Team Uketropolis 

Team Uketropolis

Meet our team! These amazing people are helping to spread the joy of ukulele from Toronto to Timbuktu.

Angela Dwyer

Angela Dwyer

JHUI Director / Logistics

Angela serves as Director of the JHUI Teacher Certification Program and also offers coaching services through Uketropolis. In her other life she maintains a private teaching studio and also directs the Marigold Ukulele Players in Truro Nova Scotia. She holds a Masters of Arts in Education focussing on Lifelong Learning, and is a Certified Health Coach. Angela strongly believes that music can be an essential part of our wellness toolbox and strives to help people discover their own path to optimal health through music.

She performs in various ensembles taking her turn on ukulele, bass and piano and she sings with the Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus. Starting her ukulele playing in the 1970’s as part of the Chalmers Doane program, life has come full circle as she now takes a weekly music lesson with Chalmers Doane at his studio in South Maitland, Nova Scotia.

She loves to teach because of the effect music has on people’s lives. “I particularly love the ukulele! I have witnessed the ukulele not only as an educational tool, but as a vehicle for building social groups, a companion through serious illness, a team builder for a staff group, and as a joyful activity for seniors. Life is always better with a ukulele in it!”

Zsolt Schäfer

Saiyara Hamid

Social Media Coordinator

Saiyara is our social media manager at Uketropolis. She is nurturing her passion for music as an avid ukulele learner. Additionally, she is currently engaged in pursuing a master's degree in Canada.

 

Angela Dwyer

Paul Hennessee

Director of Engagement

Paul is a multi-instrumentalist, music educator, and award-winning composer from New York City.
He has been teaching at the Spence School in Manhattan since 2000.

Prior to that, Paul played French horn and bass with the Air Force Band of the Golden West. He has also played in  numerous orchestras, bands, and other ensembles over the years. Paul received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Music Performance and is Certified to teach K - 12 music.
Upon relocating to New York City, he studied Kodály Methodology at NYU and remains active in KONY (Kodaly Organization of New York). The ukulele quickly became a huge part of Paul’s musical life after he saw two videos - “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” performed by Jake Shimabukuro and “Billie Jean” performed by James Hill (aka the one-man band!). Because of his newly discovered love for the uke, Paul started an after school ukulele program at Spence to share the love - and it took off! The ukulele is now a major part of the Grade 3 and 4 music curriculum. 

Paul recently created a house concert series called Musicians of New York (MofNY) that brings together musicians and music lovers for monthly parlor-style concerts. A couple ukulele artists of note in his series are Victoria Vox and Ukulele Russ. Finally, Paul holds the title of Ambassador for both Ohana Ukuleles and the boutique guitar and ukulele builder Daryl vanderGroef at De Houtwinkel (The Woodshop) based in Utah.

Zsolt Schäfer

Zsolt Schäfer

Web Administration and Customer Support

Zsolt grew up in a small town in Hungary. He and his sister owned two LPs of great kids’ music, but otherwise had to settle for their Dad’s classical rock collection (ultimately, classical rock contributed to discovering the ukulele — in the form of a Queen cover song). They also had a decade of exposure to the Kodály-method used by public schools throughout Hungary. After a short harmonica career and an ever shorter stint in a 17th-century drum corps he started to learn ukulele. Zsolt is very fond of old-time American music and clawhammer-style playing.

Zsolt is a Level 2 JHUI-certified Teacher. He runs one of the few ukulele clubs in Hungary, teaches ukulele to elementary school children. He is also author of Ukulele, mindenki együtt! (the Hungarian supplementary book for Ukulele in the Classroom) and of Ukulele Funbook.