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Guilherme Andreas (they/them; he/him)
Chorus Master, Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist, Conductor/Music Director, Flute/Piccolo/Alto Flute/Piano/Voice Coach New York, NY Brazilian flutist Guilherme Andreas received First Place in the 2020 International Music Competition "Paris and London" Grand Prize Virtuoso and 2019 Concert Artists International Virtuoso Competition’s professional division. Andreas has appeared in recitals, concerts and presentations throughout the US, including the Global Brazil Conference at Duke University, Symposium on Brazil at Johns Hopkins University, and recent concerts in Nashville, Washington, New York City, Rochester, Boston, Seattle, among other cities. After being invited to perform as Principal Flute with the New England Symphonic Ensemble at Carnegie Hall in NYC (2016-2019), Andreas gave a solo performance in 2019 together with fellow CAI Virtuoso Competition winners. Andreas was also appointed as a Trevor James Alto Flutes Artist, selected to be a member of the 2019 Global Leaders Program, and awarded the SphinxConnect 2019 and 2020 Fellowship and a 2020 Sphinx Orchestral Partners Auditions Fellowship. Andreas is also an Artist in Residence with Sugar Hill Chamber Music series. Andreas has been an active performer throughout the U-S, and his debut album Beyond Bossa Nova has been received with great acclaim to all audiences in the US and other countries. His most recent performances include guest appearances with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival with The Unsung Collective and the Kennedy Center Honors Concert Orchestra. Andreas is currently based in New York, where he dedicates his time to performing, teaching, and discovering historically lessen-known composers, whose works express extreme ranges of emotions and demand tremendous virtuosity. Andreas is a NAAS Musician and he is also affiliated with the Sphinx Organization. http://www.guilhermeandreas.com/ |
Photo credit: Joshua Shipley
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John Bronston (he/him)
Chorus Master, Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist, Composer, Conductor/Music Director, Singer, Voice Teacher New York, NY John Bronston currently serves as the Musical Director and Conductor of Bounce: The Basketball Opera (Ardea Arts NYC) and previous opera credits include Amahl and the Night Visitors and Trouble In Tahiti. He served as the musical director for the National Tour of Hair and recently served as the associate conductor for the touring productions of Ain’t Misbehavin and Smokey Joe’s Café. Favorite regional credits include The Color Purple, The Wiz, Legally Blonde, and Heathers. New York credits include work with NYMF (New York Musical Theatre Festival), MTF (Musical Theatre Factory), The Women’s Project, The Workshop Theatre, and The New York Theatre Barn and he has served as a pianist and musical director in cabarets and piano bars including Brandy’s, Don’t Tell Mama, and the Duplex. In addition he is a teaching artist for Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) and Stagedoor Manor and has had his work as a composer of musicals and incidental scores produced Off-Broadway and Regionally. www.johnbronston.com |
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Elaine Choi (she/her)
Conductor/Music Director, Chorus Master, Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist Toronto, Canada Dr. Elaine Choi contributes to Toronto's vibrant choral community as a conductor, educator, adjudicator, and collaborative pianist. She is currently the Director of Music at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, Past President of Choirs Ontario and the conductor of the University of Toronto Women's Chorus. As a music educator, in addition to the above affiliations, Elaine is active as an adjudicator and a clinician for various community events, such as the Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival, CAMMAC reading sessions and Singsation Saturdays. Elaine is an advocate for Chinese Orchestral and Choral music. She was the conductor of the Toronto Chinese Orchestra from 2010-2017 and currently continues her connection as Guest Conductor and Educational Outreach Representative. In 2018, Elaine founded Babεl, an SATB choral ensemble with a mission to bridge cultures through choral music. The ensemble worked with more than 200 musicians in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau in its inaugural tour in 2019. This season, Babεl focuses on the Choral Composer Mentorship Program, helping participants develop brand new choral compositions. Elaine holds a Doctor in Musical Arts and Master in Music Performance (Choral Conducting) degrees from the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt and Dr. Doreen Rao. Elaine is a four-time recipient of the Elmer Iseler Fellowship in Choral Conducting (2008, 2009, 2014, 2015) and a finalist in the Sir Ernest MacMillan Foundation Fellowship Award in Choral Conducting (2012). She's the 2018 recipient of the prestigious William and Waters graduating award. https://www.temc.ca/director-music |
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Sabin Fisher (they/theirs)
Chorus Master, Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist, Composer, Conductor/Music Director, Singer, Voice Teacher State College, Pennsylvania Sabin Fisher is a solo artist and composer from small-town Pennsylvania. They have a B.S.Ed in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, with an emphasis in vocal pedagogy and piano. Their main compositional styles consist of contemporary solo piano, mellow pop, musical theatre ballads, and choral music. They have a background in vocal coaching, collaborative piano, and music directing at the high school, collegiate, and regional levels. Their dream is to both write a musical and music direct a musical on a large scale! https://btfy22.wixsite.com/website |
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Jesénia Jackson (she/her)
Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist, Composer, Conductor/Music Director, Singer, Voice Teacher I am a composer, songwriter, and orchestrator. I've served as the assistant to the orchestrator on the Off Broadway musical,TREVOR, and was afforded the opportunity to arrange strings for Dreamgirls' "And I Am Telling You" for The Broadway Sitzprobe spearheaded by Seth Rudetsky. My concert piece, STAGES (I Movement) has been performed by The PHACE Ensemble in Vienna, Austria. My most recent film scores include AJ's Story, The Bell Affair, and Sonny's Blues. As a songwriter, I released my first EP, Introducing Jesénia Jackson, in June 2022. www.jeseniajacksonmusic.com/ |
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Geovonday Jones (he/him)
Dramaturg, Stage Director, Acting for the Singer Coach New York, NY Geovonday Jones is a New York City based actor, director, and teaching artist/coach. He has an MFA in Acting from Brooklyn College and a BFA from Missouri State University. As a director, he most recently worked on The Motherfucker with the Hat and In the Blood. He has also directed or assisted on operas, including but not limited to: Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, The Bartered Bride, Carmen, to name a few. Also, he has served as an acting coach for many operas and concerts. Most recently, as an actor, he was a part of JAG’s Jagfest 4.0. Previous: Irondale Theatre’s production of Lynn Nottage’s Sweat (Brucie), Waterwell’s Ajax (Ensemble), which was a part of The Green Plays Festival, Ancram Opera House’s production of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brother Size (Ogun), New Works Brooklyn’s reading of Nambi Kelley’s Translation of Likes (Too Legit To Quit). Regionally, Geo has performed in several shows with Tent Theatre, including Peter and the Starcatcher (Captain Scott), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Senex), Rumors (Officer Welch), and Anything Goes (Henry T. Dobson). Other regional roles include Bobo in A Raisin in the Sun, Jose the Muleteer in Man of La Mancha, and Tinca in Puccini’s Il Tabarro. Among his educational roles, his favorites are Gabriel Pleasure in Mac Wellman’s The Lesser Magoo, Vanya in Uncle Vanya, Sly in Dominique Morisseau’s Detroit ’67, Father Luka/Eugene in Ambition Facing West, and Twilight Los Angeles, 1992. www.geovondayjones.com |
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Kelly Kuo (he/him)
Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist, Conductor/Music Director, Artistic Director/Artistic Administrator Cincinnati, OH, and Eugene, OR Praised by the Cincinnati Enquirer as “a leader of exceptional musical gifts, who has a clear technique on the podium and an impressive rapport with audiences,” Maestro Kelly Kuo brings a dynamic versatility and nuance to a diverse repertoire, which includes over 90 operas and an expansive symphonic repertoire as well. Currently Artistic Director of Oregon Mozart Players, his recent engagements have included productions with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Kentucky Opera, Anchorage Opera, and the Janiec Opera Company of the Brevard Music Center and concerts with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, and Ballet Fantastique. He also curated and conducted the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra’s inaugural Summermusik festival as Interim Music Director. In 2008, Maestro Kuo became the first conductor of Asian descent to lead a performance at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, making his company debut with Porgy and Bess. He has since returned to lead the Chicago premiere of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird and performances featuring artists of the Ryan Opera Center. Upcoming engagements include company debuts with "Carmen" for Opera Orlando, "Don Giovanni" for Opera Columbus, and concerts with the Reno Chamber Orchestra and Sunriver Music Festival. An Oregon native and recipient of a Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistant Award for young conductors, Kuo continues to concertize as a keyboardist as the only pianist to have studied with two pupils of the Russian virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz. www.kellykuo.com |
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Timothy Long (he/him)
Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist, Conductor/Music Director Rochester, NY Timothy Long is a conductor and pianist of Muscogee Creek (Thlopthlocco Tribal Town) and Choctaw descent who is Music Director of Opera at Eastman School of Music. After working on Thomas Adès’s operatic tour-de-force, Powder Her Face, Tim was named by Robert Spano to be his assistant conductor at the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He was subsequently named an associate conductor at the New York City Opera. This led to engagements with companies such as Boston Lyric Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Colorado, Utah Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, The Juilliard School, Yale Opera, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and the Oregon Bach Festival. Tim has performed as a pianist and harpsichordist at venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, National Sawdust, Jordan Hall, Wigmore Hall in London, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Herkules Hall in Munich, Dvorak Hall in Prague, La Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, the Aspen Music Festival, the Moab Music Festival, the Caramoor Festival, the Mostly Modern Festival, and the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago. Recently, he conducted the world premiere and tour of Missing, an opera about the 3,000 missing Indigenous women in Canada, with Pacific Opera Victoria, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, and the Prince George Symphony Orchestra. He has also led Ricky Ian Gordon’s Tibetan Book of the Dead and Don Giovanni for the Eastman Opera Theatre, Die Zauberflöte and Le Nozze di Figaro for the Prague Summer Nights Festival, and Dream Seminar with the Trondheim Sinfonietta. https://timothylongmusic.com/ |
Photo by Louis Tucker
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Benjamin Makino (he/him)
Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist, Conductor/Music Director Porterville, CA From complex contemporary and twentieth-century scores to core traditional repertoire, conductor Benjamin Makino has been recognized for his nuanced and thoughtful interpretations of broad and varied repertoire. Throughout his career, his work has been affiliated with the companies recognized for innovation. In 2013 Makino was named Music Director of Opera Memphis, a position he held for four seasons. During his tenure the company rose to national and international prominence, praised for its innovative community engagement programs, experimentation, and commissioning projects. During his tenure Makino also became a regular collaborator with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, leading numerous concerts. In 2015 he conducted the Symphony before an audience of over four thousand at the historic Levitt Shell in Memphis Renaissance, a program produced by the New Ballet Ensemble and School, featuring Duke Ellington’s 'Harlem' and Margaret Bonds’ 'Three Dream Portraits.' Following the success of that performance, he joined the company for their annual NutRemix featuring Lil Buck, to which he returned the following season. Prior to joining Opera Memphis Makino was the Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master at Long Beach Opera, where he conducted numerous productions including the US premieres of Gavin Bryars’ 'The Paper Nautilus' and Stewart Copeland’s 'Tell-Tale Heart.' He recently returned to the company, conducting Frank Martin’s 'The Love Potion' for which he was praised in the Los Angeles Times for being “consistently sensitive to the work’s exquisite timing and placement of dynamics and color,” making “the most of the composer’s subtle chamber orchestra textures.” https://benjaminmakino.com |
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Tyler Ramos (he/him)
Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist Waipahu, HI Getting my DMA at Eastman. Various prizes competitions, hope to be a professor. |
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Casey Robards (she/her)
Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist, Conductor/Music Director Currently on Keyboard/Voice faculty at Univ of Illinois as a pianist/vocal coach. Conductor/pianist/coach at Bay View Music Festival, a young artist program with one mainstage production, a scenes/art song program, and a Negro Spirituals Intensive. Former faculty positions in vocal coaching/collab piano at Indiana University, Central Michigan and postdoc work at Oberlin. Research focus on African American piano, art song, and spirituals. Caseyrobards.com |
Photo credit: Starlic Williams
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Damien L. Sneed (he/him)
Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist, Composer, Conductor/Music Director New York, NY As a multi-genre recording artist and instrumentalist, Damien Sneed is a pianist, vocalist, organist, composer, conductor, arranger, producer, and arts educator whose work spans multiple genres. He has worked with jazz, classical, pop, and R&B legends, including the late Aretha Franklin and Jessye Norman, which he is featured on Norman’s final recording, Bound For The Promised Land. He also worked with Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, J’Nai Bridges, Lawrence Brownlee, Brandie Inez Sutton and many others. Sneed recently premiered his new work, commissioned by the Sphinx Organization, “We Shall Overcome -- Our Journey: 400 Years from Africa to Jamestown,” at Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium joined by his fellow Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipients J’Nai Bridges and Will Liverman along with Sneed’s chorus, Chorale Le Chateau, and the Sphinx Virtuosi Orchestra. During the 2018 – 2019 season, Sneed served as music director, composer in residence, and cover conductor for the staff of the Houston Grand Opera. Sneed was also commissioned to compose a new chamber opera, MARIAN’S SONG, about Marian Anderson for HGO, with its world premiere on March 5, 2020. Sneed is featured in the award-winning PBS documentary Everyone Has a Place, starring Wynton Marsalis which captures Sneed’s journey as the musical conductor of Marsalis’ “Abyssinian Mass”. Sneed is also featured in Aaron Dworkin’s book, The Entrepreneurial Artist: Lessons from Highly Successful Creatives. Sneed is currently a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music. He recently joined the faculty of Michigan State University as artist-in-residence. www.DamienSneed.com |
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Jane Wong (she/her)
Chorus Master, Coach/Accompanist/Collaborative Pianist, Composer, Conductor/Music Director, Librettist Cambridge, MA Premiered an opera called Polyaliens, an opera about immigrants' bi and polyamorous relationships. The opera was presented in the Puccini International Opera Festival in Lucca, Italy. |