Early Childhood Faculty

Taylor Amos, Volunteer
Early Childhood Dance and Visual Art - Assistant

Valerie Bayne Carroll, Early Childhood Teacher
Early Childhood Music, Sing & Sign
Valerie has been teaching early childhood music and drama classes for over twenty years. In addition to her work at the Sitar Center, Val has taught for InterAct Story Theatre, Imagination Stage, Round House Theatre, Lucy School and The Kennedy Center. Val is a Master Artist with the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts. For Wolf Trap she has taught classes, trained teaching artists and led teacher training workshops in music and drama around the country. Val has a BFA in Theater from Boston University

Sophia Kim Cook, Early Childhood Teacher
Early Childhood Music
Sophia is thrilled to have joined the Early Childhood Arts (ECA) team in September 2009. A native of Montreal, Canada, she has a diverse teaching background from individual teachings to classroom setting, including heading the preparations for the Mont-Royal Music Academy Summer Program from 2006 to 2008. In addition to the Sitar Arts Center's classes, she also teaches at the Levine School of Music, ECEM Outreach program serving many young students in SE DC. When she is not teaching the little ones, she is concertizing around town. She accompanies soloists and ensembles, including the Washington Concert Opera, National Gallery of Arts Orchestra, and members of the National Symphony Orchestra and the United States Army Band. She has played in such venues as the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Arts, and the Lyceum. This past July, Sophia was invited to play at the Summer Brass Institute for principal trombonist of the San Francisco Symphony, Tim Higgins.

Kris Morse, Early Childhood Teacher
Early Childhood Visual Art
Kris teaches the Early Childhood Visual Arts classes at Sitar Arts Center. Prior to joining Sitar, she taught art for 10 years in Fairfax County Public Schools. Inspired by a teaching workshop with documentary photographer Wendy Ewald, Kris directed a "literacy through photography" mentorship program for teens and elementary school children at her school. Kris also became a steering committee member for a school partnership with the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Kris has a BFA in Photography from the Corcoran College of Art and Design and earned her Masters of Arts in Teaching from Maryland Institute, College of Art in 1999. In addition to her work at Sitar Arts Center, Kris teaches Photography at George Washington University and has exhibited her art and photography throughout the Washington Metro area.

Rachel Panay, Early Childhood Teacher

Dancing Together and Dance Basics

A Washington, DC native, Duke Ellington High School of the Arts alumna and Berklee College of Music graduate, dancer/singer/songwriter, Rachel Panay is a 6 time Billboard charting recording and performing artist. She is a licensed Music Together instructor, Wolftrap resident artist, Ballet Petite & Youth Performing Arts school faculty member, teaches private voice & piano and is excited to bring her professional experience, knowledge, passion for dance and love of children to classes at Sitar Arts Center.

Janna Raudenbush, Volunteer
Early Childhood Dance - Assistant

Janna began dancing at age four and was trained in the styles of ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap, hip hop, pointe, and acrojazz. After a competive dance career in high school, she attended The College of New Jersey, where she was a captain and choreographer for the college's dance company and volunteered with a local choreography company. She received her Bachelor's degree in Communication Studies from The College of New Jersey and a Master's degree in Public Relations from the University of Maryland. She is now a Public Affairs Specialist for the Department of Health and Human Services. She has been a volunteer at Sitar since Fall 2011.

Abbey Smith Hunter, Volunteer
Early Childhood Visual Art - Assistant
Abbey works at the Smithsonian Institution where she plans and coordinates special events. She has worked in art and history museums for her entire career. She has a deep appreciation for the visual arts. She was taught to paint at an early age by her father who is a professional watercolorist. She took art classes throughout high school and in college at University of Pittsburgh. Abbey’s hobbies include: traveling, reading, calligraphy, yoga, running, and fashion.

Sylvia Zwi, Head Early Childhood Teacher
Early Childhood Music
Sylvia arrived in New York from Brazil over two decades ago. Among many disciplines and schools, she taught at Woodmere Academy and Stecher and Horowitz School for the Arts in Long Island, NY. Throughout her 17 years in DC, she has been active as teaching artist with numerous arts organizations including Sitar Arts Center, Choral Arts Society, Wolf Trap Institute and Levine School of Music, where she has also been Music and Art Summer Camp Director for Levine’s Virginia Site. She currently holds a position of music teacher at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School (DCPS - English/Spanish) and provides professional training in both English and Spanish for Fairfax Country Office for Children. Sylvia has a private studio for beginning piano students and is a consultant for arts in education and arts integration.