Meet the MPS Team
Rachel Delgado
(Founder/Co-Owner/Executive Director)
Consultations/Lessons: General Consultation, Artist Development, Piano/Keyboard lessons, Songwriting, Talent Coaching, Vocal Coaching, Vocal Arranging, Songwriting, Arranging/Instrumentation
Rachel grew up in New Jersey studying piano, orchestra, choir and musical theater. A graduate from the University of the Philippines College of Music, majoring in Music Composition, she has over 25 years of experience in the music industry. In addition to working various administrative and creative jobs in the entertainment industry, Rachel has composed for TV & film in the Philippines and in the US. As a performer, she specializes in pop/rock, jazz, r&b, and Latin music on keys & vocals. She is Founder, Co-Owner & Executive Director of Musicians Peer Support - a group of music industry creatives sharing resources, information & experiences to uplift and empower the indie artist community.
In 2010, Rachel, together with her husband EJ Delgado (Blue Man Group), formed the indie rock band, Earth Rising. All songs are composed, arranged, recorded and produced by both Rachel and EJ and features Rachel on vocals and wurlitzer, with EJ on guitar and bass. Their self-titled debut album includes original songs highlighted by several Blue Man Group drummers. The album is co-produced and mixed by Thaddeus Corea, and mastered by Grammy Award-winning master engineer Dave Cooley of Elysian Masters. Earth Rising's song "All At Once" is featured in the full-length feature film by Deborah Richards "Move Me No Mountain" available to watch for free on Tubi, which was filmed entirely in Las Vegas.
Rachel is currently Music Director at Journey United Methodist Church in Las Vegas and performs for shows and venues including the wedding chapels at Mandalay Bay, Aria Resort, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Paris Hotel, Planet Hollywood, the Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas. She is also a licensed marriage officiant in the state of Nevada, serving as minister at wedding venues including the chapels at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.
A published writer and author, Rachel’s work can be found in various publications worldwide, including Letters to My Younger Soul: Messages of Healing, Advice and Love from Amazing Women Around the World by Maureen Weekes (2021), Possibilities: Writings from the Dupage Writers Group, Volume 16 (2021), Grace Aspiration Perseverance Transformation: An Anthology of Poetry Compiled by Maureen Weekes, and her upcoming book, Hold the Light: A Collection of Poems and Illustrations (2024).
Skills: Vocals, Keyboards/Piano, Accordion, Music Direction, Composition, Orchestration & Vocal Arrangement; Proficiency in music performance of all genres & styles; DAW & Audio/Sound Production; Music Ministry; Music Education & Private Instruction
EJ Delgado
(Co-Owner/Instructor)
Lessons: Guitar (Acoustic & Electric), Electric Bass, Ukulele
EJ Delgado grew up in a family of musicians, and became a professional performer at an early age, signed to Universal Records in his youth, and continued session work & touring playing rock, pop, blues, & jazz. EJ studied guitar at the University of the Philippines, and is winner of the 2001 Spanish Embassy Guitar Competition. He was an active member and performer with the U.P. Rondalla Ensemble, the U.P. Jazz Ensemble, the U.P. Afro-Latin Ensemble, and the Kithara Guitar Quartet.
He has a wide range of recordings, television & radio appearances, and live concerts to his credit, including 8 years Blue Man Group Las Vegas on zither and guitar and Las Vegas-based indie rock band, Earth Rising since 2009. Earth Rising's song "All At Once" is featured in the full-length feature film by Deborah Richards "Move Me No Mountain" available to watch on Amazon, Tubi, and other streaming platforms, which was filmed entirely in Las Vegas. A Composer/Producer and Session Musician specializing in Rock, Jazz, Funk and Indie Folk, EJ is very passionate about his art and loves producing music. His music has been placed in films and documentaries worldwide. EJ’s latest album “New City” is a collection of timeless original jazz compositions out now on most digital streaming platforms.
Skills: Guitar, Bass, Zither, Composition, Arrangement; Proficiency in music performance of multiple genres & styles; DAW & Audio/Sound Production; Private Instruction
Gina DeLuca
(Co-Founder/Consultant)
Consultations: General Consultation, Songwriting, Lyric Writing
Gina DeLuca was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Her love for music was evident as early as age three, when she would listen to the Beatles on her Barbie record player and sing into the handle of a vacuum cleaner. Even with this budding love of performing, the idea of making music her living didn’t come about until Gina turned twenty-two. After sitting in with a local band she became addicted to the feeling of performing live. As a solo vocalist, Gina found her opportunities limited to performing with duos or groups so she decided to take matters into her own hands by picking up the guitar. Six months, forty songs, and a lot of determination later she was not only playing the guitar but landed a weekly solo gig at Leadbetter’s Tavern, in Fell’s Point, MD, where she continued to play every Friday for the next eight years.
Currently performing over 1000 songs from her ever-expanding list, variety is inevitable and encouraged. While the majority of her songs are covers, Gina brings a warmth and soulfulness to each song that makes them, in some ways, her very own. Her original song, “Nothin’ In Your House” was covered by Saffire – The Uppity Blueswomen. Gina is also a Maryland Entertainment Hall of Fame inductee.
Gina’s releases include, “Angel with Dirty Wings” in 2006, “Blue Eyed Soul” in 2009 & “Better Than Chocolate” in 2019.
Skills: Songwriting, lyric writing, visual arts
Anthony Bassett
(Consultant)
Consultations/Lessons: Mixing
Anthony Bassett is a musician and audio engineer specializing in mixing and producing music. He holds a Master's of Music in Recording Arts after studying under a Grammy-winning engineer, and has worked on many studio recordings and live recordings in a variety of styles and genres.
Anthony is a classically trained musician since age 3, and an electric bass player with more than 25 years experience performing in many bands and ensembles. His background in arranging, composition, and music theory, and his lifelong experience as an instrumentalist, provide skills and musical instincts that are uncommon in many engineers, and ideal for helping other musical artists realize their visions.
Skills: Mixing, Sound Engineering, DAW & Audio/Sound Production, Music Theory & Composition, Arrangement, Bass, Drums, Songwriting, Live Performance
Ben Krueger
(Administrator/Consultant)
Consultations/Lessons: Mixing, recording, audio engineering, sound design, guitar
Born and raised in San Diego, Ben began playing guitar in high school and never looked back. Over 25 years playing in local bands and recording multiple albums and EPs, he fell in love with audio engineering. He has engineered and produced songs in a large range of genres, including his own very off-Broadway rock opera about nefarious space plants. A self-described “audio nerd”, Ben gets into the technical details, while keeping the compass on the artistic vision and emotional impact of the music.
Before breaking out as an independent audio engineer, Ben created a music and audio engineering program at a progressive charter school in San Diego, where he taught over 1,000 students how to play instruments and audio engineer. He has received grants and sponsorships from Fender, Shure Microphones, Taylor Guitars, and Deering Banjos among others. Ben brings the love, patience, and listening of teaching into his audio engineering and musical collaborations.
Thaddeus Corea
(Consultant/Instructor)
Consultations/Lessons: General Consultations, Production, Mixing, Live Performance, Drums, Electric Bass
Thaddeus spent his career in the music industry as a drummer, composer, touring musician, and producer. He is third generation in a family of professional musicians, including his father, jazz legend Chick Corea. He currently owns and operates Jaguar Recording Studio in Las Vegas, and was an original band member in the Las Vegas production of Blue Man Group from 2000-2018, where he played drums, zither, bass, guitar, and Chapman stick). Previously, he spent 7 years drumming with Wild Colonials (Geffen records), co-writing and recording three albums, and touring nationally. He had been recording artists for more than 20 years.
Skills: Mixing, Sound Engineering, DAW & Audio/Sound Production, Music Theory & Composition, Arrangement, Electric Bass, Drums, Live Performance
Ben Ellery
(Co-Founder)
With over 17 years as a live performer, Ben has played shows alongside acts such as the flatliners, black lungs, farewell to freeway, protest the hero, august burns red, and many more. Over that time, he crafted the skills needed to understand full sculpting of every aspect of each instrument, and technique. You want to talk 2a vs. 2b sticks, a set of nines or tens being better for a specific song, setting up crossovers so the bass isn’t mudding up the live PA? Ben’s your guy.
This naturally lead down the path of Ben becoming a producer, mixing engineer, and educator. Born in northern Canada, and living in the Toronto area since a young age, Ben has helped design and assemble guitar cabinets, building a guitar of his own, and spending way too much free time watching gear reviews in hopes of one day doing a few himself. Ben has a natural ability to teach and uplift and a true passion for the arts.
Skills: DAW & Audio/Sound Production; Mixing, Sound Engineering
Justina Hodgson
(Co-Founder/Instructor)
Consultations/Lessons: Violin, Viola, Cello, Double-Bass, Piano, Guitar, Harp, Flute, Clarinet, Songwriting, Live Music
Justina is a native of Long Beach, California. From an early age, she showed interest in the organ and piano. She began her piano studies at the age of seven with Vivian Scott, whose teacher was a protege of the famous German pianist and composer, Franz Liszt. Along the way, Justina learned how to play the cello, viola, flute, clarinet, double-bass, guitar and harp. She participated in many youth orchestras as well, including Los Angeles Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (playing side-by-side with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra,) All-District Honor Orchestra (playing side-by-side with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra,) All-State Honor Orchestra, and All-Southern Honor Orchestra. During the course of her college career, she also had the privilege to study violin with Phillip Levy, an established studio and chamber musician in the LA area, and Dr. Chan Ho Yun. During her junior year in college, she made her debut at Carnegie Hall with the American Youth Symphony. She was assistant 2nd violinist. After earning her Bachelor’s of Music in the spring of 2007 from CSULB, Justina went on to live in various places throughout the world. She has enjoyed holdinging positions with some professional orchestras in the US. This includes the position of concertmaster of the Boulder Symphony Orchestra and Bellflower, Bellflower Symphony Orchestra and Filipino American Symphony Orchestra.. She was also section violinist with Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, and Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra.
Justina has had the good fortune to collaborate as a session musician with various renown artists such as John Williams, Daft Punk, Josh Groban, Michael Kamen and Jake Zyrus. Playing live music and songwriting with her husband, McHale, is her passion. Their original music has been synced with HBO Max and are in exclusive deals with several sync music libraries.
Aaron Levitz
(Co-Founder/
Admin/Consultant)
Consultations: General Consultation, Music Production, IT, Ableton Live
Aaron has been making music at his computer for more than 30 years, and coding his own MIDI tools for over a decade. He helps maintain several music technology groups, in addition to MPS.
In his days playing keys with The Velveteen Band, Aaron produced more than 75 promotional videos, and helped successfully crowd-fund their second album. They were awarded "Artist of the Year" in the Ventura County Music Awards, and one of the songs Aaron wrote the lyrics for received "Song of the Year" as well.
A lifetime of office and web programming jobs have made him a go-to for some of the administrative help that musicians aren't typically focused on, but is a required part of being a musician.
Aaron studied music composition at CalArts, arrangement at CSUN and LA Valley College, and electronics at ITT Tech. He’s also attended instrument design workshops at UC Berkeley.
Aaron's short stories took first and third place in the Christopher Demsky Memorial Writing Awards. He wrote and co-starred in a short play that was selected by the Mayor's office for the city of Ventura's Earth Day celebration. More recently, he served as content editor on the DuPage Writers Group's 2021 Literary Journal, suggesting line edits and structural revisions as needed to serve each entry. And perhaps most notably, the letters in his name can be rearranged to spell "I love Tarzan."
Skills: Keyboards/Piano, Lyrics Writing, Songwriting, Arranging & Digital Orchestration, Music Theory & Composition, DAW & Audio/Sound Production, Motion Graphics and Video Production, Admin Assistance
Isabel de Berrie
(Co-Founder/Consultant/Instructor)
Consultations/Lessons: Violin, Viola, Cello, Double-Bass, Piano, Guitar, Harp, Flute, Clarinet, Songwriting, Live Music
Isabel grew up in Manchester, UK, and learned violin and piano as a child. She completed an undergraduate degree in Music at the University of Cambridge and a Masters in Musicology at the University of Oxford, graduating with Distinction. She is an active composer and has experience in conducting orchestral and choral music. Isabel currently has a part-time role as Marketing Coordinator with Oxford Contemporary Music. She has worked as a freelance music teacher over several years, including violin, piano, music theory, and creative workshops.
Dan Laureano
(Consultant)
Consultations/Lessons: Production, Mixing, Songwriting, Scoring, Logic Tutoring, Guitar and Keyboard Recording, Music Motivation Coaching
Dan Laureano is a composer/producer/mixer born and raised in New York City who creates music in genres spanning pop, electronic, folk, and rock. His music has been featured on Bravo, Logo, and KCRW among others. His most recent projects include developing and teaching the Logic Audio course, “Logic By The Book”, scoring the feature-length indie film, “Silence In Between”, and publishing his first book, “Affirmusic: Affirmations For Musicians”. He currently resides in the Catskill Mountains of New York.
Michael Grady
(Consultant / Instructor)
Consultations/Lessons: Guitar, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin, Ukulele, and Songwriting
Michael is a multi-instrumentalist, who performs, teaches and records on guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, and occasionally drums, percussion, dobro, piano, keys and organ. Michael was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan and raised in Holland where he learned (and mostly forgot) piano at a very young age. He played violin in the school orchestra, and guitar in his high school jazz band. Once he discovered his true love was performing he joined a working cover band in 1981, and also started playing solo acoustic gigs. In 2005 he relocated to Akron, Ohio where he has honed his songwriting and performing chops. He has served on expert songwriting panels and shared the stage with countless songwriters including John McCutcheon, Bob Franke, Bill Staines, and Darrell Scott. He has recorded national and international artists for local radio - David Wilcox, Ray Bonneville, Pokey Lafarge, and Steppin' In It (Joshua Davis) to name a few.
Michael and his wife, Cathy Towns Grady write, record, and perform as Grady Miller, and have recently released their third album, Ain't Nothin' Better 2021, which follows "Union Street" 2019, and "It's True" 2015. All three were self-produced and released by Noisy Monk Records, which is owned and operated by the couple. While working on their first album with Tom "TA" Anderson – Record Plant (Sausalito), Michael really began to take on sound engineering, mixing and production. He is always ready to share what he knows, and learn as he goes.
Vicki Lynn Smith
(Consultant)
Consultations: Creative Coaching
Vicki Lynn Smith group in upstate New York but now resides in Tennessee. She is an independent songwriter/artist/musician/composer/producer who thrives to bring positivity, hope and happiness through her diverse mix of music. Vicki Lynn enjoys playing live as well as songwriting and producing music. She has had song placements on TV, won a listener’s choice award in 2022 and has over 70 songs signed with different publishers/libraries/sync agencies.
Vicki Lynn is also a Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Creative Coach, National Certified Counselor who seeks to help those in the music/creative industry develop strong tools and a healthy mindset to manage anxiety/stress/imposter syndrome and other mental health challenges. She has overcome countless obstacles on the way and continues to work hard each and every day to keep her musical journey moving forward while helping others manage stress/anxiety/rejection/feelings of overwhelm, etc and realize their own potential. If you are struggling or could use some extra support, please reach out if you would like to book a one-on-one coaching session with her!
Skills: mental health coaching, songwriting, producing, guitar, flute/Native American Flute
Cody Leavitt
(Consultant)
Consultations/Lessons: General Consultations, Promotion, Artist Management/Development, Mixing, Production, Songwriting, Marketing, Live Event Production, Gig Preparation/Preproduction, Sound Engineering
Cody Leavitt is a musician/songwriter/producer with over eight years of experience as an audio engineer and a decade of expertise in artist and band development. Founder of Asteroid M Records, an independent record label, Cody has curated an ever-expanding roster of regional Indie Rock, Punk, and Hardcore bands. With his own successful recording studio in Las Vegas, he has produced music and videos for numerous regional artists, including Otherwise, Svetlanas, Tv Tragedy, Desert Island Boys, and Anti-Vision. Cody is actively engaged in the local Vegas music scene, having worked for Squidhat Records for six years, focusing on artist relations and development. Additionally, Cody's contributions to the industry have been recognized by local Las Vegas publications such as The Review Journal. Passionate about supporting musicians, Cody goes above and beyond by booking and promoting shows for touring punk and hardcore acts. In collaboration with the City of Las Vegas, Cody produces a bi-yearly concert series that highlights the best rock-based talents. With a dedication to documenting and assisting musicians, Cody strives to make a lasting impact in the industry.
Linda Alario
(Consultant)
(M.A. Music Education, Doctoral Candidate, Emotional & Physical Sound Healing Specialist, Reiki Master, & Nutritionally Certified Health Coach)
Linda Alario teaches how to heal your mind and body from the inside out to re-align using scientific methods of sound healing, meditations, frequencies and more. Linda is an emotional and physical energy healer and sound healing specialist that can help you get to the root of the problem and help you to re-align to attain the dream life you crave.
Princess Yvonee Dumas
(Consultant)
Consultations/Lessons: General Consultations, Ambient/Instrumental Music Production, Sound Healing, Time Management, Self-Care, Piano, Songwriting, Song Arrangement
Princess Yvonne Dumas is a songwriter, producer, and piano player from NYC and creates music with a balance from different genres. She releases most of her musical artist projects as “Prin.” From instrumentals, top lines, and digital productions, Prin writes complete arrangements for artists, tv, film, videography, and advertisements. She is a music teacher and piano performer with over 25 years of experience. Prin is also a published poet and author of books: Me in Gibber, First Love Lament, The C.A.L.M. PRINciples, and From My Rosy Lips. Her original artist music releases are Dim the Lights and The Calm PRINciples as albums, along with a variety of singles and collaborations.
Prin is available for consultations on how to create ambient and instrumental music productions. She's also available for teaching and guiding other artists with sound healing and how to create music that heals and has a calming effect with Hertz frequencies and other meditative tools. If you're interested in talking to Prin about how to keep music a positive experience in your life, she's happy to do one on one sessions to mentor about time management, priorities, and self care for musicians and artists. She's also available for piano, songwriting, song arrangement, and chord progression coaching to help songwriters complete their song ideas and collaborations.
Ryan Gregg
(Consultant)
Consultations/Lessons: General Consultations, Live Performance, Marketing, Live Production, Songwriting/Composing, Arranging
Musician down the Jersey Shore, piano-playing songwriter, composer, arranger, musical director, and producer Ryan Gregg is the ringleader of The Shady Street Street Show Band. He has shared the stage on piano, keys, and organ with Eric Lindell, Dana Fuchs, J.T. Bowen, Roosevelt Collier, The Lee Boys, Scott Sharrard, “Stormin” Norman Seldin, The Ocean Avenue Stompers, The Melody Trucks Band, Soul Project NOLA, Uncle Scotchy, Des & the Swagmatics, Jet Weston & the Atomic Ranch Hands, Matt O’Ree, Arlan Feiles, and many others and his music has been featured on Comedy Central. He is a Frost School of Music alumnus.