Music Conservatory of Westchester • Faculty

Born and raised in White Plains, NY, Al Renino began piano lessons at age 5 and added the clarinet in the fourth grade. At age 12 he discovered the bass guitar and immediately knew this was his calling. He earned his bachelors degree in music education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and has been playing bass professionally – and teaching bass – for more than 30 years.

Al joined the Conservatory faculty in 2005. Of his approach to teaching, he says, “It is as important to teach a student how to practice an instrument as it is to teach how to play the instrument itself. I place great emphasis on critical listening and the development of the ear, both harmonically and with regard to time-keeping and rhythm. I'll often use a Socratic approach, the ultimate goal of which is to allow the student to be able to think through and solve practicing and musical challenges independently.” Al has also served on the faculty of Concordia College in Bronxville, NY.

As a professional bassist, Al enjoys playing all musical styles, which have ranged from playing on Broadway to going on the road with Leslie West and Mountain. Among the musicians with whom he has performed live include Joe Walsh (Eagles), Neil Schon (Journey), John Oates (Hall & Oates), Rick James, George Benson, Dave Weckl, and The Crystals. Al also played bass on Jonathan Sprout's album entitled "American Heroes No. 3", nominated for a Grammy Award in 2010.

Al also works as a musical transcriber, composer, arranger, record producer, and recording studio mastering engineer. In the recording studio, he has produced sessions and played bass for Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. He has done master engineering on recordings for both the Monkees and Micky Dolenz. As a musical arranger, he has written arrangements for several Monkees tours, for Micky Dolenz, and for Barry Williams of the television show The Brady Bunch.

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Conservatory faculty are all highly skilled and experienced teachers. Teachers are assigned to maximize the learning experience of each student taking into account the students musical interests and goals, age and scheduling needs.

"I am very happy and proud of Jun Luke Foster’s and Benjamin Boventer’s achievements. I taught Jun Luke for 12 years and his acceptance to Juilliard School of Music is a great sign of his musical maturity and accomplishment. He was also accepted to Harvard and Yale. Benjamin was with me for five years. He won a prestigious $40,000 scholarship from Skidmore College for music studies. He was the only pianist in that competition who received this award. He was also accepted at Tufts University. It is very satisfying to know that our students continue to achieve such success." —Svetlana Gorokovich, MCW Faculty

Conservatory faculty are all highly skilled and experienced teachers. Teachers are assigned to maximize the learning experience of each student taking into account the students musical interests and goals, age and scheduling needs.

"I am very happy and proud of Jun Luke Foster’s and Benjamin Boventer’s achievements. I taught
Jun Luke for 12 years and his acceptance to Juilliard School of Music is a great sign of his musical maturity and accomplishment. He was also accepted to Harvard and Yale. Benjamin was with me for five years. He won a prestigious $40,000 scholarship from Skidmore College for music studies. He was the only pianist in that competition who received this award. He was also accepted at Tufts University. It is very satisfying to know that our students continue to achieve such success."
—Svetlana Gorokovich, MCW Faculty

Al Renino | electric bass

Music Conservatory of Westchester • 216 Central Avenue, White Plains, NY 10606
914.761.3900 • info@musiced.org

The Music Conservatory of Westchester is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

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