Philadelphia Area Ukelele Teachers

Alexia Lekos

Ms. Alexia Lekos is originally from East Greenwich, Rhode Island and moved to Fredonia, NY to pursue a dual major in Music Therapy and Applied Music with concentrations in violin and piano and a minor in Psychology at the State University of New York at Fredonia. Ms. Lekos has completed 120 hours in the clinical setting working with older adults, adults and children in addition to field teaching in an early childhood setting for three semesters. 

Outside of clinical and field teaching placements she is heavily involved with campus leadership. On campus she gave private adaptive violin, piano and ukelele lessons including the New Horizons Band of Western New York, a group providing opportunities for the "chronologically gifted" adults (50 and older) to learn to play a musical instrument and enjoy playing with others. 

Ms. Lekos is the founder of the Fredonia Ukulele Club since Spring 2016, encouraging amateur musicianship through playing the ukulele and provides opportunities for collaborative music making within the campus community and the greater Fredonia community. Both the club and New Horizons have contributed to creating the workshop, "Expanding Ukulele Technique in the Clinical Setting", which was presented at the Student Research and Creative Exposition in Fredonia, NY, the 2017 Regional Passages Conference at Molloy College and the 2018 Mid Atlantic Regional American Music Therapy Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. The website, www.uke4muty.com, is designed for the presentation, giving access to ukulele sheet music and offer possible applications with the intention for professionals to utilize this resource within their practice. Today she continues to give ukulele instruction to individuals and ensembles. 

Ms. Lekos is an active violinist, continuing to participate in numerous small and large ensembles including string chamber ensembles and the College Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in a masterclass featuring Jiah Chapdelaine from the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. Previously, she was the musical director at the Fredonia Place Baptist Church and has played in other community ensembles such as The Trinity Masterwork Choir in Fredonia, NY and the South Country Chamber Orchestra in Narragansett, RI. This past October, Ms. Lekos gave her graduation recital featuring works by Mozart, Burgmuller, and de Falla. She continues to play violin in order to make music for herself. 

Manny Ohemeng is a jazz trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and educator living in Philadelphia where he is attending college for music education. He is twenty-one years old and has been playing the trumpet for over ten years. Manny is currently working on his first EP and has played with notable artists such as trumpeters Ingrid Jensen, Terence Blanchard,  Chris Botti, saxophonist Bobby Zankel, pianist Alfie Pollitt and many more…

Manny is the Creative Music Instructor at Rock to the Future and leads his own band called Emmanuel Ohemeng III and Perpetual Motion. 

He has earned various awards and honors throughout his music career. These awards include, but are not limited to: winning the 2013 Berklee College of Music’s Summer Music Program Scholarship, winning the Best Sight Reading Soloist at the Woody Herman Jazz Division Finals and winning the Tonya Dorsey New Vision Music Scholarship.  Manny is also proficient in reading music, a professional sight reader and is skilled in using Berklee Pulse. He has a very detailed, creative and individualized lesson plan for all of his students.