Nyack - Christian College Seminary Graduate Schools in NY and NYC
 
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Music Faculty
Joel Jameson
Assistant Professor of Music
Phone: 4693
B.M. Illinois Wesleyan University; M.M. University of Southern California
Dr. Marie Kenote
Professor of Music
Phone: 4690
B.M. The New England Conservatory; M.M. The Juilliard School; D.M.A. Rutgers University
Dr. Glenn Koponen
Dean of School of Music
Phone: 4691
B.M. Eastman School of Music; B.M., M.S. The Juilliard School; Ed.D. Columbia University Teachers College
Dr. Tammy Lum
Professor of Music
Phone: 4692
B.M., M.M. Eastman School of Music; D.M.A. Manhattan School of Music
Joan Mallory
Assistant Professor of Music Education
Phone: 4689
B.M.E. West Virginia Wesleyan College; M.S. Lehman College; M.S.W. Fordham University

PROFESSOR EMERITUS

Dr. Marion B. Howe
M.M. Boston University
S.M.B. Nyack College
Additional studies at Columbia University & Union Theological Seminary. Featured Oratorio soloist in many performances throughout the metropolitan area. Served as Choir Director at Simpson Memorial Church in Nyack, Tarrytown Baptist Church, and First Presbyterian Church in Nyack.  Soloist at First Methodist Church in Newark. Voice studies with Sergius Kagen, Clara Shear, and Beverly Hardesty Johnson. Studied choral conducting with Harry Robert Wilson and Prof. Lanom. Member of both the New York Chapter and National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR), Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA), and the Arts Council of Rockland (ACOR.) Director of the Arts Series at Nyack and emeritus member of the Alumni Board of Directors. Continues to give valuable leadership in the field of sacred music by ministering in local churches and educating Nyack students in the traditions of music and worship. In 2006, Marion Howe was granted an honorary doctorate in recognition of her many years of faithful service.
   

ADJUNCT FACULTY 

Professional performers, composers, conductors, teachers, and scholars offer instruction in specialized areas of expertise. From New York to Berlin, Los Angeles to Shanghai, their professional experiences are exceptional.

Jungeun Ahn
Piano
M.M., D.M.A. Studies (ABD) Manhattan School of Music
B.M.  Seoul National University
Studied with Solomon Mikowsky and Jin Woo Chung.  Master Classes with Gary Graffman, J. Soriano, and Byron Janis.  Made her debut with Korean National Symphony at the age of 13.  Prize winner of numerous piano competitions including Premio Jaen International Competition and Jose Iturbi International in Spain; Five-Town Competition and Jaycee Competition in New York; Ewha, Han-kuk, and Wal-Eum Competition in Korea.  Performed with Korea National Symphony, Maracaibo Symphony, Korean Chamber Orchestra, and Manhattan Philharmonic Orchestra.  Teaching Assistant to Solomon Mikowsky at Manhattan School of Music.  Pianist at Grace Korean United Methodist Church.

Barbara Allen
Harp
M.M. The Juilliard School
B.F.A. SUNY Purchase College
Founding member of the Aurelole trio. Extensive performance throughout the United States. Recorded the major works for flute, viola, and harp on the Koch International Label.  Second Prize, Seventh International Harp Competition.  Solo appearances with Caramoor festival; Waterloo Festival; Philharmonia Virtuosi, Greenwich Symphony, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and Matinee Musicale Club in Cincinnati.  Member of Parnassus and the Perspectives Ensemble at Columbia University.  Appearances with Tashi; Orpheus; St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble; New World String Quartet; Speculum Musicae; New York New Music Ensemble; New York Philharmonic; Pittsburgh Symphony; Atlantic Symphony Orchestra in Halifax; and the American Composer's Orchestra.  Principal harpist with San Francisco Symphony for 1980-81 season.  Currently principal harpist with the American Ballet Theatre orchestra and the Greenwich Symphony.  Recordings for the DGG, RCA, CRI, Koch International, Angel, Chandos, Bridge, and Arabesque labels.

David August
Improvisational Studies (piano)
Berkley College of Music, Boston
M.S.T. Elem. Ed. Pace University
B.A. Mus. CUNY at Lehman College
Mr. August studied Jazz arranging and composition at the Berklee College of Music. At CUNY, he studied orchestration and composition with John Corigliano. For over twenty years he has played professionally in local New York, tri-state area venues, and is respected by his peers as a composer and performer.  Mr. August is a part-time Music Director for the Trinity Presbyterian Church, and as such, he has arranged, composed, and performed numerous non-secular works for a variety of ensembles.  As a public educator, Mr. August has also held the position of Choral director and General Music classroom teacher since 1996; and presently, he works with middle school students for the Ossining Union Free School District.  At the Anne M. Dorner Middle School, he is credited with bringing together a large and diverse student body to perform for district concerts, NYSSMA, and WCSMA festivals each year.

Gwendolyn Bradley
Voice
B.M. - North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston Salem, NC
Opera Perf .Certificate- Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA
Operatic Perf. Studies- Academy of Vocal Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Operatic Apprenticeship –Lake George Opera, Glens Falls, NY
The artistry of Gwendolyn Bradley, moved one critic to write, "Miss Bradley's poise, stage presence, and consummate control and beauty of her voice, distinguishes her as a true artist." These qualities brought her to the leading opera stages and symphony halls the world over.
After a very successful debut recital at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York, she established herself at the Metropolitan Opera, debuting in 1981, as Nightingale in L'Enfant et les sortileges (Ravel)  and continuing for the next eight seasons singing such roles as Fiakermilli in Arabella, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann, (PBS National TV broadcast), the title role of Stravinsky's Le Rossignol, Clara in Porgy and Bess and as Gilda in Rigoletto.
Her long association with the Los Angeles Opera Company yielded acclaimed performances in such roles as Pamina in the Magic Flute, Blondchen in Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, Romilda in Xerxes, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera(with.Domingo), Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She appeared in other American opera houses including the Memphis Opera, the Michigan Opera Theatre, Central City Opera, Opera South, and Honolulu Opera.
Miss Bradley made her European debut in with the Netherlands Opera in the title role of Handel's Rodelinda. On other European opera stages she performed as Zerbinetta in Paris(with Caballe), Montpellier, Nice, Monte Carlo, as Susanna and Pamina in Madrid, as Blonchen in Munich, as Adina, Blondchen, Susanna, Zerbinetta in Hamburg, Fauno in Paris, as Despina in Barcelona, as Oscar in Vienna and Amsterdam, Adina, Gilda and Pamina in Poland, and as Fiakermilli in Arabella at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival which was released as DVD from a recording of the 1984 season .
After her highly regarded debut as Gilda in Rigoletto with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Miss Bradley became a member of the company in 1988, singing Musetta in Goertz Friedrich's popular production of La Boheme. Her Berlin appearances included a number of signature roles, such as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Nanetta in Falstaff, Blondchen in Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, Ilia in Idomeneo, and Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera. The soprano was heard in a unique and highly acclaimed staged version of Carmina Burana at the Deutsche Oper with Fruebeck de Burgos, numerous concert appearances with the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin as well as the honor of two Lieder recitals in the house.
As an accomplished concert singer, she has worked with such conductors as Zubin Mehta (New York Philharmonic/Israeli Symphony) and Riccardo Muti (Philadelphia Orchestra).

Michael Cardillo
Saxophone
B.M. William Paterson University
M.M. Rutgers University
Michael received his undergraduate degree in Music Education from William Paterson University in fall of 2003, where he studied with classical saxophone instructor Dr. Paul Cohen. He continued his education at Rutgers University receiving his Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting in spring of 2005.  Michael has played many classical saxophone recitals in the North and Central Jersey areas as well as performed with the Metropolitan Saxophone Quartet for a number of years. 
Michael currently teaches instrumental music (Band & Orchestra) in the Fairfield NJ Public Schools.  Michael is also serves as Assistant Marching Band Director for West Essex High School.

Dennis Dougherty   
Clarinet
B.M. Michigan State University
Professional clarinet soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician in NYC

David Edwards  
Double bass                
B.M. William Paterson University
Professional performer, composer, producer, and recording artist

Jennifer Graham  
Oboe
M.M.  Manhattan School of Music                      
B.M.  Hartt School of Music

Esther Hinds
Voice
Artist Diploma – TheHartt School of Music
Esther Hinds has been the recipient of several significant honors spanning a career that began while a student at the Hartt College of Music where she performed the role of the Countess in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with the Hartford Symphony.  She has performed the role of Ariadne in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos under the direction of Walter Susskind and James Levine –Aspen Music Festival and Kurt Adler –American Opera Center, Juilliard School of Music.  As a winner of national vocal competitions, she completed a five-week tour of the concert halls of Japan and Korea.  Her debut with the New York City Opera House in Mozart's Die Zäuberflöte as the First Lady was followed by the performances of Liu in Puccini's Turandot for the San Diego Opera and the Cincinnati Opera companies.  Ms. Hinds has appeared with several other opera companies including: Houston Grand Opera, Opera de Lyon - Lyon, France, Nevada Opera, Virginia Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera Ebony, Opera at the Spoleto Festival USA and Italy. 
Her extensive operatic roles range from ladies of the Mozart operas to the heroines of the operatic works of Bellini, Puccini, Verdi and the grand ladies of Strauss and Wagner.  Her concert appearances include performances with The Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony, with their respective conductors: Klaus Tennstedt, Seiji Ozawa, Lukas Foss, Robert Shaw, Edo de Waart, Andrew Davis, Sergiu Commissiona.  Others include: Julius Rudel, Christopher Keen, Christian Badea, and Yehudi Menuhin. At the Spoleto Festival, under the stage direction of Gian Carlo Menotti and the musical direction of Samuel Barber, Ms. Hinds received the coveted Pegasus Award, the highest honor and recognition the Festival bestows upon an artist—and the first time in the Festival's twenty six year history that a singer had won it. Her recording of Barber's Antony and Cleopatra won a Grammy Award. Ms. Hinds is the Co-founder, President and General Manager of Saintpaulia, Inc. an arts organization created to provide performance opportunities for classical artists of African descent. Currently her performances include presentations with her sisters—The Hinds Sisters Trio.

Kyle Hoyt
Horn 
M.M. Manhattan School of Music                             
B.M. University of Michigan

Shelley Jameson – Artist-in-Residence
Voice, Opera Workshop
Artist Diploma in Operatic Performance Studies, Duquesne University
M. M.  University of Southern California
B.M. Illinois Wesleyan University
Shelley Jameson, soprano, has sung with some of the top operatic artists in major opera houses both nationally and internationally.  Her repertoire includes: Violetta in La Traviata, Gilda in Rigoletto by Verdi, Pamina in Magic Flute, Donna Anna and Zerlina in Don Giovanni by Mozart, Margurite in Faust by Massenet, Baby in Ballad of Baby Doe by Moore, Norina in Don Pasquale, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, the title role in Suor Angelica, Musetta in La Boheme by Puccini, Soprano in Carmina Burana by Orff, Anna Gomez in The Consul by Menotti and Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring by Britten.
Noted debuts include: singing opposite the internationally acclaimed tenor Placido Domingo in his Washington Opera revival of Le Cid by Massenet, as the Infanta, at the Washington Opera.  Ms. Jameson again appeared with Domingo in Parsifal by Wagner as the Flower Maiden.  Ms. Jameson sang many seasons at the New York City Opera on the Main Stage and with the National touring company. She made her international debut as Violetta in La Traviata by Verdi, at the National Opera of Japan in Tokyo, the Soprano in Carmina Burana at the Teatro Municipale in Santiago Chile, and sang opposite Metropolitan Opera Bass Jerome Hines in his opera I Am The Way at the Bolshoi in Moscow.
Ms. Jameson also appeared with Los Angeles Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Virginia Opera, Arizona Opera, Connecticut Opera, Long Island Opera, Kentucky Opera, and Sarasota Opera.
She has studied and coached with Dodi Protero, Tony Manoli, Dr. Tom Cleveland, Jerome Hines, and Lucia Evangelista.  As a young artist in Jerome Hines' program, Opera Music Theater International, Ms. Jameson participated in many performances with Mr. Hines in his opera I Am the Way as Mother Mary and as Martha.
Ms. Jameson will make her Carnegie Hall debut as the soprano soloist in Mozart's Coronation Mass and John Rutter's Magnificat.  She also sang as Soprano soloist in Mozart's C Minor Mass, Faure's Requiem, Orff's Carmina Burana, and Handel's Messiah.
As an Opera Director, Ms. Jameson has established the Opera Workshop at Nyack College where she has directed many scenes from operas as well as the operas Carmen by Bizet, (spring 2007), La Boheme by Puccini (Spring 2008), Suor Angelica by Puccini (fall 2008), La Traviata by Verdi ( Spring 2009), Il Tabaro and Gianni Schicchi by Puccini (Spring 2010) all performed by Nyack College School of Music students. She looks forward to the Opera Workshop performance of Die Zauberflote in 2011.

Dr. Chungsun Kim
Cello, String Methods, Chamber Music
B.M., M.M., D.M.A The Juilliard School
Winner of the Artist International Competition and a recipient for many awards including the Hanna Rubens Scholarship and the Robert Edgerton Award. Scholarship student of Leonard Rose, Channing Robbins and Harvey Shapiro. Ms. Kim appears regularly as a soloist with the New York Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra where she also plays as a principal cellist. She appeared as soloist with the Colorado Repertory Orchestra, the Little Orchestra Society, Rockland Symphony Orchestra and the Sarah Lawrence Chamber Orchestra.  She was also featured as a soloist for the Celesta Barto's Forum, and her piano trio, Amasi Trio, was invited to perform at the Beethoven Festival in New York. She toured as a soloist with the Philharmonia Lawrencia through New England area in the United States, and one of the performances, which was at the Arcady Music Festival in Maine, was broadcast through radio.
In the summer of 2000, she was invited to teach and perform at the New International Music Festival in Seoul Korea. This solo recital was chosen by a music critic to be showcased on a radio broadcast as one of the prominent concerts of the year. In the same year, she was invited to have a joint recital with the pianist, Kazuko Hayami, in Nakahama, Japan, sponsored by the Araki Industry Co., Ltd. She plays with the New York Virtuosi Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and Westchester Philharmonic. She has been an adjunct faculty at Nyack College since 1994.

Jeffrey Kraus
Percussion
B.M., M. M.. Manhattan School of Music
Jeffrey Kraus serves on the pre-college faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, and has performed for Lucas Foss, Milton Babbit, Virgil Thompson, Frank Zappa, Steve Reich and Henry Brant in various chamber music settings and has worked with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, group for Contemporary Music, Parnassus, Center for Contemporary Opera, Orchestra of Our Time, Newband, Hudson Valley Philharmonic and Sinfonica  San Salvador (soloist and conductor). Mr. Krauss has appeared with Tony Bennett, James Taylor, Clay Aiken, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Mathis, Kenny Loggins, Carly Simon and has worked with Dave Brubeck for twenty years as percussionist, drummer and contractor.
Teaching has been very rewarding for Jeff as a number of his former students have gone on to careers in performance and education, taking the art to higher levels. He lives in Sloatsburg, New York with his wife and boys and runs Sound Design Percussion, a percussion service for handcrafting and tuning of percussion instruments, Jeff also enjoys working with Boy Scouts of America and other camps sharing his knowledge by teaching music outdoor skills and fly fishing.

Donna McGowan
Bassoon
M.M . Florida State University    
B.M. University of Delaware

Jane Oehme
Voice
M.M.   Southern Methodist University
B.M.E.  Baylor University        
Ms. Oehme began her singing career at sixteen in professional musical theatre houses performing the lead roles of Maria in Sound of Music, Anna in King and I, and Babe in Pajama Game. She was a regular favorite at Dallas' beloved Theatre Three, singing solo roles in original musical reviews of Porter, Warren and Gershwin.  The highlight of her musical theatre work was playing opposite Donald O'Connor in Perils on the Pecos, creating the role of the comic heroine, Savannah Sally.  Turning her career to the opera stage, Ms. Oehme performed with Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Lyric Opera, New Jersey State Opera, El Paso Opera, Opera Northeast and Long Island Opera.  In these houses she performed the title roles of  both Carmen and Dalila, along with leading roles such as Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), Laura (La Gioconda), Charlotte (Werther), and Phoebe (Yoemen of the Guard).  Ms Oehme had the great priviledge of singing the role of Mary Magdalene with Jerome Hines in his opera I Am the Way at the renowned Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.  Additional roles in her repertoire include Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera), Lady Macbeth (Macbeth), Sieglinde (Die Walkure) and Madeleine (Andrea Chenier) and Tosca.  As a leading soloist with the Houston Oratorio Society, Ms. Oehme's oratorio performances include solo roles in Bach's St. Matthew Passion, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Mass in C, Vivaldi's Gloria, and Berlioz' L'Enfance du Christ.  Ms. Oehme made her orchestra debut with the Atlanta Symphony in an opera gala concert featuring Beethoven's concert aria, Ah! Perfido! and selected Puccini arias. In addition to being coached and directed by such leading directors, conductors and coaches as Frank Corsaro, Fiora Contino, Fabrizio Melano, and Nicola Rescigno, Ms. Oehme has performed in Master Classes with Metropolitan Opera coaches Joan Dornemann, Mignon Dunn and Nico Castel. She holds a Masters of Music from Southern Methodist University and a Bachelors of Music Education from Baylor University. Desiring to see the salvation message delivered through the musical theatre genre, Ms. Oehme recently created for her vocal students an abridged, musical version of John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress", using the music of Mozart, Verdi, Faure, Debussy, Brahms and others. To date, it has been performed in two parts and four evenings.  She is also performing classical and sacred concerts for churches and women's ministries while teaching voice at Nyack College in New York. She continues her established private vocal studio in New Jersey where she resides with her husband, Michael.

Mark Patterson
Trombone
BA, University of Denver
Trombonist/ composer Mark Patterson was inspired in music by his father, bassist/trombonist Dick Patterson, who took Mark at an early age to sit in with saxophonist Spike Robinson and Dale Bruning. Mark continued studies at the University of Denver—graduating with honors— and, in New York, in the BMI Jazz Composers' Workshop with Bob Brookmeyer, Manny Albam, and Jim McNeely.  Mark works in a variety of settings: the jazz sextet, Convergence;  various jazz orchestras (Maria Schneider, Manhattan Jazz Orchestra, Mike Holober, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Westchester Jazz Orchestra; the Sound Assembly); symphony orchestra (the New York Pops; Concordia); wind ensemble (Gotham Wind Symphony); on tour (with Barbra Streisand, and Audra McDonald); Broadway shows (Spamalot, 42nd Street, South Pacific); recording studios (Donald Fagen—Morph the Cat, Tony Bennett—Duets); movie soundtracks (Radio Days, Six Degrees of Separation, The Aviator); and as soloist (with the Ridgefield Symphony). Mark keeps his pencils sharp for assignments from various aforementioned groups; recently, he completed a suite commissioned for a special Distinguished Alumni concert at the University of Denver. Mark is kept alert by faculty appointments at New York University, Nyack College, and various summer jazz camps.

Gordon Scott
Tuba
M.M. - Montclair State University 
B.M.  Nyack College
Gordon graduated from Nyack in 1974 in Music Ed., studying tuba with Herb Wekselblatt of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.  After graduation, Gordon taught music in Congers, NY and at Hackensack Christian School, (NJ). He earned his M.A. in tuba performance at Montclair State University (NJ) while studying with Don Butterfield of The American Symphony Orchestra.

Over the next 30 years he directed the music ministries of several New Jersey churches. Since September 2006, he has directed the music at The First Baptist Church in the City of New York where he has directed the choir and orchestra in several large works: Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, Handel's Messiah, Bach's St. Matthew Passion, Haydn's Seven Last Words, Dubois' Seven Last Words, and Vivaldi's Gloria. He also serves on the adjunct music faculty of Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ.

Jennifer Scott
Women's Chorale, Handbells
B.M. Nyack College
Additional graduate studies at Nyack College. Studied voice with Marion Howe.  Former teaching positions include: Music Teacher at Brookdale Christian Academy in Bloomfield, NJ, Handbell Teacher at Zion Lutheran School in Westwood, NJ, Choral and Instrumental Teacher at Eastern Christian Schools in North Haledon, NJ.  Currently serving as Administrative Assistant to the School of Music at Nyack College Rockland Campus, and is also a private voice and piano instructor, soloist and member of the Lakeside Choraliers in Bergen County, NJ.  Soloist, Choir member and Deaconess at Clinton Avenue Reformed Church in Bergenfield, NJ.  Member of Music Educators National Conference (MENC), New Jersey Music Educators  Association (NJMEA), American Guild of English Handbell Ringers  (AGEHR).

Sungrai Sohn
Violin, Viola, String Methods, String Orchestra, Chamber Music
M.M. Sarah Lawrence College
B.A.  Peabody Conservatory
SUNGRAI SOHN, conductor and violin, is a founder and the first violinist of the Laurentian String Quartet and Amasi Piano Trio, which have performed annually major concert halls throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the Far East, and has also toured in North Africa under the auspices of the United States Department.
As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with such eminent artists as Richard Stolzman, Kurt Masur, LilianKallir, Eugenia Zukerman, Anthony Newman, Gervase de Peyer, Ronald Roseman, Paul Doktor, Hyo Kang, members of the Fine Arts Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, and Borodin Trio.
He is a recipient of the Maryland Women's Club Award, Artist International, Jack Kahn Award and Honored Diplomat, Algiers Fourth International Music Festival.  Mr. Sohn has acted as chair-adjudicator of the New York Music Competition since 2000.   

Mr. Sohn has been a member of the American Symphony, American Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, and performed as soloist with many orchestras including the New York Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center as well as Lincoln Center in numerous concerts.
As a recording artist, he has recorded for the Musical Heritage Society, Soundspells Production, Newport Classics, Pierian Recording Society, and Sony Classical and his recording of The Violinist in the Mall, a work for violin and piano, was a co-winner of the 2005 16th Annual Friends and Enemies of New Music Competition.
Sungrai Sohn was educated at the Peabody Institute, where he studied with BerlSenofsky and graduated with the Theodore Martin Award for Excellence in Music.  He was subsequently a scholarship student of Dorothy Delayat Sarah Lawrence College,where hepresently teaches violin, viola and is Director of Chamber Music and the Sarah Lawrence College String Orchestra.
Mr. Sohn has appeared in the International Who's Who in College Music and Music Dictionary since 1994.
"...a beautifully terraced reading of a Vivaldi Concerto (Op. 3, No. 11), with Sung Rai Sohn" - Allan Kozinn, New York Times review

Glenn Sparks
Guitar, Guitar Methods, Percussion Methods
M.M.E.  Florida State University
B.S. The King's College
Guitar studies with Bruce and Adam Holzman. Master Class with Christopher Parkening. Choral conducting with Clayton Krehbiel (assistant conductor of The Robert Shaw Chorale.) Former Choral Director/Music Teacher for the Yonkers Public Schools. Previous faculty member and Choir Director of The King's College, Briarcliff Manor, New York.  Former Minister of Music for Ridgeway Alliance Church, White Plains, New York. Member of the American Choral Director's Association. In addition to private instruction, Mr. Sparks currently serves as Choir Director and Music Committee Chairman for Faith Lutheran Brethren Church in Briarcliff Manor, New York.

Aaron VanderWeele  
Euphonium       
International award winning euphonium soloist and recording artist           

William Vollinger
Composition, Music of Diverse Cultures
M.M., M.M.E., B.M.   Manhattan School of Music
Mr. Vollinger studied composition with David Diamond and Mario Davidovsky. His music has been performed by the Gregg Smith Singers and NY Vocal Arts Ensemble, whose performance of "Three Songs About the Resurrection" won first prize at the Geneva International Competition. "Violinist in the Mall" won the 2005 Friends and Enemies of New Music competition. His music has been performed and broadcast worldwide, published by Abingdon, API, Heritage, Kjos, Lawson-Gould, and Laurendale. Five works have been editor's choices in the J.W. Pepper Catalogue. The New Orleans ensemble Musaica commissioned and premiered "Duck Girl" in 2010. Navona Recordings will release two new works for narrator in 2010. Besides teaching composition at Nyack College, he also directs music at Church of the Savior in Paramus, NJ, and is active in organizations such as the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers.

Craig Williams
Organ
M.M., Westminster Choir College
M.M., The Juilliard School
B.M., University of California
Craig S. Williams, adjunct professor of organ, also serves as Organist and Choirmaster of the Cadet Chapel, United States Military Academy West Point, where he plays the world's largest church pipe organ and directs the Cadet Chapel Choir.  He is only the fourth organist to hold that position since the present cadet chapel building was erected in 1910, and is presently included in Who's Who in America.  He was the first Currin Scholar (full graduate scholarship) in organ performance at Westminster Choir College, studying under Eugene Roan.  Also, he received degrees in piano performance from the Juilliard School, where he performed with the Juilliard Chamber Symphony at Lincoln Center, and the University of Southern California.  Mr. Williams has performed on both the organ and piano for over 35 years, serving as a professional church musician most of those years.  His organ credits include performing at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's in addition to giving numerous recitals and workshops for prominent cathedrals and churches throughout the country, including the famed Crystal Cathedral in California.  He has been a featured performer for conventions held by the American Guild of Organists and the American Institute of Organbuilders.  Recently, Mr. Williams recorded a CD, released by Calcante Recordings (CD046), performing at the Baptist Temple in Brooklyn.  In addition to his duties at Nyack and West Point, he serves on the conservatory faculty at Westminster Choir College (Princeton, NJ), teaching a professional certification program for church musicians.

TRIO IN RESIDENCE

The Amasi Trio with violinist Prof. Sungrai Sohn, cellist Dr. Chungsun Kim and Dr. Tammy Lum is the resident trio of the Nyack College School of Music. Since the inception of the group in the early nineties, The Amasi Trio has performed a wide range of repertoire from the Western and Asian literature. The group has performed in the Beethoven Festival in New York, Sarah Lawrence Concert Series and with Sarah Lawrence Symphony Orchestra, St. Paul's Festival, Nyack College Concert Series as well as in young people's concerts. In 2004, The Amasi Trio recorded the "Trio Parables" and "Violinist in the Mall" by composer William Vollinger.  The latter piece was elected as the co-winner of the 2005 Friends and Enemies of New Music competition. As the resident trio of the Nyack College School of Music, all the members are teaching faculty in piano, strings, chamber music and String Orchestra.

For more information, please call (845) 675-4MUS

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