Paavo Carey - District Band
pcarey@k12.somerville.ma.us

Versatility and diversity have always been central to the efforts of multi-instrumentalist Paavo Carey.  Paavo is a celebrated saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator.  For the past three decades he has served students of all ages in and around New York City, the state of Maine, and now in the Somerville, Massachusetts Public Schools in the role of High School Band Director and district wide instrumental music teacher. 

​Paavo prides himself on being both an educator and an accomplished and active performer.  Over the years, in addition to teaching, he has been active in the jazz, pop, orchestral, Latin, rock and world music styles.  “I have always been a life-long learner with a focus on expanding my own musical perspectives as well as those of my students and colleagues,“ says Paavo.  Paavo resides in Boston with his spouse and performs regularly in and around Boston with the Makanada Project Band (https://makandaproject.com/).

Jake Gabriszeski - District Percussion 
​jgabriszeski@k12.somerville.ma.us

Originally from Maryland, Jake Gabriszeski or Mr. G. (as most of his students call him) grew up in a musical household and took after his father by falling in love with drums at an early age. grew up as an active member of his school concert, jazz, and marching bands. He attended Berklee College of Music to continue his music passion where he studied with a plethora of world class musicians such as Dave DiCenso, Mike Mangini, Casey Scheuerell, and Larry Finn.

As both an active educator and performer in the Boston Metro Area, Jake strives for excellence in his craft and is excited to cultivate his students' proficiency as a percussionists, develop their overall musicianship, and inspire them to be lifelong learners. Jake teaches district band/percussion at AFAS, ESCS, Healey, JFK, and WSNS schools and serves as the director of the Somerville High School drumline and drum set lab program.

Fabio Pirozzolo - District Percussion
fpirozzolo@k12.somerville.ma.us

Fabio Pirozzolo is an Italian drummer, multi-percussionist and singer currently based in Boston, Massachusetts. Originally from Terracina, Italy, he started his career as a folk percussionist, playing Italian frame drums. tamburello and tammorra, in one of the most famous folk groups in his area. This experience gave him the opportunity to travel throughout Europe, playing concerts and giving lectures on regional Italian frame drum techniques. A summa cum laude graduate from Berklee College of Music and a master in Ethnomusicology from Tufts University, he performs in virtually any genre of music from jazz to world music to rock.

​His experiences have led him to drum for Herb Reed’s Platters, Mario Frangoulis, George Perris, Jon Butcher and Petroloukas Halkias among other world class performers. He currently plays with his projects Newpoli, Sawaari, Revma, and Distant Memories. He's also an active freelance performer and recording artist for many local and international artists. He collaborates with Berklee College world-class teachers Skip Hadden and Casey Scheuerell, and has taught master classes at Berklee, Harvard and Tufts University. He has worked at Emerson College and Boston Conservatory as an accompanist for dance classes. He’s the author of the drum transcriptions for Skip Hadden’s drum book "Profiles in Jazz Drumming" and "Broken Eight’s Time Feel"; his transcriptions are featured on the Italian drum magazine "Batteria e Percussioni", "Batteria", "Percussionista" and on Polish drum magazine "Top Drummer".

Rosemary Sears - District Band
rsears@k12.somerville.ma.us

​Ms. Sears has been teaching music in the Somerville Public Schools since September 2002.  While her primary instrument is soprano clarinet, Ms. Sears enjoys playing bass clarinet with the Chelmsford Community Band, alto saxophone with the Jazzabelles, and flute with her church's music ministry. Performing music brings such joy to life, and Ms. Sears is enthusiastic about sharing her love of music with hundreds of students a year in Somerville.

Ms. Sears holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Ithaca College, a Master's Degree in Clarinet Performance from UMASS Lowell, and a Master's Degree in Educational Administration, also from UMASS Lowell.