Teaching Artists

Nozomi imamura
(He/him)

Doing good teaching Artist

As a performer and educator, Nozomi Imamura seeks out ways to connect, mentor, and inspire communities around him to reach their potential through music. 

Nozomi is a trumpeter and teaching artist. He joined the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra in 2020 and frequently performs with the Allentown Symphony, Reading Symphony, and the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra in Los Angeles, and has been invited as Guest Principal Trumpet in the Onpaku Special Orchestra in Nagakute, Japan. He has participated in several music festivals, including Music from Angel Fire, Lake George Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, and the Pacific Music Festival. 

Nozomi joined the Curtis Institute of Music as the Coordinator of Community Performances in September 2019 and has been a teaching artist for Project 440’s curriculum Doing Good since September 2018. He completed the Curtis Institute of Music’s Community Artist Fellowship under the tutelage of Mary Javian, a program that brings artistry to underserved communities in Philadelphia. As part of the fellowship, he worked at South Philadelphia High School with instruction and ensemble building during and after the school day. 

Nozomi holds a BM from the Curtis Institute of Music and a MM from the Yale School of Music where he was the recipient of the Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award. His principal teachers were Eric Schweingruber, David Bilger, and Allan Dean.

Vyette has performed in projects by Davalois Fearon, Keila Cordova, Britta Joy Peterso n, Omari Wiles, Extreme Lengths Productions, and CultureShock DC, among others. She has performed at the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art, Dance Place, the John F. Kennedy Center, Icebox Project Space, and the McCarter Theatre. 

In June 2024, Vyette produced and presented a new solo project titled “Building a House for a Home” through the Leah Stein Dance Company. She is also a company member with the UMAMI Collective through Urban Movement Arts (UMA). 

Vyette is currently an artist-in-residence at Mascher Space and she will be a featured artist at the Earth Dance Collective in Western Massachusetts in Spring 2025. Vyette is a founding member and dance teacher with Philly Dance Share: a community-driven dance class series. She holds a Bachelor’s from American University and a Master’s degree from Princeton University.

Hanul Park
(She/her)

Instruments for Success Teaching Artist

As an artist, performer, and educator, bassoonist Hanul Park strives to share music, as a language and tool of encouragement and empowerment, to bridge together the diverse communities around the world.

Hanul performs with ensembles large and small across the globe, playing music ranging from classical favorites to avant-garde world premieres. During the 2018–2019 season, she served as the second bassoonist of the Sarasota Orchestra in Florida. She has also performed with Symphony in C, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Yale Philharmonia, New Music New Haven, Symphony Number 1, Occasional Symphony, and the Conductor’s, Symphonic, and Concert Orchestras of the Peabody Conservatory. As an active chamber musician, she performed Arvo Pärt’s Passsio during the 2016 Baltics tour with the Yale Schola Cantorum. She has also performed in the Oneppo Chamber Music Series, and collaborated with diverse groups at summer festivals such as the Sarasota Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Vermont Mozart Festival, Banff Centre for the Arts, Domaine Forget International Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival, the International Double Reed Society Conference, and the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute.

As a teaching artist, Hanul regularly visits Philadelphia public schools working closely with their music teachers and students facilitating various resources and concerts. She has also taught in the school districts of New Haven (Music in Schools Initiative) and Baltimore (Baltimore School for the Arts TWIGS Program and OrchKids – Baltimore Symphony Orchestra). As a 2019–2020 Community Artist Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music, she project managed interactive performances and programs for local homeless shelter guests, and Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers in partnership with Penn Memory Center.

Hanul earned her Artist Diploma as a recipient of the Edwin B. Garrigues Annual Fellowship studying with Daniel Matsukawa at the Curtis Institute of Music. She holds Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Yale School of Music and the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where her principal teachers were Frank Morelli and Phillip Kolker respectively.

Brittany Grason
(she/her)

Instruments for Success Lead Teacher

Brittany Grason currently serves as the Associate Director of Music Admission at the Wells School of Music at West Chester University. This role allows Brittany to work with students and parents through the admission, audition, and financial aid process. Prior to arriving at the Wells School of Music Brittany has worked at two other undergraduate, private, liberal arts, colleges on the East Coast. At both of those institutions her primary responsibilities were recruiting students and working with them to find the best fit higher education option for them. Brittany completed an undergraduate degree in History at Roanoke College in Salem VA, and holds a Masters in Higher Education from Pennsylvania State University with a focus in Enrollment Management.  

Brittany has dedicated her higher education career to helping students and families understand the application process. As a first generation student herself, she did not receive a lot of support when it came to her own college search. Education is such an important piece to many after high school and the process of getting there varies so much between each institution. Her goal is to serve as a resource for students and families to navigate this process and take some of the stress out of what can be an intense time for a student. Getting to serve as a teaching artist for Project 440 perfectly combines her day job with her passion for the field!

DAVID PIERRE
(he/him)

instruments for success teaching artist

Dave Pierre is a native of New York who moved to Philadelphia in 2020. He is the Executive Director of Communications, Events, and Operations at St. John's University in New York, where he completed his undergraduate degree in Sport Management in 2005. His enrollment management career spans over 17 years at St. John's, assisting students and their families through the enrollment search process. He has spent 16 years recruiting students from various areas of the country, including the Philadelphia region, to attend St. John's. He now oversees the backend functions of the admission office for both Graduate and Undergraduate Admission offices. Dave is passionate about fostering collaboration and innovation within his team. He believes in the power of effective communication and strategic planning to drive success in higher education initiatives.

Growing up in a single-parent household in New York City, Dave knew that a college education would be an obtainable goal to make life better for himself and his family. He aims to provide the best information so that every student can access post-secondary education equally. He says, “Getting the opportunity to work with Project 440 allows me to help students and their families make college attainable and realistic.”

Dave enjoys trying new restaurants and watching sports (Go Yankees, St. John's U, and Knicks). He works part-time as an EMT for venues such as Barclays Arena and Citifield.

Cigus Vanni
(he/him)

Instruments for Success College Specialist & Lead Teacher

Cigus, AKA “Cigus the College Fairy”, knows stuff. Lots of stuff, particularly about the college application process. He has forty-two years of experience in college search and selection, and has worked as a college admissions counselor, and school counselor and a school psychologist, among other things. The first member of his family to attend college, he earned his BA from Swarthmore College and certification in school psychology with course work in Education and Child Development from Bryn Mawr College. Cigus “refuses to add to the stress of college search and selection” with the knowledge that there are nearly 2,250 four-year colleges and universities in the US alone from which to choose. He will NOT “get your kid into Harvard” – he will help your kid figure out what the right fit is for her. Cigus enjoys spending one-on-one counseling time with young people but he makes them pay (literally) for this. He does not want his fees paid by parents/guardians but rather by the students he serves. (You can find his unusual fee schedule at cigus.net.) Cigus is a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, the New Jersey Association for College Admissions Counseling, and an associate member of the Pennsylvania Association for College Admissions Counseling. Most importantly, however, is the fact that Cigus was a five-time winner and undefeated champion on the quiz show Jeopardy! In 1988 and returned for the 1989 Tournament of Champions. That alone make him way cool.

MARCUS BRYANt (HE/HIM)

YOUTH ADVOCACY COUNCIL TEACHING ARTIST and Manager of programs & STUDENT engagemenT

Marcus ‘Rated Art’ Bryant, is a well-respected figure in the music industry with over a decade of experience writing, producing, and directing across multiple genres.  He collaborates with renowned artists such as John Legend, H.E.R., Ludacris, and many more.  His songs have been featured on popular shows like "American Idol" and "Black-ish," and in global campaigns like NBA Cares.  Marcus' music was performed during the Democratic National Convention when used as President Obama's campaign anthem.