The Erie Niagara Conservatory of Music was founded to offer accessible, transformative music education for children, adults, and communities across Western New York. The Conservatory is grounded in a belief that music is not just performance in both practical and philosophical sense, but presence intended as “way of being and living in the now.”

We exist to:

  • Provide high-quality, inclusive instruction to students of all ages and abilities
  • Train teachers to recognize and support the whole human, not just the musician
  • Offer free and low-cost programs supported through concerts, community partnerships, and self-sustaining systems
  • Serve the underserved: especially in regions where access to the arts is limited
  • Use music as a tool for emotional growth, cognitive development, and identity building

Founding Members

Board of Directors

The Erie Niagara Conservatory is governed by a team of educators, professionals, and creatives who believe music is a vehicle for human clarity, not just performance.
Each board member plays a strategic role in shaping the field, sustaining its structure, and ensuring it remains accessible, transformative, and rooted in presence.

Dr. Antonella Di Giulio
Chair, Founder, Artistic Director
Pianist, music theorist, and system-builder. Specializes in bringing visionary concepts into tangible form. Leads with clarity, creative strategy, and field coherence.

Dr. Brian M. Stevens
Vice-Chair, Director of Choral Vision
Choral conductor and international clinician. Advocates for new music, equity in the arts, and emotionally resonant vocal education.

Christina Santa Maria
Secretary, Vocal Pedagogy and Community Music
Voice specialist, vocologist, and ensemble director at Trinity Church Grand Island. Brings embodiment and accessibility to the Conservatory’s vocal programming.

Jeff Withee
Financial Supervisor
CFO and experienced nonprofit board leader. Oversees fiscal integrity and sustainable strategy with a grounding in community values.

Judith Bain
Treasurer, Finance and Operations
Business Manager at the University at Buffalo. Background in accountancy, systems logic, and ethical oversight.

Cecelia Ceccone
Writing & Documentation
Editor, copywriter, and literacy advocate. Provides clarity and coherence across Conservatory communications and educational texts.

Monica Stankewicz
Artistic Programming
Pianist and music educator. Brings creativity and programmatic alignment to artistic initiatives and performance curation.

Meghann Loncar
Social Media & Community Outreach

Nhu Truong
Social Media & Community Outreach


Just Be Yourself, Through Music

Whether you’re a beginner, an advanced student, a teacher, or a parent—
you are not just learning music here.


You are learning how to become more fully yourself—through sound.

We are not here to compete.
We are here to restore coherence.

We serve Niagara County and beyond.
Our space is borrowed.
Our signal is permanent