Faculty Advisors

John Avarese
A life-long musician, John Avarese began studying classical piano at the age of four and by the age of seven he was performing recitals with classical music ensembles. Eventually, John started a music production company that utilized computer based technology to produce original music for a wide range of corporate and commercial clients. He is well known for his ability to produce complex original scores that effectively support the objectives of video producers and filmmakers.

To this date, Avarese has composed over 4000 commissioned scores and recorded an elegant collection of film music, as well as mixing and sound design on hundreds of projects. This includes 45 theatrical feature films, scores of short films, and nine surround sound planetarium features.

John won a 2019-2020 National Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for the PBS series Articulate with Jim Cotter. Articulate is co-produced and presented by PBS39, Lehigh Valley’s PBS station, and distributed by American Public Television (APT).

In 2017 Avarese authored a book (“Post Sound Design”) through Bloomsbury publishing as a practical introduction to the craft of Audio Post Production.

In 2006, John won the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Fellowship in Music for Jazz/Blues/World and Non-classical Composition and in 2002 he received a grant from the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association (PIFVA) for scoring the Buster Keaton silent film, Cops. He is currently an Program Director and Associate Teaching Professor at Drexel University’s Film and Television program, in the Cinema and Television Department, teaching all aspects of film sound, including Production Sound Recording and Audio Post-Production. Visit www.johnavarese.com to find out more.

Dave Deneen
An exceptionally talented filmmaker in every sense of the word, David Deneen is an accomplished director, cinematographer, and special effects artist, having produced and/or provided the visual and special makeup effects for innumerable independent films, commercials, and music videos. Highly creative and resourceful, Dave is known for his brilliant and often-whimsical character designs, as well as his vast knowledge of film history and technique.

Dave currently teaches at Drexel University in Philadelphia, and is currently producing (in association with Mark Bonocore and Monstrosity Films) a series of stop-motion-animated shorts based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe.

Nick Natalicchio
Nick is an award-winning filmmaker with over a decade of hands-on experience across multiple industries. He has produced and edited videos for clients such as Johnson & Johnson, Merk, AstraZeneca, SAP, GENYOUth Foundation, Quaker Oats, the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Panavista, Open World Events Group, and the James A. Michener Art Museum. In addition, he received an Award of Excellence from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts for a video he produced for the National Football League.

He made his directorial debut in 2019 with the short documentary film, THE TIDES THAT BIND, which has screened at over 25 festivals around the world and has won numerous awards. His latest short documentary film, WATCHING THE WILDS, is currently enjoying a successful festival run. At Drexel, he teaches film and television studies, manages post-production, and is also executive producer of Dragon Productions. 

Nick received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film and Media Arts from Temple University in 2009 and a Master of Arts degree in Media Studies from The New School in 2013.