The M4M Team
Sara Sherman, Director & Founder
Sara Leila Sherman has made a significant impact on the classical music scene in New York City and beyond, distinguishing herself as a performer, educator, and entrepreneur. In 2017, she introduced the acclaimed children’s concert series, Mozart for Munchkins, which has enriched the lives of over 50,000 families across New York, Boston, San Francisco, and beyond. In 2020, Sara founded the non-profit organization, Little Mozart Foundation, with the mission of ensuring universal access to the transformative power of music. Collaborations with esteemed institutions such as the New York Public Library, Lincoln Center Kids, and the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra have further solidified her commitment to making music accessible to all communities.
Renowned as an accomplished pianist, Sara’s performances have been lauded for their depth and insight. She has graced renowned venues including Lincoln Center, Steinway Hall, and Yamaha Artist Salon, captivating audiences with her artistry. Sara’s international performances have taken her to prestigious locations such as Italy’s Castello di San Lorenzo Picenardi and Courchevel, France, showcasing her versatility and global appeal. Sara holds graduate degrees from Manhattan School of Music and her undergraduate at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music.
In 2021, Sara joined forces with MindUP, The Goldie Hawn Foundation, to pioneer MindUP for Music, an innovative curriculum merging music and mindfulness for educational settings. As the driving force behind this initiative, she meticulously crafted the curriculum, empowering educators and parents with effective tools to integrate music as a conduit for mindfulness. Sara’s leadership extends to leading assemblies, facilitating teacher development days at the United Federation of Teachers, and spearheading Professional Development Days emphasizing the significance of music and mindfulness.
Peter DelGrosso, Creative Director
Enjoying his work as a bright and energetic musician, Peter DelGrosso has found home as a horn player, educator, and composer/arranger in New York City. As a performer he has traveled through China as principal horn of The Philadelphia Festival Orchestra, to Saas-Fee, Switzerland as the horn player for the Talis Festival & Academy, and as a member and arranger for groups playing in Stockholm, Sweden and Cartagena, Columbia. Most recently Peter was a guest artist and brass clinician for the Casalmaggiore International Music festival in Casalmaggiore, Italy.
Back in the United States, Peter is an active member in orchestras throughout New York including The Chelsea Symphony, Manhattan Symphonie, and New York Wind Orchestra. He is currently the principal horn of the Yonkers Philharmonic in which he was a soloist in 2018. He was also a soloist with the Queens College Wind Ensemble in 2016 and with the Queensborough Symphony in 2015. Peter is the founder and arranger of the Metropolitan Horn Authority, a New York based contemporary horn quartet.
Starting with his high school band director Greg Thomas, Peter credits his success to his teachers. He earned a Master of Music Degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music and completed his undergraduate studies from Virginia Commonwealth University where he received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and was awarded “Outstanding Achievement in Music Education.” Peter’s teachers include David Jolley, Patrick Smith, John Clark, Bill Purvis, and jazz studies with John D’earth.
Peter is an enthusiastic educator and is currently on faculty at the Long Island Conservatory. He also maintains a private studio of horn students and was the horn teacher for the Gracias Choir & Orchestra festival in Huntington, NY. Peter uses a warm touch with his students while challenging them and always asking more questions, teaching is one of his greatest joys.
Featured Artists
Alphonso Horne, Trumpet
Juilliard Graduate and Multi-GRAMMY Award nominee Alphonso Horne thrills audiences with his soulful sound and dramatic sensibility. The true embodiment of class and eclecticism, Alphonso has collaborated with artists from all genres and disciplines including Wynton Marsalis, Patti Labelle and Rihanna.
Horne has also performed in several Tony-Award-winning Broadway shows including “After Midnight” and “Shuffle Along” featuring guest artists Fantasia Barrino, Dulé Hill, Toni Braxton, Audra McDonald, Savion Glover and many more.
Alphonso can also be seen on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and in the upcoming jazz biopic, “BOLDEN”.
Ric Becker, Trombone
Ric Becker is a trombonist, composer, vocalist, and all-around low-brass enthusiast. A graduate of Mannes College of Music as a student of both David Finlayson and David Taylor, his work ranges from classical and jazz to pop and contemporary styles. He has toured or recorded with Postmodern Jukebox, Easy Star All-Stars, the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble, contemporary classical ensembles Contemporaneous and Mimesis Ensemble, and more. Broadway credits include substitute work on Matilda, King Kong, and Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour, as well as the tuba/bass trombone chair for the 2018 first national tour of Love Never Dies. He has also worked for film and TV, appearing in productions for MTV, VH1, Hulu, Amazon Studios, and more.
Ric is an active educator with a small private studio of young brass musicians and pianists. He specializes in first-time beginners, with a focus on reading skills, musicianship and self-improvement. His students have gone on to win positions at top conservatories including Manhattan School of Music and New England Conservatory, as well as regularly ranking in regional band competitions and festivals.
Musiquita, Blanca González and Jesse Elder
Musiquita (est. 2020, Forest Hills, NY) is a playful exploration of music in Spanish and English, guided by a wife/husband duo, Blanca Cecilia González (vocals/violin/ukulele/percussion) and Jesse Elder (vocals/piano/melodica/percussion.) The couple performs a wide variety of music appropriate for all ages. Musiquita has two central goals: To uplift and encourage children and to strengthen and deepen the bonds between young people and the adults in their lives.
Prior to Musiquita, Jesse was the full time Music Director for Postmodern Jukebox, with whom he toured the world for 8 years. Blanca, who received her Masters in Music from the Juilliard School, was an active freelance concert violinist in the New York City Metropolitan area, performing at such venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Blanca’s earlier studies were at Queens College and the Laguardia High School of Music and Art. Jesse studied at the New School University, Oberlin Conservatory and Interlochen Arts Academy. He is a 4 X winner of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s Competition.
Nyssa Grant, Violin/Fiddle
Nyssa Grant has been playing violin for as long as she can remember! Born and raised in Iowa she moved to NYC to pursue acting and music. Nyssa was on the national tour of the Broadway musical Once and now plays in bands and records music all over the city.