Strings Faculty

Carmen Montero
Carmen Montero Associate Faculty of Violin, Viola, Cello and Piano
Carmen Montero, violinist/violist, started her musical studies at the age of 7. A graduate of Staten Island’s Curtis High School, she was a participant in the Inter-School Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Strasser; under auspices of this organization, she performed in the five boroughs and at Lincoln Center.

Ms. Montero obtained her B.S. in Music from the College of Staten Island, where she studied viola, violin and chamber ensemble with Dr. Olivier Fluchaire. Upon graduating, she was a recipient of a CSI Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Performance. Ms. Montero holds a Master's in Music Education from Hunter College. Carmen Montero is also an alumna of the Staten Island Conservatory of Music.

She continues to perform in the tri-state area, and due to her extensive qualifications teaches piano and other instruments.

Vincent Mantia
Vincent Mantia Associate Faculty of Cello
Mr. Mantia, is a graduate of the High School of Music and Art, and received a Bachelor's Degree in Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. His major cello teachers were, Samuel Reiner, Benar Heifetz, and Mrs Ardyth Alton.

He has taught on the faculties of Brooklyn College, The 92nd Street Y Music School, USDAN, and The School for Strings, where he received a certificate in Suzuki Cello (Julliard).
He has performed as soloist, studio, chamber, and orchestral musician, in Mexico, and the United States, and with the Chautauqua Festival Symphony and Opera.

Alan Arthur Aurelia
Alan Arthur Aurelia Associate Faculty of Violin, Guitar, Bass Guitar, and Double Bass
Alan-Arthur Aurelia has spent his life in the arts.

He is the son of Maestro Alan Aurelia, creator of the Riverside Opera Company in (1996) and Richmond County Orchestra (1998.) While Alan-Arthur was a child he greatly enjoyed behind-the-scenes work and doing set-ups for productions, and was creating promotional materials and writing grants for the organizations by the age of fifteen!

It wasn’t until some friends prodded him to play bass in their band when he was sixteen that he began to love music as a player and performer.

Alan Arthur got his first electric bass when he graduated high school and his first double bass when he was eighteen. He attended the College of Staten Island (CSI,) where he received a B.A. in Music with a concentration in double bass performance. During his tenure at CSI he created The Rock Club, a performance-based group where students learned covers and performed them publicly at campus events. The club became a fixture on campus, leading to Alan Arthur’s own original project Not From Concentrate (NFC.) NFC has performed all over New York City, including Arlene’s Grocery, Bowery Electric and The Bitter End. Not From Concentrate has also toured the East Coast and Midwest with reggae legend King Django, and has recorded over fifty songs with Grammy-Award winning sound engineer Dan Grigsby. NFC is still active, having performed regularly and released records in 2018 and 2019.