Joel Levy
Music Director and Conductor
Joel Levy received a Bachelor of Music Degree from SUNY Potsdam, and a Master of Music Degree in Performance from Stony Brook University. As an active musician in the New York metropolitan area, Mr. Levy has performed with the Merrick Symphony, Long Island Concert Pops, Queens Festival Band, Long Island Masterworks Orchestra, Francis C. Roberts and company, and the New York Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Levy played frequently in the Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Additional Broadway credits include Fosse, Little Women, Sweet Charity and Young Frankenstein. Currently Mr. Levy performs with the Richie Iacona Bad Little Big Band, Interplay Jazz Orchestra, Leon Petruzzi Jazz Orchestra, FM Steely Dan Tribute Band, and is the reed player for the Engemen Theater in Northport.
Mr. Levy taught at both the middle and high school levels on Long Island since 1980. He recently retired as band director and department chair at East Meadow High School after a 34 year teaching career. His various ensembles have won numerous awards of distinction, which include 13 first place finishes in the New York City Columbus Day Parade.
Joel Levy has been a guest soloist and clinician for several Long Island school districts and he has served as guest conductor for the Suffolk All-County Festival Bands. He has been the guest conductor at the U. S. Eastern Music Camp at Colgate University, at George Mason University in Virginia and at the CW Post Band Festival. He has also served as guest conductor and clinician at Fresno State University in California and for the Fairfax, Virginia school district.
Under Mr. Levy’s direction, the Nassau-Suffolk Wind Symphony has performed at MENC National and Eastern Division Conferences. Guest soloists with the Wind Symphony have included Phil Smith, Joe Alessi, Stanley Drucker, Carol Wincenc, Lew Tabackin, Erik Ralske, Michael Blutman, Steven Blutman, Julian Rose, Patrick Sheridan and Ed Joffe. Mr. Levy is also conductor of the Nassau Suffolk Alumni Band and the Atlantic Wind Symphony.
Mr. Levy has taught courses for Five Towns College, SUNY Potsdam and was a faculty member of the C.W. Post, Long Island University faculty, teaching clarinet, saxophone and flute. Mr. Levy is pleased to have been listed in Who’s Who Among American Teachers on numerous occasions. In addition, Mr. Levy has been featured on Rico’s thelessonroom.com, and is a D’Addario educational clinician and performing artist.
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Mindy Lamonica
Conductor, Sinfonia Orchestra
Mindy Lamonica has been a dedicated music educator for over 24 years, inspiring generations of young musicians through her love of orchestral music and commitment to excellence. Born in Chicago and raised on Long Island, Mindy’s journey began in Elementary School Orchestra when she was eight years old. Her passion and talent quickly flourished, and she knew from a young age that she was destined to be an Orchestra teacher.
She earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Hartwick College, where she enjoyed diverse teaching opportunities—from LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts to the Upstate Home for Children and Adults, and even a transformative year teaching in the Czech Republic. Mindy later completed her Master of Music degree at Stony Brook University while teaching orchestra in the West Islip Schools.
For more than two decades, Mindy has been a fundamental part of the East Meadow School District’s music program. While she has worked with students from preschool through high school, she finds her greatest joy in teaching middle school orchestra, where she fosters connection, growth, and a love of music in her students. Under her guidance, many of her students have gone on to perform at All-State, All-Eastern, and All-National conferences.
Mindy has performed with the Massapequa Philharmonic, the Catskill Philharmonic, and in venues including the iconic Carnegie Hall. She is a certified NYSSMA string adjudicator.
Thrilled to join the Long Island Youth Orchestra family, Mindy is honored to be part of this exciting new chapter. She hopes to inspire her students not only to become skilled musicians but to discover the confidence, discipline, and joy that come from making music together.
Mindy lives in Islip Terrace with her husband and their three children. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and making lifelong memories with her family.
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Michael Cascardi
Conductor, Sinfonia Orchestra
Michael Cascardi is an accomplished double bassist and esteemed music educator whose career spans performance, mentorship, and academic instruction. He holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music from The Juilliard School, where he studied under Eugene Levinson, the former principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic. During his time at Juilliard, Michael also served as Mr. Levinson’s teaching assistant and pursued additional studies with Orin
O’Brien, another revered figure in the double bass world.Michael’s performing career is marked by collaborations with some of the most iconic names in music, including Marvin Hamlisch, Elton John, and Itzhak Perlman. He has worked under the baton of world-renowned conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Kurt Masur, Gerard Schwarz, and Otto Werner Mueller, enriching his artistry and musical depth.
As a devoted educator, Michael has nurtured generations of double bass students through his private studio, some of whom have gone on to win positions in major symphony orchestras. His commitment to education is comprehensive, having taught students across all levels—from pre- K to college. He currently serves as an Orchestra Director for the East Meadow School District in New York where he has served as director of the East Meadow High School Chamber Orchestra for 10 years and currently directs the Woodland Middle School Chamber Orchestra and 6th grade orchestra. He has previously held faculty positions at Molloy University and The Garden School.Known for his passionate teaching style and unwavering dedication to musical excellence, Mr. Cascardi continues to inspire young musicians while maintaining a dynamic presence in both educational and professional music communities.
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Jeanne Chung
Conductor, String Orchestra
Jeanne Chung, conductor of the String Orchestra, has been an orchestra director at South Woods Middle School in the Syosset Central School District for the past twenty-five years. Her passion for orchestral music began during her time as a student in the Herricks High School music program. As a violist, she participated in the Long Island Youth Orchestra’s summer tours
for three consecutive years. Mrs. Chung holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and a Master of Science degree in Music Education from Five Towns College.
During her tenure in Syosset, Mrs. Chung has directed the pit orchestra for the school musicals, as well as the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade orchestras. She conducts the South Woods Chamber Orchestra, which consistently receives Gold with Distinction ratings at NYSSMA Major Organization Festivals. Each year, a large number of her students are chosen for the NMEA All-County Orchestra and the Long Island String Festival Association (LISFA). Mrs.Chung actively participates in NMEA, LISFA, and NYSSMA.
With a passion for chamber music, Mrs. Chung has successfully had four chamber ensembles accepted into the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center’s “Young Ensembles Concert” over the past two years. Her philosophy of music education centers around fostering connections with her students. Currently, she serves as a coordinator for DASA (Dignity for All Students Act) at South Woods Middle School.
In addition to her professional commitments, Mrs. Chung is deeply involved in her church, where she sings in the choir and performs on viola during holiday services. She resides in Plainview with her husband, Wook, and their two daughters; Katelyn, a cellist, and Julianne, a violinist.
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Michael Vannoni
Conductor, String Orchestra
Michael Vannoni, a Juilliard graduate (BM and MM in Viola Performance), is a world-class multi-instrumentalist (violin, viola, cello, flute), a passionate educator, and an experienced music administrator. His career includes world-wide orchestra tours, summer music festival performances, community music school teaching, public and private school teaching, festival and orchestra management, and international music publishing roles.
As a performer, Michael has performed in the festival orchestras at Verbier and Tanglewood, and has participated in the Taos Chamber Music Festival. He has also performed with Albany Symphony (NY), Binghamton Philharmonic, Glens Falls Symphony, The Chelsea Symphony, and The String Orchestra of Brooklyn. Michael has worked with many of the world’s elite conductors, including James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, Valery Gergiev, Charles Dutoit, and Claudio Abbado.
Michael’s major teachers have been Karen Tuttle (Juilliard), Steven Ansell (Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston University), and Christian Euler (University of Music and Theatrical Arts, Graz, Austria). Michael plays on a 1997 Alexander Tulchinsky viola.
Teaching is a passion for Michael. He has maintained private lesson teaching studios both on Long Island (NY) and in New York City. Michael has also been on the faculty (violin, viola, cello) at a number of community music schools and city music programs
throughout Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, including Art House Astoria, Opportunity Music Project and Midori & Friends. He is a conductor of orchestras for grade school and college students, as well as for adult amateurs. While at the Musicorda Music
Festival, Michael was a violin teaching assistant to Roberta Guaspari-Tsavaras, who is known for her work in inner-city schools in Harlem, NY.
Michael holds an Advanced Certificate in Music Education (NY) (K-12) from Brooklyn College (CUNY) as well as an NYSED Initial Teacher Certificate in Music (K-12). He teaches elementary orchestra for Wantagh Public Schools.
As a compliment to his performing and teaching, Michael is an experienced music administrator. He has held positions at the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, Schott Music, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Moab Music Festival, and Welltone New Music.
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Martin Dreiwitz has been a Long Island woodwind teacher and travel agent for more than 50 years. Mr. Dreiwitz, a former professional clarinetist, is a graduate of New York City’s High School of Music and Art and the University of Chicago. He studied for many years with the world famous clarinet virtuoso Simeon Bellison, at that time principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic and Anthony Gigliotti, former principal clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Dreiwitz continued his musical studies with the distinguished American composer Alexi Haieff and, in Salzburg, Austria, conducting with the great German maestro Wilhelm Furtwaengler. Mr. Dreiwitz founded the Long Island Youth Orchestra 50 years ago in 1962. He has overseen its expansion and continuation from a fledgling 50-member community youth orchestra to its present island-wide 105-member size. In addition to serving as its music director and permanent conductor, he has also been the orchestra’s president, operations manager and principal fundraiser. He has conducted in every concert and directed nearly all of the orchestra’s weekly rehearsals since 1962.
Mr. Dreiwitz’ leadership of the touring LIYO has helped make it a well-known and widely acclaimed musical organization in the far corners of the globe. He has led the orchestra on 40 consecutive tours to every continent and indeed every corner of the globe. President Bill Clinton in 1995 wrote in a letter to the orchestra, “I am pleased to commend your director, Martin Dreiwitz, for his many wonderful contributions to the youth of New York and to music lovers around the globe. His caring leadership has inspired and encouraged for the past fifty years, and the thousands of students whose lives he’s touched are the best possible measure of his success.”
Although his weekday commercial activities still keep him fully occupied, he manages to find time for the orchestra because “I feel I have found a way to put my years of music training to a use which is not only constructive but which has never ceased to be most satisfying to me personally”.
Although Mr. Dreiwitz is relinquishing his position as current director, he continues his involvement with LIYO as Music Director Emeritus,and will continue to conduct when the orchestra’s schedule permits and is planning another international tour for the orchestra for July of 2013.
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Scott J. Dunn has been the Director of Bands at Baldwin High School since 2007. Overseeing a comprehensive program, Mr. Dunn directs the Symphony Band, Wind Symphony, Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Winds and Pep Band. During his tenure at
Baldwin, he has received consistent Gold with Distinction ratings at the NYSSMA major organization festival, performed at the 2022 NYSSMA Winter Conference and the 2018 NYSBDA Symposium. Deeply dedicated to commissioning new works for advancing the
artistic medium of the modern wind ensemble, the Baldwin Wind Symphony has commissioned and premiered many new works for winds during his tenure by composers Adam Schoenberg, Anthony Barfield, William C. White, David Heckendorn, Joel Puckett, Kenneth Lampl, Andy Akiho, David Gillingham, Grammy-award winner Kenneth Fuchs and Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec. The spring of 2025 will include a world premiere by Jessica Meyer! Additional composers who have visited Baldwin and
worked with its ensembles include Roger Cichy, Carl Strommen, Brant Karrick, Philip Sparke, Julie Giroux, Omar Thomas, Michael Markowski and Andrew Boysen, Jr. Baldwin High School is also a proud member of the ASPIRE commissioning consortium, a national effort to encourage the finest living composers to write educationally accessible music for public school students. Composers such as William Bolcom, Jennifer Jolley, Donald Grantham and Shiyung Li have written for ASPIRE.
From 2012-2024, Mr. Dunn was Music Director and Conductor of the Long Island Youth Orchestra, becoming only the second music director in the distinguished 60-year history of that orchestra. In addition to a comprehensive four concert season on Long Island he
has led LIYO on three international summer tours. Scott is also a regular member of the trombone section in the Long Island Wind Ensemble and a faculty member at the Eastern US Music Camp at Colgate University. For two years, Scott served as an Adjunct Professor at Adelphi University, where he co-conducted the Concert Band.
Mr. Dunn earned his BM in Music Education from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts and his MM in Trombone and Wind Conducting from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. During the summers of 2010 and 2011, Scott studied at the
Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestra Musicians in Hancock, Maine under the tutelage of Maestro Michael Jinbo. He lives in Merrick with his wife, flutist and educator Patricia Blackman Dunn, and their son, Lukas, and daughter, Natalie.
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