Instructors

Virginia Allen has conducted ensembles on stages around the U.S. and in Europe, South America, and Asia. As a pioneer for women in military bands, she was the first woman conductor of The U.S. Army Field Band and The Soldiers' Chorus in Washington, D.C., The U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point, The U.S. Army Forces Command Band in Atlanta, and the West Point Glee Club. She also founded and conducted the Philadelphia Wind Symphony.

A former conducting faculty member at Juilliard, The Curtis Institute of Music, and University of the Arts, Dr. Allen was Artistic Director of the Juilliard Conducting Workshop for Music Educators. She was also Artistic Director of the Sun Valley Summer Music Workshops in Idaho, where she conducted the Sun Valley Youth Orchestra.

Dr. Allen studied French horn and conducting and earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master of Music degree in Performance from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and a Diploma in Wind Conducting from the University of Calgary. She received a Doctor of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, where her dissertation topic was Developing Expertise in Professional American Orchestra Conductors.

Strings Magazine writes, "At Merkin Hall (NYC) cellist Eliot Bailen displayed a warm focused tone, concentrated expressiveness and admirable technical command always at the service of the music" (July, '99). Eliot Bailen is principal cello of the New York Chamber Ensemble, New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Orchestra New England, New York Bach Artists, Teatro Grattacielo and the New Choral Society. Founder and Artistic Director of the Sherman Chamber Ensemble whose performances the New York Times has described as the Platonic ideal of a chamber music concert. (July, 2005), Mr. Bailen also performs regularly with the Saratoga Chamber Players, 'Modern Works,' the Cape May Music Festival and the Sebago-Long Lake Chamber Music Festival and is founder of the series Chamber Music at Rodeph Sholom in New York. He is assistant-principal cello of the Stamford Symphony and appears frequently with leading New York area orchestras such as the Orchestra of St. Luke's, New York City Opera and Ballet, American Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Musica Sacra and the Oratorio Society of New York. He has recorded for Nonesuch, Koch International, Deutche Grammophon, Delos, New World, Beanstalk, BMG and Flying Dutchman Records and has been heard as solo cello in numerous Broadway shows. 

Mr. Bailen received his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) from Yale University and is on the cello and chamber music faculty at Columbia University and Teachers College. Graduating in 1977 with High Honors in Music and French Literature from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Mr. Bailen also holds an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University where he was awarded the coveted Slater Prize for Entrepreneurship. In 2002, he was awarded the Norman Vincent Peale Arts Award for Positive Thinking. Mr. Bailen has also gained national attention as a writer and producer of children's music receiving over twenty-five commissions (including a Yale Alumni grant) for his "Song to Symphony" project, an extended school residency program that presents children's original musicals in an orchestral setting (subject of a NY Times feature article, Sept. 2006). Recently Mr. Bailen premiered his Double Concerto for flute and cello with the Johns Hopkins Orchestra with he and his wife, flutist, Susan Rotholz as soloists. They live in New York City with their twin sons David and Daniel and their daughter Julia. 

Mary Barto is a former member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera, New York City Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre. She has toured Western Europe with harpsichordist Eve Kugler and across the United States as soloist for the legendary Skitch Henderson, founder of the New York Pops. Her major teachers include Julius Baker, John C. Krell, Herbert Levy and Sandra Miller.

Teaching Flute, Flute Ensemble and Chamber Music, she is an Associate Professor at Mannes College – The New School University, an Assistant Professor at Hunter College CUNY, Instructor of Flute at Columbia University – Teachers College and Adjunct Professor at Fordham University. For eleven years, she was the coordinator of the Adult Chamber Music Program at the Lucy Moses School – Kaufman Center where she continues as a Chamber Music coach and instructor of Flute in both the Adult and Young Peoples Divisions. She is the Woodwinds Coach for the Concert Orchestra of the InterSchool Orchestras of NY – ISO.

She has played many Broadway shows and recorded film scores including numerous works by Academy Award-winning composer John Barry. Her Quintet, The New York Five, has the unusual instrumental combination of Flute, Bassoon, Violin, Viola and Piano. All of their music was composed by pianist George Quincy. Their CDs are available from Albany Records, Amazon, CD Baby and Flute World.

Bassist, composer, producer, vocalist, and educator Paul Beaudry is a San Francisco native now residing in New York. Since relocating to New York in early 2001, Beaudry has toured worldwide as a sideman with Steve Turre, Wycliffe Gordon, Allan Harris, Dee Daniels, Winard Harper, Dion Parson, and Eric Lewis and also performed in concerts or on recordings with such jazz greats as Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove, Grady Tate, Frank Wess, Jimmy Cobb, Charlie Persip, Cecil Bridgewater, Billy Harper, Eric Alexander, Eddie Henderson, Cyrus Chestnut, Johnny O'Neal, Bruce Barth, Rene Marie, Paula West, and Dave Valentine. He has played on over 25 recordings, toured in 30 countries and is the leader of the quartet Paul Beaudry & Pathways which in 2010 released its self-titled debut on Dancing Spirit Records and its follow up release "Americas" on Soundkeeper Recordings. The group was chosen for a 2010 Latin America tour and a 2011 Central Asia tour for "The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad" program co-sponsored by Jazz At Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. On tour they travel as U.S. cultural jazz ambassadors giving concerts and workshops to diverse audiences of all ages. Beaudry is also currently on faculty at the Teachers College at Columbia University.

As a pianist, soprano, and conductor, Nicole Becker has performed in concerts and recitals throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan. Dr. Becker received an undergraduate degree in Biology from Yale University, a Masters of Music in Piano from Indiana University, and a Doctor of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.   She also studied piano at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris.  She is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Music and Music Education Program at Teachers College, where she teaches Piano and Choral Pedagogy. Dr. Becker also directs the Teachers College Lab Chorus, which she co-founded with Jeanne Goffi-Fynn in 2008. Dr. Becker has taught general music at the elementary and middle school levels, and is certified in Orff and Kodaly methods. Her research interests include student-centered approaches in ensemble settings; narrative autoethnography as a methodology for teacher research; and borrowing lenses of neuroscience and cognitive science to interpret teaching and learning in the applied lesson setting.

The New York Times hailed Evelyn Chen as "a pianist to watch," praising her "brilliant technique, warm, clear tone, and exacting musical intelligence." Ms. Chen’s recent engagements have brought her to five continents at venues including Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Halls of Lincoln Center, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Symphony Hall in Boston, Mozarteum in Salzburg, Wolf Trap, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Central Conservatory Concert in Beijing, and the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow.

Ms. Chen has performed with numerous orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, New Zealand Symphony, National Symphony of Taiwan, and has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Leonard Slatkin, Keith Lockhart, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, JoAnn Falletta, and Joseph Silverstein.

Ms. Chen’s recent recordings have received international critical acclaim. Her recording of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Leonard Slatkin and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London on BMG was among the top ten best-selling classical recordings in Great Britain. Her performances have been broadcast throughout the US, Europe and Asia. She has also performed before prominent dignitaries including the Princess of Thailand and the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

A Steinway Artist, Ms. Chen has been winner of several international competitions. As the youngest competitor, she won First Prize in the 1981 Bach International Competition in Washington DC. She received a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Juilliard School, a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Arts in composition from Harvard University. Ms. Chen is currently Associate Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York City.

Multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator, Drew Coles, has been a member of the New York City music scene for several years now. His wide range of musical knowledge and ability to cross stylistic and philosophical boundaries make him a valuable asset and keep him performing, teaching and collaborating steadily throughout the year. Upon recently finishing a tenure as CEO of Pro Arts Management and Consulting LLC, Drew began serving as the Executive Director of the International Chamber Orchestra of America.

Drew earned his Bachelors of Music in Music Business from the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, his Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at the Metropolitan College of New York and is currently engaged in research and coursework toward his doctorate at Columbia University's Teacher's College, as a teaching fellow. One of Drew’s current research projects, the Musician’s Minute Project, looks to examine how professionals use their time to deduce the most successful practices in order to unearth how the programing and curricular options offered in post-secondary institutions can better reflect the needs of graduates and future graduates.

Drew primarily teaches lessons on piano, saxophone, flute and clarinet, and facilitates all instrumental music lessons for the Columbia University Marching Band.

Laura Falzon (Baldacchino) has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Praised by the Musical Times magazine for her "versatile technique", by the British Flute Society's PAN Magazine for her passionate interest in contemporary flute music describing her as "fearless in tackling and promoting it", and hailed by the Music & Musicians as "an excellent instrumentalist", Dr. Falzon, an ardent advocate of contemporary music, has premiered numerous works written for her ranging from the conventional flute solo to works with non-western instruments like the zheng, African drums and tabla. Padma Phool is one such work written for her by the Anglo-Indian composer John Mayer (mostly known as the founder of Indo-Jazz Fusion and, in the flute world, for his flute Concerto for Sir James Galway). Among the list of works premiered are works by composers like Shirish Korde, Theodore Wiprud, Alvin Singleton, Mohammed Fairouz, Charles Camilleri, Reza Vali, Akin Euba and Geoff Poole. The recipient of numerous awards, she has received grants and awards from, among others, The British Arts Council, The Scottish Arts Council, The Rockefeller Foundation, Cambridge University, NY Women Composers, Rotary Foundation, and Columbia University. A graduate of Columbia University, she also studied in England with Royal Academy of Music professor and principal flutist of the London Sinfonietta Sebastian Bell and with Julius Baker, Susan Milan and Kim McCormick. She is a founding member and artistic director of Id-Dinja ensemble and ISSA Sonus ensemble, and, as well as having a full schedule of performances, she teaches at Teachers College, Columbia University and at the City College of New York, CUNY, where she coaches Chamber ensembles and teaches Music History and Performance. She also works as a Teaching Artist in NYC with organizations including The American Composer orchestra.

John Gavalchin has performed internationally as concert pianist throughout North and South America. A critically acclaimed pianist, his solo recital at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Argentina prompted an invitation from the Colon’s director for a concerto performance with orchestra. He has also been the guest artist for the International Music Festival at the Domain Forget in Quebec, Canada. Concert tours have included several radio and television appearances. In New York, he has performed on WQXR’s Listening Room radio program with Robert Sherman. He frequently appears as soloist and with ensembles in the northeast U. S.

A Ph.D. graduate of New York University, Dr. Gavalchin’s dissertation “Temporality in Music: a conceptual model based on the phenomenology of Paul Ricoeur” received the departmental award for outstanding dissertation in the field of music. Dr. Gavalchin also received Bachelor and Master Degrees from the Juilliard School as a piano student of Mme. Ania Dorfmann. He was also a pupil of the renowned Russian pianist and pedagogue Alexander Eydelmann, who was a student of Felix Blumenfeld (teacher of Vladimir Horowitz). Eydelmann was also the teaching assistant of Heinrich Neuhaus, (professor of the legendary Russian pianists Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter) at the Moscow Conservatory. Dr. Gavalchin’s other notable teacher was the important American teacher and pedagogue Dorothy Taubmann.

Dr. Gavalchin also teaches piano at the College of Saint Elizabeth and is Adjunct Professor of Music at Iona College. He has given piano master classes in the U.S. and abroad.

Jeanne Goffi-Fynn is active both as a performer and teacher in the New York City area. Dr. Goffi-Fynn received her Doctorate from Columbia University, Teachers College where she also serves as director of the Doctoral Cohort Program in the Music and Music Education program. Her particular area of interest at Columbia is the applied music studio. Previously, she was on the faculty of New York University, the New School Actor's Studio M.F.A. Program, William Paterson University, and The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She credits the beginning of her teaching career to Dr. Barbara Doscher (author of The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice) with whom she studied voice and pedagogy in at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She continues working in the area of Vocology, specifically in the area of retraining of singers, after completing an internship at the Grabscheid Voice Center, Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City with Dr. Linda Carroll, Ph.D. and Dr. Peak Woo, M.D. She has also trained at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital with Dr. Anat Keidar, Ph.D. in the diagnosis and treatment of singing voice disorders. She has presented workshops and masterclasses with NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), The Voice Foundation, and the New York Singing Teachers Association (NYSTA).

Dr. Goffi-Fynn also remains active as a performer in the New York City area. She is most active as a recitalist, singing a variety of programs often with newly commissioned works. Operatic roles sung recently include Marie in Daughter of the Regiment (updated version) with Opera Nova, Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Olympia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann). Concert and oratorio performances include the Cantata Singers (NYC), and Temple Emmanu-El (NYC) while performances in Europe include the Lugano Radio Orchestra (Switzerland) and the Rumanian Radio Orchestra in a tour of Northern Italy. She has also studied and performed at the Zurich Opera Studio and with the American Institute of Musical Studies(A.I.M.S.) in Graz, Austria.

Jeanne is also a board member of New York Singing Teachers Association (NYSTA) and a co-director of their Professional Development Program, a course of voice studies NYSTA offers now in conjunction with Teachers College, Columbia University. More information may be found at NYST.org. 

Andrew Henderson is Director of Music & Organist at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, where he oversees an extensive liturgical and choral program, including the Saint Andrew Chorale, the New York City Children’s Chorus, in addition to the Saint Andrew Music Society’s Music on Madison series. He also serves as the Associate Organist at New York City’s Temple Emanu-El, as a member of the organ faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, and as the organ instructor at Teacher’s College, Columbia University. Dr. Henderson, a native of Thorold, Ontario, holds degrees in music from Cambridge and Yale Universities, and in 2007 he was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The Juilliard School. He was a finalist in the international competition Grand Prix de Chartres in 2002, and won first prize in the Royal Canadian College of Organists’ National Organ Playing Competition in 2003. Recent performances include organ and continuo playing with the New York Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, Musica Sacra, Voices of Ascension, The Oratorio Society of New York and The Collegiate Chorale, and solo recitals in Poland, Canada, and throughout the USA. His first solo CD, Andrew Henderson at St. John’s, Elora, was released in 2010. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, his teachers have included John Tuttle, Barrie Cabena, David Sanger, Thomas Murray and John Weaver. Visit www.andrewhenderson.net.

Peter Holsberg is an active freelance trumpeter in the New York area who has led an eclectic performing career. Dr. Holsberg has performed with Broadway Shows in New York City and on the road, salsa bands, orchestras, and commercial bands. Currently Dr. Holsberg holds the position of Arts Director and Chair of Music at The Berkeley Carroll School, an independent school in Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Holsberg holds degrees from Duquesne University, Stony Brook University, and a M.Ed. and Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University.

American guitarist Richard Jacobowski received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in guitar performance from Manhattan School of Music in 1993. As a student, he was chosen to perform for the great master, Andres Segoviaand soon afterward was awarded the prestigious Andres Segovia Award for Outstanding Guitar Performance. Richard has given numerous performances on Public Radio FM-WNYC and on many concert stages in NYC, includingfour critically acclaimed recitals at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. These concerts were presented by the American Institute of Guitar, Gateway Classics and the Aranjuez Strings, New Talent of the Guitar Series. In Europe, he has given concerts and adjudicated guitar competitions at music festivals throughout Spain, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, and in France at the International Festival of Guitar, lle deRe, 2002. His work as a chamber musician brought him to Lithuania as part of the Pazaislio Music Festival, 1999. As a teacher, Richard was Director of Guitar Studies at William Paterson University for ten years. He is currently on the faculty of Teachers College, Columbia University in New York. Articles by and interviews with Jacobowski have appeared in Soundboard, 20th Century Guitar, and La Guitarra.

Born 1985 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands he started his musical journey at the age of 16. At the age of 19, he was admitted to The Amsterdam Conservatory.
In 2011 he was a recipient of one of the most prestigious scholarships in The Netherlands, Huygens Scholarship, which allowed him to continue his studies at Manhattan School of Music with John Riley. Philippe graduated in 2013 and received his Master's Degree from this prestigious institute. Philippe became the first Dutch drummer that earns his Masters Degree for Jazz Drums from the Manhattan School of Music.

Philippe performs on drum set and percussion alike, covering a broad range of styles reflecting his wide interest in everything music and his natural feel for groove and texture regardless of genre.

Philippe performed at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center DC, Concert Gebouw, Bimhuis, North Sea Jazz Festival and The Blue Note NY.  In 2013 Philippe was head of drums department at True School of Music in Mumbai, India and started playing with Bollywood superstar Shilpa. He appears on over 50 cd’s as a sideman and released 6 records with groups that he leads or co-leads.  In 2015 the Philippe Lemm trio won the prestigious B-Jazz International Contest.

Currently Philippe Lemm is working with Grace Kelly, Ajoyo, Guy Mintus Trio and John Stetch Quartet.

Victor Lin is an educator and performer from Seattle, WA currently residing in New York City. A jazz pianist and violinist, Victor has an undergraduate degree in music from the University of Washington and a masters degree in jazz studies from Rutgers University, where he was a student of Kenny Barron. He is currently finishing his doctorate in music education at Columbia University Teachers College, where he teaches jazz piano and jazz ensembles. 
 
In New York City, Victor has performed in a wide and eclectic variety of contexts. As a pianist, he has performed at Lincoln Center Out-Of-Doors, Bryant Park's Piano Series, and recently been featured in Jack Kleinsinger's "Highlights In Jazz" at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. In addition, Victor has performed at Flushing Town Hall, The Japan Society, The Blue Note, and is a regular at the well-known Knickerbocker in downtown Manhattan. As a violinist, he has been a part of Frank Vignola's Hot Club USA and The Howard Fishman Quartet.
 
Aside from his performance credentials, Victor's primary focus has been on education. He has been on the faculty of the prestigious Stanford Jazz Workshop for the past eleven years, taught at the Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp for three years, and currently directs the jazz program at The Calhoun School, a private progressive education school on the upper west side of Manhattan.

A graduate of TC's Doctoral Program in Music Education, Angelo Miranda serves as an adjunct instructor in the Music Education program, offering aspiring  music teachers an opportunity to learn about percussion methods. Angelo has an extensive performance background  in the greater New York area with over 40 years of experience as drummer-percussionist.

A sample of local venues where Angelo has performed would include: The Symphony Space Theater, The St. Regis Hotel, Madison Square Garden and The Waldorf Astoria. Angelo played and toured with The Harlem Opera Society where he was a member of the pit orchestra jazz quartet. He was also timpanist for Virgil Thomson’s New York premiere performance of Plough that Broke The Plains which took place at the Cathedral of Saint John the DivIne.  Regarding his teachers, Angelo is always happy to mention that his very first drumset teacher was the legendary Count Basie drummer “Papa” Jo Jones who he studied with briefly at the then popular  Sam Ippolito Professional Percussion Shop on 50th St. and eighth Ave. It was there that he met his most important mentor, Norman Grossman from the Mannes College of Music. Dr. Miranda also provides lessons to non-music majors from Columbia University who may have special interests in jazz drumming, electronic percussion and/or latin percussion.

Josephine Mongiardo, widely acclaimed for her "extraordinary voice" and "brilliant ornamentation", has been featured in New York stage premieres of several eighteenth-century operas, including Handel's Acisand Galatea, Esther and Susanna, as well as Lully's Acis et Galate. An accomplished actress, Ms. Mongiardo has commanded attention in such roles as Lucia, Violetta and Rosina, and as she speaks four languages, she has become a renowned recitalist and chamber music artist. 

Her chamber music and orchestral appearances have taken her throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. She has collaborated with such renowned artists as Yo Yo Ma, Ani Kavafian, Gerard Schwarz, and Kenneth Cooper. Her festival appearances include Santa Fe, Waterloo, Chamber Music Northwest, Arcady, Music at Menlo, Grand Canyon and Mohawk Trail Concerts. Ms. Mongiardo's diverse repertoire includes orchestral works such as Mahler's Symphony No.4, Berlioz' Les Nuits d'Et and Strauss' Brentano Lieder as well as premieres of pieces by Seymour Barab and Wendy Chambers; she has also been featured as the narrator in Walton's Faade and as the Devil in Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat as well as works by Andr Caplet and Douglas Moore.  

She has performed leading roles in the Berkshire Bach Society's staged production of Bach's Hercules at the Crossroads and Over Coffee, with the Columbia Festival Orchestra in Bruce Adolphe's new work Marita and her Heart's Desire, and at Lincoln Center's Tully Hall with The Little Orchestra Society under Dino Anagnost in works of Antonio Vivaldi; Ms. Mongiardo can be heard on the CD Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot (Musical Heritage Society) and on Music@Menlo Live. Ms Mongiardo has a thriving teaching practice in New York City. Her students have been featured at Chautauqua Opera, Seattle Opera, Lake George Opera and in chamber andorchestral appearances throughout the United States. She currently serves as President of The New York Singing Teachers' Association. She holds a B.A. from Barnard College and an M.A. in musicology from Columbia University. 

Dr. Ondracek is a founding member and the first violinist of the Voxare String Quartet. In addition to her work as a performing artist, Dr. Ondracek is a teaching artist with the New York Philharmonic, a faculty member at Teachers College, and also maintains a private teaching studio in both New York City and Connecticut.

Nationally recognized conductor Mark Shapiro is one of a handful of artistic leaders in North America to have won a prestigious ASCAP Programming Award five times, achieving the unique distinction of winning such an award with more than one ensemble.

Shapiro works with orchestras, opera companies, and choruses. He is Music Director of the Prince Edward Island Symphony and a frequent Guest Conductor of the Nova Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra in Halifax. He has conducted several operas for Juilliard Vocal Arts. Other appearances include American Opera Projects, The Center for Contemporary Opera, the Opera Company of Middlebury, and Underworld Opera.

Shapiro is Music Director of The Cecilia Chorus of New York, one of New York’s longest-established choral societies, which annually performs a subscription season at Carnegie Hall. He is Artistic Director of the award-winning chamber chorus Cantori New York, and led the Monmouth Civic Chorus for over two decades. 

Shapiro is Associate Professor of Music at LIU Post, where he has received the Krasnoff Award, the University’s highest academic honor, and is on the conducting faculties of Mannes College the New School for Music and the Juilliard School (Evening Division). Each summer he directs the conducting program of the European American Musical Alliance, in Paris.

Katherine Sinsabaugh has performed with the Sinsabaugh / Hall Duo and Trio Angelicus, both of which made their New York debuts in Carnegie Recital Hall. As a NY freelancer, she has performed in numerous Broadway Shows, including Ragtime, Show Boat, Kiss of the Spiderwoman and with area freelance orchestras. She has toured with Barbara Streisand, Pavrotti, and Andrea Bocelli to name a few. As a chamber musician Katherine has performed in The American Landmark Series, Trinity Church, Vermont Mozart Festival, St. Paul's Arts Festival, The Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church Music Series, Bowdoin Summer Music Festival and The Aspen Festival. Katherine holds a Doctorate in Music and Music Education from Teachers College -- Columbia University. Prior studies include an MM from the Manhattan School of Music where she was a scholarship student of Karen Tuttle and Burton Kaplan and a BA from Barnard College-Columbia University where she studied with Paul Doktorat the Julliard School, receiving among other prizes the Alpha Zeta Fellowship. Dr. Sinsabaugh is on the faculty of the Mamaroneck UFSD school district and Teachers College, Columbia University.

Richard Pearson Thomas has had works performed by the Boston Pops, Covent Garden Festival, Houston Grand Opera, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Chautauqua Opera, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Banff Centre, Portland Opera, Skylight Opera Theatre, and Riverside Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. His songs have been sung in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Joe's Pub, Le Poisson Rouge, and before the U.S. Congress by artists such as Audra McDonald, Sanford Sylvan, Lauren Flanagan and Kurt Ollmann. He is a frequent collaborator with The Mirror Visions Ensemble which has performed his commissioned works in the United States and Europe.

He is a recipient of an American Composers' Forum Continental Harmony commission for the Alabama Tri-State Orchestra as well as commissions from the Great Falls Symphony Orchestra, the Empire State Youth Orchestra, and the Riverside Philharmonic Orchestra. His work Race for the Sky, which was commissioned as a commemoration of the events of 9/11, has been performed by the Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra and in recitals nationwide. Chamber music by Mr. Thomas has been performed by The Music of the Spheres Society, South Country Concerts, and recorded by violinist Stephanie Chase at the National Arts Club for broadcast on NPR's Performance Today.

Mr. Thomas is currently on faculty at Teachers College/Columbia University and has taught at Yale and the University of Central Florida. As composer-in-residence of the Gold Opera Project, he has composed more than 90 operas with students in New York City public schools. His work with children was featured on CBS's "The Early Show," and singled out for praise by President Clinton. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California, and is a native of Montana.

Peter Van Derick made his Metropolitan Opera debut in April 1995 in John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles, and returned for seasons singing roles in  Die Zauberflte, Solome, Midsummer Night's Dream, Capriccio, and Andrea Chenier. In March 1997 he portrayed the title role in fourteen performances of Gianni Schicchi with the Metropolitan Opera Guild. In January of 2004, Van Derick conducted the Idaho Falls Opera Theatre's production of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO. In New York, he has conducted Menotti's THE OLD MAID AND THE THIEF with the Champagne and Candlelight Opera, Don Giovanni, I Pagliacci, and Il Tabarro with Dive Opera. Mr. Van Derick has performed numerous roles with the American Symphony Orchestra under Leon Botstein at Avery Fisher Hall and Bard SummerScape, including NIGHT FLIGHT, THE WRECKERS, and DER FERNE KALNG. 

Mr. Van Derick has maintained a private voice studio in New York City for over 20 years, teaching both classical and musical theatre. He has been on the faculty of The Lee Strasberg Institute, Collaborative Arts Project 21, Columbia University Teacher's College, and Marymount Manhattan College in the Musical Theatre Department. At Marymount he has served as music director for the Freshman  Show -'10  and Mark Morris' BEDTIME for the  Dance Department's Spring Gala -'12, and ALL SHOOK UP.

Eve Wolf has appeared in solo and chamber music recitals in the United States and Europe.  She has taught piano and chamber music in New York for the past twenty-five years, has lectured at The Juilliard School and has recently joined the faculty of The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Ms. Wolf is the Executive Artistic Director of Ensemble for the Romantic Century (ERC), which she founded in 2001. ERC, now in its thirteenth season, produces theatrical concerts, which interweave dramatic and fully staged scripts with chamber and vocal music. Ms. Wolf writes scripts and performs extensively with the group. ERC has, to date, created over 40 original productions and has partnered with and performed at such institutions as Symphony Space, The Jewish Museum of New York; the Archivio Fano at the Teatro La Fenice of Venice, Italy; the Festival de Musique de Chambre Montral; the French Institute-Alliance Franaise/FIAF, New York; the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia University; the Italian Cultural Institute of New York; and the City University of New York (CUNY), among others. In 2011 Seduction, Smoke and Music: The Love Story of Chopin and George Sand, a theatrical concert co-produced with IMG Artists was performed in Italy at The Tuscan Sun Festival, with Jeremy Irons as Chopin and Sinad Cusack as George Sand. In the summer of 2013 ERC performed, to great critical acclaim, in partnership with Shakespeare & Company, ten performances of Ms. Wolf's script None but the Lonely Heart: The Strange Story of Tchaikovsky and Madame von Meck. Ms. Wolf studied piano with Seymour Bernstein, Richard Goode, and Peter Serkin, and music theory with Carl Schachter and Robert Levin. She received a BA in Art History from Columbia University and an MA in Piano Performance from New York University. Her much-in-demand seminar, Confronting Memory, deals with memorization techniques for pianists and has been presented in the United States and abroad.

Ruth Aguirre earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Texas State University, and a Master of Music degree from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She is a founding member of Adelante Winds, a wind quintet promoting works by Latin American composers, and has performed as a soloist at the International Clarinet Association Clarinetfest in Madrid, Spain in 2015. She has also performed several times at Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival.

Additionally, she’s received training in Orff Schulwerk (Levels 1,2,3, and Masters), Kodaly (Level 1), Dalcroze, and World Music Drumming. She previously taught elementary music and band in the k-12 public school setting in Texas for a combined 17 years, and had taught music appreciation and applied clarinet lessons as an adjunct professor at San Antonio College concurrently for five years.

Ruth Aguirre is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree in the Music and Music Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her work there includes serving as a student teacher supervisor, and an applied lesson instructor of clarinet. She is a founding member of Latin American Music Project, a student led group of musicians who perform popular and folk music of Latin American composers.

Elliott Archer, tenor, received his Bachelor of Music degree from the School of Music at the University of Maryland, College Park. He went on to perform with the choir at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. where he was frequently featured as a soloist. Elliott has also appeared with the Inscape Chamber Orchestra in performances of Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins with soprano Carmen Balthrop, and as the Narrator in Igor Stavinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale. Elliott made his New York City debut in Opera Breve’s modern production of Cosi fan tutte as Ferrando. He is currently enrolled at Teachers College, Columbia University where his major is in vocal pedagogy and is conducting research centered on identifying effective practices in the applied voice studio. Elliott studies acting at The Barrow Group, musical theatre voice with Mary Saunders-Barton, classical voice with Dr. Julian Kwok, and is a member of The National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Working on one’s singing technique need not be a mystical venture, but it is filled with results beyond those we could dare to expect at the onset.  People of all ages and levels of expertise can benefit from learning to express themselves with a vocal ease and freedom.

Lindsey has a varied background as both a performer and an educator.  She has performed in musical theatre, operas, and various straight theatre productions. She also is an experienced educator, having taught middle school chorus and drama, directed student plays, coached students through New York State School Music Solo festivals, taught group singing to adult beginners, and worked with private students ages 11- older adults. She is able to adapt to the goals of each student and challenge them to discover artistic accomplishments they did not know they could achieve.  Lindsey currently teaches music and chorus in Scarsdale, NY, is the music director of Immersion Youth Repertory (Rochester, MN), is a founding member and singer in Immersion Repertory (NYC) and a member of the choral group Musica Viva NYC.

The vocal technique Lindsey uses combines vocal exercises and repertoire to help each student become an artist capable of independence, creativity, and excitement.  The exercises are designed to work through the process of singing, allowing students the ability to employ their unique voices, grounded in anatomy and the physical practice of singing.

Called “new and noteworthy” by The New York Times, JOHN ALEC BRIGGS has created three cabaret shows celebrating The Great American Songbook, Six Degrees from Mercer, Six More Degrees from Mercer and Six Degrees from Arlen, that have been seen in New York and on cruise ships worldwide. All were selected as “must see shows of the week” by Time Out New York.

Briggs holds a Master of Voice Pedagogy awarded with distinction from Westminster Choir College and is currently at Teachers College working toward a Doctor of Education in College Teaching in Music and Music Education. He has studied voice with Martina Arroyo, Robert Grayson, and Sandra Kungle, and voice pedagogy with Christopher Arneson and Kathy Kessler Price. Research interests include the collaborative relationship between music director and singer in cabaret, and cross-training in applied voice programs.

Since 2011 he has served on the faculty at Ouachita Baptist University, where he teaches applied voice, directs the opera program, and musically directs in their music theatre program. He has presented for the National Association of Teachers of Singing at the state, regional, and national levels, last conducting a workshop on cabaret at their 2018 National Conference in Las Vegas.

Lindsey is currently a Doctor of Education candidate at Teachers College. She has taught privately for 14 years and has experience with individual and group instruction, ages 3-50+. She finished her Masters in String Pedagogy and Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lindsey instructed the High String Fundamentals class at the UW-Madison, where she created and implemented a curriculum for the enrolled music education majors to learn a beginning to intermediate skill level on the violin and viola through a natural and accessible approach. Lindsey directed and coached the All University String Orchestras Chamber program at the UW-Madison. She also coached the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra Chamber program for 5 years. Lindsey worked with a non-profit community music program in Wisconsin, Madison Music Makers, where she created a curriculum for volunteer teachers from the university and community to implement, and coached them in their instruction. She is currently working with the Partnership for the Homeless in Brooklyn where she instructs and directs a music program for families with a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and learning abilities.

Chris Citera is NYC-based actor, singer, and voice teacher. He has appeared in concert at Feinstein’s/54 Below, (le) poisson rouge, and The Metropolitan Room. He holds degrees in voice performance and pedagogy from Teachers College, Columbia University and Ithaca College. He has trained extensively as an actor at the Michael Howard Studios and The Barrow Group. 

In addition to maintaining a professional private studio, he is on faculty with BroadwayEvolved, a musical theater training program designed by Broadway star, Betsy Wolfe. He is the Assistant Director of the Young Men's Workshop with the Singers' Workshops @ Teachers College, and is the voice consultant for Kidz Theater. Additionally, he is on faculty in the BFA Musical Theater program at Molloy College/CAP21. 

A lifelong learner and self-professed “voice-nerd”, he continues his training with Mike Ruckles (of whom he is an associate teacher) and Dr. Jeanne Goffi-Fynn. He draws upon principles of Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, Fitzmaurice, Lessac, and others to create an individualized, multidisciplinary approach based on each singer’s unique, goals, learning style, and physiology. Chris believes in a student-centered approach to lessons and strives to honor the diversity that each student brings into the studio.

For more info: www.chriscitera.com / Instagram: @chriscitera

Yan Carlos Colón was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  He studied classical and jazz guitar at the Puerto Rico Music Conservatory where he graduated with a B.M. in Theory & Music Composition in 2010.  He continued his graduate studies at the same institution where he obtained a Master’s Degree in Music Education in 2013.  In 2016 he obtained his second graduate degree: Ed.M Master of Education from Columbia University.  He is currently a Doctoral student at Columbia University.  Yan Carlos Colón’s music work is diverse.  As a performer he has worked with many artists in Puerto Rico and New York performing many genres of music from latin and jazz to electronic music and indie rock among others.  As a composer, he has written music for orchestra, chamber music ensembles and solo instruments.  His music has been performed in Puerto Rico, United States, and Europe.  He currently lives in New York City where he works as a music school teacher in Harlem where he developed a music composition program for his students.  He also works as a student instructor at Teachers College, Columbia University where he teaches guitar.

Natalie Fabian is a Singer, Pianist, Composer, and Music Educator in the Long Island/NYC area. She holds a B.S. in Music Education with a Specialization in Vocal Performance from Hofstra University. At Hofstra, Natalie received the Herbert A. Deutsch award for Excellence in the Field of Music Education and the William Rosencrans Endowed Music Scholarship for Classical Voice. She is currently pursuing her M.A. in Music & Music Education specializing in Vocal Pedagogy at Teachers College, Columbia University. She studies under mentor, Dr. Jeanne Goffi-Fynn.

At TC, Natalie is a Workshop Assistant and Composer in Residence for The Singers’ Workshops @ TC, the Assistant Director of the Every Voice Choirs’ Youth Choir, and the Course Assistant for the Teachers College Community Choir. On L.I., she holds her own Voice/Piano studio, specializing in Musical Theatre, Classical, Pop/Jazz Voice and Songwriting. She is a current teaching artist for the Adelphi Pre-College Musical Theatre Summer Workshop.

As a Jazz and Singer-Songwriter soloist, Natalie appeared at The Metropolitan Room, Rockwood Music Hall, and Birdland. This year, Natalie became a Sofar Sounds Artist at Whisper Vineyards. Her song, “The Fight” was featured on the Sofar on Spotify Playlist.

Praised for his "great skill and captivating sound" by Clariperu, American clarinetist Calvin Falwell is quickly becoming a sought after soloist and chamber music collaborator. His performances have garnered praise from critics and audiences around the world. Currently, Calvin holds the 3rd/Bass Clarinet chair with the Sarasota Orchestra in Sarasota, FL and is on faculty at the University of South Florida where he teaches in the School of Music and the USF Honors College. During the summer months can be found performing with the Charlottesville Opera Festival in Virginia.

Calvin has also appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival, Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet, Florida Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Opera Tampa, Opera Naples, Green Mountain Opera and Pittsburgh Opera Theater among others. Former faculty appointments include The College of New Jersey, Holy Family University, Wilmington University, Hartwick College Music Festival and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.

His principal teachers and mentors include Paul Demers, Ron Samuels, Tim Zavadil and Dallas Tidwell. Both Calvin's BM and MM are in Clarinet Performance and are from the University of Louisville and Duquesne University respectively.

Calvin is both a Buffet Group USA and D'Addario Woodwind Performing Artist, performing on Buffet Clarinets and D'Addario Reeds exclusively.

After growing up in Wisconsin and later residing in Chicago and New Orleans, multi-woodwind instrumentalist Tim Sullivan currently lives in New York City where he actively performs, teaches, and studies music. Having served on the teaching faculty of Jazz At Lincoln Center since 2009, Tim now serves as Head Of Instruction for JALC's early childhood music program, WeBop! and teaches woodwind lessons for the Middle School Jazz Academy. Tim is an Associate Professor of Music at Long Island University, where he maintains a private woodwind studio and teachesAmerican Music History, in addition to serving as an education consultant for the renowned Apollo Theater in Harlem. Tim's professional performance resume is vast and versatile, ranging from performing with jazz icons such as Jimmy Cobb, Clark Terry, and the Marsalis Family, to popular music legends such as Aretha Franklin and Fred Wesley, to playing Broadway shows and recording for television and film. Currently pursuing an Ed.M. in Music and Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, Tim serves as the program’s Community Music Fellow and teaches at Teachers College Community School in Harlem. Website:www.openroadmusic.org

Darryl Jordan, conductor/singer/songwriter, holds a B.S. and M.M. in Music Education from NYU and Boston University, respectively. He is currently pursuing his E.D.D. in Music Education from Teachers College. He is an Adjunct Professor of Voice and Conductor at Nyack College. He trains multi-faceted young singers in Harlem as the Chair of Vocal Music at the Urban Assembly School for Performing Arts. Desiring to “develop singers for every stage,” he has spent the past twenty five years training singers and conducting choirs in Maryland, D.C., and New York for everything from classical to jazz. His students have performed everywhere from major concert halls, a host of churches, community centers, and public events!  Most recently, he performed with the Broadway Inspirational Voices with Patti LuPone at David Geffen Hall. Thanking God for his own musical gift, he seeks to empower the community through the gift of song. A Four-time Apollo Amateur Night Winner and sought after singer, he will release his new album, TIME, later this year.

Canadian-born Maureen Yuen has performed, taught, and adjudicated in North and Central America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. She recently joined the Department of Music at Drake University as Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola. She was previously on the faculty of the School of Music at the State University of New York at Fredonia where she was the recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, selected from a pool of nominees from the 64 campuses that compose the State University of New York.

She is a member of the College of Examiners of the Royal Conservatory of Music as well as a senior adjudicator and strings specialist for the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program (formerly the Carnegie Hall Achievement Program). In addition, she has served on the summer faculties of the Schlern International Music Festival in the Italian Alps, the National Music Festival in Maryland, USA, Music/Meadows/Mountains in Washington, USA, and the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Colorado, USA as Artist/Faculty.

In addition to her performing and teaching duties, she is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Teachers College, Columbia University, where her research focus is on effective violin pedagogy.