Meet Our Teachers!   
All our teachers at Lowell Learns have a high degree of skill and experience along with a passion for sharing their love of music and art with students of all ages. Our programs are strengthened by many wonderful volunteers who help to create a safe and fun learning environment.

Janet Barry
Co-Director
Janet ​is the current Minister of Music at Christ Church United, and is very excited about the Lowell Learns initiative! She holds a BM in organ performance, and an MFA in poetry. She has been a church musician for over twenty years, has sung with Concord Chorale (NH) and with the world music group Village Harmony, and is a published poet. Janet has a love for all forms of music and is passionate in her belief that everyone can make music, especially in community, experiencing the joy of learning and creating together

Mel Emerick

Mel received her bachelors in music education in 2009 from Buffalo State University, where she also completed her Masters degree in 2015. She also holds a masters degree in curriculum and instruction. Melissa has been teaching K to 5 music education since 2011. 

She also enjoys writing musical children's books and creating wacky songs and games for her music classroom. She has a focus on inclusiveness and inviting everyone to enjoy music together: her classes feature simple tricks to help everyone learn.

Mel teaches ukulele and at numerous off-site collaborations such as the Instrument Petting Zoo and Family Music Nights at Dracut.

Laurie Simko  
Laurie is an oil painter with a subject matter that explores the natural world. She received a BFA at the California Institute of the Arts and participates in on-going workshops and classes. She is a member of the National Association of Women Artists, Copley Society of Art, Rockport Art Association and has a studio at Western Ave Studios in Lowell.

Margarita Krylova

Margarita’s career as an artist began with the Artists for Humanity Organization in Boston, where she worked as a painter and collaborated on public art projects. In 2012 she studied abroad in Hong Kong through Tufts, where she focused on studying traditional Chinese ink painting. In 2013 she received the Dehn Traveling fellowship through the School of the Museum of Fine Arts for a trip to Armenia and Georgia, which resulted in a body of work inspired by the stone structures she photographed while there. In 2014 Margarita graduated from the Tufts and SMFA Combined degree program with degrees in Art and Neurobiology. Upon graduating, she took time to develop her own voice before beginning to exhibit in venues throughout Boston and creating public artworks. In 2018-2019 Margarita fulfilled a lifelong dream when she solo backpacked Central Asia, Russia, parts of the Middle East and China, traveling by land. She met people that would inspire much of her recent work and created commissioned murals along the way. These days Margarita works from her studio at A517 in Western Ave Studios in Lowell, teaches, and participates in outdoor fairs and local events. 

Opal Goff

Opal Goff is an Artist at Play in the media of quilt making, print making and collage.  You can find her at Western Avenue Studios, Lowell, Mass playing with paper, paint and fabric.  She also loves to teach, ride tandem bicycle and travel.