Jonathan Johnston

Jonathan studied Philosophy and Psychoanalysis at Trinity College Dublin and thereafter Piano Performance with Professor Anthony Byrne at the Royal Irish academy of music. He then studied with Professor Byrne privately for 2 years with an emphasis on piano pedagogy. Jonathan teaches piano from beginner to diploma level (DipRiam, Teacher’s and Performance Diplomas).

His teaching  style is personable yet structured and is adaptable to the teaching of all styles of music for the piano. Jonathan favours a broad mix of student ranging from the very young to the mature and whether playing for pleasure or preparing for exams/ concerts.

Jonathan is a senior piano teacher since 2007 at Castleknock School of Music.

Dr Varazdat Khachatryan

Pianist

‘From the very start, the most important task for any piano player – even before developing technique – is to learn how to produce a beautiful sound. My approach is to teach students to be independent musicians and problem solvers who can one day enjoy learning new pieces without anyone’s help. In fact, I believe that the word ‘student’ should be replaced with artist, musician or in my case, pianist.’

Hailing from Armenia, Varazdat (Varo) started playing the piano at the age of five. In 1998 he entered Yerevan State Conservatory and graduated with distinction in piano and choral conducting. He went on to obtain MMus degrees in both areas, as well as an Aspirantura (Advanced Postgraduate Degree) in piano performance from Yerevan State Conservatory, followed by PgDip (Postgraduate Diploma) and MMus degrees in piano performance as well as an MMus in piano accompaniment from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He came to Ireland in 2015 and was awarded a Fiosraigh full scholarship by the TUDublin Conservatoire, where he was awarded a PhD degree with a thesis Re-assessing Rachmaninoff’s Musical Legacy: The Piano Concertos and Evolution of His Musical Style.

Varo has performed extensively as a soloist in his home country and abroad, with recent recital performances in Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Armenia, Russia, Lebanon, Syria and the Czech Republic. His solo performances have received high praise from audiences and music critics alike, and he has won numerous prestigious awards, including first prize in the Peter Donohoe piano competition and the Delia Hall Accompanist Prize. He also regularly performs as an accompanist and chamber musician.

Nicolaus Gregory

Nicolaus was born in Penang, Malaysia and began his music at the age of 13 studying piano and violin. Nicolaus graduated from University of Malaya in 2004 with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Music) with a Distinction. He has also successfully obtained his Associate Diploma from Trinity College London in violin and piano performance (Distinction) and a piano performance Licentiate Diploma also from Trinity College London.

He has worked full time as a music teacher since 2004, teaching in various international schools in Malaysia, teaching key stages 1 and 2 music following the British National Syllabus and conducted a string ensemble and choir which performed in many of the school productions and concerts. 

Nicolaus has been living in Ireland since 2011. He teaches violin, piano and musicianship theory at Castleknock School of Music. He also is on the accompanists panel for CSM and accompanies regularly at school concerts and examinations.

Antoinette Kenna

Antoinette holds a Certificate from the Leinster School of Music & Drama in teaching proficiency (piano). Antoinette’s professional career, which spans over 20 years, combines teaching music and caring for children with intellectual disability.

Antoinette specializes in Early Music Education and is a highly skilled teacher of our Mini Music Academy curriculum, Pathway to Piano and musicianship theory teacher.

Yael Nataly Kostrinsky

Yael was born in Jerusalem to a musical family and moved to Toronto, Canada, at the age of 6. She is the third generation in her family to become a piano teacher, having helped her mother run the family business, North York Piano Studio. During her studies with Boris Zarankin she was awarded the ARCT diploma at the age of 16 by the Royal Conservatory of Music. At the University of Toronto, she continued her study of the piano with professor Brian Mcdonagh. Her BMus comprises a wide breadth of knowledge and experiences, from Shenkerian analysis to performing with the faculty’s Women’s Chorus. In 2018, she moved to Glasgow, Scotland, where she successfully ran her own studio, teaching piano and theory to pupils aged 5-14, as well as a handful of adults. She is passionate about endowing future generations with a long-running love for the arts.

Kah Mun (Carmen) Ong

Born in Malaysia, after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree Kah Mun joined the Royal Irish Academy of Music to study on the Master in Music Performance in 2018 and continued her piano studies with Hugh Tinney after successfully completing the programme. Kah Mun has experience in chamber music and her great interest in piano collaboration has led her appears as a regular accompanist in graded examinations, auditions, competitions and concerts for individuals, choir and ballet. Kah Mun also works as a music teacher, where she prepares students for exam boards as well as helping students to find new ideas and musical inspirations.

During her time in Malaysia Kah Mun has also participated as part of the chorus member International Choir Festival in Bangkok and Bali, awarded with gold and silver medals in the competitions. In 2015 she was honoured to perform in the chorale alongside with Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Benjamin Zander.

Throughout her studies in RIAM Kah Mun has taken part in various collaborative performances, such as the ChamberFest Dublin, Coffee Concert Series, Platform Concert Series, including a Music and the Collection Series at the National Museum of Ireland. She also assisted in the audition panel for part-time students in the academy. Kah Mun is a finalist at the ChamberFest Dublin Prize 2021 and was Highly Recommended in the Hamilton Harty Cup in Feis Ceoil 2022. She recently represented Malaysia performing in the Dublin Lunar New Year Festival in 2022.

Brendan Finan

Brendan has been teaching at CSM since 2007. A Sligo native, he studied piano with Marta Erdei, and achieved a BA (Mus.) from Maynooth University in a combined composition and performance stream, in 2004. Later, in 2008, he received a Masters in composition, which he completed at the same university under Dr Martin O’Leary.

Brendan maintains an active career as a teacher, composer, and writer, and has published academic articles written for numerous publications including the classical music magazine ‘VAN’, the website of the ‘Glenn Gould Foundation’, and the film website ‘Hope Lies at 24 Frames Per Second’.  He has also recently presented a guest talk on RTÉ Lyric FM.

Brendan is a senior teacher at Castleknock School of Music since 2007 teaching piano, musicianship theory, composition, Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate academic music.

Gertie Ryan

Gertrude ( Gertie) has been teaching piano for over 30 years. She has a BA(Hons) in music and an MA(Hons) in music in which she achieved First class in both from NUI Maynooth. She holds both Licentiate and Associate diplomas from the London College of Music. She is currently an examiner with the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Gertie has previously taught in Castleknock College and Newpark School of Music. She also teaches privately. She has been a member of the Maynooth Choral Society for the past 8 years and is also a member of the Celbridge Concert Orchestra where she plays the oboe.

Gertie is a senior teacher at Castleknock School of Music since 2011 and teaches piano and musicianship theory at the school.

Anna Lewkowska

Anna Lewkowska   graduated from the Khabarovsk  National Institute of Arts and Culture in Russia ( Degree in Music Performance and Pedagogy). She has worked in  various Schools of  Music  as a piano and theory  teacher. Anna frequently accompanies at RIAM exams . She also works as an accompanist for choirs & vocal and instrumental ensembles. She has taught music  in primary schools from junior infants to sixth class.  Anna enjoys teaching beginners, young children and advanced grades.

Tünde Hodosán-Egan

Tünde Hodosán-Egan was born in Hungary and began her musical studies at the age of 7, studying music history and theory through the Kodály method. She began learning piano at the age of 8 and later pursued vocal studies. During her teenage years she began her conducting studies with Attila Kertész (Liszt Award winning conductor) at Zoltán Kodály Grammar School where she was a member and soprano soloist of Béla Bartók Girls Choir and where she later graduated with distinction in music history and theory. Continuing her musical studies Tünde achieved a BA in music teaching and choral conducting at University College of Szombathely, Hungary. Throughout her carrier Tünde has been a member of the Opera Chorus of The National Theatre of Pécs and numerous award-winning choirs. She was also deputy conductor of the Amica Voce Chamber Choir in Dublin. Tünde is currently an active member of the Credo Vocal Ensemble in Trim.

Apart from teaching piano and voice, Tünde also teaches musicianship theory and is the conductor of Castleknock School of Music’s Vowel Power Choir.

Edwina Hopkinson

Edwina studied acoustic & electric guitar from a young age and was amongst the first year of students to graduate with a Commercial Modern Music Degree from the British and Irish Modern Music Institute Dublin (DIT) She also holds a BA in German and Spanish from NUI Maynooth with a B.A. International in German and Spanish.

She works with various ensembles performing both original material and cover songs. Edwina is a keen performer in the genres of rock, punk, metal, grunge, pop and swing.

Mihály Magyarics

Mihály was born in 1986 in Budapest (Hungary), and started studying violin at the age of seven. He attended and graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, obtaining an MA degree in Musicology (2011) and majoring in violin in the Teacher’s Training Masters Programme (2015).

He moved to Ireland in September 2015 to start teaching music. Currently he teaches violin, viola and music theory in Newpark Music Centre, in Cavan Academy of Music and in Castleknock School of Music. He also has a private teaching

Antonello D’Orazio

Antonello studied classical saxophone at the Conservatory of Music in Italy. Antonello is a multiple instrumental player specializing in saxophone, and he is also a qualified to teach flute and clarinet.

His career as a performer includes long lasting collaborations with the “Universe Orchestra” and the “RAI (Radio and Television Italian Network) Jazz Orchestra”.

Antonello moved to Dublin in 2008. He is a regular woodwind performer on the Dublin music scene and currently performs in the groups of several Irish musicians in jazz clubs & hotels around Dublin. He is also a regular performer at all the major festivals including Electric Picnic, Oxygen, and the Cork Jazz Festival. Internationally he has performed in the UK, Germany and of course Italy and more recently has performed with the RTE Concert Orchestra.

Antonello is a senior music teacher at CSM, teaching flute, clarinet, saxophone, and musicianship theory since 2009.

Maurice Czerniak

Maurice Czerniak is a Dublin born guitar teacher, songwriter and performer. He started learning guitar at the age of 11and quickly progressed into writing and performing his own material, first in Dublin and then in London. Maurice then studied classical guitar at Newpark and then privately under Marc Collopy. He holds an ATCL diploma (Trinity College London) in classical guitar.

He has taught guitar at Kingston Academy of Music and also private tuition for 10 years, teaching classical, acoustic folk, electric, blues, ukulele and music theory. Maurice also writes and performs with Ria Czerniak and has produced a number of cd’s with her.

Stevie Darragh

Stevie is a full time musician combining performance with his busy teaching career at Castleknock School of Music. As a guitarist he covers a range of contrasting styles including Classical, Blues and Rock. He plays guitar for two Dublin bands: ‘Overhead the Albatross’

‘The Blue Choir’, with whom he has made several studio recordings. He performs regularly throughout Ireland and has performed across Europe and Canada. His compositions are regularly played on several National Television & Radio stations. Having studied with leading Irish Guitarist Alan Grundy at NUI Maynooth and later at The Dublin School of Guitar, Stevie now holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from NUI Maynooth (B.Mus) as well as an Associate Diploma in Classical Guitar Teaching  (AVCM(TD) and a Diploma in Guitar Playing  (DipVCM) both from Victoria College of Music.

Stevie teaches acoustic, bass and electric guitar, ukulele and musicianship theory at Castleknock School of Music.

Francesco Giusti

Born in Bologna, Italy, after studies of pianoforte, organ, composition and musicology in Bologna and Ferrara from a very young age, Francesco started singing as a countertenor and has performed in many concerts in different European countries as well as Japan and the USA, and participated in several recordings. After obtaining his BMus performance degree in vocal studies at the Guildhall School in London with Andrew Watts, he studied historical singing at the HMT Leipzig, Germany with Gundula Anders and at the Amsterdam Conservatoire with Xenia Meijer and Maarten Koningsberger, where he obtained a MMus in Early Music Singing.

In 2016, he co-founded ensemble Hovkapell, dedicated to the early Scandinavian repertoire.

In 2017 Francesco moved to Ireland combining his music career as teacher / performer. He collaborates with ensembles such as Sestina, Resurgam, Opera Collective Ireland and Irish Baroque Orchestra.

Francesco was a member of Northern Ireland Opera studio in Belfast for the 2018/2019 season and of the Irish National Opera ABL Studio for the 2021/2022 season, during which he covered Tamerlano’s role for INO’s productions of Vivaldi Bajazet, which saw his London Royal Opera House debut in February 2022.

Opera roles also include Mario in Bononcini/Telemann’s “Mario Fuggitivo”, title roles in Scarlatti/Martini’s “La Dirindina” and Greg Caffrey’s “Pamplemousse” and the Cheshire Cat in Will Todd’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”.

Future engagements include a new stage production, Battaglia 17, by German director/violinist Matthias Klenota, which will tour Switzerland, including both New and Early music and several projects with Sestina.

Éilis Cooney

Éilis began playing piano at a young age and started taking lessons from age 7. She went on to study at DIT
Conservatory of Music and Drama where she completed her Diploma in Music Teaching in 1995. She also
holds diplomas for performance and teaching in piano, ALCM and LTCL and a BA in Music (Hons) from UCD.
She began singing in choirs from her days in university and has performed with many ensembles: UCD Choral
Society, Cantique, [under the directorship of Blanaid Murphy,] DIT choral society and New Dublin Voices
[under the directorship of Bernie Sherlock] and has participated in and travelled to many Choral Festivals
throughout Ireland and abroad.
Éilis has a keen interest in Kodály teaching practices which she incorporates into her lessons, and has attended
courses run by the Kodály Society of Ireland and the Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music in Kecskemét,
Hungary.
In recent years Éilis started studying viola and is a member of the adult string group Offbeat Ensemble. She has
also recently completed a Certificate in Music Composition for Games with Griffith College.
Éilis began teaching with CSM in 2012, then took a break for a few years but is delighted to be back teaching
Piano and Musicianship again.

Deirbhile Currid

Deirbhile Currid is a Soprano and Pianist from Co Leitrim. She is currently attending Trinity College Dublin studying Music and Modern Languages. She studies Voice under Sylvia O’Regan in the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

She loves performing and competing as a soloist but is also very involved in Choir. Deirbhile is a Soprano with The Boydell Choir, Trinity Singers and the Irish Youth Choir directed by Bernie Sherlock.

Deirbhile started studying music at a very young age, completing grades in both Piano and Voice with the RIAM. She has a passion for Music which she passes on to her students building their confidence and ability in a fun environment. She currently teaches Piano, Singing and Music Theory.

Niamh Remolacio

Niamh Remolacio is Dublin-born and started playing violin at the young age of 5. She studied violin at Castleknock School of Music with teacher Nicolaus Gregory. Having played in Fingal Youth Orchestra since the age of 10, Niamh became leader of the orchestra at the age of 16. With the orchestra, she performed all around Ireland and also had the opportunity to perform in Spain. Niamh was awarded Musician of the Year in 2022 by her secondary school.

Niamh is now training to be a music teacher, assisting in teaching our Mini Music Academy curriculum. We are thrilled to have a legacy student of CSM on board our staff.

Robert Kiernan

Robert graduated from the Royal Irish Academy of Music with honours, having studied under Dr. Patricia Kavanagh, Marie Moran, Jean Archibald, Kevin O’Connell, Deborah Kelleher and Jonathan Nangle. He has travelled extensively with music, partaking in competitions in the U.K. and Italy and undertaking masterclasses in London and St. Petersburg. He has been awarded numerous awards and accolades, including first place in the Contemporary Irish Music Cup at the Dublin Feis Ceoil. Since then he has performed with orchestras and ensembles in Dublin.
Having played various keyboard instruments throughout his life, as a soloist, in chamber groups and as an accompanist, Robert has performed both standard and unusual repertoire. He started
learning piano at the ripe age of four and believes that music tuition should begin at the youngest age possible, so that music can become a natural “language”, not that it’s ever too late to start! He began teaching in 2002 and has taught students from beginner to degree level, having been employed by NUI Maynooth. He makes use of the Kodály method in conjunction with what he has learned from teaching for so many years.

Marcelo Pellegrino

Marcelo is a Brazilian guitarist with over 20 years of experience in acoustic and electric guitar.

Marcelo Studied at Sons & Santidos Escala de Musica in Brazil where he would go on to teach in 2015. In 2019, Marcelo relocated to Ireland, where he would continue to teach guitar in schools across the Dublin area. He has also since played in a wide variety of bands, including cover bands, busking as well as playing lead guitar with his original ensemble Brake Loose live and in the recording studio.

Marcelo continues to teach and perform live music, hoping to share his passion for music with everyone he encounters.

Tamara Musukova

Tamara began her music career at the age of 6, studying violin, and later the guitar and the piano. She has completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the North-Caucasian State Institute of Arts, Russia.

For a long time, Tamara performed as part of the Musical Theater and the KB State Philharmonic. She is the founder of the string quartet “Unity,” which has given many concerts in various genres, from classical music to rock. In 2022, the quartet became a laureate of “Golden Age,” an international competition of bowed string art in St. Petersburg, receiving the Grand Prix.

Over the past few years, Tamara has been passionate about teaching, and is very welcome to new students.

She also enjoys making music videos for YouTube, sharing her vision of iconic songs and is currently working on releasing her own music.

Matilde Lotti

Matilde Lotti is a young Italian cellist who arrived in Ireland to discover new music languages.
She studied at Venice Conservatory with Angelo Zanin, receiving masterclasses from Xandi van Dijk, Florian Donderer, and Christian Eliott with face-to-face lessons and with chamber music ensembles, studying at RIAM with Martin Johnson.
Matilde now working as a coach for chamber music groups, and private lessons and as an active freelancer with Irish National Opera and Glasshouse Music in Dublin.

Ferdia Ó Cairbre

Ferdia Ó Cairbre started with Castleknock School of Music at the age of two and studied  piano, voice and theory during his time as a student with the school. He is currently  undertaking a BMus in Maynooth University, for which he received a music scholarship. As  part of his time in Maynooth, he is also studying organ and is a member of both the  University’s Choral Society and the Music Society’s Jazz and Blues band. 

As well as being a performer, Ferdia has had three of his choral compositions premiered by  NCH Cór Linn at the New Music Dublin festival in recent years and has performed his compositions for solo piano as well. He has participated in conducting and composing  workshops, including Chamber Choir Ireland’s ‘Choral Postcards’, as part of which the choir performed two of his works. 

Ferdia received the Louise O’Connell Cup for obtaining the highest mark in the Junior  Certificate Music exam in Ireland in 2019. In 2023, he worked as choral conductor of the NCH’s Training Choir and as music assistant to its other youth choirs, Cór na nÓg and Cór  Linn.

Yuliia Michereva

Yuliia Michereva is a Soprano and Pianist from Ukraine. She graduated from a Music college in Ukraine in Choral Conducting in 2008, then continued her studies at the Kharkiv Academy of Culture in Drama and Theatre Studies, as well as Classical Vocal Studies. Since living in Ireland in 2016, she has completed grades in both Piano and Voice with the Royal Irish Academy of Music. She has also completed the Kodály course “Active music making”  in Dublin, to a DipRIAM degree and has been teaching since 2014.

Francesco Ghirxi

Francesco Ghirxi is a graduate in organ performance (Edinburgh Napier University) and classical composition (University of Malta). He also undertook all the graded ABRSM exams in piano. Francesco participated in two consecutive annual masterclasses at Chetham’s International Piano Summer School in Manchester. He has given organ recitals in Malta, the UK, Germany and Dublin. He was also organist for five years in south-east Edinburgh. He was also entrusted with playing at prestigious events in cathedrals such as knightly investitures. To date he is resident organist at St. Mary Star of the Sea parish in Sandymount, Dublin where he also hosts recitals. Francesco also works as a deputy organist and accompanist/repetiteur pianist for school and community choirs. In the past he taught piano and theory in the UK, Malta and Dublin and now combines performing, composing and teaching into his musical career.

Naomi Lalloo

Naomi is a Mezzo-Soprano singer from Dublin, Ireland. She began her music journey at the age of five, joining the Mini Music Academy at the Castleknock School of Music, and later attending lessons with Cathy Vard of the Vard Sisters. Following this, Naomi studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music under the wonderful soprano Donna Gallagher, focusing on Musical Theatre and Popular Singing. Here, she achieved high distinction in her final examination.

In addition to musical theatre, she has over a decade of experience in a broad range of styles, including classical, jazz, rock, and Irish singing. In her Leaving Certificate performance, Naomi was awarded 98% and received a H1 in music overall. She is currently studying Law at the National University of Ireland Maynooth, where she is a laureate student, and she also volunteers at Fighting Words Dublin, a non-profit organization.

Bradley Johnston

Bradley began his academic and practical journey at the age of fourteen when he gained a full scholarship to study at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Young Musicians Programme (Centre for Advanced Training), under the direct supervision of Dr James Birkett – studying jazz guitar and related advanced jazz theory.

As a professional educator, Bradley is currently a member of the specialist teaching team on the C.A.T, Young Musicians Programme based at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in
Gateshead, The Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, and freelance peripatetic tutor. He specialises in jazz guitar (both plectrum and finger-style techniques) and theoretical and practical
approaches to improvisation. From primary education, to further and higher education, through to adult education Bradley works across the full range of jazz, folk, popular, rock and commercial music styles. Furthermore, he has led multi-instrumental workshops on jazz and improvisation.

As a performer, Bradley has over 14-years performance experience playing at professional level with national and international artists, including Rick Taylor (Elton John & George Michael), Kathryn Tickell, Andy Sheppard, The Jazz Passengers (Debbie “Blondie” Harry), Tim Garland (Chick Corea) and Fraser Fifield.

Bradley holds a First Class BMus (Hons) degree in Jazz, Popular and Commercial music from the University of Sunderland, MMus (Master of Music) degree from Newcastle University, and a PGCE teaching qualification from Teesside University.

Yuxin Yan

Hailing from the serene mountain region of Shanxi in China, Yuxin encountered classical music early on. Hearing her neighbour perform a slow and layered piece on the keyboard, she developed an immense interest in how keys turn strings into emotions. It therefore didn’t take long until she first enrolled into piano classes at the age of 8, quickly realising her passion.

In 2022, she graduated from the local Taiyuan Normal University, followed by a Master of Arts in Performance & Musicology at Maynooth University, where she was under mentorship and tutorship of Barbara Murray. This was swiftly succeeded by a Recital Artist Degree in 2025 at the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

Yuxin has lived in Ireland since 2022, when she moved to Co. Kildare to pursue the aforementioned Master of Arts. Among her favourite composers Chopin, who she appreciates for his sophisticated and romantic style, as well as Schumann for the technical depth he brought to the world of classical music.

She believes that every person has their own unique gift and reason to pursue learning to play the piano. It is her passion to ignite this reason and guide others to find what music can bring to them. This means motivating her students and focusing on playing familiar pieces that remind them of what made them want to learn… a familiar soundtrack, or a core memory of a particular piece.