Lydia Chrisman is a music and dance educator and dance artist from Zurich, Switzerland based in New York City. Lydia graduated from Bennington College with a BA in dance and voice. Since moving to New York City in 2012 she has been teaching music and movement in public and private schools, primarily PreK - 4th grade. In addition to her work in schools she directs the children’s choir Let’s All Sing at Third Street Music School, is a teacher-trainer in a program called Pre-K Create, an arts-teaching partnership between Third Street Music School and the NYC Board of Education and has recently certified as an Alexander Technique teacher. As a dancer Lydia has had the pleasure to work with choreographers David Gordon for performances at MoMA in 2018, Rebecca Davis, Mina Nishimura, Daria Faïn, among many others.

b. St. Paul, Minn. B.M. Voice Performance, B.A. African American Studies, Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music; additional graduate study at New School University; vocal pedagogy with Richard Miller. Choral conducting experience with Music Educators of NYC; conducting TTBB choirs- Young People's Chorus of NYC (YPC); conducting SATB choirs - YPC; Artist-in-Residence, Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn; professional singer and actress; has appeared internationally as well as in regional and off-Broadway productions; recorded vocals for numerous film scores and recordings.

Kaitlin is an active performer, music educator, and children's theatre director who is originally from Alpena, Michigan. She received her undergraduate degree in Choral Music Education from Western Michigan University, and obtained a Masters in Musical Theatre Performance from Oklahoma City University. During her time in Michigan she directed children's choirs for the North American Choral Company of Grand Rapids, helped to develop and run a music, arts, and drama camp on Beaver Island, and taught elementary music in the public schools. With a love for both contemporary and classical music she was able to record Claudio Monteverdi's Vespers of the Blessed Virgin with the Grammy nominated group Seraphic Fire, and partake in the Classical Musical Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria.

Kaitlin has performed in the Tri-State area, as well as the Festival International Chihuahua in Mexico, with the New York City children's theatre company, The Paper Bag Players. Her other passions include teaching musical theatre as she has recently directed and choreographed "Annie,” “The Wizard of Oz," "Honk!" and "Into the Woods" for Oklahoma Children's Theatre of Oklahoma City. Her favorite opera and musical theatre roles performed include Papagena in "The Magic Flute," Monica in "The Medium," and Phoebe in the original children's musical, "The Sugar Plum Fairy." In her spare time she loves to visit her four wonderful nieces, and enjoy the incredible city of New York.

Biography pending

b. Richmond, VA. B.A. Dance, CUNY/Brooklyn College. Tap Instructor/Choreographer, Ballet of Venevision Channel 4–TVCaracas, Venezuela; Jazz instructor/choreographer, Leona Laviscount School of Dance and Antenna 3–TV, Milan, Italy. Worked fifteen years internationally training dancers for television, stage and theater. Faculty, Harlem School of the Arts. Board member and former Co-President, Women in the Arts & Media Coalition, Inc. Member, American Dance Guild; New York Women in Film and Television, Society of Stage Directors of Choreographers; and International Tap Association. Served as Cultureal Attaché for the American Embassy in Venezuela.

Biography pending

BIOGRAPHY

Kim Dooley-Kittay was born and raised in New York, NY. Kim has a B.A. from Vassar College and an M.F.A. in Dance from NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. She received her early training at School of American Ballet, the Atlanta School of Ballet, and the New York School of Ballet. Her most influential teachers were Cara Gargano at Third street (1982-1987) and Jeanne Periolat Czula at Vassar College (1987-1991). She has performed in works of choreographers such as Sean Curran, Cara Gargano, Jeanne Periolat Czula, Christian Von Howard, Jennifer Uzzi and Jen Edwards, as well as her own choreographic projects. She has taught ballet at the Third Street Music School Settlement since 1991.

She was twice a returning alumna choreographer for Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre (1995/2002) and has been a guest choreographer at Long Island University’s CW Post Campus for many years. Her choreography has been presented at various NYC venues including Dixon Place Underexposed and LaMama Moves Mavericks in Motion. She serves on the Board of Monica Bill Barnes & Co. as Vice President. She is also an actress who has performed in numerous national and regional television commercials.

SCHOOL(S)

B.A. Vassar College, M.F.A. New York University Tisch School of the Arts, School of American Ballet, New York School of Ballet, Atlanta School of Ballet

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Cara Gargano, Jeanne Periolat Czula, Cherylyn Lavagnino, Jolinda Menendez, Dick Andros

ARE YOU A THIRD STREET ALUM?

Third Street Alumna 1982-1987, Ballet with Cara Gargano.

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Kim loves living near Lincon Center with her three young sons (the eldest of whom made his Nutcracker debut this year!). Kim is also an actress who does television commercials and voiceovers. She tries to make it to as many dance performances as possible. When she cannot, she settles for watching "So You Think You Can Dance." Kim is proud to be the Vice President of the Board of Monica Bill Barnes and Company, a wonderful Modern Dance company.

Dr. Cara Gargano is Chair of the Dance Department at the Third Street Music School Settlement and the Department of Theatre, Film, Dance and Arts Management and the CW Post Campus of Long Island University, where she is Professor of Dance and Theatre. A former dancer, she studied at the prestigious New York School of Ballet under Richard Thomas and Barbara Fallis and later taught at the school; she has worked in theatre, opera, musical comedy and as a ballet dancer with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Upstate Repertory Theater, US Terpsichore Ballet Co., the Empire State Ballet, Garden State Ballet and Arlington Dance Theatre. She has also worked as a stage director and choreographer; her concert choreography for Cara Gargano Dance Company received warm reviews from the New York Times and has been presented in Europe as well as in the United States. In a 1986 New York Times review, Gargano was described as having "the knack of weaving movement into a whole. [She] is a performer with an appealingly open, expansive line and attack."

Dr. Gargano also holds a PhD in French language and literature from the City University Graduate Center and has published in both English and French in Modern Drama, Reliologiques, Dance Research Journal, Theatre Research International and New Theatre Quarterly. She has provided chapters for several books including Mythes dans la littérature contemporaine d'expression française, Réécritures des mythes: utopie au feminine, Réécritures de Madeleine Monette, Anne-Marie Alonzo: Collection d'essais, and most recently, Hermes-Aphrodite Encounters. She has translated several plays from the French that have been produced in New York and Ohio.

A member of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the National Association of Schools of Dance, the National Association of Schools of Theatre, the Modern Language Association, and the Society for Dance History Scholars, Dr. Gargano is twice Past President of the Congress on Research in Dance, and has served as a choreography peer reviewer for the National Dance Association Promotion and Tenure Initiative. She has recently completed a translation of Marie Laberge's first novel, Juillet.

Biography pending

Deena Parrilla Dancer/Choreographer. Deena began her dance training at an early age in ballet, tap, modern, lyrical, African, jazz, liturgical dance and hip hop. She continued her studies receiving an A.A. in Theater and then went on to earn a B.F.A. in Dance from Long Island University, C.W. Post. She's studied under master choreographers in the Post Concert Dance Company and choreographed a piece which was performed at the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA).

Deena has instructed dance at various venues, and is a master class hip hop teacher for the annual Tilles Dance Conference held in Long Island. Presently a freelance choreographer, she teaches diverse styles of dance at private and public schools on Long Island and throughout New York City.

Brooklyn-born “triple threat” Aisha Rivers has been an avid devotee of Guinean and Senegalese dance for over 33 years.  Aisha began her professional training in dance in 1992, when she earned a scholarship to study at the Alvin Ailey Dance School.  She also received a full scholarship to study at Long Island University, where she completed a double major in Dance and Early Childhood Development, with a minor in Psychology.  Her commitment to people, the dissemination of African Diasporic culture, and her choreographic brilliance have merited Aisha many awards from arts, civic, and humanitarian organizations alike.  Aisha currently teaches Afro Caribbean Dancing on Sundays, and the Adult Dance Sampler on Wednesdays, both at Third Street.

Danita Shaheen is a dancer and choreographer who began her training with the Capital Ballet in upstate New York. Danita is classically trained in Balanchine technique under the direction of former New York City Ballet soloist David Otto and the Capital Ballet Company. She has done intensive training with Boston Ballet, River North Dance Company, Burklyn Ballet, Bates Dance Festival, and Max Stone. She graduated magna cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College's BFA program and has been performing professionally in New York since 2006.

Danita has had the pleasure of working with Ariel Rivka Dance, Kaleidoscope Dance Theater, Dance Cat-alyst, Grace Rising Dance, Tamara Saari Dance, Jacobs Campbell Dance, Gehring Dancetheatre, Banana Peel Dance, dancesbyremi, Ryan McNally, MAD About Dance , H.T. Chen and Dancers, AERA, Beth Soll & Company, Andrea Gise and Dancers, Laura Ward/ Octavia Cup Dance Theatre, and Nina Buisson Contemporary Move. In addition to performing, choreographing and teaching, Danita is also the founder and Artistic Director of Dance Riot Rep., and the President of the Alternative Arts Association, a multimedia arts organization and registered 501(c)3. Dance has always been a huge part of her life and she is excited to be able to share her passion for movement with the Third Street community!

Critically noted as “one of the most complete performers of the new generation”, NYC-based guitarist Giacomo Baldelli is focused on exploring works of the 20th century, but also on developing a new 21st century repertoire for guitar. Most recently, he has been interested in expanding the contemporary repertoire for electric guitar.

He is an accomplished soloist and chamber musician, and has performed throughout Europe (Italy, Germany, France, England, Czech Republic, Poland), as well as the United States.

His critically-acclaimed debut CD “Chitarra Italiana del XXI°Secolo” (Bottega Discantica- 2010) includes the first Italian Recording of the masterpiece for electric guitar “Trash TV Trance” by Fausto Romitelli. His new album “Electric Creatures” will be released in Italy on November 30th 2018. A US version of the album is expected for Spring 2019.

Born in Naples – Italy, MARCO CAPPELLI studied classical guitar at the Conservatorio di S. Cecilia in Rome. Supported by a scholarship provided by the Italian Government, he studied with Oscar Ghiglia at the Musik Akademie der Stadt in BASEL – Switzerland, concluding his Konzert-Diplom with a recital featuring a remarkable performance of Le Marteau Sans Maître by Pierre Boulez and Sonata op. 47 by Alberto Ginastera.

He has lead since the middle 90ies an extraordinary artistic path, becoming familiar with rigorous written music as well with free improvisation languages: nowadays Marco Cappelli works as contemporary music interpreter, as side musician for other artists’ projects, as well as composer and band leader and with his original music.

The diversity of Marco’s performances is due to a fascinating array of collaborations: Anthony Coleman, Michel Godard, Butch Morris, Franco Piersanti, Jim Pugliese, Enrico Rava, Marc Ribot, Adam Rudolph, Elliott Sharp, Giovanni Sollima, Markus Stockhausen, Cristina Zavalloni, Raiz… and many more.

He has toured intensively in South Korea, Japan, China, USA, Canada and Europe, being regularly guest – both as a soloist or in ensemble settings – in major classical and contemporary music series (Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Associazione Scarlatti in Napoli, Ravenna Festival, Festival Traiettorie in Parma, Ente Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, Guggenheim Museum in New York, Italian Academy at Columbia University in New York, BAM Fisher Theater in Brooklyn, Salzburg Festival in Austria, Ruhr Triennale and Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele in Germany…) as well in jazz and avant-garde music festivals (Saalfelden Jazz Festival in Austria, Pomigliano Jazz Festival in Italy, Barnsdall Theatre e Watts Tower Jazz Festival in Los Angeles , Moma in New York, OutPut Festival in Amsterdam, Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Belgrade Jazz Festival, Cerkno Jazz Festival in Slovenia…).

Very active as soloist, Marco co-founded the acclaimed Italian contemporary music groups ENSEMBLE DISSONANZEN, and leads three band projects: MARCO CAPPELLI ACOUSTIC TRIO, ITALIAN SURF ACADEMY and IDR- ITALIAN DOC REMIX.As side musician, he is member of MARC RIBOT CAGED FUNK, ADAM RUDOLPH’S GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA and LCP ENSEMBLE.

Marco has developed a large discography, among which we remember two solo guitar cds : Yun Mu, for the for the Italian label TDS, and EGP-Extreme Guitar Project: Music from Downtown New York for the prestigious American label Mode Records. Mode Records also published two cds by Ensemble Dissonanzen, where Marco is involved in G. Petrassi’s and H.W. Henze’s chamber Music.In 2008 the Italian jazz label Itinera released the first cd of Marco’s band IDR – Italian Doc Remix. In 2011, as memorial for the Twin Towers’ attack, Mode Records released In The Shadow of No Towers: a dvd that Marco realized with his band Syntax Error in collaboration with comic artist Art Spiegelman and actor John Turturro, which has been presented in film festival such as Toronto Jewish Film Festival and UK Jewish Film Festival in London). More recently the same label released Les Nuages en France and The American Dream debut albums by, respectively, MARCO CAPPELLI ACOUSTIC TRIO and ITALIAN SURF ACADEMY. In 2013 the second Acoustic Trio cd, due to Marco’s collaboration with writer Maurizio De Giovanni and titled Le Stagioni del Commissario Ricciardi , has been released by Tzadik, the prestigious John Zorn‘s label.

In 2012 Marco scored the film Intervallo by Leonardo Di Costanzo, which has been premiered at 69th Venice International Film Festival and has gained the prestigious price David di Donatello. He composes and plays live music for the New York based Young Soon Kim Dance Company, which after its successful South Korea tour (2012) performed at BAM Fisher Theater in Brooklyn (June 2014). In the Fall 2014, together with actor Andrea Renzi, he premiered the theater play Sonata per il Commissario Ricciardi, produced by Teatro Garibaldi in Palermo and presented at the prestigious Napoli Teatro Festival 2015, with live music by MARCO CAPPELLI ACOUSTIC TRIO. Later in 2015, Marco has been artist in residence at The Stone, the prestigious experimental and avant-garde New York venue directed by John Zorn.

Since 2004 Marco Cappelli made his home in Brooklyn, NY. At the side of his concert activity, Marco Cappelli teaches intensively: he is guitar professor at Conservatorio “Vincenzo Bellini” in Palermo and Associate Professor at Columbia University Music Performance Program in New York. He has taught as assistant with Mrs. Sharon Isbin at Aspen Summer School, and has been “guest professor” at Julliard School, Mannes College and New York University in New York, at Cal Poly University in Los Angeles, at Guadalajara University and at Ecole Sainte Trinité in Haiti.

For more information, visit www.MarcoCappelli.com

Bio coming soon

b. Huntington Beach, CA. B.A. Politics, University of California, Santa Cruz; B.F.A. Guitar Performance, New School University, New York City. Performances and recordings with John Tchicai, Eric Alexander, George Reed. Regular performances with the Paul Hemmings Trio throughout New York. Latest recording, In & Out, on Leading Tone Records. Member ASCAP and the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA).

b. kibbutz Nachshon, Israel. B.M., Rubin Academy Tel Aviv (composition); B.A., Philosophy Department, Tel Aviv University; M.M., Manhattan School of Music. Main teachers: Ruben Seroussi, Itzhak Sadai, David Starobin, David Leisner. Awards include Andres Segovia Award, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; America-Israel Cultural Foundation; Jerusalem Guitar Competition; Artists International. Carnegie Hall debut, 2008. Performances throughout the U.S., Israel and Europe, including venues such as Merkin Hall, Lincoln Center, Centro Cultural Espanol Miami, John E. Marlow Guitar Series. Faculty, Lucy Moses School at Kaufman Center.

Jeff Litman has been part of the New York City music scene since moving there in 2004 from his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He maintains an active career as a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator, having performed as a solo artist and side-musician at venues throughout the city such as Joe’s Pub, Rockwood Music Hall, and Mercury Lounge. In addition to an active performing career, Jeff’s compositions have been heard on television networks such as MTV and CBS. Jeff has a Bachelor's degree in jazz guitar from Indiana University and a Masters in classical guitar from Manhattan School of Music. With equal love for classical, jazz, pop, and rock, Jeff has an eclectic approach to music making that he works hard to impart to his students and colleagues.

A graduate of the LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts, guitarist David Moreno performs jazz and chamber music in addition to composing original music for film and television. He has appeared at major European jazz festivals with saxophone legend Sam Rivers, and has recorded with Marvin "Smitty" Smith, John Stubblefield, and Arturo O'Farrill. In 1996, he released a CD of his original compositions, State of Things (Beehive), to critical acclaim and has composed music for Lifetime documentary All Kinds of Families.

David holds both Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Manhattan School of Music and has taken master classes with Manuel Barrueco and Carlos Barbosa-Lima. He is also the director of the New York branch of the Day Jams music day camp.

Nicholas Scarim grew up in the Chicago area. He was a late starter in music at the age of 12, but by 18 he was studying theory and improvisation with legendary jazz saxophonist Joe Daly and jazz piano with Jack Hubal. After entering the conservatory he became intensely involved with classical music, gradually drifting away from jazz. After moving to New York City in 1977, he began writing solo, chamber and orchestral music, three operas and a ballet – all before the end of 1980. In the early 80s, he was a pioneer in writing music theory software for personal computers such as the TRS80, Commodore64 and Atari800. Contacts in the computer world led to his writing scores for some of the biggest selling computer games in those early years of personal computers, such as Spy vs Spy and Boulderdash. By 1985 he had “retired” from the computer industry and returned full–time to music and teaching.

In the late 80s and 1990s he produced several large scale chamber works such as his Piano Quintet, and completed his Serenade for Guitar and Orchestra, as well as his first and second symphonies. In 1993—94 he was commissioned by ARC Productions to create the musical “Wings of Fire” based on a George Bernard Shaw play for productions in California and New England. From the mid 90s onward, he became increasingly involved with arts education, both in theory and in practice. While working on music education residencies funded by Meet the Composer, as well as by the Annenberg Foundation's Center for Arts Education, he participated in a multi-year research project into the assessment of arts instruction funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 2000, the Carnegie Hall Education Department commissioned him to create a work (lyrics and music) to allow thousands of schoolchildren to come to a major concert hall in their own cities and sing and play along with a full symphony orchestra. His “A Simple Melody” has been performed by an estimated 400,000 schoolchildren over the years, along with the regional orchestras in 16 American and Canadian cities. His works have been published by Belwin Mills, World Book, Inc., Music Theater International, and many others.

EDUCATION

B. M. in Composition, Chicago Musical College, Roosevelt University

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Robert Lombardo, Wilfred Josephs, Robert Becker, Abraham Stokman, Harvey Ringel

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE

Compositions performed throughout North America by many regional orchestras and opera companies

COMPETITIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS / COMMISSIONS

Development Award: Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Yale University, Commissions from Opera Company of Philadelphia, Carnegie Hall, District 1199 Hospital Workers Union, the Saeko Ichinohe Dance Company

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Carpentry, Indian music, design and photography, playing classic rock and roll, reading Pynchon, Kundera and the New York Review, and watchinghis wife garden.

Bryan is a freelance musician and music educator with years of teaching and performance experience. He earned his B.M. (Honors) in Jazz and Contemporary Music at NYU, and his M.M. in Jazz studies at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music. Bryan’s areas of specialization include Latin American and Caribbean Folk, Jazz and Blues, West African Folk and Popular Music. Although his primary instrument is electric and acoustic guitar, he also loves to play the Mandolin, Keyboards, and Hand Percussion. Bryan was the Assistant Music Director and guitar player for the touring production of the Broadway musical “Fela!” His original composition, “As Warm As The Sun,” was featured in Spike Lee’s Netflix series, “She’s Gotta Have It.” Most recently, Vargas co-wrote a bilingual album of Indian music for children called, “Falu’s Bazaar,” featuring the Indian Classical singer Falu Shah. In addition to recording and performing music, Bryan teaches at Third Street’s Partners Program and Pre-K Create Program.

Violist Chiu-Chen Liu enjoys a diverse career in orchestra, chamber music and pedagogy. Recent performances include engagements with Chamber Music Hellas in Greece, Cremona International Music Academy, Alion Baltic International Music Festival, Festival Suoni D'abruzzo in Italy, BAMcafé Live, American Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Chamber Music Ensemble, New York Classical Quartet, Attacca Quartet and Lecture-Performance Series at Columbia University. Chiu-Chen has served as principal viola with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, the Sarasota Opera, Di Capo Opera, Fairfield County Chorale Orchestra. Her chamber music performances have been broadcast on NPR and WQXR radio.

Currently residing in New York City, Chiu-Chen relocated from her native Taiwan at age seventeen to study at the Manhattan School of Music. She later earned her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College The New School for Music, receiving full scholarship as a student of Hsin-Yun Huang, Mark Steinberg and Laurie Smukler. A dedicated teacher, Chiu-Chen was appointed the String Department Chairperson from 2013 to 2016 at the Third Street Music School where she is currently serving as a full time violin, viola and chamber music faculty.

In addition to Music, Chiu-Chen is also an active visual artist. She is currently serving as the Visual Artist-In-Resident for the Olympic Music Festival in Washington State, VivaViola Festival in Taiwan and the Sejong International Music Festival at the Curtis Institute from 2013-2014.

Puerto-Rican born José Pietri-Coimbre has distinguished himself as an orchestral, chamber music, and solo violinist and violist, and additionally as a classical baritone soloist and ensemble singer.

He has been a busy and passionate educator for nearly two decades, having been on the faculty of the Diller-Quaile School of Music, the Mozart Academy in New York City, the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts and currently at Third Street Music School. In the latter he has been a long-standing faculty member for both the main school (violin, viola, chamber music) and Partners programs (strings, chorus), as well as Director for the Barbara Fields Chamber Music Program. One of his current projects as an educator, in collaboration with violinist and Suzuki violin teacher Patricia Davis, is the ongoing compilation of a video-library of short videos explaining pedagogical aspects for each piece studied in the Suzuki Violin Method.

As a violinist and violist, Mr. Pietri-Coimbre has held principal positions at the Bronx Opera and Delaware Valley Opera Orchestras, Garden State Philharmonic, One World Symphony, Puerto Rico Sinfonietta and the National Orchestral Institute Orchestra. He has been a member of the Zipoli Ensemble for the Spanish American Baroque, Dorian Baroque, New Jersey Philharmonic, Puerto Rico Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras, and is a substitute musician at the "Phantom of the Opera" Orchestra on Broadway and the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra. He has performed solo and chamber music with his piano trio, the Saffron Trio, and with the Joyce Ensemble, Con Vivo Chamber Players, Harlem Chamber Players, at the Chamber Music Live Series at Lefrak Concert Hall, and at the Luci Toscane Festival in Wisconsin and Italy.

As a vocalist, Mr. Pietri-Coimbre has presented frequent solo art song recitals in the United States and Europe. Most recently, he appeared as Giove and Giove in Diana in Cavalli’s La Calisto with Julianne Baird’s Baroque Opera Workshop at Queens College, with New York Lyric Opera as Pandolfe in Massenet's Cendrillon, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and at Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall as Figaro in scenes from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, and with One World Symphony in the role of Walter White/Heisenberg in S. Hong's Breaking Bad- Ozymandias, the recently-premiered operatic version of the acclaimed TV show Breaking Bad. He was a member of the Puerto Rico Opera Chorus and was a frequent oratorio soloist in the Island. Mr. Pietri-Coimbre also sings professionally with the New York Virtuoso Singers, Musica Sacra, Collegiate Chorale Singers, Bard Festival Singers and The Salvatones Ensemble, among others.

Mr. Pietri-Coimbre studied at the Puerto Rico Music Conservatory with Jose Figueroa and Dara Morales, and at the Aaron Copland School of Music (Queens College) in New York with Grigory Kalinovsky and Daniel Phillips. He also studied voice with Bernardo Villalobos and Neil Rosenshein in New York City. At the University of Maryland, he studied Chamber Music with members of the Guarneri String Quartet, and trained in Baroque performance practice in New York with harpsichordist Raymond Erickson at Queens College and violinist Judson Griffin.

BIOGRAPHY

Susan Friedlander is a Suzuki flute specialist. She holds certifications in Suzuki, Kodaly and Orff Schulwerk. Her flute studies have included work with Samuel Baron, Thomas Nyfenger, Karl Kraber and Toshio Takahashi. She has performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, New York Lyric Opera, Staten Island Symphony, Long Island Choral Society Orchestra and the American Festival of Microtonal Music Ensemble. Chamber music performances include regular appearances with the Trio Gallant, Duo da camera and Hoffmeister Winds. Ms. Friedlander has had the opportunity to premier numerous new works, including music for bass flute by Lamont Young, Jalalu Kalvert Nelson and Ron Kozak. She has served on the Board of Directors of the New York Flute Club, and presented a seminar on Teaching the Youngest Flutists at the New York Flute Fair. Ms. Friedlander is Co-Director of the Great Lakes Suzuki Flute & Recorder Institute. She has been guest instructor at the Colorado Suzuki Institute, Greater Philadelphia Suzuki Workshop and Greater Boston Suzuki Flute Workshop. She is Flute Coordinator the the Suzuki Association of the Americas National Conference. Her published works include musical arrangements for Tomie dePaola’s Book of Christmas Carols, Nursery Songs and Lullabies, illustrated by Bessie Pease, and All Things Bright and Beautiful, published by Platt & Munk.

SCHOOL(S)

Connecticut College, Talent Education Research Institute (Japan), Manhattan School of Music

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Karl Karber, Thomas Nyfenger, Toshio Takahashi, Sam Baron

SUMMER FESTIVALS

Co-Director and teaching faculty, Great Lakes Suzuki Flute and Recorder Institute (McMaster University), Flute Stars Flute Camp

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Susan maintains an active life-style and swims daily. For her, exercise is energizing and the quiet of the swim is meditative. Being an avid reader, she started a morning book club seven years ago, since she had been unable to find a book club that didn’t meet in the evening when she is usually occupied.

Known for her superlative artistry and deep musicality, cellist Carolyn Jeselsohn has performed throughout the world as a soloist, chamber artist and orchestral musician as well as a baroque cellist. She received her training at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Merry Peckham and Allan Harris earning her Bachelors and Masters in cello performance.

Ms. Jeselsohn has participated in many chamber music festivals and work-shops including the Perlman Music Program (Shelter Island, NY), Soundfest (Falmouth, MA), Yellow Barn (Putney, VT), the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival (Detroit, MI), the Takacs Quartet Seminar (Boulder, CO) and Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival (Blue Hill, ME ME ). She has collaborated with members of the Cleveland Quartet, the Mendelssohn Quartet, the Jupiter Quartet and many others. Ms. Jeselsohn has studied baroque cello and chamber music at Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.

Carolyn is also a devoted teacher. She serves on the faculty at the Third Street Music School Settlement, the JCC on the Palisades, the Brearley School and the Elizabeth Morrow School Summer String Festival, as well as teaching private lessons in her studio in Brooklyn, NY. She is a Suzuki Association of America certified Suzuki cello teacher.

Having made her Carnegie Hall (Isaac Stern Auditorium) debut in June 2014, Vanessa May-lok Lee has performed throughout Canada, the USA, England, Wales and Mexico. Much sought after as a collaborative pianist, Ms. Lee released her debut CD Bleu et Or in August 2012 with internationally acclaimed flautist Miguel Ángel Villanueva (Mexico) and violist Elodie Guillot (France). Recorded on the Quindecim label, this CD features the works of Mexican, French and Canadian composers including the commissioned piece Prism by Canadian composer Erik Ross. Her latest CD Reflections with Gordon Wolfe, principal trombone of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, will be released in February 2015.

Ms. Lee graduated with a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance from the University of Toronto where she studied with Marietta Orlov, and a Master’s in Music from the Royal Academy of Music in London, England with Michael Young. In May 2014, Ms. Lee completed pre-doctoral studies at the Manhattan School of Music with John Forconi through the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Upcoming highlights include her Kennedy Center debut in Washington, DC in February 2015.

Ms. Lee currently resides in NYC where she serves as a staff pianist at the Manhattan School of Music and is on the piano faculty at Third Street Music School.

Degrees, Lyon Conservatory, Paris École Normale. Studies with Blanche Bascouret, assistant to Alfred Cortot. French government grant for studies with Claudio Arrau. Conducting studies, Pierre Dervaux (Paris), Franco Ferrara (Rome). European/U.S. concerts performed to critical acclaim and reviewed in leading newspapers. Conductor/ director: LowerEastsideEnsemble, ProjectWebernEnsemble. Lectures, master classes: New England Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory, The Juilliard School, Columbia University. Broadcast recordings: BBC, France Musique, Television Française. CD on NEUMA label, 2004. Director, Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance (2004), Mannes College.

A member of several ensembles, Troy Rinker has performed with the West Side Chamber Orchestra, New York City Chamber Orchestra, New York Symphonic Ensemble, Oratorio Society of New York, Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, SONOS Chamber Orchestra, EOS Chamber Orchestra, SEM Ensemble, New York Pops, and the Stamford Symphony.

Troy Rinker’s musical journey began in the public schools of Jacksonville, Arkansas and by age 15 he was playing professionally with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Rinker’s musical education continued at Indiana University, the University of Central Arkansas, and The Juilliard School, where he studied with bass luminaries Lawrence Hurst, James Hatch, and Homer Mensch.

His summer festival credits include OK Mozart, Tanglewood, Spoleto, the Naumburg Bandshell concerts, the Kilkenny Arts Festival, and Caramoor. Mr. Rinker can be heard on labels Sony Classical, Telarc, Naxos, North/South, and in studio recordings for television and film.

BIOGRAPHY

Steven Rochen, a native of Texas, studied at the Mannes College of Music with Sally Thomas where he completed a Masters Degree and Post-Graduate Diploma. His undergraduate training was at the University of Houston with Fredell Lack and his principal conducting teacher was Igor Buketoff. Chamber music coaches include Felix Galimir, John Graham, Hans Jørgen Jensen, and Paul Doktor and he has performed in master classes with Josef Gingold and Julius Levine.

Mr. Rochen has performed in solo, chamber music, and orchestral performances in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. As a composer specializing in works for children's performance, his compositions and arrangements for orchestra have been broadcast on NBC and PBS. His conducting activities include: conductor of the Third Street Sinfonia and the young children's orchestra, Con Spirito. In the summer of 2008, Mr. Rochen travelled to Europe as the Paul-Philippe Bolduc Memorial Fellow.

Mr. Rochen is a former faculty member of Baruch College and the Trinity School in New York City. In addition to his work at Third Street Music School, Mr. Rochen currently conducts the Carnegie Hill Orchestra of the InterSchool Orchestras and the orchestra at Stevens Institute. He is on the faculty of The Meadowmount School of Music and has served as a clinician and chamber music coach for the Vermont Youth Orchestra.

SCHOOL(S)

Bachelor of Music: University of Houston, Houston, TX; Post-Graduate Diploma and Master of Music, The Mannes College of Music; Summers at the Meadowmount School of Music

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Sally Thomas, Fredell Lack, Igor Buketoff

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE

Former member of Laredo Symphony, Lake Charles Symphony, Alexandria Symphony. Assistant Concertmaster - Primavera Potosina Festival in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Arranger and performer on CD "Twilight 14" by the indie band "The Baskervilles," Violin and vocals on CDs of The New Lost Faculty Ramblers.

COMPETITIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS

2008 Paul-Philippe Bolduc Memorial Fellow, Texas Media Center award for film.

SUMMER FESTIVALS

Primavera Potosina, Meadowmount

stevenrochen.com

Cellist Shanda Wooley was raised in Montana and began piano studies at age 5. After switching to cello in high school, she received her Bachelor of Music Performance from University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, magna cum laude. She is an active recitalist and freelancer in NYC, and is principal cellist of the New York Repertory Orchestra. The main thrust of her work involves collaboration, whether as part of an educational community at Third Street Music Settlement and the Nightingale Bamford School or with her husband, trumpeter Nate Wooley; documenting works by avant-garde composer Anthony Braxton. As a soloist, Wooley has fervently championed the music of mid-twentieth century composers such as Hans Werner Henze, Benjamin Britten, and Elliott Carter. She has performed chamber music with diverse groups - from rock bands to the Artemis Ensemble - at Merkin Concert Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Symphony Space, Riverside Church and Manchester Music Festival.

But, her deepest passion is education. While working an executive track position in the financial sector, Shanda started her training as a Suzuki cello teacher, ultimately leaving the private sector to teach. She gets the greatest joy and fulfillment from watching the love of music and art blossom in a young mind through the discovery of the musical language and the skills that go with it. She has been involved in building an open and loving community of educators and students at Third Street Music Settlement since 2007 and prizes the tradition of opening minds to the beauty of music that the school enjoys.

Natasha Zaitseff graduated from The Moscow Conservatory with a master’s degree in music performance and pedagogy, with a concentration in piano. While at the Conservatory, she was awarded a Diploma of Excellence, placed first in the Scriabin Competition, and won first prize for the interpretation of Bartok’s music. Ms. Zaitseff has appeared in recitals, chamber music programs, and festivals throughout the former Soviet Union as well as internationally, including at the Quebec International Festival. Before coming to Third Street music School Ms. Zaitseff was Dwight School Head of Music and Music Director also teaching International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

Ms. Zaitseff was a member of the piano faculty of the School for Strings, and Thurnauer School of Music. She continues to teach piano at Lycee Francais de New York and Lucy Moses School of Music.

Andrew Yanchyshyn is a musician, producer, engineer and piano tuner from New York City’s vibrant East Village neighborhood. He holds both Bachelors and Masters degrees in Production/Studio Composition from SUNY Purchase. Andrew has spent over a decade pursuing his passion for music alongside fine artists such as: Carlos Santana, Ron Carter, Cyndi Lauper, Delfeayo Marsalis, Roswell Rudd, Judy Collins and Will Ackerman. Outside of the studio world, he tours internationally with his original rock & funk band "Gridline". Andrew is also a Third Street Music School alumni, taking piano lessons as a younger student.

Biography pending

Currently, Mr. Mahl is the Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Third Street Music School Settlement, Music Director of the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra (WCYO), Artistic Director of the Harmony Program Youth Orchestra North (HPYO), Artistic Director of the New Jersey Young Artists Ensembles (NJYAE) and assistant conductor of the Greenwich Village Orchestra in New York, New York, Mr. Mahl is a musician who believes in the transformative powers of music above all else. His hope is to provide meaningful, enriching and educational musical experiences to as many people as possible. Under the belief that the study of music is essentially an exploration of the human condition, and that classical music is infinitely beneficial for every human, he strives to cultivate an appreciation and understanding of music played with the highest possible level of artistry.

Mr. Mahls’ past positions include assistant conductor to the contemporary music ensemble Orchestre 21, in Montreal QC, and Urban Playground Chamber orchestra in New York, New York, Conductor of the Fredonia Symphonia, cover conductor for the Orchard Park Symphony in Buffalo, NY, and assistant to all orchestral and operatic activities at SUNY Fredonia, in Fredonia, NY. He has had guest conducting experiences with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Greenwich Village Orchestra, The Chelsea Symphony, Urban Playground orchestra, and the University Orchestras of the College Conservatory of Music (CCM), Orchestra de l’Universite de Montreal, and SUNY Fredonia.

Mr. Mahl’s dedication to contemporary music is evident in his many collaborations and commissions with professional and student composers including the world premieres of fully staged operas, experimental ballet, and countless small and large ensemble pieces of all genres. As part of his position with Orchestre 21, Mr. Mahl was selected to act as assistant for the world premiere of Debussy’s newly finished opera, Le Diable dans le Belfroi. He was also selected from over 100 applicants to participate in the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary music Conducting Workshop, where he worked closely with Marin Alsop and James Ross. This past January, he was invited by the Chelsea Symphony (Manhattan, NY) to conduct the world premiere of Tim Kiah’s “Song of Zippy,” as well as music by Bartok.

As a passionate Educator, Mr. Mahl teaches all ages and instruments at a number of schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City, and frequently works with student musicians from underserved communities. As a firm believer that music can provide a transformational experience for any child regardless of background, he attempts to engage and inspire students from as many cultural and geographic backgrounds as possible through community engagement activities such as free lectures, workshops, and concerts whenever and wherever possible, in addition to working with student orchestras and giving lessons.

Mr. Mahl received his Bachelors of Music in Education from Ithaca College and continued his studies both at Universite de Montreal and the State University of New York at Fredonia, where he received his master’s degree. He has studied with some of the foremost conducting pedagogues in the United States including Marin Alsop, James Ross, Harold Farberman, Neil Varon, Marc Gibson, Larry Rachleff, Don Schleicher, Jean-Francois Rivest, Paolo Bellomia, and Joeseph Gifford. He has participated in workshops and competitions in the United States, Canada, the Czech Republic; at the Eastman School of Music, College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, and Bard College. Mr. Mahl’s Primary instrument is the trumpet, although he is well-schooled in all the orchestral instruments. He continues to perform in orchestral, jazz, and chamber music settings. Mr. Mahl is an outdoor enthusiast, and accomplished cook, and an avid runner.

Steven Rochen, a native of Texas, studied at the Mannes College of Music with Sally Thomas where he completed a Masters Degree and Post-Graduate Diploma. His undergraduate training was at the University of Houston with Fredell Lack and his principal conducting teacher was Igor Buketoff. Chamber music coaches include Felix Galimir, John Graham, Hans Jørgen Jensen, and Paul Doktor and he has performed in master classes with Josef Gingold and Julius Levine.

Mr. Rochen has performed in solo, chamber music, and orchestral performances in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. As a composer specializing in works for children's performance, his compositions and arrangements for orchestra have been broadcast on NBC and PBS. His conducting activities include: conductor of the Third Street Sinfonia and the young children's orchestra, Con Spirito. In the summer of 2008, Mr. Rochen travelled to Europe as the Paul-Philippe Bolduc Memorial Fellow.

Mr. Rochen is a former faculty member of Baruch College and the Trinity School in New York City. In addition to his work at Third Street Music School, Mr. Rochen currently conducts the Carnegie Hill Orchestra of the InterSchool Orchestras and the orchestra at Stevens Institute. He is on the faculty of The Meadowmount School of Music and has served as a clinician and chamber music coach for the Vermont Youth Orchestra.

SCHOOL(S)
Bachelor of Music: University of Houston, Houston, TX; Post-Graduate Diploma and Master of Music, The Mannes College of Music; Summers at the Meadowmount School of Music

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS
Sally Thomas, Fredell Lack, Igor Buketoff

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
Former member of Laredo Symphony, Lake Charles Symphony, Alexandria Symphony. Assistant Concertmaster - Primavera Potosina Festival in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Arranger and performer on CD "Twilight 14" by the indie band "The Baskervilles," Violin and vocals on CDs of The New Lost Faculty Ramblers.

COMPETITIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS
2008 Paul-Philippe Bolduc Memorial Fellow, Texas Media Center award for film.

SUMMER FESTIVALS
Primavera Potosina, Meadowmount

www.stevenrochen.com

Oscar Thorp is a conductor and trumpet player based in Brooklyn, New York. As an educator at Third Street Music School Settlement, Oscar directs the New Horizons Concert Band, Prelude Band, and teaches in the community through the Partners Program. Originally from the Seattle/Tacoma area, Oscar served as assistant professor of music at Pierce College in Puyallup, WA, where he directed the Pierce College Concert Band, Chamber Winds, and Jazz Band. While earning his bachelor degree in trumpet performance at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, he began his career as a conductor as the assistant conductor of the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestras. Oscar then moved to Tucson, AZ to earn his masters in instrumental conducting as a teaching assistant at the University of Arizona’s Fred Fox School of Music. An advocate for new music, Oscar has helped create contemporary chamber ensembles at the University of Arizona and at Pierce College, as well as conducting recordings of new music by students. Oscar has taught trumpet everywhere he has lived, including at Pierce College, the Tucson Academy of Music and Dance, and the Oberlin Community Music School. As a performer on trumpet, Oscar enjoys playing in orchestras, concert bands, pit orchestras, dance bands, and chamber music. He has performed in New York with the Chelsea Symphony, New York Wind Orchestra, the Greenwich Village Orchestra, New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, Blue Hill Troupe, and others.

Biography pending

B.M., Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico; M.A., CUNY/Hunter College

Luis studied under renowned Cuban-American pedagogue Germán Diez, a disciple and assistant to the late Chilean master Claudio Arrau.  Arrau himself was a disciple of Martin Krause who studied with Franz Liszt, making Luis one of the few contemporary pianists with a direct lineage to Liszt and Beethoven. He has played in Master Classes for Frederick Marvin, Ena Bronstein Barton, Constance Keene and Ruth Laredo among others. Luis is former faculty member at Turtle Bay Music School and served as Music director at Saint Rose of Lima Parish in Newark, N.J. from 2004-2011.

Alongside with his musical career, Luis is also a professional visual artist. His exquisite figurative paintings and portraits can be found in some of the finest collections and museums such as the National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C; The European Museum of Modern Art, Barcelona, Spain; Steinway Hall, New York, N.Y. and The Federal Reserve, Washington D.C. 

In 2018 The National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution acquired his portrait of iconic American composer Philip Glass for their permanent collection. Luis has also painted the portraits of former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker, MacArthur Fellow and founder of New Community Corporation Monsignor William Linder, Senior Judge William F. Morgan from Warren, P.A., Jazz legend Cándido Camero and Galician-American composer Octavio Vázquez Rodríguez.

As a winner at the prestigious 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, his work will be included in The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery from October 26, 2019 through August 30, 2020.  It will then travel to four museums across the country from October 2020 through February 2022 (venues TBD). He has also been awarded from the 14^thInternational Art Renewal Center Salon Competition, the 21^stPortrait Society of America International Portrait Competition, Figurativas 2015 and the 2012 Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists.

Artist website: www.alvarezroure.com

Edmund Arkus has performed for many years in the United States, Japan and England to high critical acclaim. He has been presented in solo recitals, as soloist with orchestras and he has collaborated in many chamber music concerts and sonata recitals. Edmund has also performed on radio in New York on WNYC, WFUV, WQXR, as well as live performances broadcast over National Public Radio from Washington DC, WGBH Boston, BBC radio in England, and NHK-TV in Japan.

Over the last fifteen years he has collaborated regularly with Keisuke Wakao, Assistant Principal Oboist of the Boston Symphony. Among the numerous concerts they have presented, Edmund and Mr. Wakao have performed together at Jordan Hall in Boston, at Opera City Recital Hall and Hillside Terrace Plaza Hall in Tokyo. For the last ten years Edmund has performed chamber concerts with Mr. Wakao and members of the Boston Symphony, NHK Orchestra (Tokyo), Berlin Philharmonic and Orchestre de Paris in Tokyo, Hakodate, Osaka and Ogaki, Japan and South Korea ,as well as in Cleveland, Ohio, the Berkshires and Boston, Massachusetts.

First studying the piano with his mother, Helena Arkus, Edmund later worked with pianist, Leopold Mittman. Later, he entered The Juilliard School in New York, where he studied with the distinguished teacher Rosina Lhévinne, and received both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Music. He completed his piano studies with Wolfgang Rosé nephew of the composer, Gustav Mahler. In addition, he studied chamber music with Louis Persinger, teacher of Yehudi Menuhin, and with William Kroll, the first violinist of the Kroll Quartet, and further polished his contemporary music skills with the composer, Stefan Wolpe.

Edmund thoroughly enjoys sharing his knowledge through his private students and teaching at the Third Street Music School Settlement in Manhattan, New York. He has served on the faculty of the Aaron Copland School of Music at CUNY Queens College and presented numerous master classes in New York, and in Ogaki, Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan.

www.edmundarkus.com

Biography pending

French-American pianist Julia Den Boer is a strong advocate of contemporary music. Based in New York city, she performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and has commissioned and premiered numerous works. She is committed to exploring and pushing her instrument’s boundaries through close collaboration with composers and has had the opportunity to work with some of the most prominent composers of our time such as Heinz Holliger, Philippe Leroux, Martin Matalon and Kaija Saariaho. Julia is a recipient of the Solti Foundation award, was awarded the Prix Mention Speciale Maurice Ohana at the 2012 International Orleans Competition, and won the ninth annual Mikhashoff Trust Fund for New Music Pianist/Composer Commissioning Project with composer Zosha Di Castri. She is part of Kylwyria, a New-York based horn, violin and piano trio dedicated to commissioning new repertoire for their unique instrumentation.

Recent and upcoming performances include solo and ensemble performances at the Festival d'Automne in Paris, Unerhörte Musik in Berlin, the Tectonics Festival in Glasgow, the CMC in Toronto, the Banff Center, Miller Theater (NYC), the North Carolina New Music Initiative, the SWR in Freiburg, New Music Concerts in Toronto, the MATA Festival, the International Computer Music Conference, the Klangspuren Festival in Austria, and Manifeste at IRCAM.

Her performances have been broadcasted on Q2, CBC Radio 2, the SWR and France Musique. In addition to her performing activities Julia is a dedicated educator. She is on faculty at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy NY and the Third Street Music Settlement, she also maintains an extensive private studio in NYC. Julia is a native of Lyon, France. She holds a Bachelor of Music from McGill University where she studied with Sara Laimon and holds a Master and Doctorate of Musical Arts from SUNY Stony Brook University where she studied under the mentorship of Gilbert Kalish.

Biography pending

Katy Felt is a graduate of Rice University (B.M.) and The Juilliard School (MM).  She has collaborated with The Juilliard Orchestra, The New World Symphony, and The Orpheus Choir of Toronto.  She was  a staff pianist at The Juilliard School, and is a doctoral student at Rutgers University.

b. Beijing, China. B.M., University of Kansas, M.M., Rice University. Additional studies at the Manhattan School of Music and Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Teachers include A. Slobodyanik, John Perry, Claude Frank and Jack Winerock. Performs throughout China and the U.S., including performances at Weill Recital Hall, Caramoor, Steinway Hall, Aspen Music Festival and the Great Hall of People in Beijing. Faculty, Music Conservatory of Westchester.

Joan Forsyth, pianist, is an eclectic artist whose performing career has taken her all over the world. Teaching has always been an important part of her musical life, and she maintains a vibrant piano studio in Mount Vernon, New York. Dr. Forsyth holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University and a Master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music. She has over thirty years of teaching experience, having taught both privately and for such institutions as New York University, Concordia College and Sarah Lawrence College. She also has Suzuki piano training, assisted Dr. Shinichi Suzuki and Mme. H. Katoka at Suzuki Institute West in San Francisco and takes a special interest in early childhood education. Joan Forsyth is the Chairman and founder of the Bronxville center of the National Guild of Piano teachers and a past Chairman of the Westchester-Rockland –Putnam Music Teachers Association. Currently she is the Chairperson of the Piano Department at Third Street Music School in New York City.

An active performer, Dr. Forsyth is both a sympathetic chamber musician and commanding soloist. She has made appearances at such venues as the Kennedy Center, Merkin Hall, Zankel and Weil Recital Halls, as well as tours of Europe, Russia, Japan and South America. Her playing has been broadcast on WNYC, WFAS, RAI(Italy), Vermont Public Radio, and New York Public Radio. She has appeared as soloist with the Westchester Chamber Orchestra and the Westchester Philharmonic. Joan Forsyth has recorded for CRI, Albany, Bridge, Soundspells and Furious Artisans.

EDUCATION

Bachelor Music Master Music, Doctor of Musical Arts

SCHOOL(S)

University of British Columbia, Juilliard School, Rutgers University

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Robert Silverman, Beveridge Webster Susan Star, Andre LaPlante, Myoko Lotto, Jeaneanne Dowis, Alexander Eydelman

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE

Solo, chamber music performances throughout North America, South America, Europe, Russia, Japan, Africa Recordings for CRI, Albany Records, Furious Artisans. Broadcasts for NPR, RAI(Italy) Polish National Radio, Danish National Radio, CBC (Canada) Soloist Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra Westchester Chamber Orchestra.

COMPETITIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS

Winner La Gesse Piano Competition

Grantee Canada Council for the Arts

Westchester Arts Council

Koenig Foundation Scholarship

SUMMER FESTIVALS

Aspen, Banff, Warebrook, Shawnegan Lake

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Biking, swimming and gardening

A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Mira Armij Gill is of East-Indian descent. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she had the privilege of completing her Bachelor’s degree as one of three students of the late John Browning, and received her Master’s degree with Yoheved Kaplinsky. While at Juilliard, Ms. Gill won the Artist’s International Young Artist Piano Award which resulted in her New York debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.She has also won top prizes in the Utah Symphony Guild Competition, the Midland-Odessa National Concerto Competition, the Kawai America National Competition and she won Second Place in the Joanna Hodges International Brahms Competition. She was presented in recital as Mu Phi Epsilon's Distinguished Artist of 2011 in New York at Tenri Cultural Institute.

She has won numerous prizes, including First Place in the Jefferson Symphony Concerto Auditions in Golden, Colorado, and First Place in the Utah Symphony Guild Competition held in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was the youngest of three Grand Prize Winners in the Midland-Odessa National Concerto Auditions in Odessa, Texas.

Ms. Gill was a featured soloist with the Utah Symphony under the baton of Maestro Joseph Silverstein. Her playing of Liszt’s First Piano Concerto in E Flat Major was reviewed by the Salt Lake Tribune and described as "a bravura performance with confidence and flair". She has also soloed with other orchestras throughout the United States including performances with the Midland Odessa Symphony, the Jefferson Symphony, Murray Symphony, the Brigham Young University Chamber Orchestra, Oberlin Conservatory Chamber Orchestra,the Fort Collins Symphony and the Passamaquoddy Bay Symphony. Some of her performances have been broadcast live over KSL Radio, as well as KBYU Radio, and she was featured on KSL Television.

She has performed in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in its "Wednesdays at One" series for piano music, the Weiner Saal Concert Hall in Salzburg, Austria, as well as the Mozarteum’s concert series in Radstadt, Austria. She annually gave concerts in the Temple Square Concert Series in Salt Lake City, Utah; and Steinway Hall in New York City. Ms. Gill has attended the Gnessin Institute’s Summer Festival in Moscow, Russia; the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria; and Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts.

Ms. Katja Rausch of Le Jeudi, a newspaper from the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg wrote: "Her playing is spectacular, poetic and so inspiring", following her debut CD launch concert at Steinway Hall in New York. Soon after, her CD was reviewed by famed pianist, Cyprien Katsaris: "She has a remarkable technique and, more important, a genuine musical feeling".

Consul General of India, Hon. Pramathesh Rath invited Ms. Gill gave the first piano recital ever presented at the Consulate General of India in New York. Ms. Gill received media attention from local newspaper Desi Talk and was a featured cover story in the national magazine The Urban Indian.

As a former student of the late pianist John Browning, Ms. Gill contributed to the making of a documentary entitled "Memories of John Browning, the Lhevinne Legacy Continues", produced by Arkatov Productions. During her interview and special feature in the film, Ms. Gill discusses the Browning/Lhevinne approach to Russian technique. Excerpts from her CD serve to demonstrate his tremendous influence on her paying and teaching. Other contributors to the documentary included Leonard Slatkin and John Williams.

Events for 2012-2013 events included the filming and release of a short documentary about Ms. Gill highlighting her life as a pianist and a teacher produced by Agricola Media. She also gave benefit concert for SAYA! (South Asian Youth Action), the only non-sectarian comprehensive youth organization, dedicated to create social change and opportunities for low-income South Asian youth, to be held at WMP Concert Hall, New York; and a private concert for the Bi-annual Gala organized by the Luxembourg-American Chamber of Commerce in New York in the presence of H.R.H. Crown Prince Guillaume and Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg held at the University Club in New York.

Ms. Gill resides in New York. After twelve years on the Piano Faculty of Turtle Bay Music School in Manhattan, she established a Piano Program at SAYA! (South Asian Youth Action) based in Elmhurst, New York, where she serves as Resident Teaching Artist. For more info visit miragill.com.

Biography pending

Pianist Paul Kim has led a career dedicated to performance, musicology, and education. He has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras, conductors, and chamber musicians. Critics have hailed his "brightest flashes of virtuosity and clear transparent quality" (The New York Times) and "his musical honesty and integrity…his very recognisable strength of character and personality" (Gramophone). He has been featured in interviews, articles, and television and film documentaries in Newsweek, PBS, NPR, CNN, BBC and other media outlets.

An authority on Olivier Messiaen, Paul Kim is recognized for his performances, scholarship, and recordings of Messiaen's complete piano works (on 7 CDs) which were selected as "Best of 2005" by All Music Guide. His current project is the recording and publication of the complete Beethoven symphonies in new piano transcriptions. Critics have noted the textual fidelity and clarity, adding that "Kim's solid work should easily attract transcription enthusiasts to this release" (ClassicsToday).

Paul Kim has performed with his wife, soprano Judith Jeon, as well as with their pianist sons Matthew and James. With Matthew Dr. Kim has recorded Messiaen's Visions de l'Amen and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for two pianos. His journey in music and faith is featured in the book Creative Spirituality: The Way of the Artist, written by Robert Wuthnow of Princeton University.

Paul Kim has studied at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music (B.M. and M.M.), and New York University (Ph.D.). Today he maintains an active schedule of concerts, master classes and guest lecture appearances around the world. Dr. Kim is a professor of piano and music history at Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus.

Neal Kirkwood, pianist and composer, lives and works in New York City. He has composed for jazz and contemporary music chamber ensembles, solo voice, chorus and orchestra and has written over 200 works for various ensembles, for which he has received notable commissions.

As a jazz pianist, Neal Kirkwood has performed, toured and recorded with many artists including Pony Poindexter, Bobby McFerrin, Mike Clark, Chris Connor, and Abby Lincoln. Most recently, Kirkwood performed with graphic novel artist Art Spiegelman, in a musical adventure, touring Brazil, London and Paris, and the USA.

As bandleader, Neal Kirkwood's recordings include The Neal Kirkwood Octet, The Chromatic Persuaders and Extrospection, on Timescraper, and a solo piano CD, Time’s Circle, produced by Present Eye Music. A new trio recording, featuring all original Kirkwood compositions, is currently being prepared for release in 2018. He currently leads a 17-piece jazz band, called The Neal Kirkwood Big Band, featuring the stupendous talents of NYC’s most stellar jazz musicians.

Mr. Kirkwood has composed music for, and performed with, many of New York City’s creative and experimental theatre ensembles, including puppet/maskmaker Ralph Lee’s touring company, playwright Jim Neu, directors Anne Bogart and Joseph Chaiken.

Premiered in 2016, Kirkwood’s song cycle “Mexico City Blues” including the suite “The Art of Kindness,” was based on poetry by American poet Jack Kerouac, and composed for 16-voice chorus with jazz orchestra.

Mr. Kirkwood has a MA in composition from Mannes College of Music in New York City, where he studied primarily with composer Charles Jones. He is currently on the faculties of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and Third Street Music School in New York City.

Agnes Kubeczko is a Polish-born pianist and teacher. She is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Kraków. In recognition of her outstanding skill and piano performance, Agnes was awarded scholarships to study in Vienna and Zurich under Alexander Jenner and Rudolf Buchbinder.

Agnes has been fascinated with the logic of Bach and painterly expressions of such great impressionist composers as Debussy or Szymanowski. When she came to New York City 15 years ago, she discovered jazz, which was like the New World’s version of the Old World’s modernist music she studied in Europe. Jazz quickly became a passion, which Agnes still pursues today through her study of piano standards and singing.

Agnes is a dedicated piano teacher certified in children’s music education and the Carl Orff approach. She is a member of the piano faculty here at the Third Street Music School Settlement.

Nathaniel LaNasa brings his “stormy lyricism” (New York Times) to music from the Renaissance to the present day, playing piano, fortepiano, harpsichord, and electronic media. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, MoMA, and (le) Poisson Rouge. His festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Resonant Bodies, and the Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance. LaNasa’s “poise and elegance” and “deft sense of precision” (Feast of Music) have been heard in solo appearances with a variety of ensembles, including the New Juilliard Ensemble, TACTUS, New York Repertory Chamber Players, Bravura Philharmonic, and Manhattan School of Music’s Composers Orchestra.

A curious and passionate performer of contemporary music, he has premiered dozens of works, including music by Shawn Jaeger, Frederic Rzewski, and Scott Wollschleger. As a founding member of the Tobias Picker Ensemble, he made premiere recordings of Picker’s “Invisible Lilacs” and “Nova” for the Tzadik label; he also performed Picker’s “Composer Portrait” at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre. His recording of Dmitri Tymoczko’s “Candybox” for quarter-tone pianos (with Yegor Shevstov) is scheduled to be released by Bridge Records this fall. LaNasa has worked with many other living composers, including George Crumb, John Harbison, and John Musto. He recently performed in the American premiere of a concert version of William Antoniou’s opera, “Anathema” at National Sawdust with the Anonymous Ensemble.

An avid chamber musician, LaNasa has collaborated with the Skyros Quartet, and with members of the Daedelus, Dover, MIVOS, Formosa, and Cassatt quartets. He frequently performs with genre-defying vocalist Lucy Dhegrae, most recently at Roulette Intermedium. This fall also brings performances with violinist Hahnsol Kim in historic venues in Austria and Italy, and as one of the newest additions to the roster of the Brooklyn Art Song Society.

LaNasa is a graduate of the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. He has held fellowships at Tanglewood Music Center and Music Academy of the West. His teachers include Robert Durso, Margo Garret, Julian Martin, André-Michel Schub, and Brian Zeger. This year marks his tenth anniversary on faculty at Third Street Music School Settlement.

Biography pending

Having made her Carnegie Hall (Isaac Stern Auditorium) debut in June 2014, Vanessa May-lok Lee has performed throughout Canada, the USA, England, Wales and Mexico. Much sought after as a collaborative pianist, Ms. Lee released her debut CD Bleu et Or in August 2012 with internationally acclaimed flautist Miguel Ángel Villanueva (Mexico) and violist Elodie Guillot (France). Recorded on the Quindecim label, this CD features the works of Mexican, French and Canadian composers including the commissioned piece Prism by Canadian composer Erik Ross. Her latest CD Reflections with Gordon Wolfe, principal trombone of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, will be released in February 2015.

Ms. Lee graduated with a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance from the University of Toronto where she studied with Marietta Orlov, and a Master’s in Music from the Royal Academy of Music in London, England with Michael Young. In May 2014, Ms. Lee completed pre-doctoral studies at the Manhattan School of Music with John Forconi through the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Upcoming highlights include her Kennedy Center debut in Washington, DC in February 2015.

Ms. Lee currently resides in NYC where she serves as a staff pianist at the Manhattan School of Music and is on the piano faculty at Third Street Music School.

b. Mobile, AL. B.A., California State University, Fresno; State teaching credentials in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. Studies with Philip Lorenz and German Diez; Suzuki training with Victoria von Arx and Linda Jackson; Orff training with Carol Erion.

María Manzano is a Spanish pianist whose restless and dynamic temperament has brought her to many of the world’s most important music schools in cities such as Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris and New York. Having learnt from world-class musicians, like her main piano professor and mentor Albert Attenelle, and also Christopher Elton, Pascal Rogé, Antonio Sánchez Lucena, Ramzi Yassa, Deirdre O’Donohue and Horacio Gutierrez, among others, her keen ear for poetry in musical performance has made her a sensitive and committed pianist.  Her performances of Romantic and Spanish Music have been praised by the critics “for their style and technical accuracy” and for “the intense expression she infuses into her communicative playing”.

She has given concerts in many major European concert halls, such as Salle Cortot in Paris, Collège d’Espagne at La Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, Fondation Biermans-Lapôtre of Belgium and Luxembourg, Liceu Auditorium and Gaudí’s La Pedrera Concert Hall in Barcelona, The National Concert Hall in Madrid, Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao, and others. She has appeared in Classical Music programs on TV and has played before such personalities as Her Majesty the Queen Sofia of Spain. María has also given recitals at important American venues, such as Carnegie Hall, Provincetown Playhouse, Blackbox Theater, Saklad Auditorium, and at the Seattle International Piano Festival. 

In her extensive academic career she has studied at some worldwide renowned music schools such as: Liceu Conservatory in Barcelona, L’Êcole Normale Supérieure de Musique “Alfred Cortot” in Paris, New York University and Manhattan School of Music, where she graduated from Professional Studies with the highest honors (Dean’s List), after studying with the legendary pianist Horacio Gutierrez.

For more information: www.mariamanzanopianist.com

b. Nagano, Japan. B.M., Toho Gakuen School of Music; M.M., Manhattan School of Music; Professional Studies Diploma, Mannes College of Music. Soloist with Filarmonica de Jalisco, Sinfonica de Coyoacan and UNAM Chamber Orchestra in Mexico City. Chamber and recitals in Helsinki, Tokyo, San Jose, Barcelona, Bellagio. Studies with Karl Ulrich Schnabel, German Diez, Hugo Goldenzweig, Yoriko Takahashi and Jerome Rose.

Known for bringing exquisite tone color and expressivity to an unusual breadth of repertoire, Nnenna Ogwo has performed in Europe, the Middle East, South America and the United States. Her artistic acumen and acute scholarship result in a profound technical command of her instrument and a thoroughly engaging stage presence. She has performed at Steinway Hall and the Tenri Cultural Institute in Manhattan as well as in a series of pop-up concerts at various Sing for Hope pianos located around New York City in the summer. Her most current project involve the expansion of her annual Juneteenth celebration of black music and composition at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre in downtown Manhattan as well as an upcoming recording of the music of composers of the African diaspora.

An American pianist of Caribbean and African descent, Ms. Ogwo began playing the piano at age six, studying at the Peabody Conservatory Preparatory and graduating with honors in piano and composition. She received her Bachelor of Music at Oberlin Conservatory, studying piano with Lidia Frumkin, and under the auspices of a Fulbright Fellowship attended the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary where she studied with Ferenc Rados and received a Graduate Certificate. Ms. Ogwo completed her Master of Music and Doctor of the Musical Arts degrees with Gilbert Kalish at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Her former coaches and teachers include the late Gyorgy Sebok and Julius Levine, Leon Fleisher, Robert McDonald, Edna Goulandsky, Zelma Bodzin and Edmund Arkus. Other academic honors include the Stern Scholarship and the Turner Fellowship.

Ms. Ogwo currently serves on the piano faculty at Third Street Music School in Manhattan and maintains a private studio in New York City and has successfully prepared students for admission to conservatory. She is the founder of Working Projects, a works-in-progress venue for artists and musicians. She is a co-curator at The Soapbox Gallery in Brooklyn, NY and a member of the board of the Leschetizky Association on New York City.

Ms. Ogwo’s recording of solo piano music by Bach-Siloti, Beethoven, Debussy, Scriabin and Piazzolla entitled Issue One is available digitally on her website at www.nnenna.net and in physical form at www.cdbaby.com.

"His performances are as musicianly and assured as they are clear-sighted...impeccable." — Gramophone

"An accomplished and sensitive artist." — Classics Today

Roger Peltzman is a pianist and teacher in New York City. Amongst his many public performances, Roger has given six solo concerts at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, has performed in Europe, and has played to a sold out audience at New York's cutting edge venue—Le Poisson Rouge.

Roger has also played chamber music and solo repertoire at The Third Street Music School where he is a member of the faculty. Music has always played a large part in Roger's life. His first memory is of the Beatles playing on The Ed Sullivan show in 1964. It is written that when a childhood friend's mother bragged that "Johnny" was reading the newspaper and then asked Roger if HE could read yet. Roger said, "No, but does Johnny know who Tchaikovsky was?" Roger attended SUNY Binghamton where he graduated with honors in both Music and Cinema. It was there that he studied with Seymour Fink.

While at Binghamton he received the music faculty award and participated in several master- classes, including one taught by Vladimir Feltsman. Roger Peltzman received his Masters in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music where he was a student of Zenon Fishbein. After graduating from school he worked as a musician, recording engineer and record producer. His production work garnered praise from many publications including The Atlantic Monthly and the Chicago Tribune. Currently, Roger is being coached by pianist Edmund Arkus.

In 2014 Roger released a CD, Dedication: Roger Peltzman Plays Chopin (Astre Records), which was recorded at the famed Brussels Conservatory of Music and hailed by Gramophone Magazine. This is the same venue where his Uncle Norbert Stern performed and won several piano competitions while he was a student at the school. Tragically, Norbert died at age 21 in Auschwitz. The recording is not just a document of Roger’s interpretations of works by Chopin but also an act of remembrance for his Uncle. The CD has gotten much airplay on WQXR - FM, WFUV - FM, Radio France, and has received praise from publications in both the U.S and Europe.

Further reading on Roger's family can be found in this New York Times article.

rogerpeltzman.com

EDUCATION
MM in Piano Performance, BA in Music, Cinema

SCHOOLS
Manhattan School of Music, Binghamton University

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS
Seymour Fink, Zenon Fishbein, Edmund Arkus

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall

COMPETITIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS
Binghamton Music Faculty Award

SPECIAL INTERESTS
Traveling!

Biography pending

Dana Pielet studied at The Juilliard School, from which she holds both a Bachelor and Masters Degree. She received her Suzuki certification from the School for Strings in New York and also studied at the Talent Education Institute in Japan with Shinichi Suzuki. She has had extensive training in the Alexander Technique and Dalcroze solfege, improvisation and eurhythmics.

An active performer and chamber musician, Ms. Pielet has appeared before audiences in Sydney, Australia, Boston, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Jose, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. She has been a frequent artist at the American Landmark Festivals and has recorded and broadcast for classical radio in Chicago, Los Angeles and Sydney.

Ms. Pielet was the first pianist to receive the Rudolph Ganz Memorial Award for two consecutive years. Other recognitions include the Chatauqua Institution Scholarship Award and a Fellowship at Juilliard. She studied with Beveridge Webster, Menahem Pressler, Lilian Kallir, Saul Dorfman, Miyoko Lotto, Linda Babits and German Diez.

Dana Pielet has taught on the faculties of the Juilliard School, Hoff-Barthelson Music School, Hollis Woods Music School and the Great Neck Music Center. She is currently on the faculty of the Third Street Music School Settlement and maintains a private teaching studio in Manhattan where she teaches both traditional and Suzuki students.

Marc Ponthus pioneered the monographic solo piano recital of leading avant-garde composers from the second half of the 20th century, devoting entire programs to composers including Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Iannis Xenakis. He has recorded for Neuma Records, Lorelt Records and Bridge Records. His recording of the complete piano music of Boulez was released in 2016 and was chosen by Gramophone magazine as Editor’s choice. Ponthus has conducted the LowerEastsideEnsemble, the IFCP Ensemble and the Project Webern Orchestra.

Ponthus edited and prefaced a book of essays on the music of Elliott Carter (Pendragon Press). He did a video with Pierre Boulez at the Deutsche Staat Opera, “Pierre Boulez in conversation with Marc Ponthus”. He also composes under the “nom de plume” Oữτις . He has combined video collage in live performances. Ponthus was the executive and artistic Director of the Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance in New York. Ponthus has written and directed short films. His recent experimental films were chosen as “the Official selection” at a number of International Film Festivals. He is a recipient of the Tanne Foundation's Award for achievement in the arts. 

Hugh Sam was born in British Guiana, South America and emigrated to London in 1967, where he studied at the Guildhall School of Music. In 1968, he left for New York and studied at the Manhattan School of Music from where he received his degree in composition. His teachers included Howard Rovics and Nicolas Flagello. His post-graduate study was with American composer, Robert Starer, at Brooklyn College. He has always been interested in American popular music and jazz since his teens. He wrote two musicals while in Guyana and also arranged for steel orchestra. He was also the pianist on a jazz album featuring saxophonist Harry Whittaker, drummer Art Broomes and bassist Maurice Watson. His other interest has been in utilizing Guyanese and Caribbean folksongs in the same manner that composers like Chopin, Brahms, and even Gershwin have done for the folk music of their countries. He has arranged the folksongs of Guyana and some Caribbean countries for piano and piano duet.

He arranged Christmas songs for the New York Housing Symphony Orchestra in 2002. His orchestral composition, “A Tale of Two Rivers” was performed in Russia in 2005 and was given a brief mention in the Russian newspaper “Pravda.” In 2004, his “Trinidadian Rhapsody for Piano and Steel Orchestra” was performed in Trinidad by the University of the West Indies Steel Ensemble and Guyanese pianist Ray Luck. In 2007, he was given a Caribbean Sunshine Award for his contribution to the culture of the Caribbean. His arrangement of some Gershwin songs was performed in Kazan, Russia in 2012. These were commissioned by the Afro-American composer Marlon Daniel, who had taught at Third Street Music School.

Mr. Sam has written for several occasions at Third Street Music School, including retirements, new appointments and births. These have included two-piano compositions featuring two performers at each piano. He has used his compositional ability to combine classical compositions that he has known and played with those American popular songs that he admires. He has done this in several of his recitals. These recitals have also included performances of his work by other members of the faculty featuring their own specialties, including strings, flute and voice.

Dr. Jiayin Shen has toured extensively in Germany, Switzerland, England, Canada, the United States, and throughout her native China. She has performed on major concert stages such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing Concert Hall, and Yantai Grand Theater. During her time in Baltimore, she was a member of the piano faculty at the Preparatory Division at Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. She is currently on the piano faculty at Third Street Music School Settlement in New York, and a visiting professor at Qingdao University, China.

Jiayin made her American debut in 2002 with the University of Michigan Philharmonic at Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was the winner of the 2008 Baltimore Music Club Piano Competition, top prizewinner of the Xin Hai National Piano Competition in Beijing, University of Michigan Concerto Competition, and a recipient of Outstanding Artist Award from the Rislov Foundation.

Jiayin has appeared at renowned international festivals including the Internationale Konzertarbeitswochen in Goslar, Germany; Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine; Banff and Toronto Festivals in Canada; and Pianofest in East Hampton, New York. She has performed in master-classes and worked with world-class pianists such as Leon Fleisher, Menahem Pressler, Arie Vardi, Marc Durand, Anton Kuerti, André Laplante, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Yong Hi Moon, and Paul Schenly.

Jiayin began her professional music studies at age four, and made her public debut at age six. Her talent caught the attention of Professor Guangren Zhou, Chairman of the piano department at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and in 1986, seven-year-old Jiayin made history as the youngest student ever admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music.

In 1997, Jiayin came to the United States to study at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. The following year, she was admitted to the Cleveland Institute of Music, under Professor Paul Schenly. She now holds Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Michigan, where she completed her studies in the studio of Professor Arthur Greene. In May 2011, Jiayin completed her Doctoral Degree in Musical Arts at the Peabody Conservatory in the studio of Yong Hi Moon.

MS. B.S. in Music Education from University of Arkansas. Studies with Mr. Robinson and Mr. Gene Miller. Taught music at the Community Museum of Brooklyn and piano at Education Unlimited. Maintains private studio as instructor of piano, theory and vocal coach. Founding Director of the New York Jazz Philharmonic. Piano instructor at Harlem School of Arts (2005-present). Active as a teacher, composer, arranger, recording artist and performer.

Adam Tendler has been called "an exuberantly expressive pianist" who "vividly displayed his enthusiasm for every phrase" by The Los Angeles Times, a “maverick pianist” by The New Yorker, a "modern-music evangelist" by Time Out New York, and an artist who "has managed to get behind and underneath the notes, living inside the music and making poetic sense of it all," by The Baltimore Sun, who continued, "if they gave medals for musical bravery, dexterity and perseverance, Adam Tendler would earn them all."

Tendler first made national headlines with America 88x50, the fifty-state recital tour he organized from the front seat of his Hyundai and the subject of his new book, 88x50, a 2013 Lambda Literary Award Nominee and 2014 Kirkus Indie Book of the Month. Nominated for the 2012 American Pianists Association Classical Fellowship Award and a finalist for the 2013 American Prize, Tendler has performed in some of the country’s most distinguished halls, universities, and concert series, directing modern music initiatives across the country and serving as an announcer and new music liaison for NPR and Pacifica stations nationwide. His memorized performances of John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes have included a sold-out solo appearance at The Rubin Museum in New York City and a featured solo recital in the "Cage100" festival at Symphony Space, listed by New York Magazine as one of the Top 10 Classical Music Events of 2012.

Tendler has spoken and performed at NYU, Bard College, Kenyon College, Boston Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory, Portland State University, University of Nebraska, University of Alaska and Rice University, among others. An outspoken GLBTQ advocate, he was an election-season keynote speaker for the Human Rights Campaign in Boston, and has regularly performed for clients at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis Center in New York City.

Recognized as an authority in modern American music, Tendler is developing an album of music by Robert Palmer for Albany records, and just recorded the premiere release of Edward T. Cone’s 21 Little Preludes on the Ebb & Flow Arts label.

adamtendler.com

From an early age, Josefina attended Masterclasses with prestigious pianists and pedagogues such as Maria Joao Pires, Ferenc Rados, Rita Wagner, Julian Martin, Joaquín Achúcarro, Pavel Gililov, Matti Raekallio, Frank Wibaut, Jeffrey Swann, Dinorah Varsi, Josep Colom Eldar Nebolsin, and Antonio Baciero. 

She attended the well-renowned music schools Reina Sofía (Madrid), where she studied with Dmitri Bashkirov, Claudio Martinez Mehner, and Márta Gulyás and Manhattan School of Music, studying under the guidance of Marc Silverman. Previous teachers include Patrin Garcia Barredo and Kennedi Moretti.

Josefina has been a frequent performer at venues in Spain, Italy, Austria, France, England, Japan, Germany, and the US as a solo pianist and with CreArtBox, an NYC-based music organization that builds platforms to generate live art performances and collaborate with world-class artists and ensembles, receiving press attention from The New Yorker, Time Out, Washington Post, Times Ledger, HITN TV, The Huffington Post, Free Times, I care if you listen, Broadway World, Carpe Diem!, Spain Culture NY, Washington City Paper, El Pais and El Mundo.

Eli Wallace is a pianist, improviser, composer, and curator who resides in Brooklyn, NY. Since moving from Oakland, CA in 2015 he has established himself in the New York improvised and creative music scene, constantly seeking out improvisers with a similar predilection such as Daniel Carter, Billy Mintz, Ches Smith, Trevor Dunn, Chris Pitsiokos, Andrew Smiley, Sandy Ewen, Carlo Costa, Sean Ali, Angela Morris, Brandon Lopez, Erika Dicker, and many others. He recently released his first solo album, Barriers that Daev Tremblay (Can this even be called Music?) says “...is a fascinating and upsettingly great album!" His project Slideshow Junky utilizes numerous one-page pieces as a tool for improvisation and collaboration. He is also a member of the collective trio Cataclysmic Commentary, whose debut album Audience Participation was included in multiple “Best Albums of 2018” lists. And, he is one half of Rob Pumpelly’s duo Dialectical Imagination, whose third album was released by Leo Records. His work as a pianist displays his vast milieu of experiences from classical, jazz, and free improvisation studies, while incorporating contemporary piano performance practice to create a sound that is uniquely his own. As a composer, he’s written pieces for solo piano, chamber groups, jazz ensembles, vocal jazz ensembles, jazz big band, chamber orchestra, full studio orchestra, and received commissions from Contra Costa College JazzaNova, Lawrence University, and dancer Randee Paufve. His musical education was granted by Lawrence University, Appleton WI, and New England Conservatory, Boston, MA, where he completed a Bachelor’s of Music, and a Master’s of Music, respectively.

A laureate of the 2016 Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition, Larry Weng has been described in The New York Times as playing with “steely power and incisive rhythm.” Of his 2014 New York debut at Weill Hall, the New York Concert Review described him as “an extremely sensitive musician and mature interpreter,” and “mature beyond his years.” Of his Alborado del Gracioso, Harry Rolnick of ConcertoNet exclaimed, “Radiant and transparent, picturesque and picaresque, wild but with the artistic perfection of wildness.” Mr. Weng is also a laureate of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Competition, the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition for Young Musicians, The New York International Piano Competition, the Kosciuzsko Foundation Chopin Competition, and the Wideman International Piano Competition.

For more information about the artist and his programs please visit: www.larrywengpiano.com

Alexander A. Wu joined the elite roster of Yamaha Performing Artists in 2010. Recently praised by the Washington Post, “Wu is uncommonly attractive and entertaining,” Alexander is an active soloist and collaborative chamber player by also engaging audiences with his inspired ‘concert with commentary’ programs. He performs on the international stages that include appearances at the Kennedy Center, Museums at the Smithsonian, National Gallery of Art, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, 92Y, Merkin Hall, Wave Hill, Bargemusic, Bard College, Mannes College, City University of New York, The New School, Hofstra University and Trinity Church Wall Street.

His discography, available on Amazon, Cdbaby and iTunes, include two solos, Bach to the Future: Classical & Jazz Piano and Rhythm Road across the Americas, a piano four-hand - Four Hand Band, a crossover band - ZigZag Quartet and, the much anticipated George Gershwin piano solo cd to be released in spring 2019.

He is the artistic director and co-founder of the Millennium Chamber Symphony in New York City.

For more information about the artist and his programs please visit www.chamber-music.org/member/alexanderawu

Natasha Zaitseff graduated from The Moscow Conservatory with a master’s degree in music performance and pedagogy, with a concentration in piano. While at the Conservatory, she was awarded a Diploma of Excellence, placed first in the Scriabin Competition, and won first prize for the interpretation of Bartok’s music. Ms. Zaitseff has appeared in recitals, chamber music programs, and festivals throughout the former Soviet Union as well as internationally, including at the Quebec International Festival. Before coming to Third Street music School Ms. Zaitseff was Dwight School Head of Music and Music Director also teaching International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

Ms. Zaitseff was a member of the piano faculty of the School for Strings, and Thurnauer School of Music. She continues to teach piano at Lycee Francais de New York and Lucy Moses School of Music.

Born in Naples – Italy, MARCO CAPPELLI studied classical guitar at the Conservatorio di S. Cecilia in Rome. Supported by a scholarship provided by the Italian Government, he studied with Oscar Ghiglia at the Musik Akademie der Stadt in BASEL – Switzerland, concluding his Konzert-Diplom with a recital featuring a remarkable performance of Le Marteau Sans Maître by Pierre Boulez and Sonata op. 47 by Alberto Ginastera.

He has lead since the middle 90ies an extraordinary artistic path, becoming familiar with rigorous written music as well with free improvisation languages: nowadays Marco Cappelli works as contemporary music interpreter, as side musician for other artists’ projects, as well as composer and band leader and with his original music.

The diversity of Marco’s performances is due to a fascinating array of collaborations: Anthony Coleman, Michel Godard, Butch Morris, Franco Piersanti, Jim Pugliese, Enrico Rava, Marc Ribot, Adam Rudolph, Elliott Sharp, Giovanni Sollima, Markus Stockhausen, Cristina Zavalloni, Raiz… and many more.

He has toured intensively in South Korea, Japan, China, USA, Canada and Europe, being regularly guest – both as a soloist or in ensemble settings – in major classical and contemporary music series (Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Associazione Scarlatti in Napoli, Ravenna Festival, Festival Traiettorie in Parma, Ente Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, Guggenheim Museum in New York, Italian Academy at Columbia University in New York, BAM Fisher Theater in Brooklyn, Salzburg Festival in Austria, Ruhr Triennale and Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele in Germany…) as well in jazz and avant-garde music festivals (Saalfelden Jazz Festival in Austria, Pomigliano Jazz Festival in Italy, Barnsdall Theatre e Watts Tower Jazz Festival in Los Angeles , Moma in New York, OutPut Festival in Amsterdam, Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Belgrade Jazz Festival, Cerkno Jazz Festival in Slovenia…).

Very active as soloist, Marco co-founded the acclaimed Italian contemporary music groups ENSEMBLE DISSONANZEN, and leads three band projects: MARCO CAPPELLI ACOUSTIC TRIO, ITALIAN SURF ACADEMY and IDR- ITALIAN DOC REMIX.As side musician, he is member of MARC RIBOT CAGED FUNK, ADAM RUDOLPH’S GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA and LCP ENSEMBLE.

Marco has developed a large discography, among which we remember two solo guitar cds : Yun Mu, for the for the Italian label TDS, and EGP-Extreme Guitar Project: Music from Downtown New York for the prestigious American label Mode Records. Mode Records also published two cds by Ensemble Dissonanzen, where Marco is involved in G. Petrassi’s and H.W. Henze’s chamber Music.In 2008 the Italian jazz label Itinera released the first cd of Marco’s band IDR – Italian Doc Remix. In 2011, as memorial for the Twin Towers’ attack, Mode Records released In The Shadow of No Towers: a dvd that Marco realized with his band Syntax Error in collaboration with comic artist Art Spiegelman and actor John Turturro, which has been presented in film festival such as Toronto Jewish Film Festival and UK Jewish Film Festival in London). More recently the same label released Les Nuages en France and The American Dream debut albums by, respectively, MARCO CAPPELLI ACOUSTIC TRIO and ITALIAN SURF ACADEMY. In 2013 the second Acoustic Trio cd, due to Marco’s collaboration with writer Maurizio De Giovanni and titled Le Stagioni del Commissario Ricciardi , has been released by Tzadik, the prestigious John Zorn‘s label.

In 2012 Marco scored the film Intervallo by Leonardo Di Costanzo, which has been premiered at 69th Venice International Film Festival and has gained the prestigious price David di Donatello. He composes and plays live music for the New York based Young Soon Kim Dance Company, which after its successful South Korea tour (2012) performed at BAM Fisher Theater in Brooklyn (June 2014). In the Fall 2014, together with actor Andrea Renzi, he premiered the theater play Sonata per il Commissario Ricciardi, produced by Teatro Garibaldi in Palermo and presented at the prestigious Napoli Teatro Festival 2015, with live music by MARCO CAPPELLI ACOUSTIC TRIO. Later in 2015, Marco has been artist in residence at The Stone, the prestigious experimental and avant-garde New York venue directed by John Zorn.

Since 2004 Marco Cappelli made his home in Brooklyn, NY. At the side of his concert activity, Marco Cappelli teaches intensively: he is guitar professor at Conservatorio “Vincenzo Bellini” in Palermo and Associate Professor at Columbia University Music Performance Program in New York. He has taught as assistant with Mrs. Sharon Isbin at Aspen Summer School, and has been “guest professor” at Julliard School, Mannes College and New York University in New York, at Cal Poly University in Los Angeles, at Guadalajara University and at Ecole Sainte Trinité in Haiti.

For more information, visit www.MarcoCappelli.com

Biography pending

b. Huntington Beach, CA. B.A. Politics, University of California, Santa Cruz; B.F.A. Guitar Performance, New School University, New York City. Performances and recordings with John Tchicai, Eric Alexander, George Reed. Regular performances with the Paul Hemmings Trio throughout New York. Latest recording, In & Out, on Leading Tone Records. Member ASCAP and the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA).

Neal Kirkwood, pianist and composer, lives and works in New York City. He has composed for jazz and contemporary music chamber ensembles, solo voice, chorus and orchestra and has written over 200 works for various ensembles, for which he has received notable commissions.

As a jazz pianist, Neal Kirkwood has performed, toured and recorded with many artists including Pony Poindexter, Bobby McFerrin, Mike Clark, Chris Connor, and Abby Lincoln. Most recently, Kirkwood performed with graphic novel artist Art Spiegelman, in a musical adventure, touring Brazil, London and Paris, and the USA.

As bandleader, Neal Kirkwood's recordings include The Neal Kirkwood Octet, The Chromatic Persuaders and Extrospection, on Timescraper, and a solo piano CD, Time’s Circle, produced by Present Eye Music. A new trio recording, featuring all original Kirkwood compositions, is currently being prepared for release in 2018. He currently leads a 17-piece jazz band, called The Neal Kirkwood Big Band, featuring the stupendous talents of NYC’s most stellar jazz musicians.

Mr. Kirkwood has composed music for, and performed with, many of New York City’s creative and experimental theatre ensembles, including puppet/maskmaker Ralph Lee’s touring company, playwright Jim Neu, directors Anne Bogart and Joseph Chaiken.

Premiered in 2016, Kirkwood’s song cycle “Mexico City Blues” including the suite “The Art of Kindness,” was based on poetry by American poet Jack Kerouac, and composed for 16-voice chorus with jazz orchestra.

Mr. Kirkwood has a MA in composition from Mannes College of Music in New York City, where he studied primarily with composer Charles Jones. He is currently on the faculties of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and Third Street Music School in New York City.

Jeff Litman has been part of the New York City music scene since moving there in 2004 from his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He maintains an active career as a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator, having performed as a solo artist and side-musician at venues throughout the city such as Joe’s Pub, Rockwood Music Hall, and Mercury Lounge. In addition to an active performing career, Jeff’s compositions have been heard on television networks such as MTV and CBS. Jeff has a Bachelor's degree in jazz guitar from Indiana University and a Masters in classical guitar from Manhattan School of Music. With equal love for classical, jazz, pop, and rock, Jeff has an eclectic approach to music making that he works hard to impart to his students and colleagues.

A graduate of the LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts, guitarist David Moreno performs jazz and chamber music in addition to composing original music for film and television. He has appeared at major European jazz festivals with saxophone legend Sam Rivers, and has recorded with Marvin "Smitty" Smith, John Stubblefield, and Arturo O'Farrill. In 1996, he released a CD of his original compositions, State of Things (Beehive), to critical acclaim and has composed music for Lifetime documentary All Kinds of Families.

David holds both Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Manhattan School of Music and has taken master classes with Manuel Barrueco and Carlos Barbosa-Lima. He is also the director of the New York branch of the Day Jams music day camp.

Bryan is a freelance musician and music educator with years of teaching and performance experience. He earned his B.M. (Honors) in Jazz and Contemporary Music at NYU, and his M.M. in Jazz studies at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music. Bryan’s areas of specialization include Latin American and Caribbean Folk, Jazz and Blues, West African Folk and Popular Music. Although his primary instrument is electric and acoustic guitar, he also loves to play the Mandolin, Keyboards, and Hand Percussion. Bryan was the Assistant Music Director and guitar player for the touring production of the Broadway musical “Fela!” His original composition, “As Warm As The Sun,” was featured in Spike Lee’s Netflix series, “She’s Gotta Have It.” Most recently, Vargas co-wrote a bilingual album of Indian music for children called, “Falu’s Bazaar,” featuring the Indian Classical singer Falu Shah. In addition to recording and performing music, Bryan teaches at Third Street’s Partners Program and Pre-K Create Program.

Megan Atchley is a New York based violinist dedicated to creating musical experiences that resonate with her audiences aesthetically, politically and bodily. As a solo recitalist, chamber and orchestral musician, she performs a wide array of styles from classical to jazz in venues such as Lincoln Center, the Bowery Ballroom and Carnegie Hall. Devoted to the creation of new music, Megan is a founding member of trio Project Emme, and a frequent performer with various new music groups including Wordless Music Orchestra, ShoutHouse and the Firey String Sistas! A committed music educator, Megan founded and directs the afterschool violin program at Girls Prep Middle School in NYC. In addition to a robust private studio, Megan holds faculty positions with Inter-School Orchestras and the Third Street Music School Settlement. A passionate feminist, Megan presented a lecture recital at the 2011 Feminist Theory and Music Conference on the work of Kaija Saariaho. Megan’s credits as a recording artist include releases on Deutsche Grammophon and Firey Strings Company. She holds degrees from NYU Steinhardt and Ithaca College.

Canadian born violinist Robin Lynn Braun began her musical studies at age five. Winner of the 1994 Ontario Youth Competition, she made her debut at the Centre In the Square Raffi Armenian Theatre.
Ms. Braun has recorded and toured with many singer song writers such as, Lady Gaga, Michael Buble, Sarah McLachlan, Diana Krall, Marianas Trench, Brian Adams, Bruce Springsteen, Harry Connick Jr and Il Divo. Spring 2018 Robin performed with Lady Gaga at the 2018 Grammy Awards as well toured as Solo Violinist with legendary Rock band Foreigner. Summer 2019 she will joining Foreigner again on tour in Russia and Germany.

Completing an Honors Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance in Canada she further completed a Masters of Music degree at Indiana University and held a position of Assistant Instructor of Violin at Indiana University.

Immediately following her studies in the States she became a tenure member of the KW Symphony and Section First Violin of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (2004-2014) Current Ms. Braun is in high demand across Canada and America and performs Violin/Viola on Broadway’s Hamilton, Wicked, Book of Mormon and many others. She , American Ballet Theater and American Symphony Orchestra. She has a thriving studio at Third Street Music School Settlement and has been a faculty member there since 2015.

She plays on a 1767 Michael Deconet generously gifted by an anonymous donor in 2011.

New York City cellist Emily Brausa continues to lead a diverse and dynamic performing career. She has toured worldwide, with engagements ranging from Pemberton Festival with Ra Ra Riot—to a Japan tour with New York Symphonic Ensemble—to a Saturday Night Live taping with Beck—to two overnight performances of Max Richter’s eight-hour Sleep with American Contemporary Music Ensemble outside in Los Angeles’ Grand Park. Emily plays regularly with American Ballet Theater and in numerous Broadway shows. An enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music, she was recently involved with two brand new off-Broadway productions, and she premiered several chamber works with Tribeca New Music and Chelsea Opera. Emily is on faculty at Third Street Music Settlement, and she holds both a Bachelor and Master degree from The Juilliard School.

Claire Chan demonstrated a prolific talent for the violin at the age of eight when she first performed as a soloist with orchestra. As an avid chamber musician, she has collaborated with several award-winning groups. The Essex Quartet, managed by Columbia Artists, was supported by a grant from Chamber Music America and a residence at Rutgers University. The Beijing String Quartet won first prize in the China National String Quartet Competition. The Beijing Chamber Players performed in the auspicious venues of the Forbidden City Music Festival and the Beijing Concert Hall. The Kneisel Trio held summer residencies at the MidAmerica Chamber Music Institute and at the Troy Public Library Chamber Music Institute.

Ms. Chan, born in Detroit of Chinese parentage, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown University, where she earned musical honors and a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. She earned a full scholarship from The Juilliard School as a student of Joseph Fuchs, where she completed both her master’s and doctoral degrees. She taught at the Juilliard School as an assistant to both Professor Fuchs and the Juilliard String Quartet. She also taught for several years in Beijing at the Central Conservatory and the Capital Normal University.

Ms. Chan performs as a member of the New York City Opera and on Broadway with Phantom of the Opera. She teaches at Third Street Music School Settlement. She has also performed with such varied artists as Sam Smith, 50 Cent, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennet, Hall and Oats, Andrea Bocelli and Placido Domingo. She can be heard on recording labels of RCA Victor, Centaur, Annsam and ESS.A.Y Recordings.

Originally from University Place, Washington, Brian Fox divides his time between New York City and Seattle performing with a diverse number of ensembles including: the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Opera Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, American Symphony Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic. In 2015 Brian was appeared as guest assistant concertmaster in the South Dakota Symphony's production of Wagner's "Der fliegende Hollander". Until recently, he was a member of the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas in Miami, FL. While there, he performed as concertmaster and soloist and was twice winner of the annual concerto competition. Brian’s performances were praised by the Miami Herald and the South Florida Classical Review as “touchingly expressive”, “remarkable”, “scrupulously musical” and “fully seasoned”.

Prior to his tenure in Miami, Brian was a member of La Orquestra Comunidad de Valencia, Reina Sofia (Spain), at the invitation of Music Director Lorin Maazel. Many live performances with the OCV were released to international acclaim including Wagner’s complete "Der Ring des Nibelungen" conducted by Zubin Mehta. Brian’s recording projects range from the solo albums of Tenor Juan Diego Florez to Alicia Keys triple platinum R&B hit “As I Am” and Alan Menken’s score for the movie “Mirror Mirror”.

Brian received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in violin performance from the Manhattan School of Music. Additionally, he spent 6 summers as the Aspen Music Festival performing as concertmaster in the Aspen Concert Orchestra and assistant concertmaster of the Aspen Chamber Symphony. Brian has also appeared at the Tanglewood Music Center, Yellow Barn, Taos, Crested Butte and Bellingham Music Festivals and as concertmaster of the Artosphere Festival Orchestra.

Brian performs on a violin made by the Brooklyn luthier Samuel Zygmuntowicz, his bows are crafted by Charles Espey.

Sarah Franklin, violin, has performed throughout North America, South America and Europe. An avid orchestral player, Sarah performs regularly in Manhattan’s most elite concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, and Alice Tully Hall. Ms. Franklin holds the positions of Principal Second Violin of New York Festival Orchestra, Metro Chamber Orchestra and Astoria Symphony, as well as Section Violin of Distinguished Concerts International New York, Spectrum Symphony, and Ensemble 212, among others. Notable engagements include touring as Concertmaster of the Broadway National Tour of Camelot, playing in Mexico with Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, and performing under esteemed conductors Kurt Masur, Robert Spano, Sir Simon Rattle, and David Zinman. Ms. Franklin earned her Masters degree in 2009 from Manhattan School of Music as a student of Curtis Macomber, and her Bachelor of Music degree in 2007 from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, studying with Marilyn McDonald. Sarah resides in New York City, where in addition to performing, she enjoys teaching at Third Street Music School Settlement, Bank Street School, and the Lucy Moses School at Kaufman Center.

Melanie loves to share music. A native of Colorado, Melanie began playing the violin at a young age as a Suzuki student. She earned a Bachelors of Music from the University of Northern Colorado and Masters of Music in Violin Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oregon. Melanie has received Suzuki teacher training. She seeks to continually learn. As a performer, she has traveled through Thailand, Austria, and throughout the USA. Melanie regularly performs with Concerts in Motion, as well as, NewOrch. As an educator, Melanie is passionate about empowering students to masterfully develop violin technique and musical understanding, and by doing so, enhancing lives through music.

Known for her superlative artistry and deep musicality, cellist Carolyn Jeselsohn has performed throughout the world as a soloist, chamber artist and orchestral musician as well as a baroque cellist. She received her training at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Merry Peckham and Allan Harris earning her Bachelors and Masters in cello performance.

Ms. Jeselsohn has participated in many chamber music festivals and work-shops including the Perlman Music Program (Shelter Island, NY), Soundfest (Falmouth, MA), Yellow Barn (Putney, VT), the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival (Detroit, MI), the Takacs Quartet Seminar (Boulder, CO) and Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival (Blue Hill, ME ME ). She has collaborated with members of the Cleveland Quartet, the Mendelssohn Quartet, the Jupiter Quartet and many others. Ms. Jeselsohn has studied baroque cello and chamber music at Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.

Carolyn is also a devoted teacher. She serves on the faculty at the Third Street Music School Settlement, the JCC on the Palisades, the Brearley School and the Elizabeth Morrow School Summer String Festival, as well as teaching private lessons in her studio in Brooklyn, NY. She is a Suzuki Association of America certified Suzuki cello teacher.

Violinist Inna Langerman is an avid orchestral and chamber musician of the New York metropolitan area and Westchester County, performing works ranging from the Rennaisance to the 21st century. A native of Belarus and born into a musical family, Inna began music lessons at the age of 6 on violin and piano. Enrolling in LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts allowed her to study alongside other aspiring musicians and to learn from renowned artists of Lincoln Center.

Inna holds two Masters degrees along with an Artist Diploma from SUNY Purchase College - in Violin Performance and in Arts Entrepreneurship. She received her Bachelor's in performance with high honors at CUNY Queens College's Aaron Copland School of Music. Inna studied violin under Daniel Phillips, Jorge Corpus, Calvin Wiersma, and Deborah Buck while exploring further musical ambitions, including composition, orchestration, and conducting. Inna currently performs with various ensembles in New York and is a recipient of the ‘Discimus ut Serviamus’ award and the ‘Miranda Arts Project’ grant for serving the community through music.

BIOGRAPHY

Ina Litera, violist, is an active freelance and chamber musician performing with the Stamford Symphony, The American Symphony Orchestra, the School of American Ballet Orchestra, The Putnum Chorale, The Long Island Masterworks Orchestra and The Oratorio Society of Queens. She is violist of the award winning trio, Eight Strings and a Whistle. In 1998 Ina performed at the White House with saxophonist David Sanborn. Live radio performances include appearances on “Around New York” on WNYC, WBAI radio and “Live at Eleven” on Maine Public Radio. She has performed and recorded with John Zorn, Butch Morris, Vikki Sue Robinson, Chris Rael, Galt MacDermott and with the bands Church of Betty and Modern English. In 2009 she appeared as soloist for Berlioz’s Harold in Italy with the Downtown Symphony. In 2007, she premiered Douglas Anderson’s solo viola work “...mood, enough...” Before joining the faculty at Third Street, Ina taught at the Hoff Bartelson School in Westchestrer as well as the Turtle Bay Music School in Manhattan. She is currently an Adjunct Lecturer at the Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY. Ina holds a BM from the Manhattan School of Music and a MA from the City College of New York . She received her Suzuki Certification at the School for Strings, where she studied with Louise Behrend.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Music, Viola Performance, Master of Arts in Viola Performance, Suzuki Certification

SCHOOL(S)

Manhattan School of Music, The CIty College of New York (City University of NY), School for Strings

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Jorge Corpus, Burton Kaplan, Lillian Fuchs, Mimi Dye

COMPETITIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS

Winner of Special Presentations Award, Artist International 2002

SUMMER FESTIVALS

Tanglewood, GrandTetons, Arists in Residence at the Arcady Festival, Schoodic Arts for All

Violist Chiu-Chen Liu enjoys a diverse career in orchestra, chamber music and pedagogy. Recent performances include engagements with Chamber Music Hellas in Greece, Cremona International Music Academy, Alion Baltic International Music Festival, Festival Suoni D'abruzzo in Italy, BAMcafé Live, American Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Chamber Music Ensemble, New York Classical Quartet, Attacca Quartet and Lecture-Performance Series at Columbia University. Chiu-Chen has served as principal viola with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, the Sarasota Opera, Di Capo Opera, Fairfield County Chorale Orchestra. Her chamber music performances have been broadcast on NPR and WQXR radio.

Currently residing in New York City, Chiu-Chen relocated from her native Taiwan at age seventeen to study at the Manhattan School of Music. She later earned her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College The New School for Music, receiving full scholarship as a student of Hsin-Yun Huang, Mark Steinberg and Laurie Smukler.  A dedicated teacher, Chiu-Chen was appointed the String Department Chairperson from 2013 to 2016 at the Third Street Music School where she is currently serving as a full time violin, viola and chamber music faculty.

In addition to Music, Chiu-Chen is also an active visual artist.  She is currently serving as the Visual Artist-In-Resident for the Olympic Music Festival in Washington State, VivaViola Festival in Taiwan and the Sejong International Music Festival at the Curtis Institute from 2013-2014.

b. New York, New York. B.M., M.M., The Juilliard School, under William Lincer. Teaching certification, The American Center for the Alexander Technique. Suzuki certification, School for Strings. Performances in recitals, orchestras, master classes and nightclubs internationally and in many New York venues. Performed for Pope Benedict XVI, President Bill Clinton; with Billy Joel, Elton John, Sting, Placido Domingo on various world stages. Currently performs in the Orchestra of St. Luke's, American Ballet Theater, various Broadway shows. Faculty, NYU Steinhardt School of Education (Alexander Technique).

Aimée Niemann is an educator, performer, and improviser.

A passionate teaching artist, she teaches music and dance in Manhattan, and is currently an outreach partner at Third Street Music School Settlement.She holds certifications in the Suzuki Method.

A fervent advocate of contemporary music, she is the founding member of several ensembles who commission composers to write for their distinctive instrumentation, and is involved in many cross medium and interdisciplinary projects.

She has toured internationally through Europe and in Thailand as a guest teacher at Mahidol University and has performed at Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, (Le) Poisson Rouge, and Roulette.

Niemann received a BM in Violin Performance from the University of Northern Colorado and a MM in Violin Performance from New York University.

Nicholas Pauly is a violist, composer, and improviser from Brooklyn, NY. A contemporary music enthusiast, Pauly focuses on extended techniques for strings, including performance with found objects, subtones, and alternate tunings. In 2014 he received his M.M. in classical performance from Manhattan School of Music. Major teachers include Karen Ritscher and Tim Frederiksen on viola, and Randy Woolf and Kimberly Riedel for composition.

Pauly has performed with Concerts on the Slope, Rhymes With Opera, the String Orchestra of Brooklyn, and Ensemble Mise-En. His current project, nonstructures, is an ongoing set of free improvisations for viola, violin, waterphone, and other available instruments. In 2016-17, he composed and performed Four C3s for One, for viola re-strung with four unison C strings. Pauly has also co-curated Blank Space House Concerts, a series of apartment “laboratory” concerts for emerging new music performers in New York. Nick is a violin and viola instructor with a passion for teaching improvisation. He is an alum of Third Street Music School Settlement, where he has served on the faculty since 2015. In addition to his musical interests, Nick is an avid baseball fan, amateur painter, and aspiring luddite.

Puerto-Rican born José Pietri-Coimbre has distinguished himself as an orchestral, chamber music, and solo violinist and violist, and additionally as a classical baritone soloist and ensemble singer.

He has been a busy and passionate educator for nearly two decades, having been on the faculty of the Diller-Quaile School of Music, the Mozart Academy in New York City, the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts and currently at Third Street Music School. In the latter he has been a long-standing faculty member for both the main school (violin, viola, chamber music) and Partners programs (strings, chorus), as well as Director for the Barbara Fields Chamber Music Program. One of his current projects as an educator, in collaboration with violinist and Suzuki violin teacher Patricia Davis, is the ongoing compilation of a video-library of short videos explaining pedagogical aspects for each piece studied in the Suzuki Violin Method.

As a violinist and violist, Mr. Pietri-Coimbre has held principal positions at the Bronx Opera and Delaware Valley Opera Orchestras, Garden State Philharmonic, One World Symphony, Puerto Rico Sinfonietta and the National Orchestral Institute Orchestra. He has been a member of the Zipoli Ensemble for the Spanish American Baroque, Dorian Baroque, New Jersey Philharmonic, Puerto Rico Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras, and is a substitute musician at the "Phantom of the Opera" Orchestra on Broadway and the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra. He has performed solo and chamber music with his piano trio, the Saffron Trio, and with the Joyce Ensemble, Con Vivo Chamber Players, Harlem Chamber Players, at the Chamber Music Live Series at Lefrak Concert Hall, and at the Luci Toscane Festival in Wisconsin and Italy.

As a vocalist, Mr. Pietri-Coimbre has presented frequent solo art song recitals in the United States and Europe. Most recently, he appeared as Giove and Giove in Diana in Cavalli’s La Calisto with Julianne Baird’s Baroque Opera Workshop at Queens College, with New York Lyric Opera as Pandolfe in Massenet's Cendrillon, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and at Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall as Figaro in scenes from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, and with One World Symphony in the role of Walter White/Heisenberg in S. Hong's Breaking Bad- Ozymandias, the recently-premiered operatic version of the acclaimed TV show Breaking Bad. He was a member of the Puerto Rico Opera Chorus and was a frequent oratorio soloist in the Island. Mr. Pietri-Coimbre also sings professionally with the New York Virtuoso Singers, Musica Sacra, Collegiate Chorale Singers, Bard Festival Singers and The Salvatones Ensemble, among others.

Mr. Pietri-Coimbre studied at the Puerto Rico Music Conservatory with Jose Figueroa and Dara Morales, and at the Aaron Copland School of Music (Queens College) in New York with Grigory Kalinovsky and Daniel Phillips. He also studied voice with Bernardo Villalobos and Neil Rosenshein in New York City. At the University of Maryland, he studied Chamber Music with members of the Guarneri String Quartet, and trained in Baroque performance practice in New York with harpsichordist Raymond Erickson at Queens College and violinist Judson Griffin.

A member of several ensembles, Troy Rinker has performed with the West Side Chamber Orchestra, New York City Chamber Orchestra, New York Symphonic Ensemble, Oratorio Society of New York, Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, SONOS Chamber Orchestra, EOS Chamber Orchestra, SEM Ensemble, New York Pops, and the Stamford Symphony.

Troy Rinker’s musical journey began in the public schools of Jacksonville, Arkansas and by age 15 he was playing professionally with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Rinker’s musical education continued at Indiana University, the University of Central Arkansas, and The Juilliard School, where he studied with bass luminaries Lawrence Hurst, James Hatch, and Homer Mensch.

His summer festival credits include OK Mozart, Tanglewood, Spoleto, the Naumburg Bandshell concerts, the Kilkenny Arts Festival, and Caramoor. Mr. Rinker can be heard on labels Sony Classical, Telarc, Naxos, North/South, and in studio recordings for television and film.

BIOGRAPHY

Steven Rochen, a native of Texas, studied at the Mannes College of Music with Sally Thomas where he completed a Masters Degree and Post-Graduate Diploma. His undergraduate training was at the University of Houston with Fredell Lack and his principal conducting teacher was Igor Buketoff. Chamber music coaches include Felix Galimir, John Graham, Hans Jørgen Jensen, and Paul Doktor and he has performed in master classes with Josef Gingold and Julius Levine.

Mr. Rochen has performed in solo, chamber music, and orchestral performances in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. As a composer specializing in works for children's performance, his compositions and arrangements for orchestra have been broadcast on NBC and PBS. His conducting activities include: conductor of the Third Street Sinfonia and the young children's orchestra, Con Spirito. In the summer of 2008, Mr. Rochen travelled to Europe as the Paul-Philippe Bolduc Memorial Fellow.

Mr. Rochen is a former faculty member of Baruch College and the Trinity School in New York City. In addition to his work at Third Street Music School, Mr. Rochen currently conducts the Carnegie Hill Orchestra of the InterSchool Orchestras and the orchestra at Stevens Institute. He is on the faculty of The Meadowmount School of Music and has served as a clinician and chamber music coach for the Vermont Youth Orchestra.

SCHOOL(S)

Bachelor of Music: University of Houston, Houston, TX; Post-Graduate Diploma and Master of Music, The Mannes College of Music; Summers at the Meadowmount School of Music

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Sally Thomas, Fredell Lack, Igor Buketoff

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE

Former member of Laredo Symphony, Lake Charles Symphony, Alexandria Symphony. Assistant Concertmaster - Primavera Potosina Festival in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Arranger and performer on CD "Twilight 14" by the indie band "The Baskervilles," Violin and vocals on CDs of The New Lost Faculty Ramblers.

COMPETITIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS

2008 Paul-Philippe Bolduc Memorial Fellow, Texas Media Center award for film.

SUMMER FESTIVALS

Primavera Potosina, Meadowmount

stevenrochen.com

Cellist, Zsaz Rutkowski enjoys a versatile career in orchestra, chamber music, theatre and pedagogy.   As a core member with New York City’s Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and the New England Symphonic Ensemble, she appears regularly at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, performing in a variety of cross cultural programs. Zsaz is active in New York’s theatre community, both on and off Broadway.  She has performed and orchestrated for Theatre for a New Audience and is the principal sub at Pretty Woman, the musical.

Zsaz holds a BA from the Manhattan School of Music, MA from The Aaron Copland School of Music and Artist Diploma from the University for Music and Art in Graz, Austria.  Her principal teachers have included; Marion Feldman, Marcy Rosen, Florian Kitt and Reinhard Latzko.

As a believer in life-long learning, Zsaz is currently studying toward her Suzuki Teacher Training Certificate at The School for Strings under master pedagogue, Pam Devenport.  Zsaz enjoys drawing from a rich resource and history of great mentors and diverse musical training to inspire and lead the next generation of cellists.  In addition to maintaining a private studio, Zsaz is on faculty at The Spence School. 

Zsaz’s special interests have led her to compose music for meditations using both cello and ambient percussion – which comes from her passion for service and helping others achieve their full potential through the power of sound.

Claire Smith joined the Third Street faculty in 2002. She considers Third Street her 'home away from home.' She also is on the faculties of the Spence School and Bank Street School for Children. She performs on both modern and baroque violin. Early music performances include Trinity Baroque, Big Apple Baroque, Siren Baroque, Dorian Baroque, the Leonarda Ensemble and La Fiocco Baroque. Modern work includes Astoria Symphony, Sinfonia Celestis, Greenwich Symphony, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Di Capo Opera, Bronx Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera and on Broadway.

Claire's notable appearances include Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman and The View with Sean "Puffy" Combs and Father John Misty, and she is also the violinist for Ritchie Blackmore’s band, Blackmore’s Night, with whom she has performed in Germany, Holland, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Scotland, Luxembourg, England and the US. Recordings include Shakira’s album, She Wolf and Blackmore’s Night’s Dancer and the Moon.

Biography pending

b. Baltimore, MD. A graduate of the Baltimore School of the Arts, the Oberlin Conservatory, and the Peabody Conservatory. Solo and chamber music with such notables as Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Pamela Frank, and Paul Badura-Skoda. Participated in internationally televised (CBS) Kennedy Center Honors honoring Alexander Schneider. Presented with the Martell Cordon Bleu Award by actor/musician Dudley Moore. Currently tours nationally with The Ritz Chamber Players. Faculty, Peabody Conservatory Prep Program and Opus 118.

Cellist Shanda Wooley was raised in Montana and began piano studies at age 5. After switching to cello in high school, she received her Bachelor of Music Performance from University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, magna cum laude. She is an active recitalist and freelancer in NYC, and is principal cellist of the New York Repertory Orchestra. The main thrust of her work involves collaboration, whether as part of an educational community at Third Street Music Settlement and the Nightingale Bamford School or with her husband, trumpeter Nate Wooley; documenting works by avant-garde composer Anthony Braxton. As a soloist, Wooley has fervently championed the music of mid-twentieth century composers such as Hans Werner Henze, Benjamin Britten, and Elliott Carter. She has performed chamber music with diverse groups - from rock bands to the Artemis Ensemble - at Merkin Concert Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Symphony Space, Riverside Church and Manchester Music Festival.

But, her deepest passion is education. While working an executive track position in the financial sector, Shanda started her training as a Suzuki cello teacher, ultimately leaving the private sector to teach. She gets the greatest joy and fulfillment from watching the love of music and art blossom in a young mind through the discovery of the musical language and the skills that go with it. She has been involved in building an open and loving community of educators and students at Third Street Music Settlement since 2007 and prizes the tradition of opening minds to the beauty of music that the school enjoys.

Krists Auznieks’ quintet “Piano” was featured in The New York Times among the week’s best classical music moments. His opera NeoArctic, co-written with British techno producer Andy Stott, won Danish Reumert Prize and will have its US premier at The Kennedy Center in 2019. 

His music has been performed at The Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), The Royal Danish Theatre, Beijing National Arts Centre, Shanghai City Theatre, Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, The Southbank Center (London), Théâtre Maisonneauve (Montreal), The Kitchen (NYC), National Sawdust (NYC),  Chassé Theater (The Netherlands), Cultuurcentrum Hasselt (Belgium), Théâtre De Nîmes (France) and featured in Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Holland),  Aspen Music Festival, American Music Festival (Albany, NY), MATA 2017 (NYC),, Arctic Arts Festival (Norway), UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Finland, European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017 Festival (Denmark), and Chelsea Music Festvial (NYC). He has worked with Sandbox Percussion (NYC), David Kweksilber Big Band (Holland), Antico Moderno (Boston), Yale Philharmonia, Orkest de Ereprijs (Holland), pianists Robert Fleitz and David Fung, and guitarist Jiji. Recent works include Crossing for orchestra, commissioned by Aspen Music Festival and Robert Spano, premiered by Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra and Patric Summers,  as well as works for Latvian Radio Choir, Albany Symphony musicians (NY), Yale Percussion Group, and two massive concert-length works for Contemporaneous (NYC) and Sinfonietta Riga (Latvia). 

Currently pursuing doctorate at Yale School of Music with Aaron Jay Kernis and David Lang, his most recent recognitions include Jacob Druckmann Prize from Aspen Music Festival, Latvian National Grand Music Award for the best new work of the year, The Woods Chandler Memorial Prize from Yale, fellowships from Aspen Music Festival, NEXT Festival of Emerging Artists (NYC), Bennington Chamber Music Conference, and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival,   winning works at The Chicago Ensemble’s Discover America XI and Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra competitions. He has taught at Sitka Fine Arts Camp,  Yale’s Music In Schools Program. He teaches musicianship and analysis at Yale School of Music.

BIOGRAPHY

Matthew Barnson composes for orchestras, choirs, string quartets, voices, chamber ensembles, dancers and computers. Recently, his music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, the Centre Pompidou, the Museum of Modern Art, the Kennedy Center, the Aldeburgh Festival, the Royal Academy of Music, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, ISCM World Music Days, MATA, Wigmore Hall, Aspen, Heidelberger Frühling, ManiFest, the San Francisco War Memorial and other venues throughout the United States and Europe.

Large-scale works have been commissioned by, and performed in recent seasons by Third Coast Percussion, the Yale School of Music, the JACK Quartet, Volti and Heidelberger Frühling. He is currently composing works for the Dublin Laptop Orchestra, the Mivos Quartet, DuoZwei and New Morse Code.

In February, Tzadik released his album of string quartets performed by the Arditti and JACK Quartets.

Barnson teaches composition, electronic music, theory and the history of music after 1945. In addition to chairing the Theory and Composition Department at Third Street, he has taught at Yale College and served as assistant professor of composition at Trinity College Dublin and the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

SCHOOLS

Eastman, the University of Pennsylvania, IRCAM and Yale.

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner, Steven Stucky, Augusta Read Thomas, Martin Bresnick, Ezra Laderman, Ingram Marshall, Wolfgang Rihm and David Lang.

COMPETITIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS

Matthew's work has been recognized with awards and commissions from the Barlow Endowment, Aaron Copland House, NewMusicUSA, Jerome Foundation, Yale University and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among others and in addition to residencies at a number of artist colonies in the United States and abroad.

Native New Yorker composer/violinist Justine F. Chen has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and commissions, including prizes and funding from BMI, ASCAP, the Jerome Fund for New Music, Frances Goelet Charitable Lead Trust, and Opera America. She has been commissioned and performed by New York City Opera, New York City Ballet, The Juilliard School, New York Festival of Song, SongFest, New Juilliard Ensemble, Washington Ballet, Brooklyn Philharmonic, FLUX Quartet, Concertante, Long Leaf Opera, American Lyric Theater, Chants Libres (Montréal), and Tapestry New Opera (Toronto).

She began formal training in violin and composition at the pre-college division of The Juilliard School, and in ballet at the School of American Ballet. As a dancer, she performed in various productions with New York City Ballet at the New York State Theater. Among her principal composition teachers are Robert Beaser, David Diamond, and Andrew Thomas.

Because of her unique training, Ms. Chen is drawn to interdisciplinary collaborations. Her first collaboration happened in high school, when she wrote the incidental score for a production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. In 2002, Justine’s incidental music for James Glossman’s award-winning adaptation of Jim Lehrer’s novel, The Special Prisoner, juxtaposed soundscapes of the modern world with the musical traditions of Noh theater. In 2001, she collaborated with digital artist Ye Won Cho on a short animation Trilemma, which was selected for and screened at such prestigious festivals as the Hiroshima Animation Festival, the New York Expo, the Student Academy Awards, Anima Mundi in South America, and broadcast on PBS in “Reel New York” June 2002.

Her collaborations with choreographers have been performed by various companies around the United States. On a piece commissioned by the Juilliard Dance Department, the New York Times wrote, “Justine Fang Chen… blended popular dance rhythms into the kind of propulsive, emotionally resonant score that choreographers tend to dream of.”

An accomplished violinist, Ms. Chen has performed worldwide and specializes in the performance and interpretation of contemporary music. She recently performed at the Darmstadt Ferienkurse, and as one of the 6 violinists at the US premiere of James Dillon’s much-anticipated Nine Rivers. As a scholar, she has lectured on Beethoven quartets, electronic music, and Mario Davidovsky’s Synchronisms series. Since 1999, she has been studying the intricacies of interactive computer music program MAX/MSP. Her studies, guided by Mari Kimura, cutting-edge violinist and MAX/MSP programmer, have resulted in the creation of several interactive pieces, including a computer-enhanced chamber opera for The Juilliard School. This chamber opera, The Maiden Tower, was also presented as a part of New York City Opera’s VOX: Showcasing American Composers in May 2006. Scenes from The Maiden Tower were also presented by Montréal’s premiere contemporary opera company, Chants Libres, in December 2008.

As composer-in-residence for Long Leaf Opera 2007-2008, she was commissioned to write a youth opera. On this opera, the Classical Voice of North Carolina wrote, “… a promise of outstanding hope for the musical and theatrical future of America and the world. … a show that was both charming and provocative… practical and entrancing.”

May 2008, scenes from her second opera, Jeanne, based on the life of Joan of Arc, were performed by New York City Opera in their VOX 2008 Showcase, and was described by the New York Times as “lyrical, atmospheric... striking… Throughout, Ms. Chen balances despair and humor.”

Notable recent projects include a piece for the world renowned JACK Quartet commissioned by American Composer’s Orchestra, a concerto for violinist Min-Yen Chien and New York-based youth orchestra Youth Orchestra, CYCNY, a chamber opera based on the life of Charles Darwin, and a commission from Taiwan’s prestigious SpringAutumnMusic Festival.

Ms. Chen served has been Resident Artist at American Lyric Theater since 2010, where she is collaborating with librettist David Simpatico on a full-length opera based on the life of famous British computer scientist Alan Turing. A piano vocal reading of this opera was presented as part of Opera America’s 2017 New Works Showcase. An orchestral reading for this opera is scheduled for February 2019 with Chicago Opera Theater.

In 2005, she completed her doctoral studies in composition at The Juilliard School, where she also earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in violin and composition. Dedicated to teaching, she is a certified Suzuki Violin teacher, and heads the composition-based music program that she created for Pierrepont School, in Westport, CT, where she’s taught since 2004.

Randal Despommier is a New York-based composer, saxophonist, and educator from New Orleans. He holds a B.M. in jazz studies/saxophone performance from Loyola University of New Orleans, and a M.M. and D.M.A. in composition from New England Conservatory. Despommier's original music ranges from contemporary art songs to jazz adaptations of Medieval and Renaissance music. Earlier this year, he released a collaborative album, All At Onceness, with pianist Jason Yeager. He directs the music program at Bard High School Early College in Manhattan.

Dr. Xinyan Li’s works have been featured at Aspen Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Composers Now Festival, the 89^th Music Mountain Festival, the 11^th Beijing International Chamber Music Festival, the 13^th Thailand International Composition Festival, the 19^th Nordic International Bassoon Symposium, the 44^th and 45^th IDRS Annual Conference, China’s National Center for the Performing Arts, Septembre musical de l'Orne, National Opera Center, Seal Bay Festival and Beijing Modern Music Festival. She was invited twice as a visiting composer by Aspen Music Festival; her interview and six works have been broadcasted by Sweden’s national radio—Sveriges Radio; her wind quintet Mo Suo’s Burial Ceremony was released by Albany Records, performed by Pan Pacific Ensemble; three works of hers was published by TrevCo Music Publishing. Dr. Li’s music has been performed by American Composers Orchestra, members of Eighth Blackbird, PRISM Quartet, Bergen Woodwind Quintet, Cassatt String Quartet, Quintet of the Americas, and principal musicians of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis, Montreal, and Bergen Orchestras. Her awards include ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, American Composers Orchestra New Music Readings, Tsang-Houei Hsu International Music Composition Award, IDRS Conference 2016 Schwob Prize in Composition, LunArt Festival Call for Scores, as well as grants from National Endowment for the Arts and New York Council on the Arts. She received degrees at University of Missouri-Kansas City and China Conservatory of Music. She has taught composition and music theory at New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s Very Young Composers Program, University of Missouri-Kansas City and China Conservatory of Music.

Bio coming soon

Biography pending

Described as having “a sound that is well-suited for the strange world of new music” (Chicago Classical Review), Kayleigh Butcher (mezzo soprano) has gained critical and audience acclaim as a soloist and contemporary chamber musician.

As a fervent supporter and advocate for contemporary music, Kayleigh has also worked with many composers including David Lang, Tristan Perich, Eve Beglarian, Holly Herndon, John Luther Adams, Chris Fisher-Lochhead, David Reminick, Jennifer Walshe, Jessie Marino, Lester St. Louis, Danny Clay, Alex Temple, Molly Herron, Fjola Evans, Levy Lorenzo, Daniel Felsenfeld, Morgan Krauss, Eliza Brown, Luis Amaya, Aaron Levin, Adrian Montùfar, Joe Clark, Jonathan Sokol, Max Grafe, Amanda Feery, LJ White, Bethany Younge, Ravi Kittappa, and Jennifer Jolley.

She has also collaborated with many new music ensembles including Eighth Blackbird, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Third Coast Percussion, Ensemble Dal Niente, Opera on Tap NYC, the Morton Feldman Chamber Players, the Austin New Music Co-op, the Grant Wallace Band, Anti Social Music, thingNY, Fonema Consort, a.per.i.o.dic, and Rhymes With Opera, to name a few.

Kayleigh is also a founding member and the director of Quince Ensemble, an all-female, acappella vocal quartet that explores experimental vocal techniques and improvisation. Quince has performed on many contemporary series, festivals, and at prestigious venues such as Contagious Sounds, Elastic Arts Foundation, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, HERE Arts, Chicago’s Ear Taxi Festival, Fast Forward Austin, Chicago’s Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, Omaha’s Under the Radar, National Pastime Theater, Chicago’s Cultural Center, San Francisco’s The Center of New Music, Stanford University, Northwestern’s NUNC, Issue Project Room, Permutations, Constellation Chicago’s Frequency Series, thingNY’s Immediacies Series, BGSU’s Forefront Series, Chicago’s Comfort Music, High Concept Labs, University of Michigan's Hill Auditorium, and NYC’s SONiC Festival at Shapeshifter Lab.

Kayleigh received her Bachelor’s of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, where she studied with Dr. Anne DeLaunay and Dr. Denise Knowlton. She was a graduate teaching assistant to Dr. Jane Schoonmaker Rodgers at Bowling Green State University, where she earned her Master of Music. She currently resides in Brooklyn with her fat cat, Cherubino.

Valeska Cambron is a professional singer and voice instructor with 16 years of experience. She grew up outside of Atlantic City, NJ where she began studying voice at age 12 and it has been her passion ever since. Valeska has performed all over the United States and internationally in musicals and operas; she has performed at Carnegie Hall, and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Some of her past shows have been Camelot, Carmen, Hairspray, A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera), Showboat, West Side Story, and The Wiz. Valeska most recently performed in Ragtime with Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine. She utilizes her experience and skills to teach a vocal technique that develops a healthy, strong, and expressive sound. After moving to New York City from Boston, you can find her performing and teaching around Manhattan. Valeska received her Bachelor of Music from Temple University and Master of Music from Longy School of Music of Bard College.

b. St. Paul, Minn. B.M. Voice Performance, B.A. African American Studies, Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music; additional graduate study at New School University; vocal pedagogy with Richard Miller. Choral conducting experience with Music Educators of NYC; conducting TTBB choirs- Young People's Chorus of NYC (YPC); conducting SATB choirs - YPC; Artist-in-Residence, Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn; professional singer and actress; has appeared internationally as well as in regional and off-Broadway productions; recorded vocals for numerous film scores and recordings.

Biography pending

Kaitlin is an active performer, music educator, and children's theatre director who is originally from Alpena, Michigan. She received her undergraduate degree in Choral Music Education from Western Michigan University, and obtained a Masters in Musical Theatre Performance from Oklahoma City University. During her time in Michigan she directed children's choirs for the North American Choral Company of Grand Rapids, helped to develop and run a music, arts, and drama camp on Beaver Island, and taught elementary music in the public schools. With a love for both contemporary and classical music she was able to record Claudio Monteverdi's Vespers of the Blessed Virgin with the Grammy nominated group Seraphic Fire, and partake in the Classical Musical Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria.

Kaitlin has performed in the Tri-State area, as well as the Festival International Chihuahua in Mexico, with the New York City children's theatre company, The Paper Bag Players. Her other passions include teaching musical theatre as she has recently directed and choreographed "Annie,” “The Wizard of Oz," "Honk!" and "Into the Woods" for Oklahoma Children's Theatre of Oklahoma City. Her favorite opera and musical theatre roles performed include Papagena in "The Magic Flute," Monica in "The Medium," and Phoebe in the original children's musical, "The Sugar Plum Fairy." In her spare time she loves to visit her four wonderful nieces, and enjoy the incredible city of New York.

Mark Broschinsky has been praised by the Rapid City Journal as a true virtuoso on the trombone. He has appeared as a guest artist at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, and performed with numerous orchestras, including the Utah Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and the Britten–Pears Festival Orchestra in England. He has been a featured solo recitalist at numerous universities including the University of California — Santa Barbara, Brigham Young University, and Capital University.

An active chamber musician, Mark is a founding member of the Guidonian Hand Trombone Quartet, which performs regularly in the New York City area, and recently released a recording of Jeremy Howard Beck’s Awakening. The Hand has also premiered numerous works and received grants from organizations such as Chamber Music America, the Barlow Foundation, and New Music USA (formerly Meet the Composer).

Mark was recently awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music and is on faculty at the Third Street Music School Settlement in New York City.

Biography Pending

BIOGRAPHY

Carlo Costa is an active sideman and band leader performing across Europe and in the US. His debut recording as a leader, Saturnismo, was released on the German label, Between the Lines Records, in 2011. Carlo currently leads and co-leads several projects ranging from solo drums to a thirteen-piece ensemble. Also an active instructor, Carlo has been teaching music privately since 2003 and has taught seminars in jazz and improvisation in Europe.

EDUCATION

B.M. Berklee School of Music

M.A. City College of New York

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

John Patitucci, Adam Cruz, Ellery Eskelin, Jamie Haddad, Ian Froman and Susie Ibarra

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE

Performances in France, Austria, Italy, Norway, Macedonia and the US.

COMPETITIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS

Scholarship at Berklee College of Music

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Visual arts, literature, traveling and exploring New York City.

carlocostamusic.com

With performances conveying “spiritedness and humor”, “unflagging precision and energy”, "eloquence and passion" , "dazzling technique" (The New York Times) and playing described as “something magical” (The Boston Globe), “compellingly musical” (The New York Times) and “thoroughly lyrical…expert” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), Benjamin Fingland interprets a diverse range of clarinet literature.

A proponent of the music of our time, he works closely with living composers. In addition to being a founding member of the critically-acclaimed new music collective counter)induction, he plays with many of the leading contemporary performance ensembles on the East Coast: NOVUS NY, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Network for New Music, the Argento Ensemble, the Locrian Chamber Players, and Sequitur. He is also an artist faculty member of the annual Composers Conference, and a guest faculty member of the Bennington Chamber Music Conference.

He has performed worldwide as a recitalist and soloist, and has also collaborated, recorded, and toured with a wide variety of other artists - ranging in scope from Brooklyn Rider and the Horszowski Trio to Pierre Boulez and the Ensemble Intercontemporain, to jazz legend Ornette Coleman and pop icon Elton John.

Mr. Fingland is the principal clarinetist of the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, has held principal clarinet positions with the Prometheus Chamber Orchestra and the New Haven Symphony, and has also played with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He is a member of the renowned Dorian Wind Quintet, which will soon celebrate 60 years of groundbreaking commissions and performances of wind chamber music. He has Bachelor and Master of music degrees from the Juilliard School, and is on the faculty of the Third Street Music School Settlement in New York City.

BIOGRAPHY

Susan Friedlander is a Suzuki flute specialist. She holds certifications in Suzuki, Kodaly and Orff Schulwerk. Her flute studies have included work with Samuel Baron, Thomas Nyfenger, Karl Kraber and Toshio Takahashi. She has performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, New York Lyric Opera, Staten Island Symphony, Long Island Choral Society Orchestra and the American Festival of Microtonal Music Ensemble. Chamber music performances include regular appearances with the Trio Gallant, Duo da camera and Hoffmeister Winds. Ms. Friedlander has had the opportunity to premier numerous new works, including music for bass flute by Lamont Young, Jalalu Kalvert Nelson and Ron Kozak. She has served on the Board of Directors of the New York Flute Club, and presented a seminar on Teaching the Youngest Flutists at the New York Flute Fair. Ms. Friedlander is Co-Director of the Great Lakes Suzuki Flute & Recorder Institute. She has been guest instructor at the Colorado Suzuki Institute, Greater Philadelphia Suzuki Workshop and Greater Boston Suzuki Flute Workshop. She is Flute Coordinator the the Suzuki Association of the Americas National Conference. Her published works include musical arrangements for Tomie dePaola’s Book of Christmas Carols, Nursery Songs and Lullabies, illustrated by Bessie Pease, and All Things Bright and Beautiful, published by Platt & Munk.

SCHOOL(S)

Connecticut College, Talent Education Research Institute (Japan), Manhattan School of Music

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Karl Karber, Thomas Nyfenger, Toshio Takahashi, Sam Baron

SUMMER FESTIVALS

Co-Director and teaching faculty, Great Lakes Suzuki Flute and Recorder Institute (McMaster University), Flute Stars Flute Camp

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Susan maintains an active life-style and swims daily. For her, exercise is energizing and the quiet of the swim is meditative. Being an avid reader, she started a morning book club seven years ago, since she had been unable to find a book club that didn’t meet in the evening when she is usually occupied.

Amos Kwaku Gabia is a professional musician from Ghana, West Africa. He made New York his home in 2013. At an early age, Amos was introduced to music and started performing with the Noko Yedzen group. He plays a variety of instruments including the djembe, dun dun, kpanlogo, flute, and asalato. Amos is a founding member of Saha and performed with the award winning Salaka Ensemble. While living in Ghana, he led programs for groups of travelers from around the world interested in learning about West African culture through its music and dance. Through the power of his drumming and the passion he has for music, Amos makes audiences and students fall in love with music from his homeland. Since arriving in New York, Amos teaches through outreach programs at Third Street Music School and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. He performs regularly with Drum Café and for community groups and educational institutions throughout the Tri-State Area.

Woodwind specialist Amy Griffiths performs in various settings from Broadway orchestras and classical chamber ensembles to jazz groups and cabaret bands. Since moving to NYC in 2015, she has appeared with the Diva Jazz Orchestra, Maurice Hines, SONOS Chamber Orchestra, the Big Apple Circus, and numerous shows at Feinstein's/54 Below, Joe's Pub, and the Cutting Room. At the Third Street Music School Settlement she teaches flute, clarinet, and saxophone to students of all ages. Amy is also a Teaching Artist for the New York PopsEd and is an Artist for Selmer saxophones.

She holds degrees from the North Carolina School of the Arts, Arizona State University, and Louisiana State University with additional study in Paris, France.

B.A., Duquesne University, Psychology; M.A., Graduate Faculty, New School for Social Research, Psychology. Faculty member of the Third Street Music School in New York since 2005, teaching percussion and world music. Extensive experience performing, recording, touring and teaching, drumset and hand percussion. Taught in three countries, performed in nine. Member of several Rio de Janeiro Samba Schools. Veteran of over twenty carnival performances in Rio de Janeiro with several samba schools. Founder and director of Ginga Pura samba group. Drummer in Simon and the Bar Sinisters, performing extensively and recording several albums, starting in 1991. Third European tour in February 2013. Adjunct Music Faculty, Bard High School Early College, Manhattan, since 2007. Psychotherapist and school counselor for over 20 years.

Bassoonist Joshua Hodge maintains a varied and active performance schedule in New York City that brings him from Broadway pits and concert halls to house concerts and bars. He recently founded "The Queertet Project," a music initiative whose long term goals include doing social advocacy and educational outreach work for at-risk LGBTQ populations and commission works from queer-identifying composers and artists in order to expand and challenge the existing canon. He performs often with Trio212, which is proud to be the first group involved with the project. 

Joshua attended the Interlochen Arts Academy from '07-'09, where he studied with Eric Stomberg. Upon finishing, he attended the Bard College Conservatory of Music, where he double majored in bassoon performance and Asian studies and was captain of the swim team for three years. There he studied with Patricia Rogers and Marc Goldberg, and continued under Goldberg's tutelage at the Mannes School of Music where he completed his MM in '16. He has had fellowships with the Aspen, Bowdoin, and Imani Winds music festivals, has been a guest artist with the Classical Bridge Music Festival here in NYC since its inception, and has gone on tour with the Bard Orchestra three times: throughout China, Eastern Europe and Russia, and Cuba.

Originally from London, Simon Hutchings enjoys a busy freelance schedule in NYC including subbing on several Broadway shows. He has been teaching as part of Third Street’s Partners Program, and is joining our faculty teaching clarinet and saxophone at the main school this year. Previously, he was one of the most in demand woodwind performers in Florida, where he regularly performed with touring entertainers and shows including Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, "Chicago," "Wicked," and "The Book of Mormon."

BIOGRAPHY

Irene Koloseus was born and raised in Austria and moved to New York City in 1993 to study tap dance with some of the great old masters of tap, including the Nicholas Brothers, Buster Brown and Chuck Green. In her search of finding her own voice she fell in love with West African music and dance and formed her group Feraba- African Rhythm Tap (1996). FERABA has toured the US and West Africa and received numerous awards and recognitions including the Sunshine Award.

Irene has been a teaching artist in the New York City Public schools since 1998, she has designed curricular-based movement and music residencies for students of all ages and abilities and has conducted staff development programs for educators.

EDUCATION

Trained at Ballet Arts at City Center: Tap, Ballet, Flamenco, Jazz

Master's Degree in Computer Science (Technical University – Vienna Austria)

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Tap: Brenda Bufalino, Barbara Duffy, Savion Glover, Cornell Lyons

African Dance: Mouminatou Camara, Yousouff Koumbassa, Babacar M'Baye

Percussion: Bemba Bangoura, Ibrahima Kolipe Camara, Yamoussa Camara, Madou Dembele

Balafon: Abou Sylla

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE

Toured USA, Europe and Guinea (West Africa). Lincoln Center Outdoors, Aaron Davis Hall, Town Hall, Central Park Summerstage, Westchester Community College, Neuburger Museum of the Arts, Harn Museum of the Arts (FL), Public Playhouse (MD), State UNI St. Cloud (MN), Sunrise Civic Center (FL), Southfield Ceter for the Arts (MN).

COMPETITIONS / SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS

Sunshine Award (2013), Teaching Artist of the Year Award (Young Audiences NY), Ethnic Dance Award with Féraba by Giant Steps, funded by the New York State Council on the Arts and the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs. Citation (from the Brooklyn Borough President for exceptional achievements in the Arts 2009) and many grants for the company Feraba.

FESTIVALS

World Festival 2000, La Fete de la Music Festival at World Trade Center, International Tap Dance Festival at the Dukes, Harlem Meer Festival, Atlantic City: International Night Series.

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Biking, Outdoors activities, nature, Yoga and mediation.

Bonita Lubinsky was born in Cleveland, and received a music education degree from Kent State University in Ohio before coming to New York City to study with Thomas Nyfenger. In 1984 she received a master’s degree in flute performance from the Zurich Conservatory of Music, having begun her studies there on a Rotary Foundation Grant.

Ms. Lubinsky has been teaching at the Third Street Music School Settlement in NYC since 1990. She has also taught flute and recorder at the Westchester JCC and at the Westchester Conservatory of Music and recorder ensembles at schools around New York City for Classroom Recorder Arts. She is a student of the Alexander Technique, which helps to relieve muscle tension and improve breathing and incorporates these ideas in her teaching. Ms. Lubinsky is a member of the Eastchester Arts Council Board. She performs with the Celtic and Early Music Trio, Gryphon & Co. and is principal flute with the Putnam Chorale Orchestra.

New York based French hornist Tim McCarthy appears regularly with numerous orchestras, opera companies, contemporary music ensembles, and on Broadway. He has performed with the Janacek Philharmonic (Czech Republic), Manhattan Chamber Orchestra (principal), The Orchestra of the SEM Ensemble (principal), Ostravska Banda (Czech Republic) (principal), DiCapo Opera Theatre (principal), The Strathmere Festival Orchestra (principal), The New Philharmonic of New Jersey, School of American Ballet Repertory Orchestra, IFCP Ensemble, international contemporary ensemble (I.C.E), Blue Hill Troupe (principal), New York Philomusica, Riverside Sinfonia, American Chamber Opera Orchestra, Boston Civic Symphony, The Encompass Music Theater (principal), New York Grand Opera, Bronx Opera (principal), Orchestra of the Bronx (principal and soloist), STX Xenakis Ensemble, and Æxxus Chamber Orchestra (principal).

In the summer of 2014, Mr. McCarthy appeared at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and collaborated with Labyrinth Dance Theater at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in a work set for horn, cello, violin and solo dancer (The Promise of Rest – premiere November 2013). Last season, he performed as soloist with the Orchestra of the Bronx in Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 2. He has played recitals in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey as well as in the United Kingdom and Poland. Also highly sought after as a chamber musician, Mr. McCarthy collaborates with numerous chamber ensembles including the New York Philomusica among others. He can be heard on recordings encompassing a wide variety of musical genres and styles ranging from classical to pop to contemporary. These include premiere recordings on the Koch, Newport Classics, Mode Records, Rounder labels.

Peter’s passion lies in his life as a professional freelance performing musician and music educator. Primarily a percussionist, he has lived in New York for three years and performs and tours with a number of musical projects. For the past four years, Peter has played with the chamber-pop band Tredici Bacci, which plays all over New York City and has toured the United States and internationally. He remains active in a number of musical projects in New York of varying genres and styles.

A son of public school music teachers, Peter also maintains a robust teaching studio. Prior to moving to New York, Peter worked in a number of public and private schools as an adjunct instructor and percussion coach, teaching private lessons, marching band percussion, and percussion ensemble. In New York, Peter still teaches percussion, and in addition, he takes part in the Jazz Lab music camp at New England Conservatory, which he has helped run since its inception in 2013. For Peter, this serves as a reminder of why he became a musician and an educator in the first place – fostering and cultivating the musical and artistic minds of young people feels like carrying the torch that his parents and his high school band director and percussion instructor passed to him.

Peter earned his B.M. in Jazz Performance from New England Conservatory in 2010.

New York City free-lance percussionist, John Ostrowski has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and New York City Opera. He has appeared on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW series under the direction of Pierre Boulez and has performed with Joshua Bell on the violinist’s carte blanche at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. Mr. Ostrowski has participated in the Lincoln Center Festival and the Mostly Mozart Festival.

Pursuing his interest to explore various styles of music, Mr. Ostrowski is a percussion-substitute for the Broadway musicals Mamma Mia!, Phantom of the Opera, and Wicked. In 2010, he served as a split-chair member of the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular! Orchestra. In the fall of 2007, he toured Europe with the crossover group Absolute Ensemble and members of the fusion band created by the late Joe Zawinul, the Z Syndicate. He has performed with orchestras that have accompanied popular artists: Sting, Sir Elton John, Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige, Shirley Bassey, Amy Grant and The Roots.

Mr. Ostrowski is a percussion faculty member at the 3rd Street Music School Settlement and a percussion instructor at ‘47’ The American Sign Language & English Secondary School. Keeping a busy teaching schedule, Mr. Ostrowski serves as a chamber music coach at the Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar and has lead sectionals at the New York Youth Symphony. He has also collaborated with the New York Philharmonic’s Educational Outreach Department. He holds a Master of Music from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University.

EDUCATION

Master of Music

Bachelor of Music

SCHOOLS

The Juilliard School

Northwestern University

PRINCIPAL TEACHERS

Michael Burritt, International Marimba Soloist, Percussion professor and department head at the Eastman School of Music

James Ross, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Daniel Druckman, New York Philharmonic

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE

Orchestra of St. Luke's

Phantom of the Opera

Mamma Mia!

Wicked

FESTIVALS

Lincoln Center Festival

Mostly Mozart Festival

Verbier Festival

Lucerne Festival

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Cooking/Food

Golfing

Swimming

Noelle Perrin's extensive teaching experience includes training in Suzuki, Dalcroze, and Montessori. She is the head of the Suzuki Flute Program at the JCC Thurnauer School of Music and founder of the FluteStars® Summer Camp now in its 19th year of success. Noelle also teaches at the Greenwich Suzuki Academy.  She holds a Master's Degree from Manhattan School of Music and did her undergraduate work at University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the Nice Conservatoire. Noelle performed her New York City debut concert in 1994 at Weille Recital Hall as winner of Artists International. In August of 2011, Noelle attained “Teacher Trainer” status with the Suzuki Association of the Americas.  Her Registered Suzuki Training includes “Every Child Can”, Flute Books 1-11 and the Flute Practicum. In addition to maintaining her large teaching studio, Noelle enjoys performing solo and chamber music.

Native of Yokohama City, Japan, Chihiro Shibayama is a versatile New York City-based freelance percussionist. She has played percussion on a successful run of a Broadway musical, Miss Saigon and her Broadway debut was as one of three on-stage musicians for a new adaptation of The Cherry Orchard starring Diane Lane. She has performed for the renowned Radio City Christmas Spectacular, ABC's Good Morning America with John Legend and Common, The Metropolitan Opera, Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra, and Kansas City Symphony. 

As an educator, she is a percussion faculty at Diller-Quaile School of Music since 2013 and has been a substitute teacher for the Third Street Music Settlement since 2013 before joining the faculty in 2019. She has also coached percussion ensembles at Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar, an intensive 2-week seminar for high-level high school students. 

With her experience as a timpanist in 2005 & 2006 with The Glassman Drum and Bugle Corps, a frequent finalist for Drum Corps International, she has been invited as a guest instructor/ arranger for several Japanese high school marching bands since 2010.

Ms. Shibayama is also a co-founder/ program coordinator of Multicultural Sonic Evolution (MuSE), a non-profit organization that creates a multicultural environment through sound and collaborations with other artistic disciplines such as dance, theater, and film. MuSE produces concerts and shows covering a wide spectrum of genres from classical to pop, jazz, folk and rock (www.musefriends.org).

Outside of performing, she is the librarian for Alarm Will Sound and assistant librarian for Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She was a percussion specialist/ production assistant for Carnegie Hall /Weill Music Institute's National Youth Orchestra of U.S.A. from 2015 to 2018, helping the orchestra tour multiple cities in the world.

A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy with a performance award in 2003, Ms. Shibayama earned Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School in 2007 and 2009. She is a Pearl/ Adams concert artist. Her former mentors include Daniel Druckman, Greg Zuber, Markus Rhoten, Joe Pereira, Roland Kohloff, Keith Aleo, Mariko Okada and John Alfieri.

Her hobbies include rock climbing and baking homemade bread and pizza. 

Rebecca Steinberg, a New York City based trumpeter and music educator, has taken the stage at venues including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Symphony Space, and Radio City Music Hall. She’s appeared on “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert; Adele's “Live in New York City” NBC Special; in the Drama Desk nominee Off-Broadway production "Di Goldene Kale,” and can be spotted in the orchestra of Amazon's Emmy winning "Mozart in the Jungle." A few ensembles Rebecca has enjoyed performing with include: Mimesis Ensemble, DCINY Orchestra, and Metropolis Ensemble. She is a founding member of Calliope Brass (calliopebrass.com), an innovative and versatile ensemble inspired by the power of storytelling through music. With Calliope Brass, Rebecca assisted with development of their interactive educational show "What's Your Story?", which is currently being presented throughout the tri-state area (and beyond!).

Rebecca is a passionate educator who works as a teaching artist in the NYC public schools and is on faculty at Third Street Music School Settlement and the Dwight-Englewood School (NJ). Rebecca was the recipient of the 2018 Liz Swados Inspiration Grant, which serves to honor an influential female music educator in New York City. Rebecca received her degree from Manhattan School of Music. www.rebeccasteinbergmusic.com/

Scott is thrilled to be joining Third Street.  On top of Third Street, he coaches various school bands across the city and teaches a drumline.  Scott is also a busy freelancer playing in orchestras, musical theatre pits, jazz groups, experimental music and anything else he can shake a stick at.

Brandon Tesh is a professional woodwind performer, conductor and educator who originally hails from North Carolina. He began at Third Street Music School in 2010 and is currently the Director of the Music & Dance School, Director of New Horizons Bands and jazz bands, and instructor of Saxophone and Clarinet. He previously served as the Winds, Brass, and Percussion Chair. 

As a freelance musician, you can hear him around the city with various groups in New York’s jazz clubs and music halls. Recent performances include Manhattan Transfer, Natalie Cole, the Four Tops, the Temptations, the Juilliard Orchestra, and the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra. He has presented and performed at venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Navy Saxophone Symposium, and the North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences.

Brandon received degrees at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and Michigan State University and studied with Dr. Steven Stusek, Diego Rivera, Chad Eby, and Rodney Whitaker. He served on the instrumental music faculty at the Governor's School of North Carolina and has held instructor positions at North Carolina School of the Arts Community Music School and Michigan State University.

MARGARET MILLS, pianist has performed throughout the United States, Europe and China.

Awarded the FrancesWalker Piano Prize upon graduation from Vassar College, she pursued her studies in Freiburg, Germany before returning to the United States to complete her Masters degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Since her debut in Carnegie Recital Hall in 1974, Ms. Mills has given additional solo recitals in such prestigious venues as Alice Tully Hall and Merkin Concert Hall in New York City and at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. She made her London debut in Wigmore Hall in 1981, the first of many European performances in the following decades. She has appeared in Berlin, Heidelberg, Munich, Paris and Rome among other cities.

Her principal teachers have included Erich Itor Kahn, Claude Frank, Eugene List and Jerome Lowenthal.

Ms. Mills has appeared as soloist with the Boston Pops, Fort Myers Symphony, Schenectady (NY) Symphony and the Fairfield Orchestra. She has been a featured pianist with the Fine Arts, Manhattan, Cassatt and Laurentian String Quartets and has appeared as soloist in several music festivals, including Music Mountain in Connecticut and the Bar Harbor Music Festival in Maine.

Margaret Mills has had a long relationship with the Third Street Music School Settlement in New York City. She was Chairperson of the piano department for thirteen years and the Manager of the Faculty Artist Series for ten years. She currently organizes the Adult Performance Workshops. Her recordings include the Newport Classic, Cambria Master Recordings and Capstone labels. A new Cambria CD features music by Joel Feigin, Ruth Schonthal, Amy Beach and Gloria Coates.

margaretmills.com

Yuka began playing piano at the age of five in her native country, Japan. She studied classical piano and dalcroze eurhythmics (music education) at Kunitachi college of music, Tokyo. After graduating from music school, she became interested in jazz and moved to NYC. She studied at Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, where she received her M.A. in jazz performance under the guidance of Sir Roland Hanna and Jimmy Heath. Yuka joined Third street music school in 2013, accompanying for pre-ballet classes and movement classes.

Keiko Bishop, who was born and grew up in Japan, has a truly unique and long career in both music and dance fields. She received a variety of arts educations, including piano and ballet, from an early age. She had started her professional career in the entertainment field when she was a teenager and engaged in a wide variety of entertainment activities as a professional vocalist and pianist in different genres of music.

She moved her base in the United States in 1991 and performed on stage with various well-known Jazz musicians quite often, including her late husband, Mr. Walter Bishop Jr., and toured in Japan, Europe, South Africa, etc as well as participated in group sessions and recordings in a variety of music genres.

In recent years, she has played the piano as a dance accompanist, mainly in the New York area by using her experiences as a dancer in ballet and Latin dances. She continues to dance to study the use of body and devotes herself to exploring the relationship between dance and music that are common language to all human beings.

Biography pending

Barnard College B.A. magna cum laude. Stony Brook University M. Music. Early piano studies with Frances Hall. Later piano studies with Martin Canin. Studies in 20th century performance with Gilbert Kalish and Arthur Weisburg.

Biography pending

Biography Pending

Ashley is an early childhood music specialist at Third Street. She grew up performing in regional musical theatre and dance companies and now lives between NYC and Alaska, where for two decades she’s taught early childhood music and movement. She has a BA in Music from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (vocal performance and cello) and an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College.

Ashley is also on the educational team at Orchestrating Dreams NYC, an El Sistema program in Washington Heights. She collaborates with artists of all ages to create original work in dance, performance and musical media with a focus on experiencing and expressing ideas with the whole self.

Shannon grew up in dancing! She went on to study dance and economics at SUNY Binghamton University, then continued her training at Broadway Dance Center. In 2012 Shannon became Assistant Director of the Connecticut Dance Center in Stamford, CT. She completed her MA in Dance Education at NYU Steinhardt in 2017. While at NYU, Shannon received ABT certification in pre-primary through Level 5. She has participated in numerous dance performances and continues to teach creative movement, tap, contemporary dance and ballet. Shannon is delighted to be Third Street’s Pre-Ballet teacher.

Biography pending

Biography pending

For thirty years, Mik has been Third Street’s Music and Movement Specialist.  In addition to teaching independent toddler movement classes, Mik teaches weekly classes within the preschool.  She incorporates the Orff/Kodaly approaches into her program, linking these to classroom curriculum.  Mik has an extraordinary (magical) way of communicating with young children.  She is a revered member of the Preschool faculty.  Her extensive training embraces dance, movement, and theater. Mik has a BFA in Theater and MA in Dance from New York University.

Michele lived in London for 18 years where she led education projects for the London Philharmonic Orchestra and was a founding member of two El Sistema music education programs: In Harmony Lambeth and The Nucleo Project. She received her B.A. at Colgate University, her MEd at Harvard University, and her PGCert at Roehampton University (London, UK).

Here in NYC Michele works as an early childhood music specialist with the Little Orchestra Society and the WHIN Music Project, an El Sistema music education program for children in Washington Heights/Inwood. In addition to teaching, Michele enjoys singing with the Oratorio Society of New York.

Crystal Bock is the head teacher in the Toddler Program. She received her B.F.A. in Drama at N.Y.U., with master’s degree work in early childhood education at N.Y.U. and Bank Street College of Education. Prior to her arrival at Third Street, she taught at Children’s Aid Society, BabyMoves, and Citibabes. Her own two children are Third Street Preschool graduates.

Molly is an Associate Teacher in the Full Day Fours class. She grew up in the Bronx, where she developed a love for theatre, music, and the city. Molly attended Aquinas High School and graduated from Fordham University in 2016 with a degree in Sociology. Last fall, she wrote and directed a play featured in “Bad Theater Fest” in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and was recently in a choir touring in Ireland, Montreal, and California. She has been a part of the Third Street community since high school and loves it!

Maite received B.A. from SUNY/Albany with concentrations in Spanish Literature and Film. She worked in television commercial production in New York City for 15 years. In 2011, Maite began volunteering at Third Street’s preschool and then started working as part of the classroom. Her two sons are Third Street Preschool graduates and are currently piano and choral students.

Honora Dearie is an Associate teacher in the 2/3's morning class.  She received a B.A. in Sociology from Fairfield University and a M.S.W from Columbia University.  She is a licensed mastered social worker with experience working with children with special needs.  Her own children are Third Street Preschool graduates.

Janelle is an associate teacher in the 2/3’s 5-Day class. She graduated High School in 1998 and also has a diploma in Computer studies. Janelle worked in administration and sales in St.Lucia for 5 years.She moved to New York in 2005 and has worked as a caregiver since. Part of her childcare experience is dedicated to working with children with autism.

Nancy is the head teacher in the Full-Day Fours room at Third Street Preschool. Prior to her arrival to Third Street, she worked as a lead teacher in a Fours classroom at Barrow Street Nursery School as well as a head counselor in the summer program at LREI.

Nancy holds a BA in English and an MS in Early Childhood Education from Hunter College as well as an MA in English from The College of Staten Island. She is New York State Certified in Early Childhood Education and was the 2014 recipient of Hunter College’s Most Promising Teacher Researcher in Early Education Award.

EiLeen is an experienced Associate Teacher in the 3/4s afternoon class. She began her career at Third Street in 1984, and has taught independent art classes, toddler groups and preschool classes. Currently, EiLeen is our school’s garden coordinator and preschool art teacher. She received her BFA from The School of Visual Arts in painting and also studied at SUNY/Empire State College and Bank Street College of Education. EiLeen has worked in film and animation and has exhibited work in numerous NYC galleries.

Alex is a Head Teacher in the 2s and 2/3s classrooms. Prior to Third Street Preschool, she worked as a head teacher at Explore and Discover for four years working with children 0-3 years old and as an outdoor education teacher for two years for elementary school children. Alex received her BA from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and is currently working towards her MS in Early Childhood Education at Hunter College.

Cathy studied art history, dance, and education at Goddard College and SUNY/New Paltz. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from the City College of New York. Cathy received her Master of Science degree in Early Childhood Education from Hunter College and is New York State Certified in Early Childhood Education. In addition to music exploration, her educational interests include early childhood literature and community exploration.

An early childhood music specialist, Cathy also teaches children from 12 months to 5-years-old. For the past five years, she has participated as a writer and teacher-trainer in a program entitled PreK-Create, an arts teaching partnership between Third Street Music School and the NYC Board of Education.

Jean is an Associate Teacher in the Full Day 4s class. She received a BA in English and American Literature from Eastern Nazarene College. She has worked in the Third Street Preschool for 15 years while also managing her family’s restaurant. Her two sons are Third Street Preschool graduates and both continued in the music school as piano and guitar students.

For thirty years, Mik has been Third Street’s Music and Movement Specialist.  In addition to teaching independent toddler movement classes, Mik teaches weekly classes within the preschool.  She incorporates the Orff/Kodaly approaches into her program, linking these to classroom curriculum.  Mik has an extraordinary (magical) way of communicating with young children.  She is a revered member of the Preschool faculty.  Her extensive training embraces dance, movement, and theater. Mik has a BFA in Theater and MA in Dance from New York University.

Naydelyn has a long history with Third Street Music School, and is delighted to return this year as the Toddler Associate Teacher. She has taught in Third Street’s Summer Camp, and is a full time student at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, where she majors in Early Childhood Education. Her educational focus is children with special needs. As a child, Naydelyn attended Third Street Preschool, summer camp, and music classes.

Marini is a Teacher in the 2-Day 2s and the 3-Day 2/3s Class and is currently completing her graduate degree for Early Childhood Education at Hunter College. She has worked with children in research, within elementary and childcare settings and as an educator at the Staten Island Children’s Museum. She is a Third Street alum, having taken cello lessons at the school as a child. She began assisting the toddler program at Third Street in the spring of 2015. Marini holds an AA (Bard College), BA in Neuroscience (Earlham College) and graduate credits in the field of Neuroscience and Developmental Disability (CUNY, College of Staten Island).

Jennifer is the Two/Threes Head Teacher and is currently completing her graduate degree for Early Childhood Education at Hunter College. She has worked with children in various capacities including theatre, private child care, and after school programs. Jennifer started her Third Street journey as a substitute teacher and was most recently an Associate Teacher in the Full-Day Fours and Two/Threes. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys theatre, reading, and cuddling with her two dogs. She is delighted to be a part of the Third Street family.

Michele lived in London for 18 years where she led education projects for the London Philharmonic Orchestra and was a founding member of two El Sistema music education programs: In Harmony Lambeth and The Nucleo Project. She received her B.A. at Colgate University, her MEd at Harvard University, and her PGCert at Roehampton University (London, UK).

Here in NYC Michele works as an early childhood music specialist with the Little Orchestra Society and the WHIN Music Project, an El Sistema music education program for children in Washington Heights/Inwood. In addition to teaching, Michele enjoys singing with the Oratorio Society of New York.

Kim has been teaching downtown NYC’s littlest learners for over thirty years. Prior to Third Street Preschool, she ran her own early childhood program, Little Peep Prep, and was the Lead Teacher at the Early Childhood Center for Infants and Toddlers at Children's Aid Society in Greenwich Village. Kim has a BA from Empire State College in Educational Studies with an emphasis on drama and literature in the preschool classroom.
She looks forward to continuing her studies at Bank Street in their Infant and Family Development program which has a focus on Early Intervention.