Piano Faculty
Michelle Ladew
Piano & Voice
Michelle teaches in person and remote lessons on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 2-8pm.
Michelle Ladew is a classically trained pianist who has enjoyed an eventful music career spanning over 20 years. She is an award-winning musician in composition, piano performance, vocal coaching, and musical direction. The North Shore Music Theater honored her with a spotlight award as best musical director for her work on Jesus Christ Superstar. Michelle holds a BA in piano performance cum laude from Plymouth State University. Upon graduation PSU offered her a faculty position as a collaborative pianist. She also enjoyed assistant musical director opportunities, and public piano performances. In Boston, she continued her musical studies at The New England Conservatory with Douglas Buys, a world-renowned teacher. She’s worked at several public schools and started her own Boston-based music school. Passionately engaged in music instruction, she uses cutting-edge technological tools and proven techniques in her practice. She welcomes all ages, all levels, and varied musical repertoire.
Karen Ruckman Lindsay
Piano
Karen teaches in person and remote lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-8pm.
Mrs. Lindsay earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance from Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, in Appleton, WI in 1997. She earned a Performance Diploma in Piano from the Longy School of Music, Cambridge, MA in 2000.
She has more than fifteen years of teaching experience, and she is certified through Unit 4 in the Suzuki Piano Method. Mrs. Lindsay previously taught at the Braintree After School Conservatory in Braintree, MA. Prior to that, she taught at the South Shore Conservatory in Hingham and Duxbury, MA, where she completed her Suzuki Piano teacher training through Book 4.
Mrs. Lindsay attended many summer music festivals in high school and college including: Brevard Music Festival, North Carolina, Interlochen Music Festival, Michigan, Tangle-wood Music Festival, in Lenox, MA, and Rocky Ridge Music Festival Boulder, Colorado. She also attended the International Piano Festival in Paris, France.
She grew up performing with her siblings in the Ruckman String Quartet. As the Ruckman String Quartet, they performed in several Washington, D.C. venues including: the White House, the British Embassy, the National Cathedral, and many concerts with the Children’s Chorus of Washington. She was a member of the Quincy Symphony Orchestra in Quincy, MA. In addition to the piano, Mrs. Lindsay has been playing violin (Suzuki method) since age 4.
Mrs. Lindsay currently resides with her family in beautiful Bedford, NH.
Johnna Ross
Piano & Organ
Mrs. Ross teaches in person lessons on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2-8pm.
Johnna Ross began her music career in New England, studying piano as well as pipe organ, as soon as she could reach the pedal board. As a young teen she held her first church organist position and performed at the American Guild of Organists’ National Conventions in Dallas (’94) and New York City (’96). Johnna received her Bachelor of Music degree in performance from the IU Jacobs School of Music, where she studied under Christopher Young (organ), Elisabeth Wright and Jacques Ogg (harpsichord). She continues to perform as a solo recitalist, accompanist and chamber musician and has served several churches as organist, pianist, and choir director. Recently, Johnna has branched out into more popular music styles, playing keyboard with a worship band.
Mrs. Ross has over 15 years of experience as a piano instructor. A versatile performer and teacher, she is familiar with a wide range of music genres and keyboard instruments. Her students have fun learning everything from Bach to Coldplay, sometimes in the same lesson! She is pleased to be a part of the faculty of the Nashua Community Music School and excited to work with students of any age or ability.
Johnna and her husband, Mark moved from Indianapolis, IN to Hollis, NH where they reside with their three spoiled cats. Johnna is also a certified yoga instructor and loves the outdoors.
Erin Quinlan
Piano & Voice
Ms. Erin teaches in-person lessons on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2-8pm.
Erin has been teaching all ages and abilities for 15+ years in Boston, NYC, and now, Nashua. Her students have appeared on Broadway, sat for ABRSM exams, and have toured the country in rock bands. Career highlights include leading an inner-city Boston boys choir, running amateur songwriting lessons for adults, and directing the St Johns handbell choir. Erin has certifications in Special Needs and Inclusive Education, Sound Therapy, Sensory Inclusive Training, and Indian singing techniques. Erin is also certified in Makaton, a supplemental signing language, which she utilizes in her lessons to improve communication with all students, including neurodivergent students. In addition to teaching, Erin is a published playwright and composer. Her work has appeared everywhere from Off-Broadway and London to school drama clubs. She graduated from Berklee College of Music, has a certification from the EAMA- Nadia Boulanger Institute, and learned playwriting at the University of Oxford. She is a learning partner at Emerson College, where she is involved in the Environmental Justice curriculum, and a graduate of the prestigious BMI Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop. In her free time, Erin is an amateur beekeeper, karate student, and American Civil War nerd.
Marie Mendelow
Piano & African Drumming
Ms. Marie teaches in person lessons on Thursdays from 2-8pm.
Marie Mendelow has been teaching piano and percussion for over thirty years on four different continents. She received her collegiate training in her native South Africa at Witswatersrand University and completed all the piano examinations through the Royal Schools of Music, London. She studied piano under Dr. Adolph Hallis, a World Master, and was invited at the age of seventeen to join the Primary Orchestra of South Africa (SABC Orchestra), where she performed weekly on national television as one of their four percussionists. She has served on the faculty of the Orange Free State University, and has been living and teaching piano and percussion in New Hampshire since 1991.
In 2007, Governor Lynch signed a proclamation making her NH's Music Teacher of the Year.
Holly Boivin
Piano & Voice
Holly teaches in person and remote piano and voice lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Holly Boivin is a proud alum of the Nashua Community Music School and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. She began playing the piano at age eight and quickly discovered a love for jazz and improvisation. Holly’s piano experience includes big band, jazz combo, pit orchestra, and accompaniment for choirs and soloists. While at UNH, she completed extra studies in jazz transcription, improvisation, and accompaniment. Holly’s teaching career at NCMS began as a camp counselor back in high school, and she is thrilled to now be teaching full-time. As an educator, she aims to create a fun and supportive lesson environment that encourages students to develop confidence and love for music. She teaches beginning and intermediate pianists of all ages.
Everly Hurton
Piano
Everly began her piano study at the age of 6, studying private classical piano for 10 years with James Rizza. From a young age, she loved piano lessons and aspired to teach music one day. In high school she was active in the school music program, and she joined her church band, where she branched out into playing popular music. She continued her study of classical piano with Bonnie Anderson and Thomas Stumpf at the University of Massachusetts Lowell where she received her bachelor’s degree, with honors, in Music Studies with a heavy concentration in piano performance.
Everly has performed solo and in a variety of musical ensembles, from orchestra to rock band. She has a strong foundation in both classical and popular styles. She also enjoys songwriting, singing, audio production, and arranging.
Everly has been teaching piano since 2007 and enjoys working with students of all ages. She loves to help people learn music in ways that work best for their musical taste, goals, and learning style. She approaches teaching with positivity, flexibility, and a sense of humor, with the belief that musical expression, progress, and enjoyment are infinitely more important than perfection.
Dan Buchner
Piano & Trumpet
Dan teaches in person and remote piano and trumpet lessons on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Originally from Norwalk, Connecticut, Daniel Buchner holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Western Connecticut State University and Master of Arts in Instrumental Conducting from The University of New Hampshire. As an educator, Dan has taught various groups ranging from Elementary to Collegiate in the orchestral, wind, and choral settings for the last seven years. He has traveled across all of New England to work with all levels of musicians. His groups performed high quality repertoire and were met with the highest praise throughout their respective institutions and districts. As a professional freelance trumpet player, Dan has performed in all areas of music ranging from classical to jazz to musical theater. Upon finishing his undergraduate, he has been an avid performer for over a decade. As a professional conductor, Dan is just beginning his career but in his short time he has worked with many groups such as the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble, The University of New Hampshire Wind Symphony, The University of New Hampshire Symphonic Band, The University of New Hampshire Orchestra, the Windham Community Band, the Southern New Hampshire University Orchestra, and the Southern New Hampshire University Wind Symphony.
Clover Nahabedian
Piano & Composition
Clover teaches remote lessons Mondays from 3-7pm and Tuesdays from 4-8pm.
Clover received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition from Hampshire College in 2014, and a Master of Arts in Music Composition from Boston Conservatory in 2018. She has been teaching piano, percussion, and composition since 2012, joined NCMS in 2018, and has been on faculty at the Boston Conservatory High School Composition Intensive since 2021.
She has experience performing and writing in both classical and rock contexts, and particularly enjoys exploring the intersection of multiple genres. She has toured internationally with the bands Dérive and Cheap City, is the executive director of Strange Trace Opera, and runs the independent record label Dollhouse Lightning. She formerly ran the Boston New Music Calendar and was a presenter at 2018’s New Music Gathering. Clover is a contributing writer for I Care If You Listen and conducts the ensemble MCTheprofessor.gov. As a composer, her recent commissions include works for Mazumal, C. Neil Parsons, The Coaxial Arts Gallery, and Histamine Tapes among others. Recent performers of her music include Beth Ratay, Spacepants, Duo Zonda, Jeremy Howell, and Hypercube.
Clover is a trans-woman and uses she/her pronouns. She welcomes students of all ages and abilities, and especially invites students who are gender non-conforming.