Music and Auditions Archives

Kevin Hernandez

Anyone truly familiar with Kevin Hernandez will attest to his life-long curiosity and his relentless ambition to solve problems. He has always been innately scientific and self-driven to attain fundamental understanding of anything he observes and does.

Because of his natural curiosity, Kevin Hernandez took interest in various disciplines while at the University of Connecticut. Refusing to be a product of poverty, he took full advantage of his college years and engrossed himself in as many subjects as he could while working full-time. Kevin amassed three separate degrees and is the first of not only his family but also his neighborhood to successfully attend and graduate college.

Kevin’s subject matter expertise ranges from calculus, human biology and chemistry to Spanish, writing composition and even economics. Moreover, Kevin is experienced coaching all sections of the SAT, ACT, and TOEFL. The acquisition of a consequential skill was and still is of utmost importance to him.

Nevertheless, Kevin Hernandez’s genuine love for learning was never exclusive to his life as a student. It has also been pivotal to his professional pursuits. He has actually applied most of the wide variety of courses he underwent. Kevin has worked as a nursing medic for 5+ years. He also worked in an environment geared towards individuals with learning disabilities for 8 years in addition to being a classroom teacher for second language learners. And he is currently working as an operations manager in hospitality.

When he is not troubleshooting life’s processing errors, Kevin Hernandez basks in his passion for performance, both physically and artistically. He enjoys biking and boxing as well as spoken word poetry and most preciously, dancing.

Kevin values the combination of training, instincts and individualization. This is most certainly embedded throughout his methodology.

Jacob Backer

Since graduating Yale University in 2014, Jacob has been providing private tutoring in the greater New York City area including both acceleration and remediation. Jacob’s strengths rest in his ability to encourage students to achieve their academic potential and ease the anxiety that comes with standardized testing.

Jacob thinks it is important to create a comfortable learning environment for students. Students need to be encouraged to push themselves and will never do so if they are afraid of failure. He believes in a steady and encouraging approach that focuses on building a student’s confidence as well as their academic skills.

For over 4 years, Jacob has helped students prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, SSAT and ISEE. He has worked in a wide range of subjects including Algebra, Geometry, US and Global History, Living Environment, and English.

Jacob also has extensive experience working with struggling students and helping seemingly unmotivated or apathetic youth to reengage with academics. He is able to skillfully assess students’ academic needs and fill in gaps in their education. Jacob helps struggling students build the confidence necessary for academic success; once a student believes they can handle the work they have been assigned, they are far less likely to avoid it. His work with students includes supporting and developing enhanced skills for organization, essay writing, and note taking.

Jacob was a strong test taker in high school, earning a score of 5 on all of his AP exams as well as several perfect and near perfect SAT scores. He earned his undergraduate degree in History from Yale University and graduated with honors.

Outside of tutoring, Jacob is a musician and producer. He is a multi instrumentalist, composer and songwriter who records his own music and performs around New York City. He approaches teaching with the same passion and energy that he brings to his music.

Gabe Nathans

Gabe Nathans has over three years of private tutoring experience from the elementary school to college level in both test preparation and academic subjects.

Gabe Nathans received his B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University, where his studies also included high-level courses in math, physics, and history. An avid musician, he played the double bass in the Yale Symphony Orchestra (including a performance at Carnegie Hall), the electric bass in a number of musical groups, and and has continued to play in musical productions and venues across New York City. Currently, he studies comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Training Center and performs stand up and improv comedy around the city.

After graduating from Yale, Gabe spent two years as a full-time academic subject and SAT/ACT tutor working with middle and high school students in foster care, where he helped multiple students pass Regents exam they had failed repeatedly, worked with a student to raise his SAT Math score by 150 points, and guided another student from C’s and D’s to B’s and A’s the following school year. He has also tutored privately, helping to prepare students for the SAT, ACT, ISEE, and SSAT, and has coached high school students in college essay writing. He is a kind and empathetic tutor who draws on his sense of humor to help students through challenges and make tutoring sessions a fun experience. Parents and students have praised his patience, as well as his knack for breaking down complex topics in a clear and engaging way.

Gabe specializes in SAT, ACT, and ISEE/SSAT preparation, as well as academic subject tutoring in middle and high school math (Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II/Trigonometry, and Geometry). He also tutors students in English and U.S. and Global History.

When he is not tutoring, Gabe likes to write and perform comedy and music around New York City, and enjoys spending time with his family.

Alex Jacobs

Alex Jacobs is a private tutor who specializes in history, elementary math and language arts.

Alex was born and raised in Manhattan where he attended the Horace Mann School from Kindergarten through twelfth grade. While in High School, he tutored elementary school students both privately and through school-run programs. His experience at a rigorous New York preparatory school has given him insight into the unique challenges and pressures that students in that world face.

Alex then attended Oberlin College, where he earned his B.A. in Sociology. During college, he continued to educate elementary and middle school students, first as an assistant teacher at The Grace Church School’s summer program and later as a math and literacy tutor at Goddard Riverside Community’s Star Learning Center.

Alex is now a professional musician and music writer. His music has been covered by SPIN and Interview Magazine and his writing has been featured in the Huffington Post. He also teaches established producers and composers how to use the latest audio production software and gives lessons in percussion and digital synthesis to musicians of all ages. Most recently, Alex has led workshops for 3rd – 7th grade students in environmental education, music and nutrition for Arts in Parts, a nonprofit after-school and summer program in Far Rockaway.

Whether helping young readers navigate their first novel or coaching graduate school hopefuls through their applications and admissions tests, Alex’s spirited demeanor makes seemingly mundane work fun and fulfilling for learners at every level. In his 13 years as a tutor and educator, Alex has helped students excel in a broad range of subjects, including literacy, writing, mathematics, geography, history and the study of religion.

When he is not teaching or tutoring, Alex can be found collecting antique maps, building musical instruments or conducting ad hoc trivia competitions among friends.

Bill Army

Bill Army has been working in professional theatre since he was nineteen years old. After graduating from Middlebury College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre, Bill performed in his first Off-Broadway play, “No End of Blame” by Howard Barker with the Potomac Theatre Project at Atlantic Stage 2. He then, played starring roles in Regional Productions of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with the Belfast Maskers, “Twelfth Night,” with Olney Theatre Center, and “The Call of the Wild” with the National Players Touring Company.

Bill matriculated to the Tisch Graduate Acting Program at New York University in 2008, and obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Acting in 2011. At Tisch, he had the opportunity to work with Tony-Award and Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright and Screenwriter, Tony Kushner on the world premier of his play, “Henry Box Brown” directed by Mark Wing Davey.

Since obtaining his M.F.A., Bill has performed in several successful and critically acclaimed plays. On Broadway, he performed in “Relatively Speaking” three one-act plays written by Ethan Coen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen, directed by John Turturro, and “Act One,” at Lincoln Center written and directed James Lapine. Off-Broadway, he performed in “All’s Well that Ends Well” directed by Daniel Sullivan, “Measure for Measure” directed by David Esbjornson, and “Old Jews Telling Jokes” directed by Marc Bruni. Bill has been a company member of the Potomac Theatre Project since 2009, and has appeared in six of their seasons, most recently in the summer of 2015 in “Vinegar Tom” by Caryl Churchill and “Scenes from an Execution” by Howard Barker.

In addition to Acting, Bill has emceed the 2013 Drama Desk Awards, Broadway in Bryant Park, and the Manhattan Theatre Club Gala.

For the past three years, Bill has taught Text and Musical Theatre at the LaGuardia High School for the performing Arts, and has co-directed three shows. He coaches classical text for Juniors and Seniors, and he has also taught Acting and directed at Middlebury College. In addition to his classroom teaching work at LaGuardia, Bill also works with students as a private tutor and acting coach.

Kevin Hernandez

Jacob Backer

Gabe Nathans

Bill Army

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