Angela Antersol is the band director at Smallwood Drive School. Under her direction, the Smallwood Elementary Band has earned multiple Gold Medal ratings at NYSSMA Major Organization Festivals and its first ever Gold with Distinction rating. Before coming to Amherst, she taught band, classroom music and chorus in Brasher Falls, NY, where she was the founder of their elementary instrumental program. She completed her Masters degree in Music Education Pedagogy through the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education at the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam where she also earned a Performer’s Certificate on clarinet and was a Presidential Scholar. An active member of ECMEA, Mrs. Antersol formerly served as Instrumental Librarian, and as a member of the Executive board. In 2002 and 2003 she chaired the All-County Elementary Band. She chaired the All-County Elementary Orchestra in 2014. She will be chairing the All-County Elementary Band again in 2017. She is a member of NYSSMA and NAfME. She is certified as an All-State woodwind adjudicator for NYSSMA and frequently adjudicates during the spring solo festivals and is sought after as an adjudicator for many local county solo festivals around Western New York. In addition to her teaching, Mrs. Antersol has performed with the Erie County Wind Ensemble on both Bb and Eb Clarinet and performs as part of a local clarinet choir. She recently presented and performed at the ECMEA Conference Day for Music Educators. Mrs. Antersol also teaches private clarinet lessons at her home. In her spare time, she enjoys playing and making music with her very active children Benjamin and Rose.

Julie Furlong teaches general music and chorus to students in grades K-5 at Smallwood Elementary in the Amherst Central School District. Julie received her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia, and her Master’s degree from the University at Buffalo, studying education with a music concentration. She is the Assistant Conductor for the “Presto” ensemble of the ABC Bel Canto choir. As the Lead Teacher for the Amherst School District’s “Link Up” Collaboration Concert, Julie received training through Carnegie Hall on the program, and coordinates an interactive concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra involving over 600 students biannually. Julie was the recipient of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra/Erie County Music Educators’ Association Award for Excellence in Music Education in 2011. At school, she has served on the Smallwood Leadership Team and coaches the “Girls on the Run” team, training girls to run a 5K race while learning about self-esteem and bully prevention. Julie is a member of the Erie County Music Educators Association (ECMEA), where she presented at the 2010 Classroom Music Festival, and at both the 2014 and 2017 WNY Conference Days for Music Educators. She serves on the boards of the NY chapter of the Gordon Institute of Music Learning (NY-GIML), where she was a presenter at the 2011 Spring Workshop, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Education Committee.

Ada Wolfanger began her career at Amherst in 2010, and loves teaching classroom music to students in Pre-K - 5th Grade at both Windermere Boulevard School and Smallwood Drive School. She also team-teaches 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade chorus at both elementary schools. Ada is a member of both the Gordon Institute of Music Learning and the Western New York Orff-Schulwerk Association. Both approaches to music learning are blended together in her classroom to encourage the development of a lifelong love of music. In her classroom, students engage in singing, moving, and playing a wide variety of classroom instruments. Ada earned both her Bachelor of Music Education (2007) and Master of Music Education (2009) from SUNY Fredonia. Before moving to Buffalo in 2010, Ada spent two years teaching in Penn Yan Central School District, in Yates County. There she taught classroom music and choruses for students in grades 6-8. In her spare time, Ada has enjoyed coaching Girls on the Run, teaching a small studio of voice students, and spending time with her husband, son, and their two goofy German Shepherds.