OUR TEAM
JASON DOMNARSKI
Founder/Creative Director
PSRS Founder and Creative Director Jason Domnarski has been an active member of the NYC music scene for over 8 years. As a pianist, he is at home in both rock and jazz clubs, regularly performing at some of the city’s top venues (Jazz Standard, Joe’s Pub, Blue Note, NUBLU, Mercury Lounge) as well as touring with a number of rock bands throughout the U.S. and in Eastern Europe. His own trio, JDT, has released 3 albums of original music, including Inventing the Wheel, released on Ropedope Records, which garnered praise from critics and fans alike. Hailed as “jazz for the future” by Relix Magazine and a “promising young trio” by the New York Times, JDT utilizes acoustic piano, vintage keyboards, synthesizers, pedal effects and both live and electronic drum sets, blurring the lines of jazz, rock and electronic music. Jason’s recent projects include composing additional music for film (Silent House, Sundance 2011), collaborating with actor Jason Schwartzman and KENZO fashion house on live music for Paris fashion week, and releasing Here and There, his newest album of original music.
As an educator, Jason has developed rock band and guitar programs for Wingspan Arts (an extra-curricular arts program serving NYC public schools), presented lectures for the Jazz Discovery Program hosted by the legendary Jazz Standard club, maintains a busy private lesson schedule and leads jazz history walking tours in Paris. Seeing a need for quality, independent music instruction in the Brooklyn community, Jason founded the Park Slope Rock School in September 2008. The program continues to expand with its students performing at major NYC rock clubs, winning Battle of the Bands competitions and recording albums of original music at a renowned Brooklyn studio.
In September 2011, Jason launched PSRS Paris, a sister school across the Atlantic. He is currently splitting his time between Paris and Brooklyn.
MICHAEL THURBER
Teacher
Michael T is a New York City based Songwriter, Producer and Performer. His formal music training began in high-school at The Interlochen Arts Academy were he studied Double-Bass Performance and Composition. Upon graduating from the academy, MT made the move to NYC where he continued his studies at The Juilliard School and became the first student in the institutions history to be accepted into both the Classical and Jazz Divisions. Since completing his studies, he has performed with a wide variety of performers including Bela Fleck, Christopher O’Riley, Jonathan Batiste, Wes Anderson, The Guggenheim Grotto, Niia Bertino, Alfonso Velez and many others. Michael T is also very active in the theater world. He is currently the Musical Director for Tarell Alvin McCraney and Jonathan Batiste’s new musical “The Concubine”, as well as the Co-Host of Ars Nova’s monthly variety show, Showgasm.
ROB RITCHIE
Teacher
Guitarist Rob Ritchie was born into a musical family in Halifax, Canada, and started performing professionally while still in high school. Rob received a Bachelor of Music, majoring in Jazz Performance from McGill university in Montreal, and collaborated with many of the countries’ Juno Award (Canadian Grammy) winning musicians, such as Don Palmer, Pete Johnston and Carlos Morgan. Since moving to New York City in 2004, he has played sold out shows at many of the city’s best known venues, toured Canada, Europe and the United States multiple times, collaborated with SNL band members GE Smith and Paul Ossola, longtime David Byrne bassist Paul Frazier, Andy Rourke of the legendary UK rock band The Smiths, and countless others. Rob has been awarded grants/funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, Banff Centre for the Arts, and the Ina Rowe Music Scholarship Fund. He is currently leading his own band, Maritime Analog, for which he writes, sings and plays guitar.
