guitar teacher with student

Faculty & Staff

Extension Division Administration

Tatyana Kebuladze
Tatyana Kebuladze
Stokes Forest Music Camp
Artistic Director
kebuladzet@montclair.edu

A native of Ukraine, pianist Tatyana Kebuladze graduated from the Gliere State Music College, the alma mater of virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz. For four years she served as accompanist with the New Jersey Children’s Choir, performing throughout United States and Canada, and appeared in collaborations with the New Jersey Chamber Music Society. Her appearances as a soloist and accompanist include concerts at the Kosciuszko Foundation, 92nd Street Y, St. Bartholomew’s Church, and a concert-lecture at Columbia University Teacher’s College (New York City), NJPAC, and Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Newark, NJ). She was a guest pianist at the Niagara Falls International Summer Festival, Canada. Ms. Kebuladze graduated with honors from Montclair State University, and received awards including the School of the Arts Talent Award. She holds a Master of Music degree from Rutgers University, where she worked as Teaching Assistant. She has taught at the Cali School and Westminster Choir College since 2004. She is also the owner and artistic director of Oranta Music Academy. She is a co-founding member of Montclair Piano Trio. She was recently awarded Genia Robinor Pedagogy Teaching Excellence Award presented by the Piano Teachers Society of America in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York.



Ethan D. Rioux
Stokes Forest Music Camp
Co-Director of Students

Ethan Rioux is an educator and performer from Philadelphia, PA. He joined the SFMC staff in 2012 and with his extensive experience working with middle school and high school students helps coordinate camp activities and ensemble operations. He holds a B.M. in Jazz Studies from Temple University and a M.S. in Mathematics Teaching & Learning from Drexel University. Ethan teaches mathematics at all levels to students in Philadelphia, and also at the Art of Problem Solving Academy in Princeton, NJ. As a trombonist in Philadelphia, Ethan primarily performs in salsa and jazz ensembles in addition to teaching brass instruments, music theory, arranging and composition. He looks forward to the time spent at camp each year because SFMC provides Ethan with the opportunity to combine all of his interests: music, teaching, and the outdoors.


Letitia Stancu
Letitia Stancu
Adjunct Professor
Keyboard Musicianship
Cali School Extension Division, Office Administrator
973-655-4443
stancul@montclair.edu

Letitia Stancu is a pianist, keyboardist, educator and administrator. Ms. Stancu has served as an administrator for the Cali School Extension Division (formerly Preparatory Center for the Arts) and the Stokes Forest Music Camp since 2005. She has previously worked for both programs as a piano teacher and accompanist. Ms. Stancu has been a Cali School collaborative pianist since 2006, working with instrumental and vocal students. She has performed with the Montclair State University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band as well as in the pit orchestras for the Montclair State University Musical Theater productions of Side Show and The Producers. In addition, Ms. Stancu has also performed as a keyboardist and backing vocalist with various cover and original bands of rock/pop genres. Performance venues include the Hard Rock Café in Atlantic City, Webster Hall in New York City, Seacrets in Ocean City, MD and Rainbow Room in Los Angeles. Ms. Stancu joined the Cali School of Music Faculty in 2008 as an Adjunct Professor of Keyboard Musicianship. She holds a BMus degree from Oberlin Conservatory.


Adrienne Baker
Adrienne Baker
Coordinator, Chamber Music, Flute

A socially conscious artist, Adrienne strives to use her voice to help others find theirs. As Chamber Music Coordinator, Adrienne currently works to support the Extension Division including building their budding chamber music program, which welcomes all ages and levels to hone their chamber and musicianship skills. A dedicated educator, Adrienne teaches privately – flute and piano – to students of diverse musical backgrounds and ages. There is no greater joy to her than to simultaneously foster a lifelong love of learning and appreciation for music. A chamber musician herself, Adrienne divides her time between Boston and the New Jersey area as part of the duo NorthStar. Along with saxophonist Seychelle Dunn, NorthStar’s projects have included the commissioning of ‘Spirituals for Wind Duo,’ an arrangement by composer Anthony Green and the ‘Women’s Equity Project’ which celebrated works by black women composers. Adrienne looks forward to NorthStar’s future creative explorations of their instrumentation, particularly of music by women composers.


Ruth Brons
Ruth Brons
Suzuki strings coordinator
Ruth Brons Website

Ruth Brons was honored for her work in music education by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) in 2014 with the prestigious Kudos Award. Ruth maintains a full private lesson studio in conjunction with her work with the Extension Division. She has also served as a clinician for the South Carolina Suzuki Institute (for over twenty years), a music education conference session presenter, and as active free-lance violinist/violist and chamber music coach in the greater New York City area. She holds a Master of Music in Viola Performance from Temple University (Philadelphia), a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance from The New School of Music (Philadelphia), and is an alumna of the Charles Castleman Quartet Program. Her teachers included Max Aronoff, Leonard Mogill, Heidi Castleman, Evelyn Jacobs Luis and Davyd Booth.


Meredith Foreman
Meredith Foreman
Stokes Forest Music Camp
Coordinator of Jazz Studies and Activities, Saxophone, Drums/Percussion

A native of Elizabeth, New Jersey, Meredith Foreman (B.A. Music Education, Montclair State University) is a music educator, recording artist and freelance musician performing regularly on saxophone, clarinet, flute, trumpet, and percussion. She is a member of the world famous “Chops Horns” and has performed at many venues including the Apollo Theater and Carnegie Hall in concerts featuring artists such as Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, The O’Jays, Anita Baker, Dionne Warwick, Wayne Brady, Doug E. Fresh, Paul Shaffer, Edwin Hawkins, BeBe Winans, Fantasia, Boyz II Men, Jamie Foxx, Mariah Carey, Joss Stone and others. She is the founding conductor of the award winning instrumental program for grades 4-8 at Ronald Reagan Academy in Elizabeth and sits on the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Association for Jazz Education (NJAJE). She has had the honor of conducting the New Jersey Region II Honors Middle School Jazz Band (2016), Rockland Junior All County Band (2019) and has worked as a jazz clinician/adjudicator throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Meredith is the recipient of many awards including the Union County Teacher Recognition Award (2012), Edward F. Kappy Merit Award, and an Excellence in Education Leadership Award (2015). She is a published author contributing to Teaching Music – The Urban Experience by Lisa DeLorenzo, Ed.D. (2019).


Faculty

Keyboard, Percussion, Strings, Woodwinds, Voice, Ensembles & Groups, Theory/Composition
Contact number for faculty: 973-655-4443


Keyboard

Maria DelVecchio
Piano

Maria DelVecchio received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Caldwell College. She attended The New England Conservatory of Music on a full scholarship in accompanying and holds two master’s degrees in music from Columbia University. She served as accompanist for the Uniroyal Chorus, Tufts University Choir, Ohabei Shalom Men’s Chorus and the Garden State Ballet Company. For two years she served as the accompanist for opera star Licia Albanse’s solo performances and recitals. Additionally, for four years in the Berkshires, she was the pianist for Fiorella Keane of the Royal Ballet and the Juilliard School of Music. Ms. DelVecchio studied piano with Robert Armstrong of the Juilliard School of Music and Martha Motchane, a student of Alfred Cortot and Robert Hebble. Most recently, she studied The Taubman Technique with Edna Golandsky. Ms. DelVecchio is a certified Suzuki Piano teacher who, for eight years, served as the coordinator of the Preparatory Center’s piano program. She has also served as adjunct faculty in the Cali School of Music. Over the past 35 years, Ms. DelVecchio has had numerous students in the state’s piano competitions. Her students have won first and second place in the New Jersey Music Educators Association’s piano competitions.



Angy Estrada
Piano
Angy Estrada’s professional journey shaped her love for playing piano and sharing music with others by composing, teaching, and supporting her students. Estrada has participated at Maricopa Music Competition, the Universidad Industrial de Santander Piano Competition, the Junior Philharmonic society of New Orleans, the Music Teachers National Association Competition, and the TCU/Van Cliburn Piano Institute, among others. She completed her college education at Arizona State University (BMus), Tulane University (MFA) and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (DMA). Since 2003, Estrada has been teaching piano, working as a choir director, collaborative pianist, and organist at different music schools and churches throughout the U.S.  Her passion for cultural diversity engaged her in jazz and inspired her to compose her debut album entitled Latin Pulse.  Estrada created a fusion of different genres including classical and jazz and arranged her music for trumpet, alto sax, trombone, piano, bass, and drums.  Latin Pulse was released in 2017. Estrada’s philosophy is “There is always something new we can learn and something new we can teach.”  She encourages her students to freely love music.

Mansoon Han Kim
Mansoon Han Kim
Piano

Mansoon Han Kim has won numerous competitions including the Yale Gordon Competition, the Yook Young Competition, the Piano Music Competition and Nan Pa Music Competition. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Seoul National University in 1991. In 1992, she began studies with concert pianist Ann Schein at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, MD where she received her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. She has performed throughout the United States, Canada, South Korea and China. She has performed with members of the Maia String Quartet, Ceruti String Quartet, the Anchor Trio and soprano Hyunah Yu. Kim has won the Clara Ascherfeld Accompanying Award, Peabody Career Development Grant. She has studied at summer festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, the Orford Arts Center and the Kent Blossom Summer Chamber Music Festival and participated in master classes by Mennahem Pressler, Leon Fleisher, Abbey Simon, Jörg Demus, Sergei Dorensky and Gabby Casadesus.


Youn-Hee Bang Kim
Youn-Hee Bang Kim
Piano

Born in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to the United States in 1998, pianist Youn-hee Kim’s numerous awards include first prize in the 2000 Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, third prize in the Carmel International Piano Competition, and two-time grand prizes in the Music Associates Performance Award Competition in Southern California. Youn-hee was the first recipient of the Alicia de Larrocha Scholarship. Mme. de Larrocha highly praised her performance and wrote to her that “…with or without competitions, you will be a fantastic artist!” The Peninsula Review of the Carmel International Competition noted Kim’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Études-Tableaux (Op. 39): “…was simply the best performance among any other performers’ live or recording.” She holds a BMus degree in piano performance from Sungshin Women’s University in South Korea, MM degree from California State University Fullerton, Professional Studies Diploma from Manhattan School of Music, and DMA in piano performance from the Stony Brook  University under the tutelage of Gahng-soon Lee, Young-joo Hong, Eduardo Delgado, Philip Kawin and Christina Dahl. As a pedagogue, Youn-hee has been awarded “Certificates of Excellence” from the Crescendo Competition, Forte International Competition, Golden Key Festival, recognizing her work as a leading teacher. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society.


Florence Liu
Florence Liu
Piano

Pianist Florence Liu, holds a DMA degree in piano performance from the Graduate Center of CUNY where she studied with the legendary pianist Abbey Simon. She received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music. Dr. Liu made her New York recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and has performed in solo and chamber music concerts in Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Yamaha Hall and Steinway Hall. Additionally, she has performed throughout the New York metropolitan area, Taiwan, France and Spain. Her awards include the Dora Zaslavsky Piano Competition, Artist International’s Special Presentation Award, Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society’s Young Musician award, the Henry Levine Memorial Award, the Anne-McDermott Memott Memorial Award, and Manhattan School of Music’s President Award. As an educator, Dr. Liu has been awarded “Certificates of Excellence” from the International Concert Alliance, the National League of Performing Arts, Forte International Competition, Golden Key Festival, Music-Fest and Prima Music Competition recognizing her work as a leading teacher. Currently, she is director of the concerto/chamber competition for the National League of Performing Arts and also serves as co-chair of the competition committee for the Music Educators Association of New Jersey.


Amir Mortezai
Amir Mortezai
Piano

Amir Mortezai is a composer, pianist and teacher from Chester, New Jersey. His pieces have been performed at concert halls in Paris, Prague, Tehran, and Pavia, Italy. Self-taught as a composer until the age of 25, he attended the EAMA Summer Music Program in Paris in 2010 and 2011 where he studied counterpoint and harmony with Dr. Philip Lasser of the Juilliard School, who became his private teacher for three more years. With a bachelor’s degree in Classical Piano Performance from Rutgers University, he’s been active as a concertizing pianist and piano instructor for a number of years. His principal piano teachers were Paul Hoffmann and Dr. John Gorman. He graduated on scholarship from NYU Steinhardt in 2016 with a master’s degree in Theory and Composition where he studied both concert music and film scoring with Paul Chihara and took courses with Pulitzer Prize Winner Julia Wolfe. Other composition teachers include Jose Bevia, Kyle Blaha and Herschel Garfein. As a songwriter, he’s taken part in master classes with Roseanne Cash, Glenn Frey and Phil Galdston. His film scoring credits range from drama to documentary, animation to horror.


Victoria Schwartzman
Victoria Schwartzman

Piano

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Victoria Schwartzman (formerly Mazin) performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. Victoria has appeared at the Music Mountain Festival, in the New York Philharmonic Ensembles series at Merkin Hall, at Summit Music Festival, at Bargemusic, in the Gessner- Schocken concert series in Cambridge, and the Nicolas Roerich Museum. Victoria graduated from the Jerusalem Conservatory and continued her education at the Longy School of Music and New England Conservatory. While pursuing various degrees in solo and chamber music performance, she was selected to perform in masterclasses given by Dmitri Bashkirov, Menahem Pressler and Richard Goode, among others. Her principal teachers include Irina Kivaiko, Issak Kossov, Victor Rosenbaum, Sally Pinkas, Eda Shlyam and Eteri Andjaparidze. As soloist with orchestra, Victoria has performed with the Jerusalem Chamber Orchestra, the Longy School of Music Chamber Orchestra and the Riverside Orchestra. She has participated in the Tel-Hai International Piano Festival in Israel and the Lyrica Chamber Music Festival in New Jersey. Active in the field of opera and art song, Victoria has served as a vocal coach and accompanist at Boston Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Bard Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, and the American Institute of Musical Studies Festival in Graz, Austria.


Jungwon Shin
Jungwon Shin

Piano

Jungwon Anne Shin received a B.Mus. from Seoul National University in Korea, M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Solomon Mikowsky, and a D.M.A. in piano performance and literature under Dr. Ian Hobson with full scholarship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She was also a teaching assistant at UIUC.  Jungwon was an adjunct professor at Baekseok University.  She also taught at Dongduk University, Chungnam National University, Mokwon University, Pai Chai University, Daejeon Arts High School and Music Academy for the Gifted Musicians at Daejeon Art Center, all in Korea.  As an active soloist, she has performed with the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, Prime Philharmonic Orchestra, Janacek Chamber Orchestra, Eurasian Philharmonic Orchestra, Rumanian State Orchestra and CMB Orchestra.  As a recitalist, Jungwon has performed at Hubbard Recital Hall, Pforzeimer Recital Hall, Smith Memorial Hall, Seoul Art Center, KAIST Hall, Expo Art Hall, Daejeon Art Center, Daedeok Cultural Center and Hungary Siofok International Master Course. She was also a guest artist for Chopin Piano Recital Series at Delta State University in Mississippi.  Jungwon is a founding member of Piano Harmonia and co-director of the NJ Chamber Ensemble.


Yi Xia
Yi Xia

Piano

Yi Xia earned her bachelors degree in piano pedagogy from Guangxi Arts Institute in China and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from Oklahoma City University. She is currently pursuing a second master’s degree studying music therapy at Montclair State University. Yi is a teacher with passion and patience and experience working with both children and adults. She joined the Extension Division faculty in 2015.


Yuka Yanagi
Yuka Yanagi
Piano

Yuka Yanagi is currently an adjunct faculty member of the music department at County College of Morris and Montclair State University Extension Division. Ms. Yanagi has performed frequently throughout the Tri-State area, including Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, the Steinway Piano Gallery, Paul Hall and Morse Hall at the Juilliard School, and has also performed in Japan and Taiwan. She served as the Second Vice-President for the Music Educators Association in New Jersey in 2008 and 2009. She serves as an adjudicator for numerous auditions and competitions and is a board member of International Music Institute of China. Ms. Yanagi has excelled in classical piano performance instruction as her students have both participated in and won numerous major New York and New Jersey area piano competitions. Her winning students have performed in Carnegie Hall as well as Lincoln Center for over 20 years. Ms. Yanagi holds a Bachelor of Music degree, Summa Cum Laude, and a Master of Arts degree in Piano Performance from Montclair State University. She is also the recipient of the Outstanding Performance Award from Montclair State University in 1996.


Soyeon Yoo
Soyeon Park Yoo
Piano

Pianist Soyeon Park Yoo is a performer, educator and adjudicator. She has performed in the United States, Canada and South Korea as a soloist and chamber musician. She has performed concertos with the Hope College Symphonette, Orchestra of St. Vincent and the Good Samaritan Symphony Orchestra. She has also presented performances at Northwestern University, Bradley University, Hope College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Aspen Music Festival and Las Vegas Music Festival. She has presented at ISMTA conference on “Comprehensive Approaches to Teaching Harmonization” in 2014. Dr. Yoo received degrees in music from the Juilliard School, the Peabody Conservatory of Music and Northwestern University. With a passion for teaching, Soyeon Yoo taught private lessons in the Northwestern University Music Academy and keyboard skills classes in Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts and Hope College. She joined the John J. Cali School of Music Extension Division program in 2016 and the following year was appointed as an adjunct professor at the Cali School of Music.


Shixuan Zhang
Shixuan Zhang
Piano

Shixuan Zhang is pursuing her Artist Diploma at the Cali School of Music where she also serves as a collaborative pianist in the School of Music and in the Department of Theater and Dance. She received her Master of Music in Piano Performance and Certificate in Chamber Music Performance from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee as a full scholarship student. Ms. Zhang has performed master classes with the esteemed pianists Einar Steen-Nøkleberg, Solomon Mikowsky, Olegna Fuschi, Walter Hautzig and Nelita True. She was a 2017 scholarship recipient for her participation in the International Keyboard Institute & Festival at Hunter College in New York. That same year she also received a full scholarship to participate in Montclair State University’s Dorothy Taubman Piano Festival. Shixuan has also participated and performed at other festivals including the second Beijing International Piano & Violin Festival in Beijing Concert Hall, the seventh Beijing International Piano Festival in China Conservatory of Music, and the Piano Festival at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She has won prizes and honors in the third Hong Kong-International Piano Open Competition and the sixth Singapore-China International music competition.


Strings

Violin, Viola, Cello, String Bass, Harp, Guitar – Contact number for faculty: 973-655-4443


Ruth Brons
Suzuki strings coordinator – See bio above.

Janey Choi
Janey Choi
Violin

Canadian violinist and teaching artist, Dr. Janey Choi, enjoys a versatile career engaging audiences of all ages through music, art, and dance. Highlights of recent years include regular performances in solo and chamber recitals, and with such groups as the Ardelia Trio, Teaching Artists Ensemble of the NY Philharmonic, as substitute Concertmaster of Disney’s “Aladdin” on Broadway, on tour with Adele, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Wonder, and her debut as a host of the New York Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts. She is musical director of Thomas / Ortiz Dance, sharing her passion for inter-arts collaboration, and is the founder of Music + Art, a series that commissions original artwork inspired by chamber music. Dr. Choi holds advanced degrees from The Juilliard School and Rutgers University where her major teachers included Joseph Fuchs, Joel Smirnoff and Arnold Steinhardt. She has had her artistry recognized by the Ontario Arts Council (Chalmers Performing Arts Grant), the Canadian Music Competition (National First Prize) and Artists International (Carnegie Hall debut recital winner). On the teaching faculties of the New York Philharmonic and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, she has presented educational workshops for the College Music Society National Conference, Tokyo College of Music, Lincoln Center Institute, and the University Musical Society of the University of Michigan.



Susan French

Violin/Viola

A violinist and violist, Susan French has served as concertmaster for the First National Broadway tours of An American in Paris, Lincoln Center’s South Pacific, Evita, and the National tour of The Wizard of Oz. Broadway orchestral highlights include On the Town (Cast Recording 2015), White Christmas (2008), off-Broadway’s Queen of the Mist (Sh-K-Boom Records 2008) and Menagerie with the Barrington Stage Company (2017). As an educator, she has served on the faculties of Flint School of Performing Arts, Long Island City Academy of Music, Berkshire Music School, along with studio teaching. Since 2004 Ms. French has performed every summer with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. She has held positions with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony (Assistant Concertmaster), Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, Des Moines Metro Opera, Ann Arbor Symphony, and Flint Symphony.  Additional engagements have included Follies at the Kennedy Center, Glimmerglass Opera Oman Tour, SONOS, Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Irish Repertory Theatre, Harlem Chamber Players, American Modern Ensemble, and the festivals of Endless Mountain, Lancaster, New Hampshire, and Mendocino.  She holds a B.A. with M.M. and B.M. degrees in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan and was a recipient of a Margaret Dow Towsley Scholarship.


Tricia Gálvez-Gruswitz
Tricia Gálvez-Gruswitz

Violin

Tricia Galvez Gruswitz has been teaching violin viola and piano for over 10 years. She teaches Suzuki classes and is the orchestra conductor at the Montclair State University Preparatory Center for the Arts.


Agnes Simkens
Agnes Simkens
Violin

Agnes Simkens is a native of Belgium. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree with a specialization in historical performance from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston and a master’s degree from Yale University. She has studied violin with Erik Friedman and Emanuel Borok. Dr. Simkens has performed with numerous ensembles specializing in historical performance and symphony orchestras in the United States and Europe including Opera Lafayette, Rebel, American Classical Orchestra, the Princeton Symphony and others. In addition to performing, Dr. Simkens has a true passion for teaching strongly driven to share her knowledge and experiences with her students. She teaches students of all ages and levels – beginning through adult.


J.J. Johnson
J.J. Johnson

Violin/Viola

J.J. Johnson is from Phoenix, Arizona where he received his Bachelor of Music Degree from Arizona State University. In 2005 he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and worked towards his master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University. While working on his degree J.J. won positions with the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestras and Assistant Principal Viola of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. In the winter of 2010 he began performing at Radio City Music Hall in NYC with the world-famous Radio City Rockettes and made his Broadway debut in 2013 in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. He has performed in a number of Broadway musicals, including On The Town, Cats, Les Miserables, Fiddler on the Roof, An American in Paris, and Sunset Boulevard. He has also appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and was Principal Viola of the NBC Studio Orchestra for the NBC Live! performances of The Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood and Peter Pan with Christopher Walken. He has participated in a number of recording projects including The Red Eye of Love, Tokio Confidential, Telly Leung’s solo album Songs for You, and the independent short film The Ceiling Fan. Alongside his active freelance career, Mr. Johnson also greatly enjoys teaching at the Extension Division.


Kimberly McCrann
Kimberly McCrann
Violin/Viola/Youth Orchestra Conductor
Blog

Kimberly McCrann became the music director of the Montclair State University Youth Orchestra, where she conducts the Youth Orchestra and Chamber Sinfonia, in 2006. She has taught in both the college and pre-college divisions at Montclair State. Kimberly also conducted the Overture Strings (Youth Orchestras of Essex County) from 2006 – 2016 and currently heads the Gill St. Bernard’s School strings program. She directed the Lower School Strings Program at the Dwight-Englewood School from 2008 – 2015. She is the Executive Director of the Gemini Youth Orchestras (NY). Kimberly received her BMus in violin performance from the Peabody Conservatory where she studied with Shirley Givens, and her Artist Diploma from Montclair State, where she was a scholarship student of Yi Wen Jiang. She studied jazz violin with John Blake and Suzuki pedagogy with Martha Thomas. Kimberly lives on Long Island, NY with her family.


Laura Manko Sahin
Laura Manko Sahin
Violin/Viola

Laura Manko Sahin has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. She was formerly the Principal violist of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, violist of the Boston Harp Trio, and a member of the Bilkent (Ankara, Turkey), Knoxville, and Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestras. Dr. Sahin recently moved to New Jersey, where she is on faculty at the Léman Conservatory, New Jersey Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Rutgers University, Extension Division. She is a founding member of the Hubbard quartet, violist with the Santa Fe Pro Musica, and substitute with the Phantom of the Opera Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. During the summers, she is on viola and chamber music faculty at Luzerne Music Center, and a resident artist at the Meeting House Chamber Music Festival. Dr. Sahin completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Music from Bilkent University as a student of Ece Akyol. She earned her Artist Diploma and Master of Music from Boston University as a student and teaching assistant of Michelle LaCourse and Bachelor of Music Degree from University of North Carolina School of the Arts as a student and teaching assistant of Sheila Browne.


Yen Yu
Yen Yu
Violin

Yen Yu grew up in China and began studying the violin with her father at an early age. She entered WuHan Conservatory of Music at age 14, under the tutelage of Professor Zhou Xin Min. Ms. Yu was chosen by world-renowned pedagogue Dorothy DeLay to study with her as a full scholarship student at the University of Cincinnati, and continue at the Juilliard School of Music. Her teachers were Kurt Sassmannshous, Masao Kawasaki and Robert Murray. She also spent many summers at the Aspen Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Festival. Ms. Yu is an active chamber musician and recitalist, and has been praised by critics for her “mellow tone and rich timber.” Her performance was named “best chamber concert of the year” by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. For over ten years Ms. Yu was a member of the Richmond Symphony and served on the music faculty at the University of Richmond and the Virginia Commonwealth University.


Anita Balázs
Anita Balázs
Cello

Hungarian cellist, Anita Balázs was born into a musical family. Since early childhood she has been giving concerts and taking part in international festivals throughout Europe. She is the winner of numerous national and international competitions and since the age of twelve has appeared as a soloist with prestigious Hungarian and European orchestras. She is annually invited to participate in the “Les Pianos Folies du Touquet” piano festival in France as a soloist and chamber musician performing with world-famous pianists such as Boris Berezovsky, Nikolai Lugansky and Andrei Korobeiniko. She earned her Bachelors of Music and first Masters degree in cello performance at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary studying with Laszlo Mezo (Bartok Quartet). She also studied with Philippe Muller in France, attending school in Hungary and France simultaneously. Anita holds an Artist’s Diploma from Montclair State University where she studied with Nicholas Tzavaras (Shanghai Quartet). She made her Carnegie Hall debut January 2016. Beginning in fall 2017 she started her second Master of Musical Arts degree at Yale University studying with Aldot Parisot. She is a founding member and the cellist of the Trio Confero and a member of The Montclair Orchestra.


Alisa Horn
Alisa Horn
Cello

Alisa Horn is a freelance cellist in the New York City area where she enjoys performing and teaching a wide variety of musical genres! A native of Memphis, Tennessee, she received her Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance with Anthony Elliott from the University of Michigan and her Master of Music in Cello Performance from Northwestern University with Hans Jorgen Jensen. Alisa is a member of The Inventions Trio with jazz legends Marvin Stamm and Bill Mays. The Inventions Trio performs a fusion of classical and jazz works and has released three albums including works from Miles Davis and Claude Debussy. Alisa has performed in many shows on Broadway including Sunday in the Park with George, An American in Paris, If/Then, Next to Normal, Dogfight, and Carrie. Alisa enjoys working with students of all ages and completed her Suzuki Cello Teacher Training with Pamela Devenport, Gilda Barston and Barbara Wampner.


Wan-Yi Pan
Wan-Yi Pan
Cello

A native of Kaohsiung Taiwan, Wan-Yi Pan has been awarded degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music (B. Mus.), SUNY Purchase College (MM), and is currently a doctoral candidate on a fellowship grant at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University.  Her teachers have included Peter Wiley, Richard Weiss, Jonathan Spitz, Merry Peckham and Allan Harris.  Ms. Pan participated in the Kneisel Hall Summer Chamber Music Program and the Quartet Summer Program working with Eleonore Schoenfeld.  She has toured the United States, Armenia and Russia with the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra (ARYO) under the baton of Leon Botstein and Maestro Paavo Järvi and was subsequently invited to join the Amirus chamber players, an ensemble comprised of ARYO’s most talented alumni.  As a member of Amirus she performed at the Joslyn Art Museum, The Hillwood Museum in Washington DC and the Harriman Institute of Columbia University.  She was part of ARYO’s 2004 Musika chamber tour traveling through the Volga and Ural regions of Russia.  Ms. Pan has performed frequently with the New England Music Ensemble in New York City including performances in Carnegie Hall.  Since 2014 she has been a faculty member of the Beverly Hills International Music Festival in Los Angeles, CA working alongside Oleh Krysa.



Jonathan Cliffe

Guitar

Jonathan Cliffe is a student at Montclair State University currently earning dual certification in Music Education and Special Education. He is well versed in classical guitar and popular music styles. Additionally, Jonathan has experience with singing, songwriting, bass guitar and classical stringed instrument performance. Jonathan has been teaching private guitar and bass lessons on Long Island for the past several years as well as running guitar and ukulele workshops at the Harbor Country Day School in St. James, NY.  He has appeared in many performances ranging from classical and jazz to rock and musical theater.  Jonathan prides himself on thorough teaching that instills healthy technique and good musicianship right from the very start.


Woodwinds


Katy Faracy
Extension Division
Woodwind Specialist Educator,
Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute

Katy Faracy is a woodwind specialist who is dedicated to performing and exploring new music. She had an active part in Milwaukee’s diverse musical scene ranging in genres from contemporary, classical, jazz, pop, funk and new music. She has performed with the Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra, Sheboygan Symphony and internationally renowned Milwaukee contemporary music ensemble, Present Music. Katy was an active pit orchestra musician throughout southeastern Wisconsin as well.  Since relocating to Montclair New Jersey to pursue a master’s degree in woodwind doubling with an emphasis in musical pit orchestras, Katy is an active member and co-founder of Crimson Winds, a woodwind quartet that specializes in woodwind doubling repertoire and standard quartet repertoire for saxophones, clarinets, and flutes. Katy currently holds a B.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in woodwind doubling performance.


Sophia Anastasia
Sophia Anastasia
Flute

Sophia Anastasia is a premier concert flutist in the New York area. She is a founding member of the Electrum Flute and Percussion Duo, who were recently hailed by the New York Times as a duo whose “playing had an air of conversational spontaneity,” and how “Ms. Anastasia played with brightness and vigor…” In addition, she has also performed with the Shanghai String Quartet, flutists Carol Wincenc, Gary Schocker and Linda Chesis. She has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Avery Fisher Hall, Town Hall, The Kennedy Center, Alice Tully and Merkin Concert Halls. She received her bachelor’s degree in music education from Montclair State, a master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music and a doctoral degree from SUNY Stony Brook. She maintains a private teaching studio in New Jersey and is on the faculty at Montclair State University’s Preparatory Center for the Arts.


Natasha Loomis
Natasha Loomis
Flute
Website

Flutist Natasha Loomis is a versatile and engaging performer of music from Baroque to contemporary. She is an avid chamber musician and passionate proponent of new music. As flutist and Artistic Director of the Meraki Chamber Players, an ensemble dedicated to commissioning and performing contemporary works in unconventional venues, Natasha seeks to reach new audiences and change the way audiences perceive of “classical” music, and to date has commissioned and premiered 11 new works with the ensemble. Natasha has performed throughout the United States, as well as in France, Austria and Peru, and at a diverse range of New York City venues, including Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, DiMenna Center, Shapeshifter Lab, the Firehouse Space and Silvana Harlem. Recent engagements include the XXXII Festival Internacional de Flautistas in Peru, where she was a guest artist and clinician, and Lake Tahoe Music Festival Orchestra in California, where she premiered a flute concerto by D. Wendell Nelson. She has also played regularly with the Adelphi Orchestra and Asian Cultural Symphony, among others. A dedicated teacher, Natasha is currently flute instructor and Associate Director at NJ Woodwind Studio, flute faculty at Rutgers and Montclair State University’s Extension Divisions, chamber coach at the NJ Youth Symphony program, and maintains an active private teaching studio.


Megan Alston
Megan Alston
Clarinet

Megan Alston is a New Jersey based music educator, clarinetist and woodwind doubler. She has earned both her Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts in Teaching degrees from Montclair State University. While studying at Montclair, her primary clarinet professors were KeriAnn Dibari-Oberle and David Singer. Megan has participated in several summer music festivals including Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival, Windhaven and the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival. She has performed in various venues throughout the New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia areas, including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Kimmel Center. Additionally, she has performed abroad in Argentina with the New York Youth Symphony. Currently, Megan is a music educator in New Jersey who loves introducing and cultivating a passion for the arts with her students. She teaches middle school band, music theory and general music while also instructing marching band and maintaining an active private woodwind studio.


Percussion


Adrienne Ostrander
Adrienne Ostrander

Timpanist/Percussionist Adrienne Ostrander graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University School of Music. She has studied with George Gaber, Roland Kohloff and Buster Bailey. Adrienne is the timpanist/percussionist with SOLID BRASS and has traveled the United States, Canada and Mexico performing with this group and has made numerous recordings with them. Her local credits include the Broadway shows Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park With George and she has performed several productions at the Papermill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ. Adrienne performs with the Princeton Symphony, Princeton Pro Musica, Westminster Choir College, Plainfield Symphony and the Garden State Philharmonic. Adrienne has performed in festivals in Greece, Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, France and Cuba. Adrienne coaches the New Jersey Youth Symphony and performs over 100 educational concerts yearly in New Jersey schools with Young Audiences of New Jersey, Solid Brass, The New Philharmonic of New Jersey, Arts Horizons, Arts Alive and BRAVO!


Mariana Ramirez
Mariana Ramirez

From symphonic orchestras, off-Broadway productions and Mexican traditional music for marimba, to chamber and pop music, Mariana Ramirez has performed in Europe, Asia Mexico, and the United States. A native of Mexico City, Mariana is an NYC-based freelance percussionist who began her music studies at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from the Mason Gross School of Arts at Rutgers University. She has performed extensively with symphonic and chamber orchestras in Mexico and the United States. Currently, she is the percussionist of the off-Broadway American Dance Machine show directed by Wayne Cilento, (Wicked, Tommy), that has been touted by the New York Times as “the best such anthology seen since Jerome Robbins’ Broadway.” Mariana is the founder of the all-female Sabian Cymbals endorsed percussion quartet Excelsis, which has performed on NPR Radio’s From the Top show, at the Percussive Arts Society’s New York Weekend Of Percussion, Brooklyn Bound with So Percussion, Zeltsman’s Marimba Festival and Tippet Rise Music Festival in Montana.


Voice


William Amory
William Amory
Adjunct Professor
Voice
Main Office: 973-655-7212
amoryw@montclair.edu

William Amory is known for his range of repertoire, from Lied and Mélodie to operatic roles, comic and dramatic: His roles include Renato, Germont, Frank, Enrico, Don Alfonso, and he was heard as King in American Symphony Orchestra’s production of Strauss’s Die Liebe der Danae under Leon Botstein. He made his European opera debut as Ford in the Britten-Verdi Aldeburgh Festival’s Falstaff under Steuart Bedford, and was then invited back by the Maestro to sing the role of Leporello. Mr. Amory performed as Eurymaque in Fauré’s Pénélope in Sydney and has toured Austria in recital. In San Francisco, he appeared in a workshop production of Billy Budd as First Lieutenant under maestro Kent Nagano and sang in the baritone section of the San Francisco Opera Chorus for six years under Maestro Ian Robertson. He has appeared as bass soloist in MessiahThe Creation, Brahms’ Requiem, and Bach’s Mass in B Minor, and in recital, having had the honor of working closely with composers Martin Halpern, Ernst Bacon and Matthew Owens in preparing and performing their works. Mr. Amory received his master’s degree in vocal performance at Montclair State University, studying voice with Professors Jeffrey Gall and Stephen Oosting.


Erin Persick
Erin Persick
Voice
Erin Persick Website

Erin Persick is a soprano with performance experience in opera, chamber, concert, and choral music. Her roles include Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Liù (Turandot), and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi).  An active musician, Ms. Persick greatly values the art song repertoire and performs regularly in local concerts and private recitals.  She recently made her professional debut with the Lyric Opera of the North in Minnesota and her international debut at the Indemini Music Festival in Switzerland.  Ms. Persick holds a BA in music from Luther College and an MM in vocal performance from the University of North Texas.  She is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the John J. Cali School of Music in the vocal studio of Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet.


George Spitzer
George Spitzer

Voice
973-655-4443

George Spitzer is a versatile singer in the fields of opera, musical theatre, oratorio and art song literature. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Spitzer’s students have performed on Broadway (The Lion King) and off-Broadway, with national Broadway tours (A Chorus Line, Henry and Mudge), at theme parks (Busch Gardens) and with numerous regional opera and musical theater companies. His students have won first prize in the New Jersey and New York City National Association of Teachers of Singing Auditions in both Classical and Musical Theater (middle school, high school and college divisions). Spitzer holds a BMus from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, an MM from Eastman School of Music, and Post Graduate studies through Oberlin College and Centro Studi Italiani. Spitzer is a member of the New York Singing Teachers Association (NYSTA) and is on the board of directors of the New York City National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS – NYC).


Ensembles and Groups


Cadette Strings
Tricia Gálvez-Gruswitz
Director, Violin, String Ensembles
See bio under Strings


Tyler J. Rubin
Chamber Winds
Tyler Rubin
Conductor/Coach, Theory/Composition

Tyler J. Rubin is an NYC/NJ-based composer, copyist and woodwind doubler. He obtained his MFA in musical theatre writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he premiered several pieces including his musical, How To Create A Young Girl (book and lyrics by Laura Barati), through NYU’s Tisch New Musical Theatre Workshop/New Studio on Broadway collaboration, and a short opera, I Celebrate (libretto by Marella Martin Koch), in conjunction with American Opera Projects. TJ obtained his BMus in music theory/composition from Montclair State University with a concentration in clarinet where he studied under Scott Davenport Richards, Marla Meissner, Robert Livingston Aldridge (composition), David Singer and Romie de-Guise Langlois (clarinet). As a performer and composer, he is well-versed in the traditions of classical, jazz, pop and theatre. Additionally, he has worked as a music copyist for composers such as David Shire, Anthony Davis and Adam Gwon. His copy work and orchestrations have premiered at The Town Hall in NYC and The Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, CA.


Petko Dimitrov
Stokes Forest Music Camp Orchestra
Petko Dimitrov
Conductor

Recognized for his sensitive musicianship and powerful interpretations, Petko Dimitrov is currently Music Director of the New Symphony Orchestra, Sofia, Bulgaria and Lakeland Youth Symphony, New Jersey.   A native of Bulgaria, he made his conducting debut in 1998 with the New Symphony Orchestra, Sofia, performing music by Sir Michael Tippet and Henry Purcell in collaboration with The British Council. He moved to the United States in 2001 and holds a Master’s Degree in Orchestra Conducting, University of Michigan (2004) studying under Kenneth Kiesler, a Graduate Performance Diploma in Orchestra Conducting, Peabody Conservatory (2006) studying under Gustav Meier and was awarded a Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Fellowship (2008) in recognition of his accomplishments as a young conductor.  A passionate supporter of stylistic musical fusion, Petko took a notable part in the extremely popular European project Excalibur – The Celtic Rock Opera (2009 – 2011) touring all major arenas in Germany and Switzerland.  Past positions include Artistic Director and Conductor, Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra’s summer series at Lasdon Park, Assistant Conductor, Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony in C.  A dedicated music educator, Petko served as Music Director, Western Connecticut Youth Orchestras, Principal Conductor, Gemini Youth Symphony Orchestra, faculty member, Curtis Institute’s Young Artist Summer Program, and American Festival for the Arts, Houston, Texas. He is also an orchestral performance and conducting adjunct professor at the School of Mahanaim.


 Charles Yassky ‌
Wind Ensemble
Charles Yassky
Director

Mr. Yassky has a BS & MS in Music Ed from the University of Illinois and an MS in School Administration from Iona College. He has taught at the University of Illinois, Baruch College, Bergen Community College, Northern Valley Regional HS in Old Tappan, NJ and is on the music staff at South Orangetown Central School District in Rockland County, NY. He is the Music Director of the Ramsey Wind Symphony and the Orangetown Concert Band and has been featured as a conductor and performer in the United States, Canada, Europe and Israel. His publications include a transcription for wind orchestra of “Ouverture en Hommage á Mozart” by the Swiss composer Frank Martin (Universal Editions, Vienna) and the “Introduction to Act III” for Solo Clarinet and Wind Orchestra from Verdi’s opera La Forza del Destino (Baton Music, Netherlands). His transcription of the overture to Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute was performed in July at the 2010 Salzburg Music Festival in Austria and in China as part of the Ridgewood Concert Band’s recent concert tours. In addition, his TV theme for “ESPN College Football” was broadcast for the 18th season this year, and is one of the longest-running sports themes currently on the air. Mr. Yassky has led recording sessions in studios throughout the world and has collaborated with many of today’s outstanding musical artists. He has produced and appeared on numerous albums for Angel-EMI, New World, Arabesque and Helicon Records and his performances from these albums are heard frequently on NPR stations throughout the country.


Youth Orchestra
Kimberly Syvertsen McCrann, Conductor
Violin/Viola
See bio under Strings


Theory/Composition


Chris Opperman
Chris Opperman

Composition/Music Technology

Since debuting on his own Purple Cow Records label in 1998, composer Chris Opperman has been carving his own niche in today’s pop-saturated music world, having released five full studio albums including 2010’s The Lionheart, an EP, and a digital single called Aphrodite Nights (2011), which was composed on the gourd tree, a unique instrument invented by Harry Partch. Opperman has also performed with and/or orchestrated music with many industry luminaries, such as Grammy-award winning guitarist Steve Vai. His association with Steve Vai resulted in two Grammy-nominated recordings: 2006’s Lotus Feet and 2008’s The Attitude Song with Holland’s Metropole Orkest. As a professor at Montclair State, Opperman has taught courses on music technology, music theory/composition, aural skills, rock/classical music history and music business.


Tyler Rubin
Conductor/Coach, Chamber Winds, Theory/Composition
See bio under Chamber Winds