Office
is in it's fourth year of publication, and consistently has readers
itching for the next installation. A former projectionist at the Dedham
Community Theatre, an avid movie buff (ask him any question about any
movie - he absorbs film trivia), and people watcher, Brendan has
accumulated and incorporated a vast quantity of vibrant characters in
his storytelling and illustrations. A man of the town, with a great
sense of humor, he is quite ubiquitous...he's the main character in his
cartoon series. So if you're nice to him, he just might add you to his
story.
More information on Brendan here: |
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Zoe Piel
Animal Illustration / Biology
Zoe Piel is a cartoonist, illustrator and graphic designer. She
graduated from Boston University with a degree in biological
anthropology, and is MA certified as a biology teacher. She volunteered
as a docent at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. She is currently
Webmaster for the American Academy of the History of Dentistry, and
Assistant Editor of the Journal of the History of Dentistry. She has a
good sense of humor and loves teaching!
More information on Zoe Piel here: |
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Stephen Vedder
Photography & Photoshop
 Stephen Vedder has been a photographer since he was 15 years old. He
has a degree in Professional Photography from the presitgeous School of
Photographic Arts and Sciences of Rochester Institute of Technology
(RIT). He has been a professional photographer for 20 years, and is as
well versed in large format traditional
film photography as he is with digital minipulation software such as
Photoshop. He has restored and photographed thousands of archival and
major historical works, including Sunspots, (1613) by Galileo
Galilei. He takes his commerical and portrait photography very
seriously, while maintaining a very good sense of humor. Steve is also
a gourmet cook and private chef!
Steve is availalbe for portrait photos, and photo resoration and 'airbrushing' at our studio.
More information on Stephen Vedder |
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award-winning commercial animation company. Then, as a freelancer, she
sculpted props and characters for famous clients such as Sesame Street,
Samsung, LA Opera and 
Fischer-Price.
Judy is Telly Award winner and Clio Award finalist. She recently
completed seven life-sized figures for a monument designed for the city
of Ketchikan, AK. Judy's modest approach to her skills and focus are
dwarfed by her enviable skill at creating completely life-like
sculptures to fun and comic animation characters. 
