Enso Taves teaching rhythm and music literacy to a youth ensemble at Emunah

Teaching Artist · Music Program Director · NYC

I help institutions develop musicians and strengthen ensembles.

With more than 13 years of professional experience, I design music programs that build practical skills and lead to stronger ensembles, recordings, and polished performances.

I teach music as a trained musician who lives it.

I bring the standards of a working artist into every program: attentive listening, instrumental command, rehearsal discipline, creative identity, stagecraft, and the ability to carry an idea all the way to an audience.

PerformerSinger-songwriterArrangerMulti-instrumentalistMusic director

Four institutional music services.

I offer music literacy and custom ensembles, studio recording experiences, professional music direction, and open music jams that help institutions welcome and recruit new participants. Each service can stand alone or lead into a longer program.

Young musicians developing music literacy together through a melodica ensemble
01 / MUSICIANSHIP & ENSEMBLE

Music Literacy & Custom Ensemble Programs

I offer practical programs that help participants understand music by making it together. Depending on the organization’s goals and resources, I can develop guitar, melodica, percussion, vocal, music-technology, mixed-instrument, or full-band ensembles—each built toward stronger musical independence and a shared performance.

Build a residency →
Young vocalists presenting music created through a songwriting and recording program
02 / RECORDING & PRODUCTION

Studio Recording Experience & Production Lab

I offer guided studio experiences in which participants learn how preparation, arrangement, performance, recording, and production become a finished piece of music. Existing songs, covers, new arrangements, and original material can culminate in a recording, album, listening presentation, or documented creative project.

See the work →
Enso Taves directing a community ensemble rehearsal in the Bronx
03 / PERFORMANCE & DIRECTION

Ensemble & Performance Music Direction

I offer professional direction for existing or developing groups. I assess the available musicians, organize repertoire, clarify roles, lead rehearsals, and guide bands, vocal ensembles, casts, worship teams, and special productions toward a coordinated, polished final performance.

View experience →
Enso Taves supporting young musicians during an open ensemble jam
04 / ENGAGEMENT & RECRUITMENT

Open Music Jam Sessions

I facilitate welcoming, guided jam sessions where young musicians can participate at their current level, meet other players, experiment with instruments, and experience making music as an ensemble. For organizations, the jam can serve as a high-engagement community event, a recruitment point, and an accessible pathway into longer music literacy, ensemble, studio, and performance programs.

Plan an open jam →

Optional digital release and distribution, listening events, promotional materials, and fundraising support can be scoped separately when an organization wants to give the final project a public life.

SPECIALIZED PATHWAY / CHURCHES

Worship Music Ministry Development

I help churches develop the musicians they already have while creating a pathway for the next generation. The program brings together music literacy, instrumental training, worship repertoire, ensemble roles, rehearsal systems, performance preparation, recording when appropriate, and leadership development. The goal is not simply to offer music classes. It is to help the church build a growing, dependable in-house worship ministry it can sustain.

Discuss a ministry pathway →

A clear structure for lasting musical growth.

The flagship semester format supports sustained development. The summer format compresses the same momentum into an intensive schedule. Both are designed around a final outcome rather than a series of disconnected lessons.

Short-format option

6-Week Summer Intensive

Two 90-minute sessions per week. The concentrated schedule gives participants enough contact time to form the group, develop repertoire, refine the work, and complete a meaningful final presentation.

12total sessions
2× weekintensive rhythm
1 outcomeshowcase or recording

Single workshops, shorter engagements, and ongoing ensemble direction are also available by custom proposal.

A clear path from consultation to culmination.

The program is adapted without becoming vague: each engagement has a defined group, schedule, learning focus, and final result.

01

Consult

We identify participants, strengths, challenges, instruments, space, schedule, funding, and goals.

02

Design

I recommend the ensemble, curriculum, repertoire, milestones, documentation, and final outcome.

03

Develop

Participants build musicianship, assume clear roles, rehearse together, and learn how the complete musical process works.

04

Present

The engagement culminates in a polished performance, recording, album, listening event, or creative presentation.

Enso Taves with young musicians after an Emunah program showcase

My approach

“The classroom is a living ensemble. Every participant brings knowledge, experience, and possibility.”

My role is to uncover those abilities, give the group a common musical language, and guide the process from exploration to achievement.

Make music understandableConnect theory directly to sound, instruments, songs, and practical decisions.
Build the ensembleTeach listening, shared vocabulary, rehearsal habits, leadership, and collaboration.
Finish something realWork toward a concert, recording, album, theater presentation, or worship service.
Develop independent learnersGive participants tools to practice, transpose, arrange, and continue growing.
Honor culture and identityUse repertoire and creative work to understand origin, community, and voice.
Meet the actual groupAdapt content to available time, instruments, skill levels, facilities, and goals.

More than 13 years of programs, productions, and youth development.

Across music, theater, technology, recording, and ministry, my purpose has remained consistent: help people discover ability and turn it into shared achievement.

2024

Public Prep NYC — Theater Music Director

For Summer Boost 2024, I taught vocal technique, developed performance repertoire, accompanied the production, and directed the musical component of the final showcase in collaboration with the teaching team.

2024–Present

Casa de Restauración Emunah — Music Program Director & Teaching Artist

I designed and launched a multi-instrument youth program connecting worship repertoire with music literacy, ensemble communication, rehearsal discipline, leadership, and public performance.

3 years

Men & Music — The Point CDC

I led and mentored Bronx teenagers through songwriting, studio recording, live performance, group cohesion, and creative identity while creating a supportive environment for navigating adolescence.

3 years

The Point Academy of Production & Ensemble

I created a youth-centered academy covering Songwriting 101, studio recording, collaborative arrangement, and ensemble performance. Participants wrote and produced three albums and presented multiple showcases.

2014–2015

Summer Youth Employment Program

I guided groups of teenagers through an intensive six-week process combining community stewardship, group development, music instruction, rehearsal, and final performance.

Technology

Digital Stewards & Portable Network Kit

I taught and organized young adults around community networking, technical literacy, local infrastructure, collaborative problem-solving, and neighborhood stewardship.

My work ends in music people can see and hear.

Recordings, public showcases, ensemble performances, and youth-created albums demonstrate a method developed in real classrooms and communities—not only in a program description.

Selected program documentation

Artist.
Educator.
Director.
One connected practice

Teaching and leadership have always been part of my vocation.

I began by tutoring classmates in mathematics. When I discovered music as a teenager, that same instinct followed me: I learned, organized musicians, formed ensembles, and shared what I knew with my peers.

After completing my formal music education, I turned that vocation into a professional career. For more than 13 years, I have designed curricula, directed ensembles, coached performers, and helped participants develop skills they can carry throughout their lives.

As a Bronx-based Dominican teaching artist, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, performer, and program director, I combine trained musicianship with practical experience in classrooms, studios, theaters, community programs, and churches.

B.S., MusicLehman College
A.A., Music EducationMiami Dade College
Background checked & fingerprintedDocumentation available for youth-serving partners
Working performer300+ live performances and an active artist practice

Built for institutional partners.

The strongest fit is an organization seeking a complete, outcome-centered music program—not only occasional entertainment or isolated lessons.

  • Public, charter and independent schools
  • After-school and summer programs
  • Arts and cultural organizations
  • Youth-development nonprofits
  • Community and family-service organizations
  • Churches and worship ministries
  • Grant-funded community initiatives
  • Employment and leadership programs

Request a consultation

What could your musicians build together?

Tell me about your organization, participants, timeline, and goals. I will recommend an appropriate format and prepare a custom proposal.

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