Meet Our Team
Our tight-knit team designs and delivers musiConnects' education programs, creates our concert season, and carries our mission into all aspects of their musical lives. Our part-time Resident Musicians ("RMs"), Roslindale Community Program faculty, and full-time Executive Director, Nancy Galluzzo, are supported in this work by a nine-member Board of Directors - comprised of community leaders and musiConnects parents.
Resident Musicians
Biographies (from top left)
David Rubin, violin, joined musiConnects in 2016. He currently serves as Artistic Director, teaches violinists in the Roslindale Community Program & Residency Program, and co-facilitates mC², a peer leadership group for advancing students. After the musiConnects season ends, David travels to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where he teaches high school violinists at Superior String Alliance's Camp Vivace. David's teaching practice is informed by a two-year fellowship at Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI, pedagogy study at Indiana University's Summer String Academy (Retreat for Violin & Viola Teachers), and registered trainings in Suzuki Books 1-2 (Christie Felsing, Ed Kreitman). As a performing artist, David's work is widely exploratory, ranging from projects on gut strings and historical instruments to contemporary chamber music like Kurtág's Kafka Fragments. David performs throughout New England with ensembles such as New Bedford Symphony, Providence Baroque, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and BMOP. From 2016-2019, he was a member of the Lucerne Festival Academy & Lucerne Festival Alumni, performing contemporary music under conductors Sir Simon Rattle, Riccardo Chailly, and Susanna Mälkki in concert tours to Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie), Berlin (Berliner Festspiele/Philharmonie), and Paris (Paris Autumn/Philharmonie). Other concert highlights include performances at Spoleto Festival USA, Music from Salem, and Emmanuel Music's Bach Institute, and chamber music broadcasts for Wisconsin Public Radio and WBEZ Chicago. David holds degrees from Lawrence University and Boston Conservatory, with additional study at the Banff Centre and Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
Elizabeth Cook, cello, joins musiConnects in the 2021-22 season, teaching young cellists in the Residency Program and Roslindale Community Program. Elizabeth grew up in North Carolina, where she studied cello at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with cellist Zvi Plesser. She went on to obtain degrees from Mannes College, SUNY Purchase, and The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where she studied with renowned cellists such as Marcy Rosen, Brooks Whitehouse, Julia Lichten, and Michal Korman. Elizabeth has had the privilege of participating in masterclasses with artists such as Gary Hoffman, Peter Wiley, Paul Watkins, Zuil Bailley, Eighth Blackbird, The Orion String Quartet, David Finckel and Wu Han. In 2018 Elizabeth was awarded the Gloria Miner Fellowship at the 2018 Sitka International Cello Seminar, and performed as soloist with the Western Piedmont Wind Symphony in the “Music Beyond Borders” concert series which highlighted the stories of refugees. Elizabeth's passion for social change has driven her to serve in many different places all over the world, such as Sounds of Palestine, a music program for refugee youth in Bethlehem; and Children of Cambodia, a sponsorship program for orphans in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Elizabeth has spent a total of six years in Palestine and Israel where she both studied and taught cello to marginalized youth, including those living in refugee camps. In 2021, Elizabeth created and co-organized the first Palestinian Cello Choir, which gathered 30 cellists from all over Palestine to perform together in a concert tour.
Joshua Addison, violin, joined musiConnects in its inaugural year as second violinist of the Chittick String Quartet, and returned in 2011 as a founding member of the Sumner Quartet (previously musiConnects' ensemble-in-residence). Josh currently serves as musiConnects' Associate Director, and teaches young violinists in the Residency Program & Roslindale Community Program. Josh has been active with musical outreach programs in Chelsea and Lawrence, Massachusetts, and was a recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's META Fellowship in 2015; he previously taught for the BYSO Intensive Community Program's residency at the Haley School in Roslindale. As a performing violinist, Josh has worked with several orchestras throughout New England, and appeared as soloist with the Keene Chamber Orchestra, where he served as concertmaster for five years. Joshua holds a B.A. in History from Boston University and a M.M. in Performance from University of California, Los Angeles. His primary teachers include Movses Pogossian, Guillaume Sutre, Daniel Phillips, and Rohan Gregory.
Maureen Heflinger, viola, joins musiConnects for the completion of the 2021-22 season - teaching young musicians at KIPP Academy and the Roslindale Community Program, and performing as a string quartet with Josh, Lizzy, and David. Maureen is a multifaceted performer and educator who feels equally at home premiering new works, leading an orchestra sectional, and getting in and out of a headstand. Maureen grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she studied piano and violin before finally settling on the viola. Despite living in an igloo and riding polar bears to school, Maureen managed to move to Boston, where she now enjoys a varied freelance career and performs regularly with the New Bedford and Atlantic Symphony Orchestras. An avid chamber musician, Maureen's performances have ranged from three seasons with the Nova Fellows, to premieres of chamber works written in Denali National Park as part of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. A recipient of a New England Conservatory Entrepreneurial Grant, her trio, The Nix Ensemble, championed two rare works of Paul Hindemith in Project Heckelmith, which featured Hindemith's Heckelphone Trio, and a reading of his wonderfully absurd play, Violamania. Maureen has been a prizewinner of the Philharmonic Society of Arlington Concerto Competition, and a National Finalist in the MTNA Soloist Competition. Recent performance highlights have included performing Paganini's La Campanella with viola orchestra as a faculty soloist at Idaho Viola Camp, and performing a livestream recital as a member of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. Maureen teaches orchestra at Boston Latin School. In her spare time, she practices yoga and studies Brazilian Portuguese. Maureen studied with Marcus Thompson at the New England Conservatory of Music.
On leave for Winter-Spring 2022:
Kevonna Shuford, viola, joined musiConnects in 2020, teaching violists and violinists in the Residency Program and co-facilitating mC, a peer leadership group for advancing students. On leave for Winter & Spring 2022, Kevonna is currently performing with the touring company of Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen. A vibrant violist with a passion for collaboration, Kevonna holds a B.M. from New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Martha Katz. A native of Florida, Kevonna established a youth string program at Faith's Place Center for Arts and Education. An avid orchestral musician, she served as principal viola un²der the baton of Valery Gergiev, and had the pleasure of working with Janine Jansen, Denis Matsuev, Emmanuel Ax, Jaime Laredo, and Christoph Eschenbach. Kevonna has additionally had the opportunity to perform for distinguished artists such as Kim Kashkashian, Paul Katz, Dmitri Murrath, and Clive Greensmith in masterclass settings. As a member of the National Youth Orchestra (2016), Kevonna greatly enjoyed traveling to new places via performances at major concert halls throughout Europe and the US, including the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and Carnegie Hall; now, she is an avid outdoor enthusiast and enjoys taking walks or rollerblading around Boston.
David Rubin, violin, joined musiConnects in 2016. He currently serves as Artistic Director, teaches violinists in the Roslindale Community Program & Residency Program, and co-facilitates mC², a peer leadership group for advancing students. After the musiConnects season ends, David travels to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where he teaches high school violinists at Superior String Alliance's Camp Vivace. David's teaching practice is informed by a two-year fellowship at Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI, pedagogy study at Indiana University's Summer String Academy (Retreat for Violin & Viola Teachers), and registered trainings in Suzuki Books 1-2 (Christie Felsing, Ed Kreitman). As a performing artist, David's work is widely exploratory, ranging from projects on gut strings and historical instruments to contemporary chamber music like Kurtág's Kafka Fragments. David performs throughout New England with ensembles such as New Bedford Symphony, Providence Baroque, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and BMOP. From 2016-2019, he was a member of the Lucerne Festival Academy & Lucerne Festival Alumni, performing contemporary music under conductors Sir Simon Rattle, Riccardo Chailly, and Susanna Mälkki in concert tours to Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie), Berlin (Berliner Festspiele/Philharmonie), and Paris (Paris Autumn/Philharmonie). Other concert highlights include performances at Spoleto Festival USA, Music from Salem, and Emmanuel Music's Bach Institute, and chamber music broadcasts for Wisconsin Public Radio and WBEZ Chicago. David holds degrees from Lawrence University and Boston Conservatory, with additional study at the Banff Centre and Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
Elizabeth Cook, cello, joins musiConnects in the 2021-22 season, teaching young cellists in the Residency Program and Roslindale Community Program. Elizabeth grew up in North Carolina, where she studied cello at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with cellist Zvi Plesser. She went on to obtain degrees from Mannes College, SUNY Purchase, and The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where she studied with renowned cellists such as Marcy Rosen, Brooks Whitehouse, Julia Lichten, and Michal Korman. Elizabeth has had the privilege of participating in masterclasses with artists such as Gary Hoffman, Peter Wiley, Paul Watkins, Zuil Bailley, Eighth Blackbird, The Orion String Quartet, David Finckel and Wu Han. In 2018 Elizabeth was awarded the Gloria Miner Fellowship at the 2018 Sitka International Cello Seminar, and performed as soloist with the Western Piedmont Wind Symphony in the “Music Beyond Borders” concert series which highlighted the stories of refugees. Elizabeth's passion for social change has driven her to serve in many different places all over the world, such as Sounds of Palestine, a music program for refugee youth in Bethlehem; and Children of Cambodia, a sponsorship program for orphans in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Elizabeth has spent a total of six years in Palestine and Israel where she both studied and taught cello to marginalized youth, including those living in refugee camps. In 2021, Elizabeth created and co-organized the first Palestinian Cello Choir, which gathered 30 cellists from all over Palestine to perform together in a concert tour.
Joshua Addison, violin, joined musiConnects in its inaugural year as second violinist of the Chittick String Quartet, and returned in 2011 as a founding member of the Sumner Quartet (previously musiConnects' ensemble-in-residence). Josh currently serves as musiConnects' Associate Director, and teaches young violinists in the Residency Program & Roslindale Community Program. Josh has been active with musical outreach programs in Chelsea and Lawrence, Massachusetts, and was a recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's META Fellowship in 2015; he previously taught for the BYSO Intensive Community Program's residency at the Haley School in Roslindale. As a performing violinist, Josh has worked with several orchestras throughout New England, and appeared as soloist with the Keene Chamber Orchestra, where he served as concertmaster for five years. Joshua holds a B.A. in History from Boston University and a M.M. in Performance from University of California, Los Angeles. His primary teachers include Movses Pogossian, Guillaume Sutre, Daniel Phillips, and Rohan Gregory.
Maureen Heflinger, viola, joins musiConnects for the completion of the 2021-22 season - teaching young musicians at KIPP Academy and the Roslindale Community Program, and performing as a string quartet with Josh, Lizzy, and David. Maureen is a multifaceted performer and educator who feels equally at home premiering new works, leading an orchestra sectional, and getting in and out of a headstand. Maureen grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she studied piano and violin before finally settling on the viola. Despite living in an igloo and riding polar bears to school, Maureen managed to move to Boston, where she now enjoys a varied freelance career and performs regularly with the New Bedford and Atlantic Symphony Orchestras. An avid chamber musician, Maureen's performances have ranged from three seasons with the Nova Fellows, to premieres of chamber works written in Denali National Park as part of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. A recipient of a New England Conservatory Entrepreneurial Grant, her trio, The Nix Ensemble, championed two rare works of Paul Hindemith in Project Heckelmith, which featured Hindemith's Heckelphone Trio, and a reading of his wonderfully absurd play, Violamania. Maureen has been a prizewinner of the Philharmonic Society of Arlington Concerto Competition, and a National Finalist in the MTNA Soloist Competition. Recent performance highlights have included performing Paganini's La Campanella with viola orchestra as a faculty soloist at Idaho Viola Camp, and performing a livestream recital as a member of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. Maureen teaches orchestra at Boston Latin School. In her spare time, she practices yoga and studies Brazilian Portuguese. Maureen studied with Marcus Thompson at the New England Conservatory of Music.
On leave for Winter-Spring 2022:
Kevonna Shuford, viola, joined musiConnects in 2020, teaching violists and violinists in the Residency Program and co-facilitating mC, a peer leadership group for advancing students. On leave for Winter & Spring 2022, Kevonna is currently performing with the touring company of Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen. A vibrant violist with a passion for collaboration, Kevonna holds a B.M. from New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Martha Katz. A native of Florida, Kevonna established a youth string program at Faith's Place Center for Arts and Education. An avid orchestral musician, she served as principal viola un²der the baton of Valery Gergiev, and had the pleasure of working with Janine Jansen, Denis Matsuev, Emmanuel Ax, Jaime Laredo, and Christoph Eschenbach. Kevonna has additionally had the opportunity to perform for distinguished artists such as Kim Kashkashian, Paul Katz, Dmitri Murrath, and Clive Greensmith in masterclass settings. As a member of the National Youth Orchestra (2016), Kevonna greatly enjoyed traveling to new places via performances at major concert halls throughout Europe and the US, including the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and Carnegie Hall; now, she is an avid outdoor enthusiast and enjoys taking walks or rollerblading around Boston.
Faculty, Roslindale Community Program
Elizabeth Stefan, viola, teaches young musicians in musiConnects' Roslindale Community Program, after previously serving as Program Director (2016-20), longtime Resident Musician (2012-20), and founding violist with the Sumner Quartet. In addition to maintaining a private studio of violin and viola students, Elizabeth has taught in schools with Making Music Matters, held faculty positions with Community Music Center of Boston, and received a META Fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. As a performing violist, Elizabeth is a founding member of Phoenix, an innovative, Boston-based orchestral ensemble. Elizabeth holds a B.M. from the Eastman School of Music, where she completed an Arts Leadership Certificate with a focus on contemporary orchestral issues, and received the Robert L. Oppelt Viola Prize for the class of 2009; and a M.M. from New England Conservatory, where her principal teacher was Dmitri Murrath.
Rachel Panitch is a violinist, composer, improviser, and teaching artist. At musiConnects, Rachel teaches violin in the Roslindale Community Program. Throughout her career, Rachel has been an artist-in-residence in neighborhoods, in schools, and in Zion and Acadia National Parks. Rachel uses her violin and voice to tell and translate stories, with playing that has been called "fearless," bridging aural and written musical traditions. Rachel performs classical music with the Cardamom Quartet, is a dance fiddler with French Roast, and weaves stories with Thread Ensemble (an improvisatory trio of violins, voices, and vibraphone) and with Grammy award-winner Bill Harley. Rachel's music has been featured on a PBS Utah Bucket List episode, and the National Park Service's 100 Years of Arts in the Parks video series. Rachel specializes in teaching improvisation and fiddling, and works regularly with a number of music education organizations and schools around Massachusetts and Rhode Island in addition to musiConnects. In 2009, Rachel founded Rhode Island Fiddle Project, a free music program teaching traditional fiddle and dance music to students, inspired and incubated by Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI. She was chosen as a Jubilation Fellow, a national award recognizing "individuals with exceptional talent for helping young people feel fully alive through rhythm." Rachel holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Vassar College and a M.M. in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory.
