Welcome to Grace Music School
At Grace Music School, our students, teachers, and staff are one big family. Whether you’re looking for formal music instruction, NYSSMA prep, or personal enrichment, we pride ourselves on finding the best fit for you while providing an inviting, inclusive atmosphere!
About Us
Grace Music School was founded in 2001 by Grace Heaphy and her family, having since expanded to two spacious locations in Fort Salonga and Woodbury, serving both Suffolk and Nassau Counties for over 20 years. We offer high-quality music instruction for students of all ages and all instruments with a diverse array of highly educated teachers—bringing experience in performing, composing, arranging, and producing music in every genre, from classical to jazz to rock and roll to musical theatre—coordinated by our experienced and amicable staff, who focus on matching parents and students with the best teachers for their goals and schedules. In addition to our standard one-on-one lessons, we offer numerous other events and performance opportunities throughout the year, including student and teacher recitals, masterclasses, group lessons, and more. No matter the nature of your musical journey, Grace Music School is here to help you navigate it!
Our Music Director
Mate Marcina is the Music Director and a piano teacher at Grace Music School, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2015. He is an accomplished classical and jazz pianist, an award nominated composer and arranger, and a dedicated educator, who has studied and honed his skills in Europe and the US. A graduate of the renowned Manhattan School of Music (MM, 2016), Mate holds degrees in Classical Composition, Music Pedagogy, Jazz Composition, and Jazz Piano.
While studying at the University of Ljubljana Academy of Music, (BM, 2013, summa cum laude), he was a student of Professor Andrej Jarc, one of the most prominent classical pianists and educators in central and southeast Europe. Mate regularly collaborated with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic, the Symphonic Orchestra of the RTV Slovenia, and the RTV Slovenia Big Band, performing as a featured soloist, writing original orchestral compositions, and big band arrangements. He also wrote numerous works for solo artists, duos, small chamber groups, and routinely performed as an accompanist. In 2013, he performed along with the Symphonic Orchestra of the RTV Slovenia, premiering his own Piano Concerto, a composition fusing classical and jazz influences, for which he received a University of Ljubljana Preseren Award nomination for the highest artistic achievement. His solo piano career spans across multiple decades and continents, solo recitals, venues, and recordings.
