Music Lessons

Mr Chris McCarter is proud to be the long term instructor of guitar and bass both at Merion Mercy and Waldron Mercy Academies. He holds degrees in Music Therapy and Music from Immaculata University and The Community College of Philadelphia.

In addition to teaching, Mr. McCarter is an active live performer in the Philadelphia region, having played many of the area’s finest venues. As a vocalist and songwriter, he incorporates these skills into his teaching for those students who have interest in adapting this into their lessons.

Maria Dell'Orefice, a classical pianist and avid violinist, has shared the stage with a multitude of performers including Chris Botti, Alexander Markov, and Francesca DePasquale. While Maria frequently presents solo and collaborative performances in the Philadelphia area, she has also performed solo piano in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall as a result of winning the Semper Pro Musica Competition, Elite International Music Competition, and Crescendo International Piano Competition. 

Maria performed for a program in Mondavio, Italy in which she accompanied opera singers in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. She is a musical director for the Delaware Valley Opera Company and has directed and performed piano reductions for the productions of Goyescas, Abu Hassan, and Il matrimonio segreto. She is a recipient of the Association of Church Musicians of Philadelphia Organ Grant, which funds private organ lessons, and is currently the organist at Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church in Strafford, PA. Maria is the pianist for the Haverford College choirs, Staff Pianist Artist in Residence at Temple University, and Staff Pianist for the Philadelphia Young Pianists’ Academy (PYPA) Piano Festival.

Maria has studied under Charles Abramovic, Lambert Orkis, Jane Abbott-Kirk, and Sheila Paige and is an advocate of the Taubman technique. She earned her B.M. in Piano Performance from Baylor University in Waco, TX and earned a double M.M. in Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.

Kaitlyn Waterson is an American lyric soprano and co-founder of the Philadelphia-based chamber ensemble, illumine. Her opera affiliations include OperaDelaware, Delaware Valley Opera Company, and West Chester University Opera Company, where she has performed leading roles such as Prince Charmant in Cendrillon (Massenet) and Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck). Kaitlyn has been a featured soloist with the Csik Chamber Orchestra of Csíkszereda, Romania (with which she performed two world premieres) and the Sinfionetta Vidin. Her teachers include Randall Scarlata and Elizabeth de Trejo.

Tess Varley is a Philadelphia-based violinist who performs with a number of orchestras and ensembles. She is the Assistant Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Ballet, Acting Principal Second Violin of the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra, and is a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Delaware Symphony. Tess recently served as Acting Concertmaster for both the Philadelphia Ballet and the Delaware Symphony. 

Tess was formerly a member of Symphony in C, the Allentown Symphony, the Stockton Symphony, and the Reno Philharmonic. Previous leadership positions include Principal Second of the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and Concertmaster of the National Orchestral Institute Festival Orchestra. Tess also performed for two seasons with the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra and as a substitute with the New World Symphony in Miami.

Tess regularly records for a variety of artists at Milkboy The Studio and can be heard on Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak's  album "An Evening with Silk Sonic" featuring the Grammy award winning song "Leave the Door Open." Tess also performed on Mark Ronson's disco remix of the Elvis Presley hit "Can't Help Falling in Love" for the 2022 Baz Luhrmann film "Elvis." As a crossover artist, she has performed with popular artists such as Michael Buble, Kygo, Childish Gambino, Andrea Boccelli, Journey, Celtic Women, Il Volo, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Tess also played on the soundtrack for the Oscar nominated short film The Dam Keeper as a part of the Magik*Magik Orchestra of San Francisco.

As an educator, Tess recently served on the faculty of Settlement Music School's Music Education Pathways program in Philadelphia and as the Chamber Orchestra director of the Urban School of San Francisco. From 2014-2016, Tess taught violin and chamber music at Lutheran Summer Music Program at Luther College. 

Tess received a Bachelor of Music Degree from Boston University and a Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She currently performs on an 1899 Voller Brothers violin. She lives in Havertown with her husband Brenden and daughters Eleanor and Lucy. 

Matthew Gould is a freelance trombone player/teacher in the Greater Philadelphia area.  As a performer, he has appeared with the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philly POPS!, The Walnut Street Theater, and many others.  Matthew is also a certified public school music teacher.  He has a B.M. in Music Education from The College of New Jersey, where he was a student of Robert Gale, and a M.M in Music Performance from Temple University, where he was a student of Matthew Vaughn.