Joshua K. Chari is a full time musician and teacher in Roswell/Alpharetta, GA. He owns Music By Tritone, teaches, performs and records cello and guitar, and produces studio strings in the Atlanta area. He also provides orchestral, sectional workshops and coaching in over a dozen area high schools and middle schools.
Joshua began his musical studies on the cello with the Suzuki Method at the age of 4. He went on to study with internationally known cello teacher Richard Aaron (presently a professor of cello at the Juilliard School formerly at the Cleveland Institute of Music) and Stephen Kates at the Peabody Conservatory-Johns Hopkins University. Joshua’s advanced guitar studies included work with Peter Vogl and Bill Hart (Atlanta Institute of Music and Media.)
Joshua has taught cello and guitar for over 16 years and has had many students participate in Georgia All State Orchestra, Georgia Honors Orchestra, Atlanta Youth Symphony Orchestra, Emory Youth Symphony, Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra, Ludwig Symphony Orchestra and Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra. He teaches students of all levels -beginner to advanced and enjoys helping students develop their musical interests and achieve their goals.
Sarah Chari Grasso is a piano and percussion educator with over 15 years experience. She owns Music By Tritone in Roswell, Ga. and teaches piano and drums there full time. She studied classical piano performance under the guidance of Harriet Goler (Cleveland Institute of Music) and Dr. Robert Henry (Kennesaw State University) and is as comfortable with improvisational keyboard and percussion as she is with the piano's expansive repertoire encompassing many genres.
Her drum studies included extensive work with Steven O'Reilley and Tom Knight at the Atlanta Institute of Music. She is versatile in advanced classical, rock, world, funk and jazz performance and instruction and has taught hundreds of students of all levels.
In 2006, Sarah created her own curriculum rooted in fundamental music technique and the musical repertoire students enjoy playing. She also developed an extensive music library of favorite songs arranged for students of various levels and a successful group class format for beginners and intermediate students. She continues to coordinate group music events and performs solo piano and ensemble repertoire in the greater Atlanta area.
Zac Lavender, an Alpharetta native, is a versatile teacher composer, producer, performer and session musician. He teaches cello, guitar, bass, drums, piano, ensembles, and recording. Zac is classically trained cellist and vocalist holding a Masters Degree in film scoring from New York University and a BA in music composition from University of Michigan.
He is an experienced producer and recording engineer and an ASCAP composer published through Abundant Silence Publishing and Bird Castle Music Group. His compositions have won national awards including the ASTA Merle J. Isaac prize and his film music has been heard at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, Traverse City Film Festival, New York News Doc Festival, Cannes, and Tribeca Film Festivals. His concert music has been played internationally by ensembles including the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Latitude 49, the New York Composers Ensemble, and members of the Yale School of Music. He has been a featured composer at the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and Fresh Inc. Festival in Chicago and has completed commercial music projects for major companies and PBS. As a producer, Zac has recently completed works for clients in New York and Los Angeles including Alethea.
He is a versatile guitarist and bassist in a wide range of styles and has been playing guitar since the age of five. Zac was a long-time cello student of Joshua K. Chari through middle school and high school.
All bios from Music by Tritone - used with permission