Faculty

Lower Strings Coach     Praised by the Miami Herald for his “eloquent” and “cathartic” playing, Aaron Merritt enjoys a varied career of teaching and performing.  He currently performs with Miami’s Nu-Deco Ensemble, the Palm Beach Opera, and the Naples Philharmonic. He was a fellow with the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas and […]

Florida City Elementary   Donald Mills has been a Miami Dade County Public School Teacher for 28 years. Mr. Mills graduated from Miami Southridge Senior High where he was the Silver Knight nominee in Music. After High School Mr. Mills went on to F.I.U. where he studied with Arturo Sandoval and received a Bachelor’s Degree

Somerset Literacy Teacher   I am a mother of four kids, three girls and one boy of the ages of seven, five, three, and one. I love spending time with them, playing and learning from them. My inspiration to teach began at a young age. I constantly knew that teaching would be my future career.

Strings Orchestra Conductor & Riviera MYami Strings Brandon Dye is a graduate of The University of Tampa where he graduated with his BM in Music Education. While he attended UT, he was the concertmaster of the UT Symphony and String Orchestra, the assistant conductor of the University Chorus, a member of Chamber Singers, Wind Ensemble,

Bookkeeper Liliana Garcia, originally from Colombia; has been working in finance for almost 30 years. She has a degree in Computers from Cedesistemas Technical Institute in Medellin, Colombia. She joined this fabulous family because of her deep desire to serve the community. She is excited to work with talented children and be a part of

Interim Strings Conductor   A third-generation music teacher and performer, Miami native Alicia Bustamante is proud to continue spreading the love of music to both her students and audiences. With over 15 years of experience, Alicia enjoys blending multi-genre influences into her violin performances. She adapts to various styles when taking part in musical projects,

MYami at St. John’s Episcopal Church The band program in high school and college at Samford University is where Katie Martinez solidified her goals of making music a professional part of her life. In May of 2001, she graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree and then moved to Akron, OH where she received her

MDC Assistant / Librarian   After moving from Venezuela at the age of 8, Michelle Moya started her music studies in the school choir. In middle school she began to take music more seriously when she picked up the cello. Michelle continued her studies by joining the Orchestra magnet at South Miami Senior High School

Data & Ensemble Manager Katherine Attong-Mendes is a musician and educator from Miami, Florida. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Miami in 2020, she became the Band Director at Sawgrass Springs Middle School in Coral Springs, FL. Katherine started working with GMYS in the summer of 2019, and

MDC Coordinator   Jarelys was born and raised in Miami, FL. She started playing the violin at the age of eight years old and has played the violin ever since somehow. She graduated from South Miami Senior High School in the class of 2017 and started working with a non-profit organization Greater Miami Youth Symphony