Join us in New York City on April 30 to celebrate a great year of music-making, mentorship, and community. We'll also be honoring our Founder and Board President Zack Susel.

Zack founded Musical Mentors Collaborative over 15 years ago, with the belief that music education changes lives. Growing up in Colorado, Zack had the opportunity to study piano privately and knew that the individualized attention and mentorship he received through music lessons were foundational in shaping his creative, intellectual, and social development. As a student at Columbia University, Zack began teaching piano lessons to students at Title I schools in his neighborhood. His goal was simple: to do good in his community by offering individualized musical mentorship to under-resourced youth, giving back through a resource that was invaluable to him during his youth.

Shortly after he began teaching locally, Zack established Musical Mentors Collaborative as a club at Columbia, engaging other college students and facilitating their teaching local Title I students. MMC then launched another chapter at NYU, and pretty soon began expanding beyond New York City.

After the pandemic hit, Zack helped MMC navigate a profound expansion, adding online programming to reach students who were unable to access music education because of the lockdown. This programming continues to this day and has allowed MMC to reach many students who would otherwise be unable to have access to bespoke music instruction.

Over 15 years after Zack began teaching in the Columbia area, MMC continues to serve students all over New York City as well as around the US. We’ve taught students in Denver, Los Angeles, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and many places in between.

We’re grateful for all the ways Zack has helped move our organization forward - he served for many years as MMC’s Executive Director and currently serves as our Board President. Zack’s involvement is the reason we are where we are and we couldn’t be more grateful for him.

This year’s MMC Gala will honor Zack. We hope you can join us in person to celebrate him and all that he has accomplished through MMC.

MMC's 2025 Spring Gala