Our Teaching Team
Musikgarten is in Trinidad & Tobago
Alabanza Music uses the internationally renowned Musikgarten curriculum, specially designed to provide age appropriate musical and developmental activities. We are the first Caribbean country to offer Musikgarten's unparallelled comprehensive and sequential plan of musical development for children from birth to primary school. This programme is fully endorsed by lecturers of the Music Education Dept at The University of the West Indies.
Music EDUCATORS With a difference!
All of our educators are individually certified, have training in the field of early childhood music education and have been through comprehensive training focusing on musical pedagogy. Their knowledge and experience base will ensure that you and your child have the highest quality educational experience, while enjoying time together in a stress free, playful environment.
Moreover, Musikgarten educators worldwide engage in continuing professional development so we never stop learning!
Lisa Darmanie de Quiñones
Lisa Darmanie is the founder and director of Alabanza Music. She is the first certified Specialist in Early Childhood Music and Movement in Trinidad & Tobago; holds Honours Degrees in Musical Arts and Spanish from U.W.I., accredited Certification from the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association (ECMMA) USA, Dalcroze teacher training from the Lucy Moses School NYC, USA, Musikgarten teacher license and has over 20 years of experience as a multilingual music educator, from preschool - primary - secondary. She is also a founding member of the Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion of the ECMMA.
In addition to being a formally trained keyboardist, she is an accomplished all-round musician, delighting in choral arranging, directing and conducting band and choir at First Church of the Open Bible, San Fernando, training school choruses & steelbands and has been involved in many musical-theatre productions as well as judging national music competitions in Parang, Calypso, Steelpan for several years.
Ms. Lisa is happy to share this journey with her Venezuelan-born husband José Quiñones and their bilingual musical boy and affirms her God-given passion is to draw families closer together through broad-based music activities, helping children grow to become confident and resilient human beings.
Jáel Crawford
Jáel Crawford is a graduate of the University of the West Indies with a BA Degree in Musical Arts (Special). She also holds Piano and Music Theory Certification from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and is currently in training on early childhood music education practices from Alabanza Music.
Jáel is a multifaceted musician. She played an integral role in the steel orchestra at Cowen Hamilton Secondary School and was also involved in Mrs. Suite Chorale, Cowen Hamilton Choir, St. Stephens Choir and the UWI Arts Chorale. She is a very active member at her church as a musician with experience playing the bass guitar, acoustic guitar, the keyboard and the drums. She has also performed in various categories at San Fernando Arts Festival and Music Festival of Trinidad & Tobago.
Having been introduced to music from a tender age, she has always been very enthusiastic about musical arts and is continuously striving to improve her proficiency in different genres of music. Jáel is most passionate about teaching young children and endeavours to see others enjoy the journey of learning music and witness the life changing impact that music can have on an individual.
Sadé Weekes
Sadé Kimberly Jameela Weekes is vocalist, voice and music teacher with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Performing Arts from the University of Trinidad and Tobago, as a Voice Major. She is also an alumni of Alabanza Music where she attained her Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) Music Theory certification and is currently in training on early childhood music education best practices at Alabanza Music. In addition to being vocally trained under locally and internationally acclaimed Glenda Collens, and one of Trinidad's vocal pioneers in Gospel music, Christiana Balbosa, Sadé has also gained several years of experience working with young children's voices as an educator.
From singing for years in her youth choir at The First Church of the Open Bible as well as the Chris Balbosa's Gospel Choir, to planning Open Mic Night events at The Chris Balbosa Institute of Performing Arts, with opportunities to do background vocals for well-known local artistes, she has found that her musical training and event exposure have given her a deeper understanding of how to shape her vocal performances.
Sadé has a passion for teaching children and describes her teaching experience as an invaluable privilege and complete joy and continues to build her career in the Performing Arts as educator, solo performer and creative individual. She truly believes that meaningful and positive forms of artistic expression have the power and influence to positively impact and expand a child's world.