LEARN FROMTHE BEST

Mona Eldahshoury’s passion for the theatre was ignited in elementary school and grew throughout her undergraduate degree studies at the American University of Sharjah. Eldahshoury has performed, directed and coached actors for the past eight years across the United Arab Emirates. She has performed in local community theatres as well as in numerous college productions. Her notable productions include Antony and Cleopatra, The Glass Menagerie, Little Shop of Horrors, Alice in Wonderland, Our Town and Macbeth. 
In each class she taught and attended, Eldahshoury imagined creating a safe space for young actors in which to gain confidence, creativity and collaborative skills. After living in the United Arab Emirates for 12 years, she believes that acting training not only helps within a theatre classroom but also allows children to apply their skills in personal and academic environments. Her goal as a teacher is to ensure that every student leaves with the ability to understand, adapt and to express themselves both on and off stage. She is very excited to welcome the first batch of young actors at Berklee Abu Dhabi. 

Katarina Pejak is a singer-songwriter from Belgrade, Serbia, and a Berklee College of Music graduate (class of 2014). She was formerly based in Nashville, Tennessee, and was also a recording artist for European blues label Ruf Records (based in Germany). Pejak has participated in a number of FOSDI’s projects,
such as ‘Different Face of Serbia’ (presented at a final event at the London School of Economics) and ‘Let Me Be Myself’ (presented in Rome, Italy). 
Her career includes experience in teaching, mentoring and networking within diverse areas and communities. She has worked as a mentor to young songwriters at Berklee College of Music for the Berklee Songwriting Week (summer of 2015). 
In 2017, Pejak ran a concert series in Kolkata, India, for students of the Ashok Hall Group Schools – representing the diversity of musical and artistic expression and promoting gender equality. 
In 2019, she joined the women blues touring act The Blues Caravan, along with Finnish artist Ina Forsman, and American artist Ally Venable. Countries visited included Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden and the UK. Their performance in Belgrade was supported by the Embassy of the United States, as a part of the country’s cultural exchange scheme. 

An accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Julien Osty (Bachelor’s degree in Music, 2009, and Master’s degree in 2016)developed his skills onstage and during studio recording sessions. He is a former staff accompanist at Berklee College of Music (Boston), a live engineer assistant and a stage manager at Berklee Valencia Campus (Spain).
Osty has performed, as a sideman and leader, all over the world, gaining experience on music tours and luxury cruise line contracts.
He is currently working on original material for his project, Julien Osty Trio

Kostas Milonas was born on August 12, 1988, in Trikala, Greece. He started playing music at the age of three and became a professional drummer at the age of 10. From a very young age he had his first experience of percussion, the piano and guitar, but the drums inspired him the most. 
During his career as an all-round drummer he has worked with artists such as Carole King, Willie Nelson, Annie Lennox, Tina Arena, maestro Jorge Calandrelli, film composer Michel Legrand, Alexandra Burke, Tammy McCann, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Wood, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Daniella Lugassy, Deborah Myers, John Patitucci, Steve Bailey, Mario Frangoulis and Alkistis Protopsalti. Milonas is currently the drummer for Greek pop star Despina Vandi. 
He holds a degree in drums from Philippos Nakas Conservatory and the London College Of Music, and recently graduated with honours with a degree in performance from the Berklee College Of Music. 
Milonas has studied performance with great musicians such as Rod Morgenstein, Ian Froman, John Blackwell , Bob Gulloti , Kim Plainfield , Marko Djordjevic , Ed Saindon, Gustavo Agatiello and Ilias Doumanis. 

“I have an individual approach to each student, and I try to offer them a safe environment to feel comfortable and free, to explore and learn. My goal is to help my students find their own voice, their uniqueness, and give them tools in order to manage as a musician in the professional world. After 30 years in my musical career, I try to teach what I think is most important for a vocalist.”

Anthony Muthurajah is a Sri Lankan multi-instrumentalist who was born in Bahrain and now lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He specialises in the bass guitar and is a known session musician, having performed and recorded with artists such as Mokhtar Samba, Frederic Yonnet, Mahesh Balasooriya, Jayesslee, Layla Kardan, The Brand New Heavies and The Supremes. Anthony has established himself as an active educator online, teaching on YouTube and also privately, via Zoom. He released his debut solo record Road Not Taken in February 2019, which was received well by jazz audiences worldwide.

Guitarist and composer Daniel Flors has forged a career that covers virtually every facet of music in performing, composing and arranging, from contemporary jazz to symphonic composition. His compositions, arrangements and performances are featured on many recordings, such as the Ramón Cardo Big Band's Per Altra Banda and New Music for Big Band. Flors has released albums as a leader; performed as a soloist with the Mediterranean Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gabriel Yared; and has written music for theatre and dance productions.

Donya Dowlatshahi started dancing at the age of 12 at Sharmila Dance School before joining the Sharmila Dance Company at the age of 15. Donya is trained in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Street Jazz and Hip-hop. She has performed at Dubai events such as the World Cup, Akon And Mika concerts, the Repetto Fashion Show and many more.
Donya moved to Paris to pursue her training and dancing career and performed with many famous French artists. She also toured for a year with 1980s stars such as Patrick Hernandez (Born to be Alive). She is now back in Dubai teaching and assisting Sharmila at Sharmila Dance Centre.

James Kelly is a DJ, composer, performer, producer, engineer and teacher who is from the United Kingdom. James’s creative work explores the use of the turntable as an instrument. He pioneered the use of a vinyl disc cutting lathe as part of the compositional process in order to create turntable music and has worked in popular and experimental music as well as academia. Spanning genres from dubstep to pop, funk and ambient, James’s projects have received national radio exposure in the United Kingdom. He toured the UK as a DJ and also with Ginger Snaps, Ola Szmidt and Pure Phase. As a composer, his interdisciplinary projects have included scores for the feature film Honeytrap (2014), the contemporary dance film Cynefin (2011) and for a solo sound art exhibition at the Avenue Gallery, University of Northampton, UK (2016). James’s teaching focuses on DJ’ing and electronic music production, performance and music education. He wrote an accredited course in turntablism and contributed to producing the Tutoritool, a vinyl record designed to teach the user how to DJ using the records themselves. James has a PhD in turntablist composition from De Montfort University, UK, and previously held the position of Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Northampton.

“When I play music, the first thing I reach for is the sound, looking for a deeper and wider understanding of music. By having a strong concept of sound, the student starts to develop his/her own way of conveying emotions and experiences into music [as an] art form. That´s a great starting point. Studying harmony and technique is also an important area of my teaching, as well as basic piano playing skills. This is important to establish fundamental aspects of sound and chord progressions for composition and improvisation.”

“As a teacher, it is essential to be passionate and allow that passion to create an environment of excitement and possibility. Through my hands-on style of demonstration to my students and having them engage in repetition, I have observed the excitement of students breaking through into new levels. My role is to help these students hone and perfect their skill sets, to achieve a level of excellence, while addressing any weaknesses and promoting discipline. My leadership serves as an example to students of how to logically and patiently approach the learning of new concepts. I strive to provide hands-on instruction that breaks down walls of fear and intimidation while inspiring students to become better. It is important to remember that learning is a lifelong journey.”

With a unique background in engineering and film scoring, Kevin’s work is often at the nexus of music and technology. He has spent the past few years collaborating with Intel to create new forms of music production and performance, and most recently was the music supervisor for Le Musk, an immersive cinematic virtual reality experience, together with his mentor A.R. Rahman. Kevin started working with A.R. Rahman 10 years ago on his Slumdog Millionaire world tour and has now become an integral part of his team, collaborating on other projects such as Pelé: Birth of a Legend, The Hundred-Foot Journey, Million Dollar Arm and many Indian feature films.

Kevin is an Emmy-nominated composer for his work on Momentum Generation. He has also worked on TV, trailers and video games, including Dead Rising 4 and Need for Speed. He recently developed an artificially intelligent (AI) composing algorithm through his collaboration with Intel that will be used for the mascot anthems in the 2021Tokyo Olympic Games.

Kevin spent his formative years in France and the Netherlands, developing a passion for music early on in his life. Although he can play many instruments, he has been a classically trained pianist since the age of six. He continues to perform and to direct live shows, such as the opening musical performance for the Intel 2018 keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show, and A.R. Rahman’s Coke Studio show in India. Kevin has also been working as a consultant for Yamaha and Steinberg for the past 11 years and is the West Coast Steinberg representative in the United States of America. In this capacity, he frequents studios to train musicians, artists and music producers on Cubase, Nuendo, Dorico and Wavelab.

"My teaching methods are always focused on the individual. I concentrate on technique, styles, coordination, ear training, keeping time, or whatever I feel the student needs for developing his/her career according to their level and needs. My goal is to feel that every student of mine is taking something from me for the rest of their life. It´s not only about technique or drumming but about music, life and feeling emotions and sharing all of this through the gift of music."

– Member of the opera orchestra of the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, founded by Lorin Maazel and Zubin Mehta.

– Performances on international circuits with artists such as Bob Mintzer, Dave Samuels, Clark Terry, Terri Lyne Carrington and Catriona McKay, among others.

– Founder of the double bass jazz programme at the Conservatorio Superior de Musica Joaquín Rodrigo de Valencia.

– More than 50 albums recorded in jazz, tango, Latin, orchestral, folk, pop, opera and chamber music with artists such as Plácido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Catriona McKay and Donald Grant, as well as Claudia Montero’s Grammy-winning album recorded at Berklee Valencia with the Elan Quintet.

– Alto and soprano saxophonist and Latin Grammy nominee.

– Performances with Steve Lacy, Daniel Humair, Fred Hersch, Bob Moses, Louis Bellson, Michael Brecker, Bob Mintzer, Maria Schneider, Pat Metheny and Kenny Wheeler.

– More than 20 recordings as a leader and up to 100 recordings as a sideman, with such artists as Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Tete Montoliu.

– Percussionist, arranger, composer and educator.

– Flamenco percussionist who has collaborated with many relevant artists, such as Enrique Morente, José Mercé, Diego el Cigala, Niña Pastori and Pepe de Lucía, among others.

– Performances and compositions for some of the most important dancers, including the National Ballet of Spain, with whom he performed as a cajón soloist with the National Orchestra of Spain, at the Royal Theatre in Madrid.

Sharmila Kamte is a dynamic, energetic and creative personality, with work experience of more than 25 years in her field. She has worked in numerous countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, India, France, Australia, Greece, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Morocco and Lebanon. She has worked as a dance instructor, model, dancer, choreographer and director. Sharmila has performed in music videos, TV commercials, concerts, award shows, stage shows and at various product launches. She has also had the good fortune to have worked on some of the largest events to be held in the United Arab Emirates, joining hundreds of performers and celebrities.
Born in New Delhi, India, Sharmila studied at the British School New Delhi and began her dance training at the Anna Pavlova Ballet School in the Russian Cultural Centre in the city. She made a name for herself as a dancer, winning various competitions as well as performing in local shows, before leaving for the UK, to further her studies at The Legat School of Classical Ballet, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
At the college Sharmila studied Classical Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Singing, Choreography, Teacher Training and Benesh Notation. After graduating, she choreographed and performed in shows around the world, and constantly updated her training in the UK and United States of America.
On moving to Dubai, Sharmila taught Street Jazz, Hip-hop, Jazz and Ballet. She also holds workshops with international choreographers every year.
Twelve years ago, Sharmila moved her classes to the Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre at the Mall of the Emirates, where she now has a base of up to 500 students. Following the announcement that Ductac was moving to premises in Mirdiff, Sharmila opened her own dance centre, with three state of the art studios, just around the corner in Al Barsha 1. This also enables her to invite other teachers to share their expertise, growing the existing base of students even further.
Sharmila wants dance to be enjoyed and made accessible to everyone!

Shilpa Ananth is an Indian vocalist, songwriter, composer and producer based in Brooklyn, New York, United States of America. She has a unique sound that fuses the dreamy landscapes of South India with soul, jazz, and electronic music. Shilpa creates art that transcends borders and cultures, blending three of the oldest Indian languages — Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi — with English. "After graduating with honours from Berklee College of Music, Shilpa released her debut EP Indian Soul and went on to record and perform Grammy Award-winning composers A. R. Rahman, Bobby McFerrin, Bill Whalen and Javier Limon's Original Quartet." She has also toured extensively with the Serbian female vocal group ROSA, the Berklee Indian Ensemble, Women of the World and with the Bollywood Boulevard musical production, performing at US venues such as Boston Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Apollo Theatre, NJPAC, Wolf Trap and The John F. Kennedy Center.

“Being an open-minded and curious musician enabled me to be part of so many different musical settings, from salsa to Arabic music and everything in between, enriching my musicianship and gearing me up to be a better teacher as well. Not everyone is learning the same way and being able to tap someone’s potential is my ultimate desire as a teacher.”

Vibraphonist and composer Victor Mendoza, from Mexico, is a leading international artist in the Latin jazz and world percussion spheres. In addition to leading his own groups and performing as a soloist, Mendoza has performed with a long list of music greats, including Paquito D'Rivera, Danilo Pérez, Claudio Roditi, Antonio Sanchez and Lee Konitz. He has performed and taught around the world, earning recognitions and awards from many organisations, including Latin Beat, Modern Drummer, Jazziz and the Smithsonian. Jazziz magazine described Mendoza as "the genre's leading vibraphone practitioner" and "one of today's most resourceful composers".

"As an alumna and now a professor, I am certain of how great the programme at Berklee is, making sure that everyone is learning practical things that apply to the musical paths we choose. I am lucky to have come across many different styles of music, singing in different languages, learning from great professors and collaborating with amazing musicians, playing the piano and composing. This lets me show my students different ways to succeed as a musician, writing their own songs or collaborating with others."

Yarub Smarait’s career as a violinist has taken him all over the world, putting him at the forefront of a new generation of musicians emerging from the Arab region. Yarub was born in Amman, Jordan, but now lives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Inspired by traditional fusions, Yarub’s music radiates with an international appeal that transcends languages, making complex compositions easy on the ear. He doesn’t shy away from breaking the rules, resulting in unique sounds and compositions. Yarub is curious and adventurous, absorbing influences from Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) and the Balkan region. His exploration of Arabic music has also cemented his unique musicality and a distinctive technique in reinterpreting oriental tunes. Yarub’s performances have impressed audiences across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the United States of America.

Kathleen M. Howland is a certified music therapist and licensed speech language pathologist. For the past 40 years, she has worked with a variety of clinical populations, using music to enhance speech, language, cognition and movement in habilitation and rehabilitation settings. Her doctoral studies in music and cognition have informed and supported her interest in bridging the communities of science and art in order to identify best practices. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at the Boston Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Lesley University and Boston University. This gives her the opportunity to bring clinical work into the classroom and academic resources to clinical work.

Dr Howland says “I believe in the power of music to reach people with disabilities that are either congenital or acquired in nature. After 40-plus years in the field, I continue to be amazed at the abilities that are revealed and accessed through music. I believe that music is a force for good in the world and it is my aspiration to serve this belief through the best from both science and art.”

Stephen is an Emmy-winning composer and the founder of Berklee's DJ and turntablism classes, which are considered to be the first to be offered by a college of music.

He is currently the Executive Director of BerkleeNYC, where he’s overseen the iconic Power Station recording studios since 2017, hosting sessions for the likes of John Legend, Mick Jagger, Disney's Mary Poppins and Frozen. Alongside this, he is the Dean of Strategic Initiatives for Berklee College of Music at large, and an A&R consultant for the Universal Music Group.

Stephen has produced and engineered albums for a wide range of artists. He is the composer and turntable soloist of the Stylus Symphony, a groundbreaking work that combines a full orchestra with hip-hop, trip-hop and dub step. He is an award-winning educator, whose Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) The Art of Music Production has over 30,000 students. He is also the author Turntable Technique: The Art of the DJ, the first book to teach the turntable as a musical instrument, and DJ Skills: the Ultimate Guide to Mixing and Scratching.

An acclaimed Palestinian multi-style cellist and composer, Naseem is a striking example of a unique musical voice from the Middle East. He is a classically trained musician and improviser, with a reputation for blending Arabic, jazz and classical western music into his performances.

After studying at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Palestine, he was awarded a full scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he received his Bachelor and Master’s degrees for cello performance.

Naseem is a soloist, recording musician, chamber musician, and teacher, currently serving directing the Arab Music Ensemble at Tufts University. He is a global performer, touring with Danilo Perez’s Global Messengers and Amir Elsaffar’s Rivers of Sound Orchestra. He has also performed at many international festivals and performance venues such as the Detroit Jazz Festival, Lebanon’s Beit Aldeen Festival and the Royal Albert Hall.

Emilien is a music business expert, and the Director of the Global Entertainment and Music Business Graduate Program at Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain. He is also the founder of Berklee Valencia's first music festival (Musaico Fest) and first music label (Disrupción Records), as well as TEDxBerkleeValencia.

He holds a PhD in Strategy for which he received the 2012 award for the best PhD dissertation in this field in France. His research focuses on Creative Entrepreneurship, Business Model Innovation and Strategies of Change in music and entertainment, and his academic work has been published in top academic journals and presented at international academic and music conferences.

Emilien also co-founded of the Business Model Community, an academic community of more than 250 global researchers. Outside of academia, he has been involved in many technology start-ups and has also worked in marketing for French football team RC Lens.

Pablo is a master of music production and engineering, currently serving as the Program Director for the Master of Music in Music Production, Technology, and Innovation Program at Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain.

A Berklee alumnus, he moved to LA after graduation, where he worked with renowned producers and engineers including Quincy Jones, Jimmy Jam and Randy Jackson, as well as artists such as Sting, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. As a freelance engineer, he also worked with NSYNC and Britney Spears on two multi-platinum releases, along with The Who, Lionel Richie, Justin Timberlake and many more A-List artists.

He‘s won 5 Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special. He has worked with the audio teams responsible for the Super Bowl halftime show, The American Music Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards, The Billboard Awards, and the BET Awards. Credits include American Idol, X-Factor, and the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics in China.

Daily experience of programming and digital systems throughout his career has given Pablo a unique command of the leading platforms in the music industry, and he established himself as one LA’s top Pro Tools gurus.