Who We Are
WePerform.Music was founded by two young musicians who believe that every student deserves the opportunity to share their music with the world. With guidance from experienced music educators, we're building a community that connects emerging talent with welcoming venues.
Founders
Mona Quinn
Co-Founder
Mona is an accomplished young cellist who performs with the Brooklyn Youth Music Project's Prelude and Sinfonia Orchestras. She attends the Mark Twain Intermediate School for the Gifted and Talented as part of their prestigious Strings Program, where she also performs with the Chamber Orchestra. Mona's passion for music and community inspired her to co-found WePerform.Music.
Minka Quinn
Co-Founder
Minka is a talented young violinist attending PS 102 - The Bayview's gifted and talented program. She studies violin with the Kelly Howard Studio, where she has developed both her technical skills and her love of performance. Together with her sister, Minka founded WePerform.Music to help young musicians find opportunities to share their talents.
Advisory Board
Our advisory board brings decades of experience in music education, performance, and nonprofit leadership, helping guide WePerform.Music's mission to connect young musicians with their communities.
Kelly Howard
Advisory Board
Kelly is a violinist, teacher, and conductor known throughout Brooklyn and the greater New York metropolitan area. As Director of the Kelly Howard Studio and Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Youth Music Project, she has been teaching in Brooklyn since 1991. Kelly holds degrees in music education and performance and is a highly regarded Suzuki educator, having served as a featured clinician in Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, and at institutions including Brooklyn College and The School for Strings in NYC. A founding member of The Windsor Trio, Kelly has performed with numerous orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout New York.
Mary Robb
Advisory Board
Mary is a lifelong musician with two decades of experience as a cello teacher. She grew up in a Scottish-Persian family in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she studied cello and piano alongside her string-playing siblings, developing an early love of ensemble performance. As an early-career musician, she toured the Baltic States, Central Europe, and New York. Mary holds degrees in Music from King's College and Goldsmiths, University of London, and earned her Ph.D. at The University of Edinburgh. Now based in New York City, she finds her greatest reward in fostering students' love of music and watching them become adept cellists who share their talents with their communities.
Keiko Asakawa-Golden
Advisory Board
Keiko is a highly regarded collaborative pianist who performs in recitals, competitions, and recordings with instrumentalists, choirs, and vocalists. She serves as a staff accompanist and chamber music coach for the Brooklyn Youth Music Project and has been the accompanist for the Bella Voce Singers and the Lutheran Elementary School. As a solo pianist, Keiko has performed concertos with orchestras across the globe, including the Varna Philharmonic in Bulgaria and the Brooklyn Conservatory Orchestra. She began piano at age three under the guidance of her father, concert pianist Toyoo Asakawa, and earned her B.M. and M.M. in piano performance and pedagogy from Northwestern University.
Shellane Mulcahy, JD
Advisory Board
Shellane is General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Readystate Asset Management LP, bringing over two decades of legal expertise to her role. Her career has spanned positions at Citadel LLC and service in the office of Congressman Greg Ganske. Shellane holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. A passionate advocate for the arts, she serves on the Board of Directors for Chicago's Grant Park Music Festival, a free summer classical music series in Millennium Park that has been bringing world-class performances to the public for over 90 years. She lives in Chicago with her husband Tom.
Our Mission
WePerform.Music exists to create meaningful performance opportunities for student musicians at no cost to either performers or venues. We believe that live music enriches communities, builds confidence in young artists, and creates connections that last a lifetime. By removing barriers between talented students and welcoming spaces, we're helping the next generation of musicians grow through the joy of sharing their art.