The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

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25 Great Reasons to Discover Music in Chappaqua

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Proudly celebrating its silver anniversary–a quarter century of service, music and harmony in the community, Music in Chappaqua, lead by director Janet Angier, salutes its students past and present, thanks its outstanding faculty and is excited for the next 25 years of music making! Here’s why:

1. You’re Never Too Young: Early childhood beginners, middle school and high school students are encouraged and welcomed to take up an instrument or improve their skills with our award-winning faculty

2. …And, You’re Never Too Old: Stopped playing when life became busy with career and family? In celebration of our quarter century, Music in Chappaqua is offering new adult students a 15 percent discount to come play and study with us.  Just mention this article during the month of June for your first time discount..

3. Amazing Faculty: Enthusiastic, caring, supportive, encouraging, accomplished, and dedicated teachers on staff

4. We Listen to You: We match teachers with students’ learning styles, music preferences, and personalities

5. Award Winning Students: Whether you’re interested in classical music competitions, NYSSMA, NYSMTA, singer-songwriter or vocal competitions, our students are prepared to perform at their highest potential and go on to win across the board

6. Students Pursue Their Passions: Many of our students go on to continue their study at prestigious colleges and universities including The Manhattan School of Music, Interlochen Arts Academy, Julliard, Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Berklee, and more

7.  Students Become Professional Performers: Thriving careers in music started at Music in Chappaqua; such as world renowned mezzo soprano Stephanie Marshall, who now performs with the English National Opera, began her studies with our director, Janet Angier

8. All Genres of Music: Classical, Jazz, Broadway, Folk, Bluegrass, Country, Pop, Hip-hop, Rock, Progressive Rock, Metal and everything in between – we teach all styles and levels

9. All Instruments: Voice, Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Clarinet, Flute, Saxophones, Trumpet, Guitar, Electric Bass, Drums, Songwriting, Harmonica, and Ukulele

10. Easy Scheduling: Open 7 days a week all year round; generally follows the public-school calendar, extremely flexible summer opportunities

11. Flexible Teaching Locations: Lessons are offered in our Chappaqua studios or in the comfort of your home

12. Custom Tailored Curriculum: Your musical aspirations, needs and wants are listened to and a custom tailored program is designed for your private lessons or Rock Workshop experience

13. Specialized Approach: We aim to suit each individual student’s personal artistic and educational requirements

14. Serving Pros and Non-Pros: From absolute beginners to professionals who are preparing to go into the recording studio, all levels of skill are welcome to study with us

15. Positive Learning Environment: With opportunities to meet and make new friends performing or collaborating in rock bands, songwriting sessions, and recitals

16. Confidence and Self Expression: Students are encouraged and inspired with enthusiasm and exuberance; we believe real music making creates students who are comfortable and confident in their performances and with who they are as a person

17. Regular Performance Opportunities: Year-round performances offered including Open Mic Nights, Singer-Songwriter Shows, Formal Recitals, and Rock & Roll Shows

18. Fantastic Performance Venues: Performances take place where so many stars have launched careers; notable venues have included Steinway Hall, The Wainwright House, Rockwood Music Hall, and NYC’s The Bitter End

19. Beautiful Facility: Clean, modern exterior and interior designs, a relaxing lobby welcomes students and guests with visibility into cutting-edge, lesson studios

20. State of the Art Equipment: Four grand pianos, a fully equipped Rock rehearsal room, plus the latest computer hardware and software, all designed to enhance the learning and performance process

21. Beautiful Landscaping: Modern culture, art, architecture and design tucked into a convenient Chappaqua location, our space exudes peace and tranquility; a proud recipient of The Beautification Award from the Town of New Castle

22. Summer Rock and Roll Camp: A highly successful day camp that runs for 6-week long sessions, The New York Rock Academy places kids and teens at any playing level into bands with others of similar age, musical taste, and playing ability

23. Giving Back to The Community: Local groups and activities are sponsored by Music in Chappaqua such as the Town of New Castle’s Summer Concert Series and the recent March For Our Lives Benefit Concert

24. A Trustworthy Business For 25 Years: Proudly celebrating a quarter century of service, music and harmony in the community

25. You! Music in Chappaqua looks forward to welcoming you into our studios soon!

Learning from Experience: Local Young Entrepreneurs Rack Up Life Lessons

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Camp counselors, lifeguards, the desk at the pool: teens join the workforce in droves when school’s out, often taking these classic summer jobs. But some entrepreneurial local teens–and even younger kids–will spend this summer working for themselves, at new businesses or endeavors they started. They’ll make money but they’ll also be paid in life lessons other young people may not necessarily learn until after college.

Matching Jobs with Teens

Mac Yavner and Spencer McGowan, both 16 and juniors at Horace Greeley High School, are the third owners of Teen Agency (teenagency.org) which matches teens with community members who seek to employ them. “We hope to develop (the agency) and we hope to sell it when we graduate from Greeley,” McGowan said. “We started with parents asking us for babysitters and tutors but one of our goals was to get different kinds of jobs.”

After working on getting more visibility for the agency, different requests did come in. A homeowner wanted logs moved so Yavner and McGowan enlisted friends who play football to put some muscle into it. Then an elderly couple asked for someone to change the batteries in their smoke detectors, and word spread in their development about that service. “Word gets around,” Yavner said. “Before Thanksgiving, one person asked for help moving furniture, then a lot of people asked for the same thing.”

Yavner and McGowan are in business for the experience; they will madonate their profits to a food allergy charity that helps people who can’t afford epipens and don’t have insurance.

But they both say they’re really profiting by what they’ve learned. “What you put in is what you get out,” Yavner said. “If you try to make money and be successful it’s definitely within reach,” McGowan added.

Jewelry Making Biz: Bijoux by Chloe

Byram Hills High School Senior Chloe Perline has been running her jewelry-making business, Bijoux by Chloe, for about three years, and she plans to continue her efforts while at Syracuse University next fall. “I started making little bracelets a few years ago and my friends really liked them,” she said. That led to the creation of a website, bijouxbychloe.com, and Perline said her business is going very well, and she’s learned about a lot more than jewelry making. “There’s a lot to it,” she said. “Figuring out pricing and marketing–it’s a lot of work but it’s really fun too.”

‘Rent a Teenager’

Mason Greenstein,14, and a freshman at Horace Greeley, is a student with a competing business called Rentateenager.com that provides responsible teenagers to perform various jobs.  “We offer a less expensive option than professional expert services. Some of the services we offer include sports coaching, tutoring, baby sitting, dog walking, yard work, after school drivers, photographers and anything else that a teenager can help with,” explained Greenstein.

Greenstein feels that the business has taught him to hone in on his organizational skills. “I have a lot of teenagers offering their services. I also have a lot of people who want teenagers for various jobs. Everything needs to be organized so I can promptly provide the right teenager for specific requests.”

The Paint Can Kid

In Chappaqua, 11-year-old Michael Weyne has joined the ranks of the hamlet’s younger entrepreneurs as The Paint Can Kid (the name, by the way, is trademarked.) Weyne will come with his dad, Jonathan Weyne, to pick up old paint cans for a mere $2 per can–and for a lot of cans there’s a volume discount. Handling old paint cans wasn’t Weyne’s first business idea –he had another plan but realized he needed startup money.

“He asked me how to get capital,” Jonathan Weyne said. “I said you could have it, borrow it, or earn it–so I challenged him to start a summer business and earn $10,000.” Weyne overheard his dad and a neighbor discuss getting rid of paint cans, and another business idea was born. He researched his idea extensively and launched The Paint Can Kid last summer, when he was 10, and gave out more than 25 flyers to people listening to music on a summer evening at the bandstand.

Weyne wound up with so many prospective customers, he was booked 4-6 weeks out. He takes the cans and sorts out the cans that have a lot of good paint left. Those, he found, Habitat for Humanity will take, so he’s currently setting that up. As for the rest, Weyne empties the paint into a large bin because he and his dad, a physician who runs clinical trials for biopharmaceutical company Regeneron, are inventing a machine that will separate out much of the water so the remaining paint can be recycled and used. They crush the cans and recycled 133 pounds of steel this past Earth Day.

Will he make it to $10,000 this year? Weyne estimates his chances at 70/30. After all, he’s making money but he’s also spending it–and learning all about business expenses like gas and mileage.

Michael “filed his first income tax return this year,” Jonathan Weyne said, adding that the business is an LLC. While Jonathan Weyne acknowledged that it has been time-consuming helping Michael with his business, he said he truly enjoys this time with Michael (and with Michael’s younger siblings, Alex and Nicole, who are occasionally enlisted as unpaid interns). The Paint Can Kid can be reached at 914-200-3344.

Tutoring Business: A Family Affair

Jake Horwitz, who is currently running Turning Point Tutoring from Scotland as he studies abroad, took over the business from his brother Robbie, who started it as a junior at Greeley. Horwitz said it’s doing well and he currently employs 12 tutors. He credits his success to “great students at Horace Greeley” who serve as tutors, and calls customer service “essential.”

“The most important part of a small business is the people,” Horwitz, 20, a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, added.

From Sneakers to Snapshots

Greg Skriloff, a junior at Byram Hills High School in Armonk, offers web design and development as well as photography –his website is greg.skriloff.com. But his start in business was buying and reselling limited edition sneakers, a lucrative effort he continues to this day. “That’s when I’d date back my entrepreneurship in general to when I was 11 or 12 years old. I’d set up a whole process, get a few pairs from each release and re-sell them.” Skriloff  “It really teaches you how to separate yourself and manage your time,” Skriloff said. “For example, a kid in high school would ordinarily be going out on a Friday night. But a business changes your priorities.”

Dive In: The Pool Clubs of Chappaqua

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There are four swim and tennis clubs in Chappaqua. The cost to join doesn’t vary too radically–there’s a bond and an annual fee–and all offer rental memberships so prospective members can try them out.

Each one welcomes visitors to come and see and consider joining. They’re all located pretty close together. Yet, with all their similarities, each club is different enough to inspire a loyal allegiance in many of its members.

Birchwood Swim & Tennis

681 Quaker Road

Ron Jendzejec, president of Birchwood, said he thinks the club has a particularly beautiful layout. On a recent snowy Sunday, Jendzejec pointed through a fence to show a reporter just where a family could sit to have a great view of both the wading pool and the playground.

Others must agree, because membership sales are ahead of schedule this year and “last year we had to turn people away for the first time in eight years,” Jendzejec said. The club borders Audubon land and features paddle tennis as well.

“I love the club,” Jendzejec, who has been president for 11 years, said. “I joke with board members that I’m like the Franklin Delano Roosevelt of board presidents–there are no term limits, I enjoy doing it and seeing the changes at the club and we have a great board.” His kids used to spend all day at the club, swimming and playing tennis. There’s also basketball and an outdoor ping-pong table.

Birchwood also offers special Golden Guest memberships to older members who no longer need family memberships.

Chappaqua Swim & Tennis Club

1019 Hardscrabble Road

Amanda Weinstein, membership chair for the pool’s board, said that at CST, nannies and caregivers come free with a family’s membership. The club, which features a sunny yellow and blue color scheme, has a cafe catered by Villarina’s. There’s regular tennis and platform tennis, a T-shaped pool, a basketball court and a putting green.

“My kids don’t go to camp–they spend the summer at the club,” Weinstein said. “People ask me, ‘aren’t they missing out on the camp experience?’ and I always say no. There’s a real mixing of the ages at the club. I’ll see Harry playing tetherball with a 16-year-old and so on. It’s really beautiful.”

CST’s swim coach, Dan Levy, is a teacher who is great with kids; “he really makes the swim team accessible for all levels of swimmers,” she said. The tennis pro also works at Club Fit. CST also holds the Swim Across America event annually which is open to the public and is a top site raising funds for the American Cancer Society.

Seven Bridges Field Club

160 Seven Bridges Road

Marianne Dorner, membership chairperson for the club, said her family has belonged to the club for about 15 or 16 years. “It’s one of the oldest clubs in the area,” Dorner said. “It was established in 1936.” The pool was actually hand-poured by members in the 50’s–prior to that, swimming was in the club’s pond. Dorner said that’s probably why the swim team name is the Swamp Rats. “We have many old-time members who stop by and say they were a Swamp Rat way back when.”

In the beginning, Dorner said, the club only admitted members from the Seven Bridges area. “That was many, many years ago. We now accept members from all over, including Yorktown, Mount Kisco and Ossining. We’ve diversified and we love to have people come visit.” Seven Bridges, besides offering trial memberships, also allows trial weekends.

There is paddle tennis open all year, and special paddle tennis memberships. And at Seven Bridges, Dorner said, they “get their tennis courts open before anyone in town. We call it the best-kept secret in Chappaqua because people don’t realize how beautiful it is until they come visit,” Dorner said, adding that the club does not charge guest fees.

Willowbrook Swim & Tennis Club

586 Millwood Road

“We have been members since we moved into town 13 years ago and we just never looked back,” Harriet Engel, the board marketing chair for Willowbrook Swim & Tennis, said. “It’s such a warm and welcoming club.”

Engel’s children started swimming at Willowbrook, then began swimming year-round; her eldest son now swims at Greeley. Willowbrook reports that it has the most competitive swim team of the four clubs. But to Engel, besides the swimming, what stands out about Willowbrook is head coach Kelly Blacker’s focus on water safety. “She considers it her most important task to get every child to learn to swim,” Engel said. “Between swim team and tennis camp, my kids and many kids spend all day there.”

Willowbrook has also made arrangements for members to play golf twice per month at Anglebrook Golf Club in nearby Lincolndale at a special rate – two visits per month per membership.

Blacker said she values the family-oriented nature of the club, and considers the setting lovely. “It’s in the woods and it’s so peaceful; it’s very beautiful in the evening.”

10 Things to Know About Youth Soccer in Chappaqua

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CHAPPAQUA AYSO

1. Chappaqua offers a lot of soccer … there’s a Chappaqua branch of the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) which plays locally until fifth grade and then competes against nearby communities, and also the Chappaqua Youth Soccer Club (CYSC), which plays in the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL) and so teams travel farther – when people say ‘travel soccer’ in Chappaqua they generally mean CYSC. (There are teams at Horace Greeley High School, of course, and modified programs at the middle schools, too.) Everyone from super-athletic soccer enthusiasts to those who play soccer as a second sport or in a more relaxed fashion to children and teens with special needs–all these and more can find a way in Chappaqua to kick the black-and-white ball around with some peers while improving their skills and getting some fresh air.

2.… for kids of all ages. CYSC offers teams this year for children born in 2010 and afterwards; AYSO offers soccer to kids as young as pre-K. Both programs go all the way through high school. Copies of birth certificates are required for proof of age. Because AYSO has programs for younger players, many children start out playing for AYSO, Jonathan Taub, longtime commissioner of Chappaqua AYSO, said. Some continue with AYSO, which takes all children. There are no tryouts and no children are cut. Others switch to CYSC, which has annual tryouts in May.

3. Both programs are stand-outs. What’s the difference between AYSO and CYSC? Well, Taub said, “everyone knows all about AYSO.” It’s a national program that offers soccer to a wide range of ages and abilities, and is known for the slogan “Everyone plays.” AYSO unabashedly takes all comers. CYSC offers a more competitive, time-intensive experience; prospective players must try out annually. Lisa McGowan, co-president of CYSC with David Schreiber, said the “very large majority” of youngsters who try out are ultimately offered a spot on a CYSC team. After U9, players are assigned to a team based on ability and skill level, which is different than AYSO’s ‘balanced teams’ model. The AYSO U19 high school co-ed team is, Taub said, the largest program of its kind in the county. CYSC was given WYSL’s Club of the Year award in 2016, and the club was recognized for its commitment to a “player first” philosophy and commended for providing a “fun, safe and challenging environment” with “excellent leadership.” It was the first time WYSL gave out these awards.

4.… and have the support of many local volunteers. According to McGowan, close to 100 volunteers pitch in to make the program work, alongside 15 professional trainers (professional soccer coaches with many years of experience and many certifications). Chappaqua’s AYSO depends on many dozens of vounteers as well. Some volunteers, McGowan, Schrieber and Taub among them, don’t even have offspring currently playing soccer in the programs to which they devote their efforts. “We’re doing it because we love it,” Schreiber said.

Young AYSO players
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHAPPAQUA AYSO
5. The players do need to be from Chappaqua/New Castle… CYSC teams are open to kids who reside in New Castle or attend the Chappaqua Schools. Chappaqua AYSO requires that players be residents of the Chappaqua school district, Taub said.

6.… which is a place with a lot of enthusiasm for the sport–the numbers are amazing. More than 700 kids play in AYSO’s program, Taub said, and according to McGowan, well over 400 players fill the ranks of CYSC’s teams. (The only overlap is with the U9 kids who play for CYSC: those players are required to also play for AYSO.) This enthusiasm is fostered by cooperation between the various programs and also the schools. Fields must be shared and schedules worked out. “The relationship in town between CYSC and Chappaqua AYSO is really excellent,” Schreiber said. “We work with them on field availability and many other issues.” While according to Schrieber there’s no formal relationship between the club’s efforts and the soccer program at Horace Greeley, “there are three coaches who also coach at the high school,” he said, stressing that there’s no sharing of information between the programs and totally separate tryouts. AYSO offers high school players both fall and spring seasons. CYSC only has spring seasons for high school players–at school, soccer is a fall sport.

7. Kids can play sometimes, or all year … AYSO offers spring and fall seasons and CYSC offers a 10-month program, except for high school teams.  “All of our teams practice in the winter including the high school teams,” McGowan said. Winter practices start shortly after the fall soccer season ends at the high school and are held indoors at Armonk Indoor Sports Center. In the summer, there’s a CYSC camp at the end of August that boasts an 85-percent participation rate. “It’s a five-day camp and each team has three hours of practice during the (camp) day,” Schrieber said. “During that one week, they’re getting in a lot of practice.”

(L-R): CYSC players, Wylie Glantz, Jacob Fragin, Zach Boyriven, Ryder Goodman
PHOTO COURTESY OF JARED FRAGIN
8.… and switch between programs. Many of Chappaqua’s soccer-playing youngsters start with AYSO and segue into CYSC, then to school soccer, while playing AYSO or CYSC in the club season. Some players leave soccer to devote more time to another sport, then come back. “The beauty of AYSO is that if you leave you can come back three years later. We’ll always have a place for every child to play soccer at AYSO,” Taub said. Schreiber and McGowan also said that players who have left CYSC for other athletic opportunities do return.

9. Sportsmanship is highly prized In fact, good sportsmanship is front and center on AYSO’s national website. “We pride ourselves on sportsmanship, focusing on development versus number of wins,” Schreiber said of CYSC. “I one-hundred percent agree,” McGowan said, adding that learning to be part of a team is very important.

10. and so is inclusion. AYSO has offered a VIP team for a few years now which serves kids with special needs. Josh Lurie founded the program several years ago, Taub said. Volunteers including Spencer McGowan and other high school students help children and teens on the team. “We’re happy to have everyone play,” Taub said. In addition, financial assistance is available for those who can not afford to pay team fees.

A March for Kids, Planned by Kids

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On March 24th, approximately 850,000 students and adults took to the streets of Washington, DC., with other “sibling marches” taking place across the country, including locally in White Plains. This event, which was appropriately titled “March For Our Lives,” was completely organized by Parkland, Florida students, including Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg and Cameron Kasky.

These teens have become the most outspoken supporters of the gun control movement since the February 14th shooting at their high school. Other notable figures also took part in and financially supported event. The march gathered international attention, was widely covered by the media, and received praise from leaders around the world.

(L-R): Jake Mikesell, Ari Silver, Maxwell Keilles

A Day to Remember

As plans for the march came together, I spoke with some friends from Greeley and we decided that we were not doing enough to help. So in the early morning hours of March 24th, we boarded a bus at Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains to travel to Washington D.C.  We arrived in D.C. at around 11 a.m., but the ride itself was particularly emotional for me because I was able to sit for the first time and reflect on what had unfolded over the last month.

As we approached the parking lot at RFK Stadium, we were swarmed by hundreds of busses filled with marchers of all ages. Once parked, we trekked towards the city with homemade banners in hand. Everywhere we walked, the surrounding community had opened their doors to offer food and support to the thousands of protesters who had come from around the country. As we walked, we took in the beauty of the city and the blooming flowers and finally arrived to the sight of the Capitol Building. I was overcome with emotion as I fully recognized the importance of the day.

Horace Greeley junior Maxwell Keilles shared his thoughts on the event. “The march was one of the most important things I feel that I’ve done and I felt great that I was able to hear such inspiring speeches from so many wonderful people.” Another Greeley junior, Jake Mikesell commented, “I chose to attend the march because I am a high school student and hearing about mass school shootings and students my age dying is horrific and should be stopped. Gun reform should be much stricter so that schools can be safer.”

Musicians & Moments of Silence

Shortly after our arrival the event commenced. Multiple musicians performed, including Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame and Ben Platt from Dear Evan Hansen. The two had come together to perform a song that they had written for the event. Shortly after, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School delivered heartfelt speeches. The most notable was Emma Gonzalez’s, who held a six-minute moment of silence. The six minutes represented the amount of time it took for the shooter, Nikolas Cruz to kill 17 people in Parkland. Throughout the moment of silence, the crowd yelled “never again” in perfect unison. Other teens and kids who had been directly affected by gun violence also spoke to the large crowd. It was unlike anything I had ever witnessed.

Gun Control Takes the National Spotlight

While students take to the streets in a call for action, lawmakers in Washington are looking at ways they can change our nation’s laws for the better. According to Politico, polls show that support for greater gun restrictions has risen dramatically since the Parkland shooting. Still, most politicians who receive funds from the NRA, refuse to deny such politically motivated payments, which has caused public outrage. The already serious issue has caused much polarization.

Looking Ahead

The events that unfolded on March 24th are not the end of this movement, they are only the beginning. Students plan on organizing numerous events and walkouts to help spread the message that “enough is enough” and that it is time to take action. These events are taking place during an important year, as the midterm elections are set to take place this fall.

Walkouts have already been planned for April 20th, which is the 19th anniversary of the shooting at Columbine High School. Students are trying to figure out how they can be more active in their communities and local governments.

One piece of advice that Representative Nita Lowey shared during my recent meeting with her was to go out and vote. I found this message to be the most inspiring, since it is likely to have the most direct effect on the individuals who make our laws. For students who are not of voting age, I would encourage them to call their local representatives, voice their opinions and ask for support on specific legislation.

In Remembrance

On April 20th, during National School Walkout, we will take the time to remember the lives of the 12 students and 1 teacher who were killed in Columbine High School 19 years ago. And we also keep in our minds all who have lost their lives to gun violence. While this has been an emotional and eye opening time for myself and my peers, this has been an opportunity for students and adults to find their voices and realize where they stand on this controversial issue and what we can accomplish together.